Very first mold!

[kmw1954]

Today I received my very first Boolit mold. It is a Lee 356-102-1R and the excitement is building! Right now I have it in a cup of mineral spirits to degrease and then I have some other metal cleaner that was made for electrical contacts and such.

Now somewhere I remember reading about heat treating these molds before using them but I cannot find the thread. So if anyone can point me in the right direction I would appreciate it.

[Wheelguns 1961]

Use a toothbrush and some dawn to clean. Then I heat cycle mine 3-4 times. Then I clean it again. Then I try to cast with it. It works for me. YMMV. By heat cycle, I bring it up to casting temp which is usually #3 on my hot plate for an aluminum mold. This takes about 20min. Then I let it cool to room temp.

[kmw1954]

When you heat cycle these exactly how are you doing it and at what temp for how long?

[fcvan]

My first Lee Precision mold was a 356.125RN. It dropped .358 so it workerd great for my S&W 459 and later S&W M13, mostly shot as .38 Special. I am at close to 700K cast from that mold (35 years and counting) and is still my go to for 9mm and 38sp. I did have to re-tap and replace the sprue plate screw at about 500k.

I own the 102gr RN, and bought that mostly for .380 ACP, but occasionally 9MM. The 102RN and it also casts fat, suitable for .38sp. Of late, I use the 102rn for 9mm launched in an AR15 chambered for 9mm. I like Lee, but I do have some RSBS, SAECO, Lyman, and NOE molds.

[jonp]

Congrats on the first of many molds. I have not heat treated any lee molds and they seem to work fine for me. Washed in Dawn and scrubbed with a toothbrush then dried.
Preheated on a hot plate and Beeswax on the pin. Start casting.

[bosterr]

Mineral spirits may leave an oily residue. Dawn dish soap or brake clean or acetone may be a better choice.

[gwpercle]

When you heat cycle these exactly how are you doing it and at what temp for how long?

After getting mould free of grease start casting boolits , don't worry about the boolits, cast at a good pace to heat the mould . I cast until the boolits start showing frosty...good and hot . Fill the cavities , set the mould on top of the pot , cut the heat off and let everything cool down .
Repeat the process two more times . Start with a degreasing , I use acetone or brake cleaner to degrease ...I don,t like water in my moulds...causes rust !
Throw all these boolits back in the pot ...most will have defects .

After the three heating and cooling sessions the oils will be out and the cavities seasoned and you should be casting like a champ .

Look in the stickies for additional info on prepping lee moulds and breaking them in...good info to follow .
Gary

[OS OK]

I boiled mine for 15 minutes with the Dawn dish soap...poured the soapy water and oil off, filled with fresh hot tap water, softened well water and boiled again.
Put the pan under the faucet and ran hot tap water so any remaining soap and oil would go over the edge first.

https://i.imgur.com/D25Xikw.jpg

Put it in the oven next, preheated to 400ºƒ and let it sit for 30 minutes.

https://i.imgur.com/hQEvYYD.jpg

Brought it out each time and let it cool to room/touch temperature.
After three cycles, I assembled & lubed the screw threads, sprue hinge & alignment pins with hi-temp anti-seize.

https://i.imgur.com/XNqWFYS.jpg

I rubbed graphite into the pins and their connecting hardware so the HP's wouldn't stick and they'd slide in and out with ease...
After that it was ready to pre-heat once more...this time to cast with.

[megasupermagnum]

I take a much lazier approach, and it works fine for me. I scrub with dawn dish soap and a tooth brush and rinse under water. I then use a Q tip to lube the alignment pins and hollow point linkage if it has it with Klotz R50 2 stroke oil (any 2 stroke oil works). After that I heat up and cast as normal. After a few casts I'll lube the sprue plate with bullets still in the cavities to prevent oil getting in. I don't heat cycle, I personally don't think it does anything. It does no harm either. This is exactly the same whether its a brand new mold, or one decades old.

[Texas by God]

I am super lazy by comparison. I spray a new mould liberally with B12 carb cleaner. When dry, I smoke the cavities with kitchen matches. Then I cast boolits. Low tech but works for me.

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[megasupermagnum]

I am super lazy by comparison. I spray a new mould liberally with B12 carb cleaner. When dry, I smoke the cavities with kitchen matches. Then I cast boolits. Low tech but works for me.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

B12 isn't playing around. It is the only old school carb cleaner left. Don't get it on your skin. It does a phenomenal job of cleaning stuff.

[kmw1954]

Well I'm hoping it's nice outside tomorrow and not raining and I can again hopefully give this a go!

[Winger Ed.]

I wouldn't bother with the mineral spirits. Its just a thin oil anyway.

I'd go straight to dish soap, dry it off, then the carberator cleaner.

[WheelgunConvert]

Welcome to our addiction. Counselors are standing by 24/7/365 on this site with answers to every issue imaginable.

Wear your protective equipment, and enjoy yourself. If your first batch is less than perfect, you are in good company. Pick out some, size if needed, lube or coat, load and shoot em. It’ll give you a sense of pride and encourage you to develop your art.

[flyingmonkey35]

I use carb cleaner myself

And Franklin arsenal drop out spray for lee molds.

Easy stuff.

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[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Welcome to our addiction. Counselors are standing by 24/7/365 on this site with answers to every issue imaginable.

Wear your protective equipment, and enjoy yourself. If your first batch is less than perfect, you are in good company. Pick out some, size if needed, lube or coat, load and shoot em. It’ll give you a sense of pride and encourage you to develop your art.

YES...THIS ^ ^ ^ :bigsmyl2:

Seriously, While I have many expensive molds, that I have heat cycled, I have never heat cycled a Lee mold.
I just wash a Lee mold with hot tap water and Dish soap and a toothbrush, let it dry, then preheat on a hot plate or the top of the Lead furnace...and start casting. You are almost guaranteed to have wrinkly boolits with the first several casts of a new lee mold. No worries, just keep casting. What you are looking for is a rhythm that the mold likes...which is basically the amount of time in between pouring and dropping and re-pouring. Varying those times will vary the temperature of the mold...which is the KEY factor in having a mold dropping perfect boolits.

[robg]

wash them then start casting ,after the first few you will be up to temp and all should be well

[cwlongshot]

100% agree!!

Mineral spirits may leave an oily residue. Dawn dish soap or brake clean or acetone may be a better choice.

Just wash hot soapy water and rinse then cycle just like powder coat. 400/20 minutes and air cool repeat. (No handles of coarse.)
Then when ya start casting set the mold on top Of the pot and let it get HOT! Your cadiance will determine next course of events. But expect to trash the first 2-10 castings for wrinkles or something. If getting wrinkles still you are either too cold or you still have something forein on/in the mold. Turn up the lead and spray the mold out with brake cleaner Aerosol. Then continue casting. Some times it takes a bit sometimes your good right outta the gate. One never really knows.

Its fun and fulfilling. Hope you enjoy as much as we all do!

CW

[DukeInFlorida]

Since no one really answered his question as to WHY the heat cycling.......

The molds are machined from rolled long bars of aluminum or brass. Those rolled bars then get cut into chunks of the right size and machined. What the heat cycling does is relieve the stress from the rolled bars, so that the two halves of the mold will align more properly from the very first pour into a cavity. Obviously, just pouring 750 degree lead into the mold cavities eventually does this stress relieving anyways. It almost gets into Ford/Chevy type arguments. There isn't any real right or wrong answers. Same with cleaning the machining oils from the manufacturing process.

Welcome to the world of making your own. I strongly recommend that you read the FREE book from our own member, Glen Fryxell, "From-Ingot-to-Target-A-Cast-Bullet-Guide-for-Handgunners":
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?110212-From-Ingot-to-Target-A-Cast-Bullet-Guide-for-Handgunners

[kmw1954]

Thank you everyone! Have a few chores to do this morning and then I hope to get outside and try this new mold and attempt my first casting session.

[reddog81]

I use acetone to clean the cavities and then start casting. Pouring 750 degree lead into the cavities will heat treat that mold just fine. Going through a ritual might make some people feel good, but it isn't necessary.

Once the mold is clean and free of oils there's no need to clean it again and again with different chemicals.

[quilbilly]

I am even lazier. I don't even clean my Lee molds. I just start casting boolits and discard them until the mold is good and warm then smoke the mold with a BBQ fir lighter. Don't smoke the mold until it is is hot enough to vaporize the moisture in the carbon from the lighter or the tinsel fairy will pay you a visit. This does not apply to iron or brass molds which I do rub down with acetone to clean before first use.

[lightman]

First Mold, well you're hooked now! When you get your melting set up perfected you'll be ready to go.

[gwpercle]

Lee claims the heat cycling is done to set and hold the new locating pins in place.
I'm not sure if this is true but none of my pins have come out.
I feel the heat cycling seasons the mould cavities so you don't have to smoke them .
Gary

[kmw1954]

So I didn't get to try out that new mold today but I did get to finish up rendering and cleaning all the COWW's. This bucket netted 80# of COWW's and I still have 20# of SOWW's.

Had to quit for the day as I got very tired and it looks like rain is moving in. So I'm packing it in for the day. No longer feel like a virgin and actually gained some real perspective on this whole process.

[megasupermagnum]

Lee claims the heat cycling is done to set and hold the new locating pins in place.
I'm not sure if this is true but none of my pins have come out.
I feel the heat cycling seasons the mould cavities so you don't have to smoke them .
Gary

I've never had pins move either. When I first started casting I followed LEE's instructions. I don't remember heat cycling, I must have done it though. I also smoked the cavities. I think I did two molds like this until I started reading. Since then I have not smoked any molds, and have no problems having bullets drop out even on a brand new mold. Heat control is the only thing that has any meaningful effect on bullet quality, and bullet sticking in my experience.

The only mold maker I can think of that recommends heat cycling is NOE. Tom at Accurate molds specifically says it is a waste of time. He even sonic cleans his molds, and says you can run them straight out of the box.

[DukeInFlorida]

Congrats on the COWW's. Those would be good for casting your first boolits. Please note that the stick on wheel weights are just about PURE lead, and won't make good pistol bullets. I use those for making the black powder projectiles, which need very soft lead.

[mdi]

Well, yer hooked now! Better create an account with a mold manufacturer/vendor 'cause there will prolly be more to follow soon.

I start with a hot water/dawn wash and dry. With nothing on the mold, I "cycle" it on my hot pate several/a few times. Hot plate on high, heat mold until it is as hot as it's gonna get then cool. Repeat several times. Then I'll use a q-tip dampened with 2-cycle motor oil to lube the pins and sprue plate hinge screw. I carefully wipe the underside of the sprue plate, keeping any oil from getting in the cavity. Then I start casting. I preheat on the hotplate @ medium and rarely do my boolits fail after 3 or 4 casts, and some will start dropping keepers right from the start. I often will squirt the cavities with brake clean (I use non chlorinated in my shop) before each session. I put noting in the cavities except my alloys, no smoke soot, no mold release, nuttin'.

[kmw1954]

Sincere thanks to everyone that has provided help and guidance, if I do not respond or reply doesn't mean I'm not listening. There are just so many differing views and opinions. I think I've settled on a procedure that I am going to try and that is this; I have already soaked and brushed the mold in mineral spirits so now I will wash it in very hot soapy water only because I misplaced a can of metal parts cleaner that is also used to clean electrical contacts. Then I will try the hot plate preheat on high then cool ten reheat before the 1st pour. Will also try extra large sprue puddle to help heat that up, then see what happens.

[cwlongshot]

You will Learn with time and experience.

Here is a tip, Tin in your allow helps with fill out. NOT a issue with hard lino mixes as there is enough tin. But as we use range lead recycled tin is in smaller and smaller amounts. Many of us buy pewter and portion it so we can add some if we find a pot not acting as we like.

Large puddles can help heat but more often if your cadence is rapid you will OVER HEAT a mold. At the same time a adequate puddle is needed for fill out and complete base fill out.

Good luck and have fun!

CW

[Celto]

observations of a beginner caster....got my lyman mold cleaned it and brought it to temp a few times on the pot and casting,,,,i have cast round balls for bench rest for years but found these 50-70 boolits a little different cast 20 or so and was getting lots of wrinkles so experimented with temp a bit pot and mold and think mold temp is more important i found that when the lead puddled and stayed liquid in the sprue hole for a couple of seconds it worked best! tossed out 30 shiny clean boolits! when its right its right...all comments appreciated