Good Boolits from a Cold Start

[1989toddm]

I set my pot to come on at 11:30 today(wife was gone for the day so I ate lunch alone) so by the time I got home it was ready to cast. I ate a quick bite and grabbed my 358-125 Lee 6 cav. Forgot to preheat it, but decided to try it any way. From the first pour I was gettin good boolits. I counted a total of 20 pours-should be 120 boolits...well I just culled them and got 5 rejects. From a cold start! I know at least 3 of those was my fault in not getting the cavity full enough. I have never smoked this mold, just boiled it in hot water to remove any oils, inspected it and started casting! I keep it lubed adequately (I think) But is this normal? I dont recall getting this many keepers out of any other mold I own - mostly Lees with a couple Ideal/Lyman.

[shoot-n-lead]

For my casting, with a cold mold, it would not be normal...others may have different experiences.

[btroj]

Good bullets from a cold mould? They may look OK but did you weigh them?

And the thought of having a pot set to turn on when I wasn't home? That scares the heck out of me. Ask Lloyd Smale what happens to unattended lead pots.

[Love Life]

Dang. Wish my moulds did that.

[C. Latch]

I have Lee 2-cavity molds that will drop useable bullets on the first cast from cold. They're not pretty, but they're useable, in short-range pistols. Usually after 2-3 pours they are making pretty bullets. They're simply able to heat up faster due to their being less material to heat up in the itty bitty Lee blocks.

[bhn22]

Good bullets from a cold mould? They may look OK but did you weigh them?

That was my first thought as well.

[1989toddm]

Btroj thanks for the weight suggestion! I just grabbed a handful and weighed them-35 in all. The majority were between 27.1gr and 128.9gr with the oddballs 122.5, 123.8, 124.8, 125.5, 126.0, 126.3, 126.7. Interesting.

[Cherokee]

My 356120TC will cast good boolits from a warm (not up to temp) mold, never tried from a cold one. I ususally heat molds to near casting temp before use. Weight variations are +/- 1 gr which is good enough for close range pistol.

[stubert]

If you start you're pot when not home, make darn sure you have a drip pan under the spout.

[1989toddm]

If you start you're pot when not home, make darn sure you have a drip pan under the spout.

That I do. Although I've learned with this old pot, if I keep the lead clean as I can and when I shut it off, give the needle a quick twist it rarely drips anymore.

[madsenshooter]

I have an Eagan 30G mold, the bullet has a lot of driving bands and lube grooves, so I can see the fill out getting better as the mold gets warmer. Still takes a dozen or so to get the fill out right, even though I let the mold sit on top of the pot before starting. My little Lee melter sometimes sticks, might leave the pot for 20min and come back to a red hot one! It knows when I ain't there, the little bugger!