2nd attempt at casting

[Nodakjohns]

Well today I made my 2nd attempt to cast. Did it in front of my garage door outside. Was fairly windy. I set up my portable shooting stand as a casting table. The first problem was my hot plate to warm my molds was inside the garage. My door is/was frozen shut so I had to walk around to get my mold. I never set up a wind break for my PID controlled 4-20 Lee bottom pour. So the nozzle froze up a bunch of times. I was attempting to cast with a new NOE 4 hole brass mold for 45-70. It is a hollow point mold. My melt was set up at 725° F. I ended up with maybe 20 good bullets. The rest were rejects. Most were wrinkled. I attribute that to the mold being to cold. I also think I should have raised my temp to maybe 750°. The wait time while I fired up my torch to unplug the nozzle contributed greatly to keeping my mold cold. My first session last week was a great success but I feel I learned more with this session!

[Bazoo]

Ambient temperature / wind will affect mould and lead temperature after the lead leaves the pot.

[Dusty Bannister]

It is always good when you feel like you learned something. Then there are days when for absolutely no reason at all, things just do not work. Give it a good try, then go do something else. Next time will be better. Dusty

[Winger Ed.]

Gosh it sounds cold up there.
You need to get the temp up all the way around- the air and all.
Your mold may be cooling too quickly, raising the lead temp may or may not help that much.

It might also be so cold that when the molten lead hits the air, it wants to turn around and climb back up into the pot.

[big bore 99]

Wind is not your friend.

[Bazoo]

You should make a note of the conditions and results. Just start a log on a sheet of paper. You'll be able to go back and review your notes so you don't make the same mistakes later on.

[kevin c]

Right now the wind is causing me problems casting outdoors, and that's in California and casting ten # INGOTS from a 250 pound pot over a double jet propane burner. I'm having a hard time imagining casting in the wind in Minnesota right now.

I haven't used a hollow point mold (though I have one for my .44); are they temp sensitive?

[Land Owner]

Cold spru plates often account for high reject rates. The lead has to first traverse the spru plate and then warm the mold, both of which lead to wrinkles. Heat the spru plate more as the mold is likely to heat as well. Reject rate should decrease.

[daloper]

I always wait until it warms up to cast. Starting in late spring until fall I will try to cast and PC all that I need for the winter. The problem is that last summer I started casting for my new RIA 1911 with a 452-460. Did not cast enough to get me through the year. Come on warm weather.

[Nodakjohns]

My next purchase will be a mold for my Ruger 1911. NOE was running a sale last week and I wanted a brass 4 hole. Problem was they were out of them. I will wait for better conditions to try my hand at casting again. I bought a Lyman 4500 on evilbay and I am awaiting on ordered parts for it to try to finish my bullets that way. Also my molds are gs and awaiting them to come in too. By the time the snow melts I should almost be up to speed !

[cwlongshot]

I always wait until it warms up to cast. Starting in late spring until fall I will try to cast and PC all that I need for the winter. I AGREE!!!

Cant do some things in some weather, don't handicap yourself. I know ya want to, we all love it too! But waiting till conditions dictate is simply part of the deal. For me 45-75 are when I cast. I'll cast into the summer heat too, just limit that to early and late in the day in the shade. That's spring and summer.

I PC any time I can tolerate the temps. I do ALL of these things in and like you in front of the garage. I built a high narrow outside bench with a vice attached in front of the garage and its perfect for casting.

Saturday and yesterday we saw high 50's and I cast ALL WEEKEND! Sat was drizzly snow and rain so I merely moved inside the garage opened the garage door 1/2 and the back door 100% GOOD air flow thru the space is key. I did go a lil overboard, but it was because I have been waiting for the weather to break!! Also my good friend and casting Mentor let me borrow a bunch of molds! I cast nearly 100# of bullets over the last two days!!

Stick with it, it will come, if you have a smaller caliber, it might be better to learn on, smaller calibers tend to cast easier quicker.

Good luck,
CW

[JBinMN]

Daloper said it, & then cwlongshot just described the same attitude I have about casting, as well as shooting...

There is a reason why I have not been casting yet this year here in MN. Current weather conditions.
IMO, they just are not in the "window" or "range" of decent enough conditions. One of the reasons I cast a bunch in the Fall before the conditions "window/range" closes for me. Until I get the casting area set up in the garage, of course.
;)

Nodakjohn just found out why, IMO, if someone is not going to cast indoors (with a ventilated system) in poor weather conditions for casting, they may end up not getting the results they desire. If the temps are not up there outside & the wind is going to be an issue, I simply just wait for another time. I don't want to have any more culled rejects than necessary in the best of times to cast, let alone increase the amount of them because the conditions were less than desired.

I feel the same about shooting. If it is a crappy day, if I do not "have" to shoot, I don't. Of course, some days of hunting one has to just deal with conditions, but to spend an afternoon shooting at cans & targets & it is real windy or drizzling rain, etc., is not my idea of fun. I just wait until another day.

Nodakjohn, You will eventually get the right day & get some made that you like, and then more fun comes when ya put them together & shoot em!

G'Luck!
:)

[mdi]

If it's cold enough to freeze a garage door shut, what the H*!! are you doing outside?? Don't overthink all the "reported dangers" of casting inside. Just use a small fan to blow the smoke away from you and don't stand over the pot when you do your deep breathing exercises. You describe what happens when you cast outside quite well, no need to go through all that, just use common sense and cast where the conditions are more humane...

[gwpercle]

" my door is / was frozen shut " .... Too cold to be casting and with the wind blowing ... that's like swimming with a concrete block tied around your neck. Go back indoors and wait until all the ice has melted .... you fighting a loosing battle with mother nature ...she's going to win every time .

[RED BEAR]

I must say when i cast the colder the better . I have trouble breathing in warm weather so the vast majority of my casting is in winter. But i am inside a garage so wind isn't much of a problem. Lee molds heat up quicker but also cool down quicker the wrinkes i get are from oil on mold or mold being to cold. You might want to get hot plate to heat mold they are only about 10 dollars. My bad i thought you were using a lee mold

[Yodogsandman]

I've cast down to zero degrees but, never in the open with a wind. Keep out of the wind, inside the garage with just a slight cross breeze. Keep your face away from any fumes. I go inside for a few minutes after fluxing and let the fumes go away. I like Carhart bib overalls when it's cold out there, too!

[Nodakjohns]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I would have cast in the garage but all the snow melt had run into the unheated garage and froze to the floor. I had an ice rink in there. Sad part is that's where my single outlet is. And yes I do have a hot plate for the molds. With a cutout can turned upside down to house my molds when heating up. I am looking at getting a six cavity mold for my .45 acp next pay period. (I snuck off to the scrap yard today and picked up 130# of lead) so I plan on trying smaller boolits next.
Question ??? Can a person throw tin foil into his melt ! Or do they only make aluminum foil now? Hmmm gonna have to check up on that.

[Yodogsandman]

Sorry, not tin.

Hallmarked pewter is at least 92% tin. Look in thrift shops and yards sales.

Plumbing supply has 50/50 lead/tin bar solder and 95/5 tin/silver solder.

Radiator shops have 67/33 lead/tin solder scraps.

[44Blam]

The hollow points are also tricky. The tip inside has to be hot too or they stick or the nose comes out messed up. I always think it would be cool to have the hps...until I start casting them. You really have to get everything hot and keep it that way. The cup points are much easier.

All in all, getting 20 good 400 grain hollow point boolits when it is cold enough to freeze a garage door...you are doing quite well!

[fredj338]

Brass molds have to run really hot for best results IMO. I have one, will never have another. If you can cast fast enough once the mold comes up to temp, you should get good results. Outside in freezing weather, not the best place for that.

[fredj338]

Question ??? Can a person throw tin foil into his melt ! Or do they only make aluminum foil now? Hmmm gonna have to check up on that.

For decades it has been alum foil. If you want tin, pewter or solder or actual tin from a source like Rotometals.

[fredj338]

Right now the wind is causing me problems casting outdoors, and that's in California and casting ten # INGOTS from a 250 pound pot over a double jet propane burner. I'm having a hard time imagining casting in the wind in Minnesota right now.

I haven't used a hollow point mold (though I have one for my .44); are they temp sensitive?

The issue is keeping the HP pin hot enough. If it is integral to the mold, you just have to cast fast enough to keep things hot. If separate, then preheating the pin helps a lot. With my separate pin molds, I heat the mold up sitting on the side of the pot. When I get ready to cast I put the pin in nose down in the lead to heat up, assemble & start casting. Keep up a good pace & there are few rejects.