Too Cold?

[JWT]

I managed to get out to the garage and do a little casting with a couple of new molds. I was using a NOE 225-55-FN (55gr), a NOE 434-290-FN (290gr) with the hollow pin installed, and an MP 359-220-FN with the hollow pin installed. As you can see they are all brass. I used each mold one at a time not all at once.

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I had no trouble getting the boolits to drop with the 225 and 35 molds but they got stuck on the pin in the 434 mold almost every time. I tried putting sprue lube on the pins but it didn't help.

I had a pretty high rejection rate and I think I was just not hot enough. I'm not sure what to do about the sticking hollow point pin in the NOE 434 mold. I definitely need to get a hot plate.


156116 :oops:

[sigep1764]

With the wrinkles, it definitely looks like more temp is needed. I have a pin in my noe mold that sticks like a madman if its not up to temp.

[reed1911]

What temp are you running (if known)? The general consensus is brass molds need higher heat just to begin with. The addition of the pins also needs more heat. I run both Al and brass with pins and have not had any issue but I add another 10% heat when running Al with pins, brass seems to need enough extra heat that the pins do well. I don't lube the pins (part that goes into the cavity) mainly because I'm concerned with transfer to the mold of the lube.

[Bent Ramrod]

I find it helps to heat blue the pins with a propane torch. The oxidized surface seems to make it difficult for lead to stick. This after checking the pins for any scratches or burrs, of course.

Enough casting will blue the pins also, but if every boolit is sticking, the torch is a much less arduous way to do it.

[GRUMPA]

I run my pot at 750deg and use a faster pour with NOE moulds. Of course that's after I clean them real good, and smoke them. I only have the aluminum moulds and not the brass moulds.......for now.

It's to dang easy to be a member of the $1K dollar club, which......I can't afford to be a member of.

[Hickok]

Too cold. Run'er hot!

Years ago I had a Lyman thermometer, then it got dropped on concrete and Das ist Kaput. Never did get another one, just use experience, intuition, SWAG, and eye balling the dropped boolits. I tend to run my melt hot, and my molds hot as I get far better boolits. A little hot is always than a little cold. I like to see a little frosting on my boolits, then I know I am good to go, and can back off a little on the heat.

No to go to the extreme with "hot" as you can start to get boolits that are actually smaller in diameter with to much "hot."

[JWT]

That's what I was thinking. I work in my garage so I'm dealing with varying ambient temperatures and poor lighting. I find that my lead temperature is varying through the casting session. I'm looking into a PID so I can set my temperature and not worry about it. Should have the hot plate this week.

[runfiverun]

it's mold and pin temp you need to be concerned with.
I have cast with lead just barely above 625-f without issues, the mold has to be up to temp.

[dragon813gt]

Mold is to cold. You might have to run a hotter lead pot depending on ambient temps. But even when casting in a 20 degree garage I haven't found a need to run the lead any hotter than 740.

I shoot for a 700 degree temp. W/ some molds this is easily attainable. Typically they are a larger caliber. Some molds I will start w/ the lead higher and turn the temp down once it's running properly. Brass needs more heat, period. Once it's up to temp, it will hold there.

[pretzelxx]

I run those molds pretty warm. I don't get wrinkles but they sure stick crazy.. Try sanding the pins smooth, the part that would touch the boolit. I heard that could be a sticky issue!

[Victor N TN]

Have you tried smoking the pins? Yes the mold is too cool or the lead pot is one. The wrinkles are caused by it being too cool. Turn up the heat on the pot. Smoke the pins with a candle or what ever to get a good coating of soot on them. Put the molds on top of the pot for 5 or 10 minutes and let them heat up. Then try casting a few and let us know how they turn out. Photos do help.

[Doggonekid]

I have a set of NOE HP and I haven't tried them yet. Everybody keep adding to this thread. I feel I will have the answers to questions I haven't asked yet. I can't try my molds until Santa Clause officially gives them to me. My molds will be 440 GR so I think the extra big boolit will help heat my molds up faster. I am hoping that the extra weight will help them to drop easier.

[stubert]

I just purchased an NOE mold for my 45/70, 460-diam. 350 grain brass 4 hole. I also had the mold drilled for a temperture probe. My mold will not drop good bullets until the mold temp. is near 475 deg. Yes, Get a hotplate.

[Victor N TN]

I just purchased an NOE mold for my 45/70, 460-diam. 350 grain brass 4 hole. I also had the mold drilled for a temperture probe. My mold will not drop good bullets until the mold temp. is near 475 deg. Yes, Get a hotplate.

I think you and I may have just bought the same molds...

[JWT]

I tried preheating the molds on a hot plate today. The hot plate was set at medium-high and the lead was around 725. The brass MP 35-220-FN and the brass NOE 225-55-FN cast much better. The MP had better than a 90% acceptance. An iron RCBS 37-250-FN I tried out cast nothing but good boolits. My new brass NOE 279-160-FN2 did OK. I think it needs a bit more heat.

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The brass NOE 434-290-FN still gave me trouble. I changed out one of the deep hollow point pins for a shallow pin. Both were polished with 1000 grit paper. The deep hollow pin still got stuck every time. Next try with this mold will be run at maximum on the hot plate and around 775 to 800 for lead temperature.


My alloy is 2.22% Tin, 2.21% Antimony, 0.18% Arsenic, 95.39% Lead. Hardness is 11.3 by calculator and Cabin Tree tester.

[quasi]

do you apply the mold release that comes with your mold (Bullplate) to your pins?

[JWT]

Putting the sprue lube on the deep hollow point pin made no difference.

[rush1886]

That's what I was thinking. I work in my garage so I'm dealing with varying ambient temperatures and poor lighting. I find that my lead temperature is varying through the casting session. I'm looking into a PID so I can set my temperature and not worry about it. Should have the hot plate this week.

With temp varying during casting session, your new hot plate and an old pie tin, may help to keep sprue cuttings warmed up. Just thinking you may be dumping cold sprues back in the pot, lowering the overall temp, here and there. Keep them warmed up, and temp recovery times will go down accordingly.

[Doggonekid]

I just cast approx 100 LBS of my alloy with my new NOE. I did notice that it does like to run a little hotter than my RCBS molds. My boolits would get a little frosty and I would let the molds cool for a bit and then they would start sticking gain. Soon as the mold got hot I hardly ever had to tap my handles for the boolits to drop off. Most of the time I could just open the molds and all 4 would just drop off. Love those NOE molds. Smooth good looking boolits.

[JWT]

It was warm enough today (29deg.) to work out in the unheated garage. The new PID didn't work but I suspect that is a user error so I ran my RCBS furnace normally and used the PID as a fancy thermometer. I kept the lead temperature around 780 and cast using five different molds.

RCBS 416-350-FN 350gr - single cavity iron (first use)
Lyman 452374DV 180gr HP - single cavity iron hollow point (first time)
NOE 225-55-FN GC 55gr - 3 cavity brass
NOE 279-160-FN2 GC - 2 cavity brass
NOE 434-290-FN GC 290gr - 2 cavity brass with one deep and one shallow hollow point pin

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The NOE 434 mold gave me trouble with boolits sticking on the deep pin and wrinkles on the last two attempts. I preparation for this casting session I put the pin in the drill press and polished it up through 1000 grit. All molds were warmed on a hotplate set to high. The NOE 434 mold was on the hot plate for 45min before use. I picked the mold up, opened it, and put the propane torch on the pin for a few seconds. You can see the pin has picked up a nice blue patina.

158928

All five molds cast great. Almost no wrinkles. The boolits dropped right off the deep hollow point pin. The only mold that was a bit odd was the Lyman 453 devastator. The hollow point is so big that there isn't much meat around the edge of the hollow point so I had some fill issues.

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So, the brass molds like it hot. I'm not sure if smoothing the pin, higher lead temp, or higher pin temp were the reason for the boolits dropping without issue but I will do all three with the next hollow point mold I get.

[44man]

Yes, heat. A friend from here sent me a brass mold to make boolits with. I got super boolits but found brass molds need to be HOTTER.
I don't know why but brass is harder to work with and you need to go faster or heat leaves the cavities.

[Priusron]

Put an old saw blade on the hot plate. The NOE mold doesn't make good contact due to the pins and pin holders. Set the spru plate on the saw blade. Turn the burner on high. This works for me.