Snapped the sprue handle off a mold today

[zxcvbob]

I was casting using some new soft lead that I bought. They were casting OK (Lee 6-banger), but the sprues seemed kind of hard to cut -- a lot tougher than with the hard lead that I usually use. The mold wasn't really up to temperature yet (boolits still a little wrinkled, but not bad.) Then, the handle broke off when I tried to shear the sprue plate. I had a devil of a time getting it all apart and getting the boolits loose.

I borrowed the sprue plate off a different mold and kept going. I'll call Lee tomorrow and see if they'll send me a new handle, or if I need to send them the broken handle, or if I need to send the whole mold back.

I added just a little bit of solder to the pot and stirred it, and the boolits didn't look any different but the sprues cut a lot easier. I really didn't expect that, but I'm not imagining it. I can still scratch them easily with my thumbnail; gonna use them in .38 Special target loads and see if they do better than the same ones cast with hard alloy.

[Leftoverdj]

That happens when you are casting cold, don't have the sprue plate fully over, and try to muscle it.

[zxcvbob]

The plate was fully over. (I'm careful to always check that.) Even with the cam, I was having to muscle it.

[docone31]

Your mold was too cold.

[MT Gianni]

Read how to warm up a lee mold.

[HeavyMetal]

The "hot" tip here ( yes that was a pun) is to always place any mold your working with on the pot as soon as you plug it in!

It will act as a pre heating set up. When you have the pot full, alloy fluxed and ready to start casting dip the forward end of the mold into the melt and leave it there until the alloy does not stick to it! With the 6 bangers I try to dip both ends as much as I can before I start casting. This will bring the mold up to temp and I then leave the first casting in for just a little longer than usual to also help get the mold hot! Usually my fisrt boolits are very frosted and thats just what I'm looking for! The mold will cool with continued use during you casting session and finally settle on a working temp that my or may not require a "fresh" dip in the pot!

Having a place to set the mold ( I use two and cast in tandum) that does not draw heat from the mold is very important as well! Glass, steel, cerimic materal, all of these can and will conduct heat! A hot plate set on low or a piece of plywood are less likely to cool your mold to much.

All I can tell you is I've got a pair of 9mm lee's and a pair of 45's that I have been using since the 6 bangers were first introduced and I still have the original handles on the sprue plates!

So I figure I must have something right.

[zxcvbob]

I always set the mold on a hotplate to warm it up, but I didn't leave it there long enough; I know the mold wasn't hot enough, but it wasn't cold either. I've never had this problem before when casting hard lead. I wonder if it has something to do with this pure lead having a considerably higher melting temperature than the alloys I normally use?

I agree that frosted boolits are a good sign, not a bad one.

Any idea why the sprues got easier to cut after I added a tiny bit of tin? (less that 1/2%) The mold wasn't any hotter.