First cast! Thank u all. (Pics)

[adam_mac84]

Lee 356-124 2R

Cleaned with dish soap. Lubed pins and spruce bolt area. Smoked with matches. Brought up to temp. And started.

Pitched first few. Found a lot of wrinkling. Was trying to go as fast as I could. Imagine 30* temp outside didn't help. Cast maybe 100-150. Plan to melt the most of them.

I played with time to cut sprue. Didn't seem to make a difference. Mostly it was probably 3-4 seconds after pour. Bottom pour pot.

Base of bullet look ok? How about those mold seams? Some of bases seem a bit out of round. But do seem sharp. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170312/4c1013ec4835ae392ebf233f9c7d1ca2.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170312/e601623ebdf796e31410aff805d34fbe.jpg


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[runfiverun]

your close.
work on the counting after seeing the sprue freeze.
the trick is to get things all warm then go into a long boring cruise speed.
I have a clock with a second hand behind the pots.

[adam_mac84]

Might sneak it into the basement after wifey goes to bed. So much better than the hours of smelting I have done getting ready for this day!


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[Walter Laich]

You didn't say if it is a 2 or 6-gang mold

Might want to put mold on hot plate while pot is heating up to speed things along at the beginning.

When I'm getting my mold up to casting temp I'll move the sprue plate out of the way (open) and pour lead right into the cavities.

Let it set for 5-10 seconds then open and drop the bullets all connected by the lead on top of the mold. Do this around half a dozen times

This way I'm not putting pressure on sprue plate when opening.

Close the sprue plate and fill one cavity and open and drop bullets, then fill 2, then 3... This way the sprue plate is not over-stressed. They will break if the lead is too hard (or you wait too long to open)

After the lead 'freezes' I usually wait 5 seconds or more.

OUT OF ROUND: mine get taken care of in the sizing operation.

Some folks figure the barrel will size them round way before they exit the front--does make some sense to me

[Smk SHoe]

Couple of the spur cuts seem to be a little off center. More than likely the spur plate wasn't perfectly centered. Don't worry about it. Long range rifle bullets it might affect, but at usual pistol ranges, it is not a factor. Wrinkle is probably from the mold not being up to the temp yet. Also, don't worry about it. Cast, Cast, and then Cast some more. They don't have to be perfect to shoot. Now, cast some good bullets and shoot. Once the casting addiction takes hold, then you can worry about perfection.

[adam_mac84]

Hoy vey. Just threw some calipers and got the scale out. .359+. And 130.5-131gr


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[daloper]

Where about in W Michigan? I'm in Sparta.

[adam_mac84]

GR. Shot a 3 gun at Sparta last summer


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[OS OK]

That cast is a slippery little bugger when you PC it huh?
When I'm placing them on the case for seating, many times they squirt out of my fingers like a watermelon seed!

[Shiloh]

.359 is fabulous.

Shiloh

[TexasGrunt]

It looks like you're cutting the sprue before it's cooled enough. In the first picture the boolit second from left is what you should be aiming for.

[jimb16]

I don't know how many have ever noticed, but when a bullet starts to cool, it solidifies in two stages. (solidus-liquidous curve) If you watch carefully, you can see it happen. First the antimony solidifies, then the lead. The sprue is solid, but shiny in the first stage, then it goes to a dull gray. Once it goes dull, I count to 10 (about 6-7 seconds) before cutting the sprue. Unless you are casting too hot, it will leave a much cleaner sprue mark.