First time caster. Seeking advice on proper boolit appearance

[Strtspdlx]

I'm a new guy. So first and foremost hello.
So I went out and bought a Lee 4-20 pot and two Lee 6 cavity molds. I'm using mainly ww alloy with maybe 1% tin if I see the boolits don't look filled out. I have no one locally to show me how to diagnose problems concerning heat, contamination, alloy issues or anything really. I got the lead to melting temp and backed off the temp dial to about 4.5 I have a few here and there that don't fill out the base but that's alot
my fault because I'm not Filling correctly or I forgot to add tin after recycling sprue and bad boolits. I'm going to try to attach some photos and see if anyone can tell me if they look correct or where I may be able improve on them. I'm not expecting high quality boolits. Or atleast I don't expect precision rounds. Right now I'd like to focus on proper technique and correctly casting. I'm not so much worried about pairing these with a case. That will be a whole other discussion. Thanks for your time. I hope the photos work. Also they're 452-230tc and 401-175swc

[Pipefitter]

Just off the top of my head I would suggest turning up the heat just a bit, and preheating the mold a bit more. Flux the melt with wood chips or sawdust and stir well with an old wooden spoon or a paint stick. Leave the charred sawdust on top of the melt, this will help prevent oxidizing the tin out of the alloy. Cast until the pot is about half empty before you add any sprues or rejected bullets back to the pot, then flux again with sawdust.
WW with 1-2%tin should make good boolits for 45ACP or lower pressure loads for 45LC.

[Strtspdlx]

I'd really love to get myself a thermometer just to use for reference. I did dip the mold in the melt at one point to see if the lead stuck which it did. And that was after casting 50-100 boolits for my wife's 40. I was suprised at how cold it was. Mainly because the corner of the mold cooled the pot enough to put a nice chunk of lead on the corner. They're aluminum and I'm scared to death that I'll warp them. I suppose I'll turn it up. I did notice on 6-7 I forget which, that it turned the lead blue like it was too hot. Also I usually cast until I can see the bottom with the pot tilted but just the furthest edge. Then I'll refill and mix candle wax in and tin. I do need to get some sawdust. I haven't had time to run to my grandfathers. He said he has a 55 gallon drum
of it for me.

[Yodogsandman]

Those look like you're off to a great start! Welcome to the site!

Some new molds just need to be used (or heat cycled) about 3 to 4 times before they settle down and produce great boolits each cast. Small worm lines will show this and whether any production oils are still left in the mold.

Your mold or alloy look too hot to me. Notice that the noses are shinier than the body. The melted alloy, entering the mold when the mold is at it's coolest, after dumping the mold, first fills the nose. I'd guess that the alloy is a little too hot. The tin forming at the outer surface of the boolit body and small black specs (inclusions) show this. Cut the heat back on the pot a little more and increase the speed of your cadence. Don't stop or slow down to look at your pretty new boolits. Keep the mold at a more constant temperature.

The bases look rounded to me. This can be caused by the sprue plate being too tight to the top of the mold and not venting right or too cold of a sprue plate. I'd guess a cold sprue plate. Pour a generous puddle over the sprue plate when finished pouring each cavity to keep it heated up.

Unless it's raised, your sprue cut off nub looks great. Good sprue cut off timing!

These are all common problems that we all have from time to time. You'll recognize them pretty soon and correct them quickly with just a little adjustment almost automatically.

Just melt the ones you don't like and make some more. When I cull for pistol boolits, almost nothing gets thrown back in the pot. Almost all will shoot just fine at short range.

[Yodogsandman]

I'd really love to get myself a thermometer just to use for reference. I did dip the mold in the melt at one point to see if the lead stuck which it did. And that was after casting 50-100 boolits for my wife's 40. I was suprised at how cold it was. Mainly because the corner of the mold cooled the pot enough to put a nice chunk of lead on the corner. They're aluminum and I'm scared to death that I'll warp them. I suppose I'll turn it up. I did notice on 6-7 I forget which, that it turned the lead blue like it was too hot. Also I usually cast until I can see the bottom with the pot tilted but just the furthest edge. Then I'll refill and mix candle wax in and tin. I do need to get some sawdust. I haven't had time to run to my grandfathers. He said he has a 55 gallon drum
of it for me.

Sawdust should be used in your smelting pot, not in your casting pot. Use sawdust to clean and flux your melted alloy in your smelt pot. When smelting down your lead clean with sawdust 3 times and flux with wax once after. No need to cover the melt with the sawdust charcoals in your casting pot. Candle wax, paraffin wax, beeswax or boolit lube can be used to flux in your casting pot. Fluxing will remix the tin from the top of the melted alloy back in and will clean some what. I only flux with wax or lube at the beginning of each casting session.

I still don't own a thermometer. I did build a PID to control the heat on my pot, that also shows the temp. Same price for either.

Pre heat your molds on a hot plate, you'll figure out what to set the dial for. You want it at 400*F or just a little more. Your first casts will come out perfect that way.

[reddog81]

I set my LEE pot at 4 or 5 until the mold gets hot and then drop to about 2. I preheat my mold on a single burner and still drop and pour the first 3 to 5 as fast as possible to get the mold hot enough. Don't even look the bullets just pour and dump.

A larger sprue on top will also heat up the sprue plate and allow the mold to get a nice clean flat base. If the sprue plate isn't hot enough good base fill out is difficult.

I bought a thermometer but rarely use it. After you get the hang of casting a thermometer isn't critical.

[fryboy]

well .... ermm wait - Hola !

you didnt exactly pick the easiest molds to learn on but ... they'll do
with the 6 bangers quite often heat is your friend ( the more lead in the alloy the more so ) i only enlarged the last foto , what i note is that more fluxing is needed and perhaps some more heat on the mold , even when properly prewarmed i still start the 6 bangers slow ( two or so cavities ) working up to a full 6 as temp indicates it's right , the hotplate really helped me with all of my aluminum molds and can be found fairly cheap , practical application is the only way to get experience so at least you're moving in the right direction ;)

[454PB]

The "frosty" appearance is caused by the mould temperature being too high, but it really does no damage. I deliberately cast frosty.

Controlling mould temperature is more important than melt temperature, and if you see it getting too high, just touch the bottom of the mould to a damp cloth for a second or two.

The numbers on the Lee thermostats are for reference only and rarely correspond to actual temperature.

Keep your mould grease and oil free, and warm enough to see light frosting.

You are doing fine, just keep working at it

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

one little tidbit about the Lee 4-20 pot.
As the level of the alloy continually gets lower, the Temp of the alloy will get higher, if you don't adjust the temp knob. It has to do with where the temp sensor is located. That is why a thermometer is a great tool to add...and a PID controller is even better.

[TXGunNut]

Those look pretty good for a first time out, I'd shoot them. Lee moulds are a bit rounded on the edges anyway. Good job, welcome to the affliction!

[nagantguy]

Don't look bad, I'd shoot them in idpa, welcome. Yes heat is your friend, hot pot hot mold. 6 bangers take longer to get hot, a hot plate is a good tool. It takes a mi utensils to "break in" a new mold, once everything clicks you'll be raining piles of boolits from those multi holers. Casting ZEN is what I call it. When temp is right, alloy is right and clean and hot and flowing freely, your cadence is consistent and not wearing you out and every time you open your mold you take a minute to look at those perfect shiny boolits.......for the 6 cavs I have a piece of square stock steel I put under the pour spout for the mold to.rest on, doing a thousand or so it'll save your wrists, help set your cadence and ensure consistent placement of the mold. For mass quantity pistol boolits like for idpa, I'm not so picky and keep and load what many would cull, at close range in a game it's never made any diffrence, as long as the base is good and the grooves are good I've shot lots of wrinkled nosed ones, funny thing though when all the above mentioned falls into place I rarely get many rejects after the first few casts, if I do my alarm bells go off cause something isn't right or I'm getting worn out.

[Electric88]

Sawdust should be used in your smelting pot, not in your casting pot. Use sawdust to clean and flux your melted alloy in your smelt pot. When smelting down your lead clean with sawdust 3 times and flux with wax once after. No need to cover the melt with the sawdust charcoals in your casting pot. Candle wax, paraffin wax, beeswax or boolit lube can be used to flux in your casting pot. Fluxing will remix the tin from the top of the melted alloy back in and will clean some what. I only flux with wax or lube at the beginning of each casting session.

I still don't own a thermometer. I did build a PID to control the heat on my pot, that also shows the temp. Same price for either.

Pre heat your molds on a hot plate, you'll figure out what to set the dial for. You want it at 400*F or just a little more. Your first casts will come out perfect that way.

+1

I also recommend a PID for precise temperature controlling. One is being built for me as we speak :D If you don't think you want to build one yourself, there are several on this forum that build and sell them.

[Strtspdlx]

I don't have a hot plate as of right now. Usually I'll sit the molds on my Woodstove to warm up and before I get ready to cast I'll dip them to see if the lead sticks. If it does I'll leave it sit for a bit. Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to cast more. I have to melt down a lot of the 45 stuff as I had forgotten that it was pure lead. And I have 80-100 of them so is like to mix them with something and harden them slightly. I'll definitely try everything that everyone has mentioned. So far I'm only casting for 45acp and 40 s&w. I'd like to get a mold for .223 but I have to measure everything on the rifle first. So hopefully I get this down soon I'd like to be able to
load some up within the next month or so.

[fryboy]

You'd be surprised just how soft of an alloy can be used in the acp,the 40 and 223 however are a bit more demanding

[Electric88]

I've heard casting for 223 can be quite the challenge. At least, casting for 223 for an AR15 anyways.

[44man]

Lee TL boolits are hard to cast. Too hot is not good. It seems to me you are way too hot.

[dondiego]

The blue color that formed on the surface of your pot is an indication to me of fairly soft lead.

[Strtspdlx]

Lee TL boolits are hard to cast. Too hot is not good. It seems to me you are way too hot.

What is it in the pictures that indicates too hot? Everyone keeps saying this or that and I do appreciate but if someone could tell me exactly why they mention what they do id be a bit ahead of the curve. I don't know what looks relate to particular improper circumstances.

[runfiverun]

I've heard casting for 223 can be quite the challenge. At least, casting for 223 for an AR15 anyways.

the casting part is the easy part.


I think your too hot and starting to frost.
the pot/alloy temp isn't the critical temperature, it's MOLD temperature you need to control.

[runfiverun]

look at your drive bands.
the white rounded crystalline look is where the frosting is apparent.
that crystalline part on the front drive band is an indicator too.

[44man]

No need to say more. Drive bands show it. a two cavity Lee will show it and a 6 cavity is way beyond my capabilities.

[noisewaterphd]

If you can afford to get one right now, get a thermometer. Very helpful when using aluminum molds.

If you buy one of these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0176BAURS?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00 it can work really good as a cheap thermometer, and you can build it into a full controller later on/right away or whatever works for you. The one I linked to reads celsius only, but it saves you a few bucks (conversions aren't hard, make a chart of common casting temps). Additionally there are a few members that sell very nice pre-built PID controllers.

IMO, for the best bullets with aluminum molds, your mold needs to be hotter, and your alloy needs to be cooler (or you will have to wait longer in between casts to prevent burning out the bands).

Also very important:

Clean that mold! Scrub it in dishsoap and hot water with a toothbrush. Once it is fully cleaned out, lube the top of the mold and bottom of the sprue plate, either with sprue plate lube, or synthetic 2 cycle oil. Very light with the oil. Also a dab of oil on the pins and at the hinge. Don't get the lube anywhere near the cavities. Aluminum molds will last much longer with proper care.

Now that you have it cleaned and lubed, go do 2 or three casting sessions. You want to get the mold to full temp, and let it fully cool about three times is the point. Once you have completed that cycle, tear that mold down again and repeat the cleaning/lubing process. Now your aluminum mold is ready to make really good bullets with less fuss.

I don't know how or why, but the above procedure has always worked for my aluminum molds. It's almost as if they have a break in procedure. Some manufacturers, like NOE, recommend pretty much this same cycle with their molds.


Now, those really look great for just getting started, and like others said, the TL bullets can be tricky. Stick with it, it will take some time to learn how each of your molds likes to cast. You'll find that mold temp to allow temp sweet spot, and the pace at which to cast those temperatures for that mold.

Good luck sir.

[Yodogsandman]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0176BAURS?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

That's not a bad deal! You'll need a longer probe about 4" (100mm) long, though. It's in (*C) but, you can convert that over to (*F) with a chart. The probe can just be held in the pot easily with just a piece of #12 wire wrapped around one of the pots screws. I coiled mine around a Philips head screwdriver (5/16" Dia) first and then wrapped an end around the screw.

[noisewaterphd]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0176BAURS?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

That's not a bad deal! You'll need a longer probe about 4" (100mm) long, though. It's in (*C) but, you can convert that over to (*F) with a chart. The probe can just be held in the pot easily with just a piece of #12 wire wrapped around one of the pots screws. I coiled mine around a Philips head screwdriver (5/16" Dia) first and then wrapped an end around the screw.

Yes. If you do not want to drill your pot, I use this one for the pro 4 20: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009AQMO5Y/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_ai7Uwb0QWY6SC

The one from the "kit" I posted works really well if you want to drill the bottom of your pot for a permanent installation.

[GONRA]

MAYBE this will be useful to Strtspdix, but it WILL be useful to GONRA one-way-or-another.

Haven't cast boolits for decades, but am planning to get into it in coming months.
Just olde Lyman single cavity molds. (Auto pistol boolits only.)
Dropped fresh boolits into a pail of water.
Sized / lubed in a Lyman machine.
Pure Alox lube since all grooves are hiding in the cartrdge case.

Is this a good idea in This Time And Age?
Anything in this Weighty Post contribute to "weighty thoughts" for Strtspdix?

[Strtspdlx]

Well I just measured the boolits. For 45 they're .451 and .452 on the seam. For 40 they're mostly .397-.398 with an occasional .400. So I slugged the bore of the 40. These bullets aren't going to work with this barrel. Drive bands are as cast front and rear. I can see the rifling but no seal. So I guess I'll be ordering a barrel soon.

[Yodogsandman]

What alloy were you using? Boolit size can be increased a little by using more antimony in your alloy.

See table 2 at the bottom of this article...

http://www.lasc.us/SuperHard.htm

[noisewaterphd]

Well I just measured the boolits. For 45 they're .451 and .452 on the seam. For 40 they're mostly .397-.398 with an occasional .400. So I slugged the bore of the 40. These bullets aren't going to work with this barrel. Drive bands are as cast front and rear. I can see the rifling but no seal. So I guess I'll be ordering a barrel soon.

A .40 caliber mold should be dropping at least .401

I wouldn't order a new barrel! Order a new mold. But honestly I'll bet your mold is just fine. Those bullets do not look filled out well, especially at the base.

What alloy are you using again? Did you clean the molds?

[Strtspdlx]

The molds have been cleaned with brake clean and a q-tip along with a toothbrush. I then lubed them as per Lee instructions with anti seize compound. They've been heated cycled. The only thing I can think of is I may have smoked them a bit much. I never clean the cavities between smoking. I just add more with my acetylene torch. The alloy is ww+ maybe 1%tin probably
more like .8% tin. That was only added because the molds weren't filling out very well. I may have to try a different alloy. But I used the same pot with the same alloy for my 45 and switched to the 40 mold.

[454PB]

Lee moulds do not have to be "smoked". Clean all that carbon out and see if the diameter increases.

[flyingrhino]

I'd really love to get myself a thermometer just to use for reference. I did dip the mold in the melt at one point to see if the lead stuck which it did. And that was after casting 50-100 boolits for my wife's 40. I was suprised at how cold it was. Mainly because the corner of the mold cooled the pot enough to put a nice chunk of lead on the corner. They're aluminum and I'm scared to death that I'll warp them. I suppose I'll turn it up. I did notice on 6-7 I forget which, that it turned the lead blue like it was too hot. Also I usually cast until I can see the bottom with the pot tilted but just the furthest edge. Then I'll refill and mix candle wax in and tin. I do need to get some sawdust. I haven't had time to run to my grandfathers. He said he has a 55 gallon drum
of it for me.

The blue color is from it getting too hot. This will happen when you let it drain down to the bottom. I like to keep my pot better than half full. A PID controller is great. But, I started out with a Tru-Tel Big Green Egg thermometer off of Amazon. Model LT225R. $22 or so. Clips right on the rim of your pot. Works like a champ and much cheaper than the "lead" thermometers.

[John Boy]

Strtspdlx - sure fired near perfect bullets cast with no thermometer:
* Flux the pot melt good as has been posted
* Heat the mold up on your stove and the melt - start casting when:
* After a 5 second pour with the ladle, the sprue puddle frosts in 5 seconds
* Keep the pot temperature constant to the temperature needed to obtain the 5 second frosting of the sprue puddle
To keep the sprue plate the same casting temperature, I spread some melt on the plate when making the sprue puddle
Plus your cast rhythm has to be the same - no smoke breaks, :popcorn:, etc
Casting as such the bullets will be fully filled out and the base edges will be sharp
Good luck but spend the 22 bucks and buy this thermometer ... http://www.teltru.com/p-272-big-green-egg-primo-komodo-grill-dome-or-other-kamado-style-replacement-thermometer-lt225r-5-inch-stem-2001000-degrees-f.aspx

[Strtspdlx]

Lee moulds do not have to be "smoked". Clean all that carbon out and see if the diameter increases.

i was just following the instructions supplied with the molds. I've heard after awhile you don't have to smoke them. I normally always find that when dropping them 2-3 taps with the plastic handle of a screwdriver on the handle bolt seems to pop them loose. Or if I open it soon enough I can usually just drop them right onto my towel without any tapping. I have spot of experimenting to do. Hopefully I have time to cast more this weekend. If I can get these 40 boolits to the right size and have them slug the barrel correctly I'll be ordering my reloading supplies soon so I can stop spending all this money on factory loads.

[Drew P]

You're gonna be handcuffed by the daft temp control of the 4-20 especially without even a thermometer. They put the thermostat in the housing, and it has hardly nothing to do with the pot temp at least on mine. So, you hear it clicking off like it's nearing the temp, but it's not, and then it will get too hot, etc. makes it hard to diagnose anything with 200° swings in temp. The thermometer helped me a lot, but I was always adjusting the dial, and still had 100° swings if I wasn't careful. Now I have the pid, and I have 10° swings at most. Much better. I don't use my thermometer anymore.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

i was just following the instructions supplied with the molds.
...snip
Yeah, many of us did the same. What you will learn here or by your own experimentation is...and it sounds counter-intuitive, is throw the Lee directions in the trash.

Clean the mold with hotwater, dish soap, and a tooth brush.
-Do not smoke it
-Do not lube it with beeswax or Lee's beeswax based boolit lube

Lube with a synth. 2 cycle oil or a sprue lube like Randyrat's Zip Lube as described here.


Bring mold up to casting temperature and fill cavities with alloy. Be sure to have complete base fill out to avoid getting Lube in the cavities. Cut the sprue and keep blocks together with boolits in cavities. Lightly dampen a Q-tip with Lube and spread a light film of lube on the mould block top surface and bottom of sprue plate...it should be hot enough, so it's smokin'. With a clean Q-tip wipe away any excess lube from both surfaces, if necessary, as only a very small amount is needed. Also apply to alignment pins and hinge points. New or very clean mold may require more than one treatment. Reapply at the first sign of any drag on opening or closing sprue plate. Repeat procedure at the beginning of each casting session.

[454PB]

Or....don't lube it at all. I own over 20 Lee moulds, some over 40 years old, and none are ever lubed.

[Geezer in NH]

MAYBE this will be useful to Strtspdix, but it WILL be useful to GONRA one-way-or-another.

Haven't cast boolits for decades, but am planning to get into it in coming months.
Just olde Lyman single cavity molds. (Auto pistol boolits only.)
Dropped fresh boolits into a pail of water.
Sized / lubed in a Lyman machine.
Pure Alox lube since all grooves are hiding in the cartrdge case.

Is this a good idea in This Time And Age?
Anything in this Weighty Post contribute to "weighty thoughts" for Strtspdix?
IMHO that will work

[Strtspdlx]

Now I'm torn. I'm about to order all of my reloading stuff. And I have the barrel for the glock 22 in the cart. I didn't get to cast this weekend to see if the 401 mold would drop 401 sized boolits and if they'd slug in the barrel correctly. Decisions decisions.

[bearcove]

Looks good I would add a bit of tin and speed up your tempo till you just have a bit of "frost" and sharper edges. After you get a batch of good ones measure them.

[OS OK]

"Hey, you are doing fine, great attitude. You are getting the best advise here at Cast Boolits that can be found anywhere. You are thinking about what the details mean..you have the 'bull by the tail' right there. It's a pleasure to try to help someone like you. Since I can't add something that hasn't already been stated multiple times, I'll just add a picture of where you will be soon just to encourage you a bit...

161440

OH yeah…I forgot…'W E L C O M E TO YOUR NEW HOME!"

OS OK

[Wish-A-Lot]

Bubble marks, worm etchings... definitely a cold mold, any frosting...hot Lead. Rounded base is a case of cold sprue or not a big enough "puddle" when pouring. Those aluminum molds are hard to mess up. Never dip them in water to cool them faster. Allow the lead to cool before opening the sprue plate so no lead streak is created . This will create an unacceptable gap between the plate and the mold.
The problem with frosty bullets is just that they don't look as pretty. You're going to lube them anyways.
Yes, you already seem aware that the bullet MUST fully fill the groves to prevent leading caused by hot gasses passing by the bullet.
Try casting for your 40 with a hotter mold and cooler lead pour or some version of these moves. Using the theory of expansion/contraction of metals, experiment and have fun!

[Strtspdlx]

a lot of amazingly useful tips. I have been experimenting with these and so far ive had mixed success. I will say for as hot as I thought my mold was it actually wasn't. once I got the mould a bit warmer it really seemed to clean up a lot of the errors. now I'm just working on consistency and frosting. I was casting lastnight just pouring and dumping the bullets back into the pot after a quick inspection, just doing this so I can find a certain way that works for my molds. so far I haven't found a very consistent rhythm that produces the same thing every time. I'm going to try to do a short run. 80-100 in 401 without the mold smoked and see if I cant get these boolits to the proper size.

[Blackwater]

I haven't even read the preceeding 2 pages, but I know you've received good advice without even reading it. This site is good, and I wish I'd had it when I started out casting. I'd have certainly learned more sooner. Yet, when it comes right down to it, the ONLY real way to learn is to do what you're doing and just start casting. Pay attention to the temp of both mold and metal, and notice how they interplay to create frosted (metal too hot) or shiny (metal and mold just right in temp) bullets, bullets with wrinkles (metal not hot enough), bullets with "inclusions" like slag or dirt particles, etc. and note how your rate of casting tends to heat up the mold and produce different appearing bullets. Learn to adjust the thermostat for each mold, since some molds like to run hotter or cooler than other molds, and just learn to start noticing every little thing you do. Most of it makes at least some kind of difference, and the real trick is to learn to monitor your process as you go along, making adjustments as they are indicated as being needed to get the most consistent, shiny and accurate bullets possible. It will at times seem like you're never going to learn, but when you get there, you'll look back at all you went through and laugh, because it'll be quicker than you thought. An awful lot of us here started by reading a bit, and just diving in and learning as we went along, rereading with a better understanding, and revising what we did until we got really good results. You could do that too, but with this site, you'll have a lot easier time than many of us did who started long ago and just learned on our own.

Best thing to do when you begin to start to feel you're getting a bit of a handle on things, is to go back and read the archives, and read ALL of it that seems like it might interest or benefit you. When you've done that, you'll have a really good perspective on just how wide open the process really is, and how different people do different things, and yet, both get good results. A lot depends on what you want to do, and how you want to do it, and what rifle or pistol you want to do it with.

And even after you become an "old pro" yourself, you'll STILL have questions now and then, and mysteries to solve, but ... well, that's what makes it so interesting. Good to have a new caster on board, always!

[C. Latch]

I'd just like to second that, no, you do not need to buy a new barrel if your bullets are undersized. You can polish out a Lee mold very easily and increase diameter of the bullets you cast by several thousandths.

[Strtspdlx]

I'd just like to second that, no, you do not need to buy a new barrel if your bullets are undersized. You can polish out a Lee mold very easily and increase diameter of the bullets you cast by several thousandths.
i had honestly thought of doing that right from the get go. But I figured I should try casting without smoking and a bit more tin and maybe slower pour speed so it fills out better. If that doesn't help in the size then I may need to attempt opening up this mold. It's either $100 barrel or $40 mold. I'm not afraid to ruin the mold now. As I'm typing I'm watching the pot heat up so hopefully by the end of tonight I should have a better evaluation on the situation. The 40 is my wife's gun so I want to be certain she won't have any issues. My 45 mold drops bullets thatll shoot as cast.

[Strtspdlx]

I found this to be interesting. Thinking I had the mold warm enough I dipped it. Within 5-10 seconds it had cooled the lead enough to for a nice brick on the end of my mold.

[Blackwater]

I'm smiling here because had the exact same thing happen way back when I was starting. I imagine some others are smiling as well? You're learning pretty fast. These days, it's really not nearly as necessary very much for us to pay really close attention to what we're doing, since so much of what we do involves pre-packaged stuff that's more or less boring to assemble. But putting out goo bullets is one of those things that brings us back to the "good ol' days" when craftsmanship with hand tools and close attention to detail, and constant monitoring and consideration of what to do next was "the way" of doing most things. It's good to see a newbie here with a sense of humor and some genuine humility in the learning process. I think you're going to be casting really good bullets a lot sooner than you probably think right now. And remember, where you're treading, many have gone before you, so just enjoy the learning process, and pay attention, and keep at it. You're clearly on the right path.

[454PB]

Use a hotplate or a propane torch to preheat your mould.

[TexasAggie06]

I did this too starting out and I can say all it did was end up ruining a couple of molds. Do yourself a favor and go to Walmart and buy an 8 dollar hot plate to hear your molds.

[dudel]

I did this too starting out and I can say all it did was end up ruining a couple of molds. Do yourself a favor and go to Walmart and buy an 8 dollar hot plate to hear your molds.
^^^ this! The hot plate works wonders on 6 cav aluminum molds. Also nice for pre heating ingots so you melt temp doesn't vary as much.

I found the easiest way to start with 6cav molds, is to cast one or two of the cavities till you get your pace smooth. Another thing to try, is hold the sprue plate hole tight up against the spout (it fit's nicely) and pressure cast. Your first attempt looks lots better than my first ones. I think back to my first couple of sessions, all I did was recycle lead.

My main goal now are clean sharp bases. I've found that for pistol rounds, wrinkled boolits shoot pretty good. If you use Lee's ALOX, you're going to lube the whole thing anyways.

[OS OK]

Post #43 sums things nicely…but…if you spend a moment rolling those boolits around looking for details while you are trying to find the cadence…you will miss that part altogether.

[Strtspdlx]

Well guys and gals. I believe I got the 401 mold to work for me. But we'll see what everyone else thinks. I recycled all my wrinkled bullets because I wasn't happy with them. This attemp went much smoother once I figured out my pot problems(wasn't hot enough). And my mold problems. Wasn't hot enough and I can cast about 6-8 times once up to temp then I have to let the mold cool for a minute. I mainly recognized that because the lube grooves were very wrinkled and the sprue was taking well over 10 seconds to frost.

[OS OK]

Mike those 'parting lines' and 90 degrees to them on the same boolit…you will get a better idea of that cavity.

[Strtspdlx]

That's what I did. I mic'd on the parting line and 90* from that. And just to be sure I rolled a few and mic'd random locations and they're all within .0006 of 401. It's a lot better then the .397.398 i was getting. Going to Walmart tonight and I'll see if I can't find myself a hot plate. I'm limited on the power I can use as my shop isn't wired to use much more then lights. If I run my pot and case cleaner at the same time it'll usually end up popping a breaker.

[Budzilla 19]

Yep, he's hooked now! Welcome to the very best cast boolit site. (As for me, the ONLY cast boolit site)You're going in the right direction. Good luck to you. Do not be afraid to ask for advice, or for criticism, you will receive both! These gentlemen on this site have so much knowledge, I don't think there is a question that can't be answered! Just my .02 cents.

[robg]

Good looking boolits good bases are the most important thing .I like to use a couple of moulds so one can cool as you fill the other .

[philzilla]

A hot plate for your molds is the way to go