First cast tomorrow...

[Ky-Dave]

New guy here, real excited to learn. I’ve reloaded for a few years but never casted. I’m hoping to melt my first pot tomorrow. I’ve read through most of the Lyman casting book. I’ve read some of the Veral Smith book. I have gloves and glasses. I’ll be set up outside , calling for sun and 50 degrees here tomorrow. I have saw dust for flux and a trip to the thrift store netted me some steel spoons today. I have some pure lead that I’m gonna cast into balls for slugging my 9mm barrels. I’ll ingot what’s left.
I’ve also got an RCBS 160 gr swc mould ready for some wheel weight ingots.
I’ll clean up these molds tonight with soap and water.
Is there any other advice or tips I should consider before I fire up the Lyman pot tomorrow?
Thank you for any and all advice.
David.

[Bazoo]

Cleaning the moulds now and casting tomorrow will cause them to rust overnight. I coat mine with mineral oil but have used remoil, and don't wash them. I had a few get some rust spots after a month or two stored when I coated with remoil. That's why I use mineral oil now. I brush it on with a small paintbrush, just in the cavities normally.

The way I ready a mould is. Remove the sprue plate. Wipe any oil off the plate and mould. Color the mould top and the sprue cutter's underneath with a pencil. Color the sprue plate pivot hole and screw post. Color the alignment pins and beginning of their holes. I just use a rag to remove excess oil from all over but leave a film. When the mould is getting hot I open the sprue cutter and fill the cavities with lighter fluid. It boils but doesn't flame up. When the mould is hot I cast with it. If it's contaminated by something that the first lighter fluid treatment didn't get I do it again and spritz the block faces. A carpenters or regular pencil does well to remove lead smears and specks when casting.

Welcome to the forum. Where in ky are ya?

Post script.

If you're going to be outside, set up a cardboard box or some wood to block the wind, if it's windy. Wind will cut your mould temperature so fast you won't be able to keep up.

Fluxing with sawdust is fine for cleaning wheel weights, but wax does much better to help the lead flow for casting and to reduce the oxide back in.

[Winger Ed.]

You're off to a good start.

As said, shield your operation from the wind.

I don't clean molds until right before I use them, and hose 'em off with motorcycle chain oil as soon as they cool down to being just warm.
After a favorite mold rusted & ruined, if I'm not going to use a mold for a long time, I store it in a old jelly jar full of motor oil.

[Mk42gunner]

Good luck, don't get discouraged if the first few aren't perfect.

Remember that any and all rejects can be remelted and cast again.

Robert

[onelight]

Welcome to the forum and casting .
Balls for slugging your barrel will be a good choice for first bullets .

[Kylongrifle32]

Welcome aboard Dave. Lots of good information can be found here. I use a can of automotive brake clean from any parts store for cleaning my molds. I give them a go spraying and let air dry for a few minutes. I then place the mold on a single burner propane back pack stove with a piece of metal plate on the burner to preheat the mold.

I'm in Owen county where are you located?

[beagle]

Welcome to the place here. Just jump in and give it a try and then, when you have questions come back and ask and you will have questions. It's a rewarding learning experience./beagle

[Thumbcocker]

No need to reoil molds. Get a GI ammo can with a good seal. Store molds in the can. Put the molds in the can while they are still hot. They will not rust.

[Three44s]

Welcome to a new caster!

I would add desiccant packs with mold in a sealed storage device over night. In KY, I would heed the light oil use as well for longer storage.

Beginning casting has to be read, ask,try, ask, read, try, ask try, etc.

You just don’t go out and hit a home run just like that. It’s not difficult but it’s not child’s play either!

Kudos for joining us and hang in there as it will come to fruition!

Three44s

[JoeJames]

Number one! Don't get discouraged. It was a struggle for me, but it finally ended up being worth it. Few things compare to shooting your own boolits and then finding out they are as accurate as store bought.

[3leggedturtle]

Dont over think it, just start and get into a rhythm and routine first. Cast for about 20-30mins then check your boolits and see how they are filling out and looking. Todd/3leg

[lightman]

Welcome to the site and to the hobby.

Don't get discouraged if your first efforts fail. Hardly any of us were successful on the first attempt. Mistakes can be recycled!

[dale2242]

Here's hoping you had success.
Give an update on how it went.
Welcome to the forum.

[beagle]

Looking for a status report./beagle

[Conditor22]

always wear eye-protection (everything else can heal or you can live with the scars)
pre-heat / warm the molds on a hotplate to 400°,

I usually cast between 680-720° (750° for pure)

Make sure your casting pot is on a stable surface (many people like to attach/clamp the pot to the surface to prevent any accidental dumping of the pot.

don't cast or reload impaired or distracted

I find fluxing with both sawdust and wax gives me a cleaner alloy.

set the top of the mold apr 3/8-1/2 inch below the spout

if you get wrinkles in the boolit its either there is still oil in the cavities or the mold is too cold (lately I've been using brake cleaner/carb cleaner/acetone and a denture scrub brush for cleaning my molds cavities

Leave a decent puddle of lead over each cavity (you're not wasting any lead, it all goes back in the pot)

We want pictures and a report when you get done (pictures directly loaded to this site need to be under 200kb most prefer to use a photo service like Imgur or?

[Ky-Dave]

I want thank everyone for the warm welcome and pointers. I had a great time trying this out and learned some too. My casting furnace does not like the gfci plugs outside. The cheap muffin pan is still holding two of my ingots. The brake clean worked great to clean the molds prior to use. The pure lead balls were cast cold and wrinkly, but they should serve their purpose. I used what I think is wheel weight ingots to cast 357 swc. They got better as I went. The first ones were wrinkled and I thought it was from slow pour , but may have just been the cool mould. I’m pretty happy with how they turned out. There will be a quite a few rejects but these appear usable.
Thanks again for all he encouragement.
David

[Bazoo]

Don't forget a bullet with a slight wrinkle or lightly rounded band will still shoot fine if you're not looking for the best accuracy.

If you're casting without a hot plate, a little trick I've learned. Remove the handles and put them in the melt for 5 minutes. Get them hot. Then attach the mould carefully. The handles have to be up to temperature too, and will suck heat out of the mould until they are.

Keep all the screwdrivers and wrenches needed to tighten everything on the mould handy, when it does come loose you won't have to stop long enough for the mould to cool.

Personally, I dont cast with gloves normally, but if I do I use thin jersey gloves. Be careful because the gloves will leave a bit of color on the mould if you touch it hot.

[Mk42gunner]

It is a learning experience. You will find that some items and techniques work well for you, some don't.

The muffin tin will release ingot better if you leave it outside to get rained on and rust a bit. I got tired of mine and made a few ingot molds from angle iron.

Your boolits look a heck of a lot better than my first attempt, congratulations.

Robert

[Hossfly]

Man those boolits look excellent. A lot better than mine did, just takes time to get good. You can also add some tin as in plumbing soft solder, will help with fill out in corners. Kind of expensive, but not too bad. Look at flea mats or garage sales would be like almost free.

[popper]

The trick to muffin ingots is dumping before the PAN cools. It contracts more than the alloy.

[Alstep]

Welcome to the site & the casting disease, for which there is no cure!
Nice boolets on your first try. Far better results than I had when I first started.
Above all else, THINK SAFETY! You're only given 1 pair of eyes, so take heed. Pb & H2O don't mix! Don't let water get near your work area.
This hobby is a constant learning experience, always new skills to discover. You're off to a good start.

[Bazoo]

If water gets below the surface of the melt, it will cause a steam explosion. So, adding wheel weights to molten lead is a bad idea unless the utmost in causion is taken to ensure they are 100% dry. I keep my weights inside and with a lid on the bucket.

[Three44s]

Heck, we better watch! This rookie might just make us look bad!

Wish my firsts had looked that good!

Seriously, well done KY-Dave!

I grade my castings and create two to four grades of newly cast boolits.

#1s are top grade and for my most serious job.

#2s go for less serious work

#3 goes for dirt clod busting

#4s go back in the pot!

Three44s

[44Blam]

Nice looking boolits!

[Thumbcocker]

If that muffin pan is steel instead of aluminum it will be plated in tin. If you pour melted lead into the tin plated muffin pan they will solder to it and you will have to melt them out. Ask me how I know.