First casting, need opinions. (pics)

[AJ Peacock]

I finally cast some boolits today (my first ever!).

I used WW's. I first ran at 650F and the lube groove and base was horribly rounded. So I turned the heat up to 775F and they got better. Are these good enough, or should I try hotter? I cast for about 20 minutes, so am sure the mold had settled down.

Here is a pic (sure is hard to get good pics of these little buggers!)

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u193/AJPeacock_photos/random-forum-stuff/775F-ww-10-10-2009.jpg

Thanks for any opinions/advice.
AJ

[John Guedry]

If my first ones had come out anywhere near that good i'd have been one happy camper. Heck 14 years later they don't always look that good.

[Longrange]

If you dont want to shoot them send them to me I will. They look just fine to me.
[smilie=w:

[carpetman]

AJ Peacock--The base and lube grooves terribly rounded. Take a file to them and I bet you could flatten them.

[AJ Peacock]

Thanks for your opinions guys (and the humor Carpetman).

I'm pretty happy with my first attempt. The last 2 months of reading on this site and preparation has really paid off!

Since I posted this, I setup my star die and sized the boolits (119 of them). I was afraid how hard setting up the Star was going to be. It took me all of 2 minutes!

Thanks again EVERYONE for all the great info, I'll never buy a cast boolit again!

:castmine: :castmine: :castmine: :castmine: :castmine:
:drinks:

AJ

[herb101]

AJ try a larger spur on top of mold , melt will suck down in the mold as it cools.

[HeavyMetal]

A larger sprue puddle will help, as suggested by herb101, but I think try dipping the sprue plate till lead won't stick to it then pour and I think the base and groove issue will "go away"!

Dip that portion of the sprue plate that you use to open the mold, with the mold closed and ready to pour.

[AJ Peacock]

Thanks guys, I'll go turn on the pot and give it a try. Be back in an hour or so with an update.

AJ

[dragonrider]

Not bad considering'. But many of the bases that I can see are not filled out well. I think you should vent the parting line of your mold, one or two strokes with a fine file set at 45 degrees along the length of the parting line should give adequate venting.

[arcticbreeze]

Not bad considering'. But many of the bases that I can see are not filled out well. I think you should vent the parting line of your mold, one or two strokes with a fine file set at 45 degrees along the length of the parting line should give adequate venting.

I don't know if I would suggest modifying the mold until he is sure his casting technique is perfected a little more.

AJ,
For a first casting session I would be very happy with your results. They will get better with practice.

Marc

[fredj338]

Not bad for a newb. Are you holding the mold off the spout or in contact? You'll find that "pressure" filling the mold works better, at least for me, when using ww. You'll get better base & groove fill out. You can also ad 1% tin to the mix to get better fill out. What mold is that, looks like lt.wt. 40s.

[qajaq59]

I'd suggest the puddle as well. But remember, it's your first try and the only way you can go now is UP!!! And reading the forum for a while before starting was a smart move. There's not much point in making the same mistakes that some of us have made. Not if you can avoid them by doing a little reading anyway.

[AJ Peacock]

Thanks all for the input. A little more sprue and the base filled out a little better. Once the mold came up to temp, I'd get an occasional boolit with very sharp corners, then I'd get a few with slightly rounded corners. I played with distance from the pour spout and it does make a difference, a little bit further away seemed to help. Also, a slower fill seemed to help as well???

All in all, I'm pretty happy with the mold. The friend I got it from hadn't cast with it in 15yrs and I didn't even clean it, just started casting!


Not bad for a newb. Are you holding the mold off the spout or in contact? You'll find that "pressure" filling the mold works better, at least for me, when using ww. You'll get better base & groove fill out. You can also ad 1% tin to the mix to get better fill out. What mold is that, looks like lt.wt. 40s.

It's a .358 that weighs 120gr from WW's. One lube groove and one crimp groove. 2 Cavity mold. Mold # 358-550

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u193/AJPeacock_photos/Sizer%20and%20dies/358-550andHandles.jpg

After I had a few hundred of these cast, I cast some with a .358 Wadcutter and got the same rounded corners. Next time I heat up the pot, I'll add some tin. What percentage of tin should I add to the WW's? Would an additional 1% or 1.5% be appropriate? I have plenty 67%/33% solder. (33% tin).

Thanks again everyone,
AJ

[Alchemist]

Looks like you're off to a good start. Add 1% tin to your WW's, then increase if you think you need to. It doesn't take a lot of tin to make a difference. The main difference a LOT of tin will make will be to lighten both your boolits and your wallet. [smilie=l:

I started casting as a ladle pouring advocate, and still think that's how to get the best quality. Bottom pouring does speed things up a lot, but in my experience you have to run a hotter pot.

Keep trying, you're doing good so far. Some of your boolits should probably go through the pot again, but it looks like most of 'em are okay.

Cheers

[AJ Peacock]

I added 1% tin and cast at 800F, they look better. I snapped a picture (didn't do QA on these yet, as this is the pile I just cast with the tin).

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u193/AJPeacock_photos/random-forum-stuff/IMG_7515.jpg

Also, ran the other 2 molds a bit.


Lee 220gr 338 mold, dropping them at .3395"

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u193/AJPeacock_photos/random-forum-stuff/IMG_7518.jpg

.358 150gr WC
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u193/AJPeacock_photos/random-forum-stuff/IMG_7517.jpg

AJ

[bedwards]

AJ, your boolits look alot like mine and I've been casting for a long time. You have to figit with each mould to find what it likes. I have moulds that heat up and drop just right, but I have a brand new356402 that sometimes drops rounded edges like your pics and I haven't figured out why. I think I get about 75% keepers from it after it gets hot. Anyhow, I'm going to try to file the edge like dragonrider says if it keeps up. Your last pics look real good to me.

be

[wallenba]

AJ, your learning curve seems to be shorter than most of us. Looks like your a natural!
(I'm in Wayne county too!)

[Goatlips]

Hay AJ,

As mentioned above them'll do nicely... and it looks like most of them will be destined for CAS targets. :Fire: Having seen you shoot years ago I'd bet you can load 'em sideways and still come out first! Hope to see you soon at Rocky River! :drinks:

Goatlips
SASS 13135

[geargnasher]

Those all look pretty good, but I would try adding just a pinch more tin and casting faster to keep the mould hot. I'm gonna make a note on "notepad" so I can paste it wherever needed like here that says:

>>POT temp and MOULD temp are two different things. Odds are, if you're getting poor fillout and rounded bases with WW your mould is too cool and your alloy is too hot. Speed up the tempo and preheat the mould to start with. 900* alloy going into a 100* mould will cast wrinkled, rounded boolits, but 600* alloy with a 400* mould will make sharp, frosty boolits. So don't crank up your pot temp until you've added some tin and heated the mould, you want to cast with as cool an alloy as is possible to keep tin from drossing out unless you use Borax or Kitty Litter.<<

Keep on chugging, this is not only an addiction it is some of the best therapy a person could ask for! Tell me how worried you are with a problem at work when you're popping out pretty little shiny projectiles on Saturday morning!

Hope this helps,

Gear

[Marlin Hunter]

If my first ones had come out anywhere near that good i'd have been one happy camper. Heck 14 years later they don't always look that good.

+1

wish mine looked that good:lovebooli

[WILCO]

I finally cast some boolits today (my first ever!).


Feels great doesn't it??? :lovebooli

[armyrat1970]

I think every one you have cast in both sessions can be loaded and shot. Good job. I run my temps hot with wws. 880 to 900. When my alloy is right and I know my mold is hot and I still get a little rounded edge I add a couple of 10 or 12" slivers of flux core solder. Stir the pot and start casting again. Cast a couple and check and add a little more if needed. I have found smaller caliber molds take a little longer to reach temp than larger caliber molds. Maybe because there is a little more meat around the cavity in a smaller caliber. This is also with my Lee aluminum molds. Yeah they say they heat up quickly but I have found that to be otherwise.
All in all it looks like you're doing fine. And now you're a sick puppy like the rest of us.
Nice pics by the way. Gotta get me a digital!

[qajaq59]

I'm sitting here looking at your pictures and remembering what my first cast bullets looked like. Hmmmm, I don't think you've got a whole lot to worry about.

[Bret4207]

That appears to be a Modern-Bond mould and handles. Excellent moulds.

[Echo]

What percentage of tin should I add to the WW's? Would an additional 1% or 1.5% be appropriate? I have plenty 67%/33% solder. (33% tin).


AJ

Your later boolits look great, especially the rifle boolits - but 63/37 solder is 63% tin, not 37. It really doesn't take much - when I think my alloy needs sweetening up, I grab an ingot of 63/37 with vise-grips and dip into the nearly-full pot and melt off maybe less than an inch. Stir it in, and press on.