How do these look?

[Mjdd23]

212679
I casted these last night using a Lee #20 bottom pour pot 50/50 soft lead and coww wih some pewter added. I have a Lee 2 cavity mold I received for Christmas 200 grain for my 35 Remington. They just don't have that well defined look that I see everyone else posting. Any suggestions? I flux with saw dust and tried different temps. They drop out of the mold great.

[Bzcraig]

They look great! Even if they were ugly they'd shoot!

[Mjdd23]

This is true! After i powder coat them they'll look ok. I want to shoot them lubed and gas checked to see how they do.

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

Those look fine as far as I can tell. Keep in mind, you're using a $20 mold and not a $150 mold. Nothing wrong with Lee 2 cavities. But it's probably reasonable to adjust your expectations a touch. Lube them up and go shoot!

[jcren]

Look fine. Try running the mold a bit hotter to get the lead to flow into the nooks and crannies better. Basically, either pre-heat or pour more cast per minute without inspecting the bullets until you stop for a break. If the sprue is setting in 5 seconds or so, but they still don't seem to fill as well as you would like, cut the sprue and swing the plate back but wait 3-5 seconds before opening the mold. This will allow the mold to absorb more heat from the bullets without overheating the sprue plate. Also, the mold will cast better after several sessions, it's a patina thing. Great start, keep it up!

[BigBore45]

Look good. They will shoot fine. Welcome to the realm of super sonic cast bullets!

[earlmck]

I don't see anything wrong with those: your 35 Rem is going to think they are fine. That's my favorite boolit for 35 Rem -- yeah, Lee's iteration of RCBS's version of Lyman's 358315. You can load them to full power, but mine seem to shoot best when I keep in the 1700 to 1800 fps range.

[Mjdd23]

Thank you all for the replies and suggestions. I will try to get my mold a little hotter and see if they fill out better in the lube groove. The crimp groove usually looks ok to me. I've shot a few which I powder coated(with and without gas checks) and was really happy with the first attempt shooting cast from this gun. I am hoping the LLA lubed boolits shoot as well. I just started on my cast boolit journey so its a learning experience every time i fire up the lead pot. I'm having fun and have learned so much from this forum just by reading through the posts. Plus I'm saving money ��.

[lightman]

Those look pretty good. You might try increasing the flow from your bottom pour pot. Also give your mold a good scrubbing with something like Dawn and an old tooth brush, making sure your vent lines are clean.

[Texas by God]

Pretty is as pretty does. If they shoot good keep on rocking!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Mjdd23]

If they shoot good I won't worry if they are not looking perfect. I scrub the mold with dish detergent before every use then dry it out over the burner on my stove.
My spout on the bottom must have some gunk in it because it started shooting to the side until I in and outed the flow screw. I have yet to empty and clean the pot so that's what I'm going to do next. Could be some crud on the bottom because I can't get a real fast flow.

[mdi]

They look good to me. Try shooting them sized about .002" over groove diameter with a good lube first. You may not "need" to PC them...

If my alloy isn't real clean tiny chunks of gunk will partially clog the spout. Hint; keep a straightened paper clip on the bench and when a bit of grit gets stuck, run the paper clip through the shout...

[swheeler]

They look good to me, what size are they dropping from the mold?

[marek313]

I know your trying to make those nice super shiny boolits everyone is posting pics of around here. That takes some time and practice to get everything to the right temperature but honestly if you PC your better off running everything hot and get your boolits slightly frosty. PC sticks better to those and once you bake them you cant tell the difference anyway.

Those look fine to me. Load em up :guntootsmiley:

[Wm Cook]

I was unable to zoom in and see a super closeup of the finish but that said if you were concerned I would blindly recommend scrubbing the mold with a Comet paste and cast another 100 drops to get things broke in. Molds change the looks of their off springs after break in and there's a difference between clean and there's CLEAN when it comes to casting bullets. Its big deal. Just put your first 100 drops back into the pot. Keep your temperature in the 350 range and work on a fluid pour, drop, pour drop pattern. Got a Marlin 336 35 Remington myself. Using the Lyman 200 grain mold. That 200 grain with a spit of powder is such a hoot to shoot at 50 yards offhand or from the bench. Like eating candy. Good luck, Bill.

[Mjdd23]

This mold and alloy are dropping the boolits at .3575 and the bore slug measures .3565 so from what I've learned from reading this site the fitment is borderline good. I enlarged my Lee push thru sizer to .359 and when i size these they go thru you can see that only like half the boolit is touching the sizer. The boolit is too small. With the PC boolits it works better because the coating makes the boolit larger. I have another push thru sizer which I kept as is which sizes to .357 if i remember so i think i will try to get that one to .3575 so i can run them thru with the gas checks and try it that way with alox lube.
The paper clip is worth a try. What material stays on the bottom of the pot though? Isn't everything supposed to come to the top?

[Mjdd23]

I have to figure out how to reply to each post individually. I am using phone and it makes it more difficult.
Wouldn't the Comet scratch the aluminum and make the boolits even less smooth?

[mdi]

I've used Comet with oil to get a mold really clean and the Comet isn't too aggressive/abrasive to enlarge the cavity (much less than .001"). I used a bullet as a lap and applied the Comet/oil to the mold and lapped stopping and checking the condition of the mold frequently.

Grit from sand and other junk that doesn't melt with the lead (perhaps carbon bits) migrate to the bottom of the pot and will clog the valve. Also with lower temperatures the spout can "freeze" and stop the flow.

I've only used a Lee pot, a Precision 4-20 for the last 18 or so years and while it does have it's minor troubles, I have had very little trouble. A few things done when a problem pops up; consistent dribbling/leaking, I lapped the needle valve. Often due to heating/cooling cycle the screws the hold the valve lever/slide work loose and change the pour speed so I just lock-tite them. I did add weight to the handle, about 1-2 oz of lead to make the action "snappier". I sit when casting low enough to see clearly the mold and spout and that eliminates some "alignment" trouble too.

Molds have their own personality and some need different tactics. With one of my Lee molds "pressure pouring" works best (spout against the sprue plate), and others like 1/2" from the spout, and one works best with a ladle...

Practice, practice, practice. Any "mistakes" can very easily be put back into the pot for another try...

[swheeler]

This mold and alloy are dropping the boolits at .3575 and the bore slug measures .3565 so from what I've learned from reading this site the fitment is borderline good. I enlarged my Lee push thru sizer to .359 and when i size these they go thru you can see that only like half the boolit is touching the sizer. The boolit is too small. With the PC boolits it works better because the coating makes the boolit larger. I have another push thru sizer which I kept as is which sizes to .357 if i remember so i think i will try to get that one to .3575 so i can run them thru with the gas checks and try it that way with alox lube.
The paper clip is worth a try. What material stays on the bottom of the pot though? Isn't everything supposed to come to the top?

I have the same mold and with 50-50 COWW-PB they drop .359+, I cast them lightly frosted.