Problems: Casting with a six cavity mold

[Leadmelter]

I can cast well with two and four cavity molds.
But when it comes to a Lee and Mihec six cavity molds, I keep getting lead stuck on the face of the mold and little specs. Sometimes I miss them and get some pretty bad bullets that are out of round, fins, and other weirdness.
Is there a technique I am missing to eliminate this problem and get good boolits??
Leadmelter

[Ranger 7]

Suspect you are not closing the mould tightly enough.
Have used Lee 6 cavity molds for 9 years and have had the same problem when I did not grip solidly.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

An old trick/way to ensure complete closing of the blocks...when there was/is a problem...was/is to close the handles and then rap each side of the handles where they enter the blocks. The key word is rap...not whack or slam. If the blocks and pins are fully/thoroughly seated there should be no space between the blocks for alloy to get into and cause specks or anything else. Alloy should go into the cavity(ies). There really shouldn't be any/or significant light showing between properly closed blocks that are not warped or that have incorrectly seated pins. Incompletely closing/closed blocks will produce any or all of the symptoms you describe in any mold regardless of the number of cavities involved. There are a few methods of keeping the blocks' faces or block tops clean; I use the corner of an ingot to rub the speck or smear and the corner of the ingot will pick up the lead intruder, if it occurs. Six cavity molds can be challenging particularly if made of aluminum which sheds heat fast...you have to get from one end of the blocks, wit the pour stream, to the other- a little faster than with iron, so alternating from which end you start the pour might help. However, start with the mold faces cleaned up, check the seating of the alignment pins and the amount of light (if any) that is showing, try the "rap/tap" routine and see how it effects your cast quality (with or without the pour sequence). If there is some other type problem like warp etc...it is not you, but the mold. LLS

[country gent]

On moulds with the cam sprue cutter dont include it in your grip either as this can "open" the moulds slightly. Also make sure pours are fully solid before opening on big moulds the sprue may be cool and frosted but bullets core may still be slightly on the soft side.

[AtomHeartMother]

On moulds with the cam sprue cutter dont include it in your grip either as this can "open" the moulds slightly. Also make sure pours are fully solid before opening on big moulds the sprue may be cool and frosted but bullets core may still be slightly on the soft side.

+1 to that....careful with the cutter...it can open your mold ever so slightly. Done it myself a few times.

[Walter Laich]

+1 to that....careful with the cutter...it can open your mold ever so slightly. Done it myself a few times.
+2
I can drive myself crazy when I do this now and then. At least easy fix.

[Blackwater]

One other question: are you dropping the sprues back into the pot? If so, that can cause at least some of what you're experiencing. I know it did for me back when I did that.

[Casting_40S&W]

Holding the mold over the pot, to drop reject bullets will cause these sort of mystery spots to appear. Drop all bullet on a soft cloth or bucket of water, away from your melter setup.