If it ain't broke...don't fix it 'till it is.

[quickshot]

I started to run low on my go to .38 boolit today so I figured why not fire up the pot. I grabbed my new lee 6 cavity mold and had at it. After about an hour I sat down to cull and noticed that there were WAY more rejects than usual. I wasn't speed casting or pushing the mold faster than it wanted to go. I had everything from wrinkles to flashing to over poured bases. I just couldn't wrap my head around it. I sat down and thought "hmmmmm....self.. you Never had this problem with your old beat to hell 2 cavity mold before...I wonder if it IS your casting technique. I mean it has been a few years since you poured the silver stream and all." So I grabbed ol faithful and got to speed casting. One hour later, after culling, I had just as many good Boolits from my 2 cav as I did with that big 6 cav. I guess more isn't always better huh? So back into the drawer the 6 hole goes for now. Maybe I'll get back to it later and try to figure out what it's issue is, maybe. I guess more is not always better huh?

[Boolit_Head]

Did you clean it and smoke it?

[Hannibal]

Someday I may have so many problems that I resort to a 6 cavity. For now, I choose to focus on quality same as the OP. And quantity? Well, not so much.

[Taylor]

I do not like my 6 either

[WRideout]

I have had to tinker with various molds to get them to work right; usually releasing the boolits is the problem. If you have a six-banger that would mean tinkering X3 (comparted to a two hole). I would try each hole individually, and see if it is just a question of cleaning up individual ones. If it is a Lee, you might look up the posts on "Leementing" and try some of those tricks. I have found that a scrub with Comet and a toothbrush actually cleans up an aluminum mold pretty well. Also, venting seems to be kind of marginal on Lee's. I am having trouble right now with a Lee mold that I lubed the guide pins too much; the two-stroke oil plugged the vent lines, and I have to clean those out.

Wayne

[GhostHawk]

I have yet to dive in and try a 5 cavity.

I don't shoot that much, and I do enjoy casting. But I prefer to keep me sessions short, easy and often.

Yesterday when my chores were done, but not before I allowed myself to go down and plug in the pot. Do some browsing on utube while the pot heats. Cast 60 .358 158 gr, refilled, back up to heat and cast 60 .452 228gr and called it a day.

That left me with 100 + boolits to inspect, lube. Not bad for an hours enjoyment.

[tazman]

Interesting. I can't comment on your particular mold but the several 6 cavity molds I own work very well. Very few rejects and great output. Yes, they sometimes need adjustment but it is simply tightening the screws a bit. I have never needed to smoke the molds I have. In some cases I needed to remove the smoking mess created by the previous owner.
I guess I have just been lucky.

[Petrol & Powder]

Two cavity molds work well for me and I prefer iron molds so there's a weight penalty if you go to a bigger mold in iron. SAECO makes some 3 cavity iron molds that I really like but they're not cheap. That would be about as large as I would want to go.
It's clear that a multiple cavity mold will produce bullets at a faster rate but I don't feel handicapped with a 2 cavity mold.
When you consider all of the steps involved in casting and the total amount of time from se-up to clean-up; the overall production rate is not that much greater with a 6 cavity vs. a 2 cavity.

[Dale53]

I HATE one and two cavity bullet moulds. The only exception to that has been when I was competing in 200 yards Schuetzen benchrest shooting. Then, I used a custom one cavity mould. My goal with that was 100 perfect bullets in an hour (not always achieved). I got the perfect bullets, but sometimes it took a bit longer. When I was shooting competitive Black Powder Cartridge Rifle Silhouette the need was for precision match quality bullets for my 40/65 (422 gr bullet) using my bottom pour pot and a custom NEI four cavity mould. With those big bullets, my weight standard was +or- .6 (6 tenths) of a grain. My rifle would shoot just over a minute of an angle off a bench at 500 yards (ten shot groups).

However, these days, it is pistol bullets only. My accuracy goal with handguns is NOT ½ minute accuracy that I achieved with my Schuetzen rifle, but, rather, under 1" at 25 yards. My .44 Magnum hunting guns are expected to put most rounds on a playing card at 100 yards off a rest.

I get these handgun results by using 4-6 cavity moulds for .32, .38/.357 Magnum, .44 Special/.44 Magnum, and .45 ACP/.45 Colt. I use a bottom pour pot, exclusively (a pair of RCBS pots) and size in a Star lube/sizer).

I typically cast 20 lbs of bullets at one sitting (I'm now a "Certified Old Fart") and it takes about 1½ hours (actual casting time) - a bit longer with the smaller caliber bullets as you get more to the lb. requiring more casts). My "record" casting was set back in the late seventies - I cast 13,000 bullets in one weekend (Friday night through Sunday evening) with my sons sizing and boxing. These were 13,000 match grade bullets for the .45 (two hundred grain SWC's). That won't happen again...:sad:

Lately, I have been shooting more ..38's than in the recent past. It allows me to use small pistol primers, a bit less lead, and it is a GOOD round, too:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/HG50BB-1402_900x1200.jpg (http://s269.photobucket.com/user/Dale53/media/HG50BB-1402_900x1200.jpg.html)

I size when the spirit moves - typically a day or so after my last casting session.

I ALWAYS pre-heat the mould on a hotplate and use a small manicurists fan to maintain mould temperature. I maintain a steady casting cadence.
I have only been casting about 65 years but I'll get the hang of it, shortly:bigsmyl2:...

Dale53

[Thumbcocker]

Mmmm boolit porn.

[Ben]

I have only been casting about 65 years but I'll get the hang of it, shortly:bigsmyl2:...

I believe you're already there !

Ben

[mold maker]

Until near retirement I used mostly 1-2 cav iron moulds and just a few LEE. Then the group buys happened and the craze was for the LEE 6 cav custom moulds. I soon had 17 of them and time to cast.
Yes I did the clean, and debugger thing, and often Comet cleaner spinning a bullet to get them to drop.
I learned what it took to cast masses of cast boolits here, and didn't think any more about it.
Then came the art work of Mihec and Al. A whole new learning curve assisted by the members here.
If your in need, of answers to questions your too dumb to think of, this is definitely the place to look. I've learned lots more here in a several years than in the previous 40 of casting, and I thought I already knew most of it.
I have collected gold, silver coins, and masses of moulds, producing Gorgeous lead boolits, that I enjoy best of all.
Thanks guys, I'd have lots more money, but lots less fun, without you.

[Bigslug]

Never having used a Lee 6-cavity, I can't speak with much authority on them, but do have a theory: their 2-cavity molds don't have much meat to them, and as such heat up and cool down quickly. Looking at photos of their 6-bangers, there doesn't seem to be as much extra metal to regulate temperature as you'll see on the custom aluminum molds. Since you're getting wrinkles AND flashing, I'd guess you're fluctuating between too cold and too hot and need to tinker with pot temperature and casting speed. If your bases are good, you probably don't need to adjust sprue plate tension, but it getting the air out of the mold can be an issue if you're tight on one end, loose on another, or maybe not square across the top.

You will find that more IS better when you get it running right.

[theperfessor]

I'm with Dale 53. The only time I use a one or two cavity mold is for rifle bullets or when the manufacturer doesn't make any other (RCBS!). Otherwise its all four or six cavity molds. I use a 20 lb Lyman bottom pour furnace and I don't seem to have a very high cull rate. Temperature control, good clean alloy, and clean cavities that have been heat cycled several times to passivate the mold surface are the keys.

Guess I'm lucky, I've never had to smoke a mold or use mold release to get good bullets.

[mold maker]

It really doesn't mater how many holes it has, you need to only fix what is wrong from the mfg, and learn what it needs to cast great boolits. I have a can of mould release that has only been used to eliminate the lead beards from the back of my ladle. I've really worked to remove smoke from others moulds before fixing the real problem.

[quickshot]

So I failed to go over my process for setting up a mold. This 6x is not a brand new mold at all but I treated it like it was. I scrubbed and cleaned the mold so much you could have eaten off it. Then I smoked each cavity to the point where it looked like someone had painted it with a black sharpie. I gassed up the stove (single burner coleman) and set the mold on the side of the pot to heat up. Fast forward 20min. Already fluxed clean lead is fluxed again (cant flux to much ya know) dipped mold into the melt for a good 45-60 seconds Lubed every pivot point and pin on the thing. got the ladle good and hot and started casting. Same process same casting technique as I used with my 2x molds. Never had an issue at all. I even left a much more generous sprue than normal to make sure everything was at proper temp. I even made sure the sprue pivot pin,plate alignment pin and the cutter cam pins were tight and well lubed same as the pins that hold the blocks to the handles. Held the mold up to the light an no visible light between the halves (at least what I could see). I guess yesterday was just a rough day at the pot. At least that is what I am chucking it up to. It happens sometimes just like I have off days at the press(es) sometimes as well.

[theperfessor]

Well, I'd clean out the smoke and try it, but that's because I've never found it to do anything a good basic cleaning, deburring and heat cycling wouldn't do. I've cycled molds in home oven when I didn't have my casting setup ready, but I usually figure that the first and sometimes second casting session is required to oxidize the mold surface. When the surface is oxidized it forms aluminum oxide (a ceramic) and some intermetallic compounds, none of which want to stick to lead. It also allows any tiny burrs that I missed during mold prep to come off with the bullets.

I've instrumented Lee molds and the temperatures will fluctuate quite a bit if you change your casting tempo, alloy temperature, and environmental temperature.

Smoke is a heat insulator. I wonder if your mold is still too cold (wrinkled bullets) but by the time you pour a generous sprue the sprue plate is too hot (flashing at base). After all, if the alloy heat can't transfer to the mold it will keep the bullet hotter and heat up the sprue plate.

[tazman]

For me the Lee molds need to be run hot and fast in order for them to work their best. I don't usually start casting until the mold is just a bit too hot to cool the sprue on the first set. I have no thermometer so can't give you a number.
I usually have to wait up to 45 seconds for the sprue to cool on the first set. After that I have no problems because the mold is at max casting temp then. The first 6 are rejects and the rest are fine.

[mpmarty]

I have six of the LEE six hole molds. They all work as they should. I NEVER put anything in the mold but molten lead alloy. No smoke, no release agents, nothing.

[shoot-n-lead]

All of my Lee 6 cavity molds do very well as long as I am not shy with the heat...they like it HOT.

[rockrat]

Also like Dale53. Seldom use a 2 cav. Its either a 5 cav NOE or a 6 cav Lee. Preheat on a hot plate for about 15 min at least, put end in pot and let sit for 1 min. Pull out, clean off end and start casting. I can tell when the mould gets to proper temp. as then all the boolits drop out with a little jolt. Too cold, a cavity or two stick a bit. Run my alloy at about 715degrees. Usually casting good boolits by the third cast.
I usually put three moulds on the hot plate and leave the others on the plate while I cast.

[quickshot]

I have found that like tazman my 2 cavity molds like to be run as hot and as fast as I can run them. They also like the cavities coal black

[TXGunNut]

When a new mould has a bad day I let it cool, give it a good scrubbing and maybe heat cycle it a time or two before trying it again. I've broken in quite a few new moulds from Lee, RD (Lee) and NOE and have had an occasional bad session will more than one of them. A good scrubbing and a three heat cycles is now part of my break-in regimen with any new moulds. I've also learned that almost every one of my Lee six-cavs like to be run fast and hot, they're happiest just this side of frosty so I keep a wet sock around to cool it down now and then. Then again, I think sometimes they just have a bad day, especially if new.

[Geezer in NH]

62years old and have been casting since I was in my teens and have never smoked a mold.

Clean and hot is the way IMHO. Clean is nothing on the mold and hot is what it takes if frosted so what they will be filled cool the melt by 25-40 degrees and slow down bit.

I keep the heat first and slow down before cooling the melt. That works for me.

[paul h]

Another vote for clean and hot. I have several Lee six cavity molds, and they are my favorite type of lee molds. It's nice to make a pile of good boolits in a hurry.

I've never ladle cast, so perhaps having the added pressure of a bottom pour furnace helps, but I get good boolits whether the pot is empty or full. When my mold is up to temp, the sprue stays shiny for ~5-10 seconds, and once it's dull I cut it.

[DLCTEX]

I have 7 six cavity moulds (6 Lee, 1 Mi Hec) and they all like to be run clean and hot. I preheat on a hotplate and usually get keeper boolits first cast.

[Springfield]

If I could only run 100 an hour I think I would give up casting. As it is I prefer to do about 2 hours at a time with my LEE, accurate, noe or HM2 moulds and turn our at least 1500 bullets. But that's just me. I also like to load them 1000 at a time, then I can do a couple of months shooting without having to cast and load some more.

[hickfu]

All but 1 of my molds are between 4 and 6 cavity (the exception is the Lyman 525 shot gun slug mold) and I love how many boolits I can turn out in a short time (I really need to do it quickly because my hands wont hold up for long) I use a hot plate and a fan to keep temp just right.


Doc

[Blackwater]

I love the Lee 6 cavity moulds. I tend to cast at a good but leisurely pace these days, and they perform very well. Each cavity size has a temp that seems to work best in casting.

I'm thinking that the OP's problem wasn't with the mould, but with his smoking technique. I've found that over-smoking CAN, at least sometimes, cause problems like he's describing. I suspect, but can't prove, that it's due to the chemistry in the matches or whatever else is used. Tried a candle once to smoke with, and the results were NOT good. I think you want as pure a carbon as you can get in smoking a mould. Who can comment on this aspect of it? That's my impression and it's something I haven't ever thought to ask here, but I suspect some sort of gooey stuff got into the smoking process, and that stuf'll take a while to get out of a mould.

[Harter66]

You didn't have a hand on the sprue handle did you? At'll throw them outta whack every time. I have a 3-4 sixs a couple each of 4s and 5s. I just give them a bath and heat cycle 3x. The biggest problem I have is keeping the sprue plates hot.