first castings

[swabbie]

we all have to start somewheres I guess.Lee dripomatic and 2 Lee TL 160 molds.

guess I didn't have the lead hot enuff...no thermometer to check.
never did get a stream out of the pot.sprew plate holes clogging before mold fills up.
got about 10 boolits done that look like good rejects:roll:
had the molds setting on top of the pot,I don't guess they were hot enuff.whole thing was a disaster..due to me of course.

ordering a thermometer from the surplus place,and gonna get the temp to 700 or more.read all the threads I could.maybe I should get a hotplate to heat the molds?

also..no sprew plate lube....anything I can use around the house until I can get some?

advice and (some) abuse appreciated...well the advice anyway:drinks:

[SWIAFB]

swabbie, are you power pouring or do you have an air gap between the mold and the outlet port on the pot ? You can use anti-seeze as a sprue plate lube.

[HeavyMetal]

Try the silver wonder: Anti seize compound. Put it on the mold "pins" and the bottom of the sprue plate.

BEWARE: a microscopic amount of this stuff will turn the entire golden gate bride "silver"!

Do not get it in the cavities, a lite film you can't see is enought on the sprue plate.


I've filled the mold, knowing the boolits would be bad, then diped the corner of the mold in the alloy until no lead sticks to it and then start casting. Any bad ones can be recycled!

Set the dial between 7 and 8 on the Lee pot ( adjust up as needed) and give it 40 minutes to heat up a full pot. Also remember to give the alloy a few minutes to get back up to temp after you've dumped old sprues back in!

Flux often! Remember it is a rare day the alloy is to hot but often it is to cold!

Good luck!

[mooman76]

Pre heat the moulds buy holding the mould in the lead with the tip of the sprew plate in the lead utherwise the sprew plate cools the lead before it can reach the cavity. I use a coumt of 15 for single cavity and 20 for double. Like HM said the lead won't stick when it gets hot enough. If it gets too hot be patient, won't hurt nothing, just will take awhile to cool back down. Crank the lead up all the way and once you got god bullets you can slowly turn the heat down til you find where your temp should be. You won't have to do this last part after you get used to the casting and such. You can use WD40 for lube. I also use it as a mould release. I spray it on while the mould is hot and it dries almost instantly but it will cool your mould down for a minute but keep casting. The bullets won't come out as good right after spraying on the WD40 but after about 4-5 more casts they will start looking good again.

[swabbie]

I.m guessin that that means holding the mold right up to the spout..no I'm not doin that..this pot is the low version,ther's about 1/2" clearance between the top of the mold and the spout,


thanks for the tips so far:mrgreen:

[docone31]

Hey Swabbie, welcome to the club.
First and formost, in my opinion, DO NOT MELT scrap in the pot! It leaves crud low in the pot itself. I learned that the hard way.
I took a coat hanger, drilled an hole in a wood dowel, and used it as a stir rod in the pot. I still do that. I melt seperately on the kitchen stove and cull the dross. I then make ingots.
These ingots I put in my pot.
Turn the spout rod a few times untill the crud is away from the spout seat. It will take a while to get the lower scale to float up and be scraped off.
I stick my mold directly in the pot to warm it up. When the lead falls off the outside of the mold, I am ready.
I smoke my molds with a candle. I keep the flame real near the mold. It soots the mold.
The TL-160, looks like a small .45 mold. I have the 200gn mold, 452-200RF. That is perhaps the sweetest mold I have. It pours real nice. Your smaller mold should be about the same. The key is pouring directly into the opening. When the sprue buttons flash over, then push the sprue plate. It should just push easily. I use a dop of beeswax to lubricate the sprue plate. The bullets will have to be either pushed, or shocked out of the mold. I prefer to push them out with the same dowel I use to open the sprue plate. I am not sure you will be able to use both molds at the same time. They are aluminum. Once my mold is up to heat, it goes faster than my hands can open them without cramping. I drop the bullets into cold water.
My advice, turn on the pot for a few. Stir untill the lead stops leaking. I get some at start up, and shut down. No biggee.
I have also found, adjusting sitting angle makes a difference with pouring. Could be me, but, I find a certain angle and I make less of a mess on missing the sprue opening.
Once you get it dialed in, you gonna love molding. With your size mold, I doubt you will get it hot enough to worry about it, and need to cool it down. A six hole maybe, but not that one.
You gonna have fun, once you break through the first few times.

[leftiye]

Swabbie, Your sprue holes freezing before the lead goes into the mold is either lead not hot enough, or a quite cold mold. Surely the mold, and probly the melt not hot enough

[runfiverun]

what do you got in the pot?
if you have too much copper in your mix it will freeze on ya,
and i think strontium and calcium forms will freeze the stream also
when i first get the dripper hot i like to run about a 1/2 lb through it to warm the spout.

[454PB]

I agree with lefiye, or maybe runfiverun. Either your melt and mould are too cool, or you have some contaminated alloy. I've used some babbitt that acted this way, because it had too much copper.

[DLCTEX]

Zinc contamination will freeze the spout also, just crank up the heat until it quits freezing and skim the lumps off the top of the melt. DALE

[swabbie]

OK..I turned up the pot temperature..added some linotype and stirred..held the mold and sprew plate in pot for 13 seconds....

at least I'm filling the mold cavities,and I'm gettin the best looking bullet bases after I use the sprew plate:roll:

bullets still not coming out nice..mold is about 1/2 " from spout and I.m dribblin.gonna order thermometer Thurs..don't know what else to try.have a new friend I met at the range who's gonna come over this week sometime.he usta cast

hope he remembers how to do it right?:confused:

[runfiverun]

did ya boil and scrub them molds hot water and dawn boiling them in a pot isnt excessive
gotta get them lees clean....
and hot to cast with.. keep them in the pot ontill the lead won't stick..

[swabbie]

thanks for all the info..I'm now the proud possessor of approx 25 CTL 160 2R boolits:mrgreen:

it's kinda like a ballet...usin 2 molds,figurin out when to open the sprew plates,etc.
Now I'm gonna scrub them molds like suggested.

got a friend I met at the range who's coming over Thurs to offer suggestions.He usta cast,but sold his stuff some years back. He wants to cast 45acp and mebbe some 8mm mauser.Guess I'll have ta buy a Mauser if he buys all the castin gear:Fire:

I can now use this.....:castmine: