What's my problem...

[shooter3048]

New lurker here, er, poster I recon. Here is a pic of my lousy 1st attempt at boolit casting. I used a Lee, 175 SWC (40 cal) mould and tumble-lubed it (that's why its yeller.) Anyway I know don't use Lee moulds but I didn't want to spend big bucks yet on Lyman or RCBS parts. I have an OLD Saeco furnace with bottom pour and 160 lbs of lead to cast. If I get the hang of casting I will probably purchase some Lyman parts. So my question is this: I just smelted some already cast bullets that were not lubed (wrong cal for me) set the temperature for 750 degrees on the Saeco with about half a pot full of lead and waited for 30 min. Fluxed it along the way and the stuff looked good (shiny). I had the mould (2 cavity) on the edge of the furnace to pre-heat. I poured 12 bullets and most of them looked like this photo except nice and shiny. I then dipped the corner of the mould in the soup for 15 sec and poured another 12. I just want to know what the H I'm screwing up. The bullets are coming out of the mould ok. Gimme some help...please!::-D

[mooman76]

I'd sya off hand your mould isn't hot enough. Just keep cranking them out till it gets hot. The way I tell is I put the mould in the lead until the lead doesn't stick when I lift the mould out. Usually a 20 count for me. You could crank the heat up a little more on the pot and after you get going good turn it down some. Just take practice and by the way those bullets will still shoot good even though they aint purdy!

[bigborefan]

I use a cheap hot plate to warm up my moulds. I start it up about 20 minutes before I start casting and usually the first bullet out of the mould is a keeper. Otherwise it takes me about 10-20 bullets before I get a perfect one without the hot plate.

[Ken]

Yep, mould isn't hot enough or possibly not degreased. I set my mould on top of lead melting pot to heat them up. By the time the lead melts and is ready to pour, the mould is hot enough.

[Leftoverdj]

Mould still has the factory preservative on it.

Nobody reads the instructions, and nobody cleans them properly. Boil the mould in soapy water for half an hour, rinse in tap water, preheat on top of the pot to make sure it is dry, and you won't have that problem.

750 degrees is plenty hot.

[Blammer]

hose off the mould well with brake cleaner or a degreaser or sorts. Do this with the mould cold.

Take a Q tip and run it in the cavities to 'wipe out' any odd stuff.

Set your mould on the edge of your pot and let it get HOT. Dipping a corner of the mould in the melt is good too.

Your mould is not hot enough.

Cast quick! dump bullets quick, close quick, and pour again. The alum moulds cool quickly. Cast as quick as you can, you'll notice your bullets start to have less wrinkles, and they may even start to "frost". Frosty boolits shoot good too! just not wrinkly ones.

[Blammer]

oh WELCOME!

[iron mule]

welcome and don't be ashamed for using the lee equipment it will work as good as the other high priced stuff /// from what you said and the look of your finished product i agree with the fellas above the mold was eiter not hot enough or not clean or both/// remember when casting get you a rythim going going too slow can be as bad as trying to go too fast /// just hang on keep trying don't let it beat you takes some pratice but is not hard if you have a pard that cast may help to do a session together///////////mule

[NSP64]

welcome.
Invest in a thermometer. I use Lee molds. Ditto on what they said. Mold can be dirty or cold or both. Your boolits could be used as they are as long as the distance is 25yrds or less. I like to run my lead around 750 F.

[waksupi]

In a couple recent threads, I have seen mention of new casters doing casting, and reloading, with a friend. I am rather against that. You do not need distractions when doing any process of reloading, and I would put working with 700 degree alloys, right at the top of the list. If you are new at the game, shut off the radio, get away from the kids and dog, and do things until they become second nature.
If you can get together with someone experienced, and can watch a few times, and not be a distraction, I believe your learning curve will be better, and safer.

[shooter3048]

Thanks to all for the great advice! I did clean and smoke the mold before using. However I think I might have screwed up the lubing part off the mold process. I applied beeswax to the warm mold at the places suggested in the instructions from Lee. Think maybe some of it got into the cavities. Should this lube-the-mold thing be done hot or cold and should it be done eveytime I cast? Also I am incline to agree that the mold was not hot enough. I will try dipping it first and if that solves the problem I might go to WallyWorld and get a hotplate. Again thanks for all the suggestions. BTW: I really like this stuff!! Casting. reloading and shootin' is a blast.:Fire:

[R.M.]

Yup, a hot-plate is a good idea. You can pre-heat your ingots also on it.
As far as lubing the mold. BullPlate is the cat's backside. Beeswax will work, but as far as any lube goes with molds, a little dab'll do ya. It is sooo easy to over-lube a mold, then have it migrate into the cavities.
Clean that mold again and try again. I run my pot even hotter than most. Hotter is better than colder.
Keep pluggin along, you'll get it, then you won't be able to stop. I can though. I can stop any ol time I like, I just choose not to.

[DLCTEX]

Most of my molds are Lees, I find them easier to get to operating temp. than iron ones. I lube the mold with a freshly cast boolit in the unopened mold, just a tiny amount of lube. I see no need for a hotplate, just dip the corner of the mold in the melt. Yesterday the second boolit was a keeper using this method. Dale

[Buckshot]

................shooter3048, I just wanted to add my welcome to you. Thanks for joining the crew.

I can only make one comment as everything has been well covered. That is, I see you said you smoked the cavities in the mould. Don't use a candle for this as the smoke carrys oils with it. Some kitchen type matches have the working end of the match dipped in wax before the flammable head is added. Also bad news for smoking cavities. Best thing is either a Bic type butane lighter or a Zippo. If you were using similar, then you were doing it right.

.................Buckshot