First time casting

[Rifisher]

First time casting. This is 9mm using ww and a lee 6 cavity mold. Any help would be appreciated.

https://i.imgur.com/ZvDj4LE.jpg?1

[Tom_in_AZ]

Picture isn’t clear enough for me to tell. What are you having problems with?


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[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Rifisher,
welcome to the forum.
Those boolits look fine, from what I can see.

lube and size and load and shoot... :Fire:

...then report back... :coffeecom

[lightman]

They look fine from what I can see. If you had no troubles, good fill out and no wrinkles, you're good to go. The proof is in the shooting.

[OS OK]

BIG problem...I'm surprised you didn't notice. There ain't enough of em!

Welcome Aboard fish . . . c h a r l i e

[Rifisher]

Thanks guys. I think I have problem with the mold. These came out a little big and oval. Measure .363 to.368. I have a lee sizer in .356. This seems like a little big to size to me. What do yall think?

[OS OK]

Are you holding only the two mould handles shut when you pour..or..are you holding all three handles?

Have you held the mould shut with the sprue handle open and then held the mould up to the light to see if the mould is completely closed? There should be no light coming from the bottom of the mould through to the top between the mould halves as you are looking from the top side.

[Walter Laich]

you won't be able to size down in one step. They are way too big even for a .357 (yea I know we're talking about .001-2 of an inch)

which Lee mold # are you using?

sizing will round out the bullet if not too much out of round. Even if you can size this far down the lube groove(s) may get sized off the bullet

are you sure you don't have something between the mold halves keeping it from closing completely? Piece of lead or something. If you do find something use a piece of wood to get it off (popsicle stick)

Let us know, we're here to help

[Rifisher]

Trying to get the hang of posting pictures. Maybe this is a little better picture.

https://i.imgur.com/ZmKEYwK.jpg?1

[OS OK]

Wait about 3 seconds longer before opening the sprue handle.
You are tearing the Pb where it should be cut there on the heel of the cast.
When it's right it'll be smooth.


213276

Other than the cut they look pretty dang good!

[Rifisher]

Yes just the 2 handles. Will have to check the mold more closely tomorrow. Thanks for the advice.

[Rifisher]

Walter

I'll check it more closely tomorrow. Thanks for the help.

[Thumbcocker]

.356 will probably be a bit small.

[brewer12345]

I had the exact same problem in my last session. Either I had a piece of lead in the mold or I was manhandling the sprue plate.

[Bookworm]

I had that problem with a Lee 6- cav 358-200RF. Boolits started out at .360, and kept getting bigger and bigger. I tried 3 sessions, the boolits getting up to .365 before I figured out what was happening.
When I got out the loupe and looked closely, I discovered lead flecks on the faces of the mold. I think that as the flecks multiplied, the mold gap widened, and the boolits grew.

I took a new razor blade, and very gently fixed the problem. Now that mold throws round, at .359.

[bosterr]

I have that same mold and they drop right at .3570. You may have specks of lead on the mold faces.

[Rifisher]

I'll check the mold tomorrow. Was planning on powder coating these but may melt them down and try casting again.

What size should I size for a 9MM.

Thanks for the help.

[OS OK]

I use a .3575" Lee push through on a PC'd 14 BHN mixture but I don't try to get +P+ velocities though. I think 1,050 FPS if memory serves.

[Strtspdlx]

what are you using to measure these boolits? I wouldn't put much faith in a tool for measuring unless it says fowler, starrett or mitutoyo, fowler being in my opinion the best bang for the buck. make sure your tools measure accurately. otherwise your running in circles for nothing. I say that because usually being that large youll see a bit of finning at the parting line of the mold especially with how hot some of those boolits are (surface finish is rough estimate of temp of mold and alloy overall and a lot of other variables). anyhow id expect to see some finning or such. but 5 thousandths difference if measured 90* apart with the parting line measurement being the smaller would indicate the mold isn't closing completely.

[wistlepig1]

After you clean the mold the second casting will go better. Enjoy and shoot your new addiction!Or get out now before casting really "save you money"

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I'll check the mold tomorrow. Was planning on powder coating these but may melt them down and try casting again.

What size should I size for a 9MM.

Thanks for the help.

I would melt those oversize boolits. cast more.
They should be .356 to .359 from that mold.
I size my 9mm boolits to .357
good Luck.

[marek313]

There is def a line on those boolits as if that mold wasnt closed all the way or maybe there was something on the mold. I'm sure thats the reason behind large boolits. Your mold should close tight enough that there should be barely any light visible through it. I think there is something that prevents that mold from closing all the way. Its probably something as stupid as a lead flake here or there.

Also sometimes i noticed people closing their mold and closing sprue plate so hard that they reopen mold and get large boolits like this. Make sure mold is closed all the way. Dont force sprue plate when closing. It doesnt even need to be shut super tight. Watch the gap between mold halfs when you cast and make sure thats tight.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Well, you certainly did many things right to get those nice boolits on your first shot. I would melt them and give it another go.