First Session-Few Questions

[.45Cole]

I melted down a bucket of WW (mucho smoke) and cast them into bars (using a used RCBS bottom pour). I couldn't resist and tried my used 452460 4 cav and the bullets were not filling in and were wrinkled. At the end I added some tin solder and cranked up the heat (800-850 by the adjustment knob, but no thermometer), heating the mold by leaving bullets in mold to heat it, repeatidly?sp. The mold still wouldn't fill out the sharp edges and there was some wrinkled drive bands as well as sort of rounded bases but the mold was too hot to touch by hand. Can't post pics as I don't have a digital camera.
1. Heating temp OK?
2. Will the smoke from the melting of WW be harmful (I was outside and had a breeze to my back, but every once in a while caught a wiff.
3. How important is the composition of the alloy to accuracy, guestimated the tin ammount and next time casting will add more stick on wheelweights to help (about 75% clip and 25% stick on by hand weight) b/c I hear on here that stick ons are softer but have more tin where as clips have more antimony/arsenic for harder bullets (don't care about hardness, just consistence)
4. How important is the casting temp from batch to batch for accuracy?+
5. Can I offically used the :castmine: in my future posts????? even though they weren't up to par?
Thanks for your help, I couldn't find there answers after a quick search.

[beagle]

If you're outside, the smoke/fumes shouldn't bother you. Inside...be careful.

On the unfilled and wrinkled bullets, sounds like the mould isn't up to optimum casting temperature. Several ways to heat it up a bit. Open the flow valve on the furnace. This "gates" more lead faster into the mould. Cast faster. Place the mould blocks closer to the spout. Supposedly optimum mould temp for good bullets is 400 degrees but that's hard to measure. I'd up the heat a bit on teh furnace as well. If you're casting outside, the wind tends to cool the pot a bit also. 4 Cav moulds have to be hot before they make good bullets so cast until they're frosty and then back off a little.

On the casting temp from batch to batch. As long as you're getting good, filled out bullets, don't sweat it.

Alloy shouldn't make too much of a difference on the 452460s as I assume you're using them in a .45 ACP./beagle

[xr650]

I amuse that you cleaned your new mould well.