Lead will not flow into mold cavities

[Possum Lickaa]

Forgive me if this question been asked a thousand times. I have searched the forums, and the Internet without success.

Here is the issue:
I am using a new Lee 200 gr SWC mold, and I can't get my lead to flow into the cavities. I am sure that my lead and temperature are not the cause, because I can cast great bullets,with a Lee 150 gr LRN mold with the same alloy in the same pour, but when I pick up the new 200 gr mold, the lead just seems to sit on top of the sprue plate. Some of the boolits turn out ok, but most do not.,The mold is hot, hot enough to cast frosty boolits. I have noticed that the hole in the spruce plate of the new Lee mold is not quite as big as the one on the old .38 cal,150 gr mold that gives me such nice boolits. Any suggestions?

[243winxb]

Pressure cast. Bottom pour pot spout in contact with the mold.

[Possum Lickaa]

I am ladle pouring

[Boolit_Head]

Does it have vent lines on the face of the mold? Maybe you are blocking the path for the air to escape?

[Possum Lickaa]

Yep, sure does.

[Possum Lickaa]

Maybe I'll try cleaning them again and see what happens. Really a bummer. I was planning on knocking out some .45s tonight.

[roberts1]

I am guessing the air cannot get out of the mold. Some go as far as to file a small bevel on the top of the mold edges to allow air to escape (harmless if you are going to size them anyway). One thought is to loosen the sprue pate screw a tad and give it another go. Much easier to undo than beveling the mold blocks. Also maybe try altering your pouring technique. I get partial fills even with a bottom pour furnace if im not paying attention to what im doing.

[Possum Lickaa]

I'll look into loosening the sprue plate. It seems very well adjusted, but what the heck. Easy to tighten it back down if it doesn't work.

[Possum Lickaa]

Not sure what to change about my pouring technique. Self taught, and this is the first time I've had any trouble.

[scottfire1957]

Any Sn in your alloy?

[44man]

How do you ladle pour? Do put the spout in the plate and turn up or do you just pour from a height?
I would file the bevel, it is just a swipe with a fine file and will not show on the base. More of a burr removal swipe.
Good idea about tin too. Aids flow. I know you have a hot mold but is the sprue plate hot enough?

[Possum Lickaa]

Mold and plate are hot. I pour from a height. I will look into filing the plate. Also going to check out the vent lines and see if some anti-sieze has gotten in there.

These are all good suggestions. I have been spying on this site for a while, and am glad to be a member now.

[matrixcs]

You could swap the sprue plate with your other (working) mold to see if that is the issue.

[Possum Lickaa]

Any Sn in your alloy?

Yes. I am using WW, which have a little Tin and antimony in them already (I think). I also add a little tin just for good measure.

I can pour this same hot alloy into a different mold, and it is perfect, so it seems to me like a mold issue. But I am brand new to casting, so I don't put a whole lot of faith into what I think right now.

[Possum Lickaa]

You could swap the sprue plate with your other (working) mold to see if that is the issue.

Good Idea, but I don't have another mold to mess with. I only have an older, single cavity, 150 grain .38 mold (Lee), and this new 2-Cavity, 200 gr .45 mold (also Lee).

[Spector]

I opened up the sprue plate holes in my old 2 cavity Lee 200 grain SWC mold. In fact I did that to most of my old Lee molds. It worked, but since so many other casters get good boolits and do not do that I'm pretty sure it simply compensated for other issues I had in my casting technique. Still it is an option..........Mike

[Leatherhead Bullets]

Have you tried pouring off center of the hole? I have a couple that need to run into the mold rather than direct poor. This will assist in letting additional air out. I find this necessary with some of my long 30 cal and big 45's.

Just a thought.

[Possum Lickaa]

Have you tried pouring off center of the hole? I have a couple that need to run into the mold rather than direct poor. This will assist in letting additional air out. I find this necessary with some of my long 30 cal and big 45's.

Just a thought.

I have tried that already. That's what my .38 mold likes. This almost looks like a surface tension issue when you watch it happen. Except, like I said, the other mold has no issues.

After all this good advice, I am starting to think it could be a venting issue. I did have to wipe some anti-seize off of the faces of the blocks last evening. There was quite a bit of it on my blocks after they heated up. I probably used too much. Going to check it out tonight and see what i get.

[reddog81]

You could use the appropriate sized drill bit or counter sink to increase the hole if its too small. I've never tried this but I have heard of it being done. Make sure to clean up any burrs on the bottom of the sprue plate if you go this route. I would think this would be a better option than taking a file to the mold.

[robg]

Try pouring without sprue plate off the mold ,if it still won't fill its a vent problem ,if it fills then its the plate.

[toallmy]

I do as post #7 stated , most of the time loosening the plate a little will help , but if I still have base fill out problem it gets a little rub with a file or sharpen stone , but that is just for good fill out . You have to get the lead in the cavity first . Try cleaning the mold and vent lines really good , and just lightly lube the mold with a q tip and 2stroke engine oil , the never seize is kind of thick .

[243winxb]

I did have to wipe some anti-seize off of the faces of the blocks last evening. There was quite a bit of it on my blocks after they heated up. I probably used too much. Looks like a problem to me.

[gwpercle]

What kind of ladle are you using. Lee , big open spoon or like the Lyman ladle , with a little side pouring spout ?

[montana_charlie]

Mold and plate are hot. I pour from a height. I will look into filing the plate. Also going to check out the vent lines and see if some anti-sieze has gotten in there.

These are all good suggestions. I have been spying on this site for a while, and am glad to be a member now.
DON'T FILE THE PLATE !

The 'filing' that people have been suggesting is a very, very light bevel on the top edges of the mould blocks.
You can even just do one side and see if that is enough to fix your problem ... if it IS a venting problem.

If you do both sides, the resulting 'groove' should look like one of the vent lines on the face of a mould .. no deeper or wider.

For good control of the cut, a stone is better than any file. But if a file is used it should be like a jeweler's file ... a very fine cutting surface.

[Mitch]

oh man get rid of the never sieze it will be nothing but a problem.i did this a few years back when started casting.it gets into the cavitys and all over the mold.this could be the problem.i know I had fits using never seize.i went to 2 stroke oil.

[GONRA]

GONRA (not pretendng to be a Real Boolit Expert, just modest experience)
suggests BOTTOM POURING!!!!

[Possum Lickaa]

Issue solved! Turns out is was the simplest solution. Isn't it always! I kept thinking about the lead acting like too much surface tension, and the smaller holes in my new mold...So I turned up the heat...High. That got it flowing. I don't have a thermometer, but it was quite a bit hotter that I am used to, and it took the lead longer to cool on the sprue plate. But it pours right in. More Heat...Duh!!!

[RogerDat]

Are you outside? Where temps might vary in your casting area? I have found it can make a difference in the heat level needed that seems out of proportion to the actual difference.

[Possum Lickaa]

I am outside, in northern Ohio, and temperature is definitely an issue.

[44man]

DON'T FILE THE PLATE !

The 'filing' that people have been suggesting is a very, very light bevel on the top edges of the mould blocks.
You can even just do one side and see if that is enough to fix your problem ... if it IS a venting problem.

If you do both sides, the resulting 'groove' should look like one of the vent lines on the face of a mould .. no deeper or wider.

For good control of the cut, a stone is better than any file. But if a file is used it should be like a jeweler's file ... a very fine cutting surface.
Exactly! DO NOT FILE THE PLATE. We are talking about just breaking the sharp edge on the inner top edges of the mold.
Now I DO file and polish the edges of my plates when I make them so an edge will not scratch and I deburr the pour hole lightly.

[Wayne Smith]

Pressure pouring with a ladle is to turn the mold sideways, put the ladle spout in the sprue hole, and turn the whole assembly back to vertical. This uses the weight of the lead in the ladle to pressure the lead into the sprue. If this doesn't work you definitely have venting issues. It is possible that the antiseize blocked your vents.

[Bama]

Had the same problem with the same mold. Found that the screw holding spruce plate had moved and tightened up not allowing the mold to vent properly. Loosened screw and cast fine for awhile. Finally had to replace screw and put a set screw to prevent screw movement.

[44man]

Had the same problem with the same mold. Found that the screw holding spruce plate had moved and tightened up not allowing the mold to vent properly. Loosened screw and cast fine for awhile. Finally had to replace screw and put a set screw to prevent screw movement.
Hey fellas, SPRUCE is a tree. We don't have wood plates and I am not a spelling nut and ignore most but that one does get me. I know your puter will flag sprue, Ignore it. Spell check can suck.

[dondiego]

Add "sprue" to your dictionary.

[Possum Lickaa]

And "Boolit"

[Possum Lickaa]

That one is killing me. Have to re-type it every time.

[John Boy]

I pour from a heightWrong. Put mouth of ladle directly in sprue hole and count to 5 while pouring. It's called 'head pressure'

[Possum Lickaa]

Well...I got a lot of good advice, and I used it. Definitely turned out being a heat issue. I ran my lead hotter, and my mold cooler via a wet towel, and came up with a bunch of these!
163267
...Thanks

[EDK]

I bought a LEE two cavity 45-160-TC (?) and six cavity 356-120-TC after having group buys from MIHEC and NOE as my primaries for 357 and 44. (I got interested in 9mm GLOCKS and now model 41 in 45ACP.) I need to get out the DREMEL and trough the sprue plates. That two banger is like water torture to cast with and LEE doesn't make it in a six cavity. The 9mm has made a lot of boolits since last summer, but a trough ought to help production.
I ladle cast with an elderly ladle from HENSLEY & GIBBS when they were in Oregon.; the bowl looks like a soup ladle and holds 1/3 to 1/2 pound. Anybody know of a comparable item for sale?