Hellp!

[bobthewelder]

I started tonight trying to cast. I get what the book calls a cold mould bullet. The mould isn't cold. The bullets all come out of the mould looking like they were poured a little at a time with obvious puzzle lines throughout? What am I doing wrong? Lee 6 cavity .45 Automatic prepped as advised here witht he exception of the Comet step.

[Buckshot]

....................If the blocks are to temp then they're not clean. If you're sure they're clean try this. When your melt is up to temp, float the blocks on it for a good 20 could. Chances are you can't get the whole bottom of the blocks slightly inot the melt. Okay, get as much of the block's length on the led as possible, submerging the end to half it's height if you have to .

Take them out for another 20 count. This will give the heat a chance to migrate and equalize some. Now pour some boolits. You WILL have to wait for the sprue to setup. Even after they haze over, wait. And then wait a bit more as the sprue may look like it's setup, but the slugs are still surrounded by hot blocks and they'll be juicy in the middle.

I'd wait a solid minute asfter the sprue's haze over. Now open the blocks and you should have 6 very hot, prefectly cast and crystaline looking slugs burning brown spots in your towel. COntinue to cast at a comfortable pace and they'll loose a good part of the crystaline appearance and just become dully frosted looking. However you'll still have sharp clean boolits.

If that doesn't work then your blocks aren't clean, regardless how well you thought you cleaned them.

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

[mroliver77]

What Buckshot said and possibly. If you are using a bottom pour make sure you open valve fast and far enough to get a strong stream of alloy, no dribbling. Mould should be fairly close to the nozzle.It takes a while to get the feel. Dont get discouraged, your rejects can all be remelted and cast again.;)
J

[44man]

I bet the nozzle doesn't have full flow! Might need cleaned out.

[bobthewelder]

I'm using a Lymann ladle and the baby pot that comes with the kit. I'll clean them again and wait a bit longer before opening as advised. I actually was opening almost immediately after pouring, dropping them into water with a towell in the bottom.

[mroliver77]

Does thr ladle hold enough alloy for a 6 cavity? You picked a tough way to start bob. The mold needs to be very hot. I am thinking that it would be hard for an accomplished caster to pull it off with your setup. I would preheat the mold on a hotplate or dipped into your pot for a count of ten or until the alloy will easily fall off the mold. If your having to refill the ladle to fill all six cavities you need to make sure no alloy partially fills a cavity. I really would consider a 1 or 2 cav mold or a larger pot/ladle setup.
J

[bobthewelder]

LOL, story of my life! I have to redip the ladle a couple times, but I do try to make sure that I don't get any in the other holes between scoups.



You picked a tough way to start bob. J

[JohnH]

Do you have a hot plate? If so, place a peice of sheet either 3/16 or 1/4 thick on the plate, set it to a low setting and set your mold on top of it. The mold needs to be between 175 and 225 degrees for best casting. This would enable you to keep the 6 cavity mold at operating temp while you fill it with a dipper. A bottom pour pot of 20 pounds capacity or a 2 pound Rowland ladle would better serve your 6 ganger. As in welding, heat is the key.

[mooman76]

Sounds like your mould not getting hot enough. Also sounds like you just started out and with a 6 banger. Kind of like trying to learn to drive a tractortrailer before you learn to drive a car. I made a ladle out of a small juice can and a stick for my 6x. Sounds funny but it works.You'll have a hard if not imposible time getting and keeping that mould up to temp if you just have a small ladle! You also have to have a big melt pot. Big enough to add lead without cooling it down too much. Like Buckshot said heat that mould up good before you start. I usually pour lead (with the 6x) over the spue plate when starting out to help get it hot also. Crank the heat up all the way and have everything ready and close at hand so you won't be slowed down cause your mould will cool down to quick and once you get going good you can keep it going.

[Leftoverdj]

It's the preservative. With a new Lee mould, it's ALWAYS the preservative, and nobody ever listens. Boil those blocks in hot soapy water for at least half an hour, and rinse under tap water. Only after you have done that is it even worth thinking about anything else.

Find or make a bigger ladle, too. That little one is a serious handicap.

[bobthewelder]

I will, got a hotplate as well. I casted alot of rejects last night! Thanks for all the input, I never saw the boil one, I have read many of the posts concerning issues and solutions to Lee moulds, thought I'd be ahead of the game. I have a really old bottom pour Lee pot on it's way as well.

[Newtire]

I'm with leftoverdj,

I have had the worst luck with Lee moulds until after a couple of casting sessions. I eventually get all that coolant or whatever it is that works it's way into the aluminum out and then the purdy boolits start.

Only onther thing that noone has mentioned is a contaminated pot of alloy.

[bobthewelder]

OK, I boiled them for 1 hour with soap. I washed and wiped them down with denatured alcohol. I bought a hot plate and put a piece of 1/4 plate on top and the mould on that. I am still getting puzzle lines, and some mould split lines. They are less than before, but still present. Shouldn't my finished product look just like a Lazercast boolit? I waited two full minutes after pouring to cut the sprue, then another to dump the boolits. I managed to make three good boolits in the last two nights. I can quickly move my mould from the hot plate and fill three cavities before redipping. Maybe I should take the comet way and hook a boolit to my drill and smooth the mould out with comet or mothers? I'm at a loss here.

[454PB]

"I waited two full minutes after pouring to cut the sprue, then another to dump the boolits."

There is a big part of your trouble. Even with a six cavity mould, you are waiting way too long to dump and refill. The mould just can't hold enough heat. Cast as fast as you can for a while, and you should start seeing improved results. Once the boolits start filling out and getting a little frosty looking, you can slow down to a rythym that works for you.

[bobthewelder]

OK, but I only had one reject from the last load, no more puzzles, but lots of "flash lines". I cleaned the mould surface of anything obvious and will try again.

[GLL]

WHAT alloy are you using? I found pure lead to be difficult to learn on. Try wheel weights.

What is the temperature of that alloy?

Experiment by cranking the temperature way up and cycle as fast as the sprue will solidify to see if you can get fill-out.

Jerry

[bobthewelder]

I am using wheel weights. I have my mould on a burner. I am casting at 650* as it wont get any hotter for me. last load produced one (1) good boolit.

[bobthewelder]

I wonder if Midway will exchange this mould? I have done everything the Lee manual said to do and have done everything all of you here have thrown at me. Much appreciated, but I'm about ready to throw in the towell. If I get rid of the puzzle lines, I get fins, like the mould isn't closed, but I even squeezed the handles on the last couple to make sure it was closed. No goobers on the mating faces, nothing, just bad boolits and wasted time. The black ball handle on my Lymann 4500 has a big chunk out of it too. It wasn't even included in the box!

[Marc2]

Did you smoke the mold?

Marc

[bobthewelder]

Yes, tried with and without, same results.

[MT Gianni]

Bob, Post your city and maybe there is someone that you can meet near there, compare how that mold casts and use a 2 cavity of theirs. try another pot, I still think you may be cold, and watch and learn from each other. Gianni

[454PB]

Yeah, 650 degrees is too cold using WW alloy and a 6 cavity mould. I run 725 to 750 degrees with two cavity Lee moulds.

[mroliver77]

Bob I have a two cavity you can try for the price of shipping. PM me if interested.
J

[osage]

Bob, It took me a while to get my Lee 6c 45 up to a good operating temp using a lee bottom pour. Can you use the dutch oven and ladle pictured in one of your other posts?
Just wondering if your close to the surplus center you posted about? As I go down to UNL to see my kid and would be willing to pack up my Lee drip-o-matic. PM me if want.

[HeavyMetal]

I think I see your problem! I believe everything is to cold! Your thread mentioned 650 degrees and you can't get hotter? If this is true your wasting your time!

Change your heat source! You must be able to get in the low 700 (740) to make the mold work! Did I read that you had a bottom pour pot on the way? If so wait for it to arrive and then do the following:
1 make sure you have a decent thermometer to read the metal in the pot. Do not touch the side you'll get a false reading!

2 as soon as you turn the pot on put your mold on top of it to get hot! If it won't hiss when you touch a wet finger to it it ain't ready! This is the old iron test, ask your Momma how it's done.

3 make sure that the mold is clean (figure you've done that) and that the pivot points have some type of lube on them ( I use neverseeze it's good to 1000 degrees) and smoke the mold with a wooden kitchen match NOT A CANDLE!

4 When you start to pour put the mold with the cavity farthest away from you under the spout first then lift and push the mold forward as each cavity fills! Each cavity must get a full load of metal without stopping to do otherwise will give you the lined bullets you've cast so far.

5 It will take a few tries to get this right and break in the new mold. Be persistant and don't give up to quick! If all else fails put the hole in the sprue plate to the spout and fill each cavity that way until you start getting aceptable bullets

6 take your ladle and do one of two things with it: 1 use it only to flux 2 throw it as far away from you as you can! The only way you can "ladle" a six banger is with a Rowell 4 lb ladle!

Please be aware that without being on site we are all second guessing what your doing! If you need to try using an Iron 2 cavity mold thats broken in or, better yet, see if you can find an expereniced caster in your neck of the woods to get a few pointers from!

Hope this helps!

[HeavyMetal]

I should have asked this in my first response, are you trying to cast outside?

Aluminum sheds heat faster than a blonde sheds a broke sugar daddy! If your outside in Nebraska it might be to cold to get it done no matter what you do!

I realize that we all want to be as safe as possible when it comes to lead fumes but the exterior temp of you casting site can and will play a huge part in your ability to make any mold work right!