new 6-cavity lee mold problem

[mkaye]

i am very new to this, so if there is a better thread to read, then please point me to it
i am trying to make .452 255g RNFP for cowboy shootin from wheel weights w/small Lee pot @6 on the dial (new Lee aluminum mold)
i watched the ammosmith videos on youtube & thought i had a good idea of what i was doing
i cleaned the mold with alcohol & sooted it with a match
i preheated the mold in the furnace for about 1 1/2 minutes and started dropping bullets (5 groups of 6, remelted & cleaned the pot & another 5 groups)
but none are smooth - all have rough spots
it takes about 2 seconds for the stream of lead to fill each cavity

do i:
still need to season the mold better?
i have tried to get a better stream, but i think it's all it can do
lead too hot?
lead too cool?
mold too cool?
mold too hot?
something else?

mark

[bedwards]

On a Lee mould, in my experience, you need to crank the heat up. On the Lee pot and Lee moulds, I run mine around 8 or 9 before it will make good boolits. The Lymans I have cast well around 7. Also, make sure you've cleaned the cavity well with spray brake cleaner. My Lee's like it hot enough that the dropped boolits show frosting on the surface.

good luck
be

[94Doug]

All of that, you may also find that after several heat ups and cool downs, the mould suddenly works fine too. Give it more time.

Doug

[AZ-Stew]

Your alloy could use a little more heat. In addition, it sounds like you could stand to increase the pour speed. Each cavity of that mould should fill in one second or less. Too fast can also cause problems. Experiment.

You might also want to use an old toothbrush and some diswashing soap (Dawn, etc.) to scrub the mould, followed by brake cleaner and a thorough drying (water + melted lead = steam explosion, throwing hot lead everywhere). If it still won't cast, try a light smoking with a butane lighter or match. No candles - they put oils back into the mould.

94 Doug is also correct. Give it some time and it will cast good boolits for you.

Regards,

Stew

[BrianB]

Two seconds seems like too long to fill the mold. My Lee pot, set on about 8, pours lead pretty fast. Heat your lead and mold. When you think your lead is completely heated, pour into your mold, wait a few seconds, let's say 15, drop the bullets and check them. After a few pours, the mold should be completely heated and bullets should have no lines and edges crisp. If that doesn't work, go a little hotter on the pot thermostat. Let us know if you continue to have problems. Somebody will figure it out.

[fredj338]

I assume a bottom pour 10#? Crank it to 7-8, then pour. It should fill each cav. in less than 1.5sec, 1001, then move. It sounds like the lead is not quite hot enough. The thin alum. Lee molds cool very quickly, so keep a steady rythum up. To preheat, I set the mold on the edge of the pot while it is heating up.

[mkaye]

thanks
you were right, the pot wasn't hot enough
i put it up to 9, but i was getting a frosting on the bullets so i backed it off to 8

how much of a defect do i need before i reject a bullet?

mark

[mooman76]

Your also going to have fits with a small Lee pot and a 6x mould. When you finnally do get it going good you'll run out of lead real quick. You need a bigger pot.

[epj]

Your also going to have fits with a small Lee pot and a 6x mould. When you finnally do get it going good you'll run out of lead real quick. You need a bigger pot.

I use a 10# Lee pot and a 6-cavity mold. My solution is to use a plumber's pot to keep lead preheated. I ladle hot lead into the Lee pot as needed. Works real well. I usually run the thermostat on max, but I'm casting pretty quickly and go through a lot of lead in a hurry.

[high standard 40]

What the others have said here about heat, speed of filling the mold, and giving the mold a chance to break in are all good advice. I would add try cleaning the mold and casting without smoking the mold at all. I have 2 different 6 cavity Lee molds and 5 other 2 cavity models and all of them work fine without smoking.
I tried smoking molds when I first started casting and always got better fillout without the smoke.

[AZ-Stew]

How much of a defect do i need before i reject a bullet?

mark

On the nose, doesn't matter much. At the corners of the base, any defect will cause accuracy problems. If you're a 4 inch group or greater shooter at 25 yards, don't worry too much about it. If you're a better shot than that, strive for perfect bases. Even the slightest rounding will screw up your groups, because the rounding is NEVER consistent all the way 'round the circumference of the base. Accuracy will suffer.

Regards,

Stew

[JIMinPHX]

You may need to add a little tin to your pot.

If you could post a few pictures, it might help us understand your problem better.

[Cowboy5780]

Ive got the same setup i use pure wheelweights and a bit of tin and run the pot wide open. After i cast a couple times to warm the mold the all fall out perfect

[mkaye]

i can now make a lot of acceptable bullets, but none are what i call perfect
here is photo of the usual defect
please let me know what i am doing wrong

mark

[Cannoneer]

i can now make a lot of acceptable bullets, but none are what i call perfect
here is photo of the usual defect
please let me know what i am doing wrong

mark

Looks like you have impurities in your alloy. You need to really flux your mix. You might try letting your stream of lead start before you let it go into the mold.

[powderburnerr]

kinda looks like your alloy is dirty................dean

[runfiverun]

thems oxides in there... flux.
i hope you aren't melting the ww's in the pot and trying to pour boolits too.

[mkaye]

nope, created ingots
i'll try a lot more flux and scraping the sides

mark


thems oxides in there... flux.
i hope you aren't melting the ww's in the pot and trying to pour boolits too.

[markinalpine]

1. Get a lead thermometer. Rotometals. Brownells. Most any on-line retailer.
2. Don't blindly believe what the thermometer indicates. It might say 750, but actually be hotter or cooler.
3. Different alloys may require different temperatures.
4. Different moulds may require different temperatures.
5. Make notes of the successful temps, alloys, moulds. Going back to 2 (above), even if the thermometer isn't dead correct, knowing that the alloy/mould works when it reads 750, use the thermostat setting that gives you 750.
6. 2 seconds per cavity with a 255gr boolit is about what I experience. My Lee 452-255-RF was inspected and deburred a little, cleaned with brake cleaner, lubed per the instructions with Bullplate, and hasn't needed smoking or any other releasing agent. One of the easiest to get going from the beginning. I pre-heat mine on a hotplate while the 20 Lb. melter is heating up and melting the first charge. I replenish the melt as I go along after the level drops by about a third with 2 or 3 (approx) pounds, or more if I take a break.

Good Luck,
Mark :coffeecom

[XWrench3]

i agree, impurities in the lead and/or a way to hot mold. i flux with 2 different things, one after the other. i flux with parafin first, let it flame away, WHILE STIRRING IT, AND AIR into the lead alloy. then, i get out the saw dust, sprinkle it on top, stir it in well, and leave it in there. dont wory about it until you get near the end of the pot. also, with my 6 holers, i have found (for me) that i need to start off HOT, until the mold gets really hot, then, crank the heat back down around 6-7, and cool the mold every 4-5 drops. i use a wet towel, and sit the mold on top of it for about 2 seconds. that combo for me is when i cast decent boolits. also, the lead needs to pour fast. 2 seconds is about right for all 6 holes! adjust the flow rate higher if you can. none of what i cast is worth beans until the mold gets hot, and then, they get really frosty, until i cool it back down a bit. seems like these aluminum molds are as finicky as a prissy school girl. if everything is not just so, they can make things dificult to say the least. it takes a while to learn these things. just experiment a bit, you'll find the right sequence.