Noob with questions

[pearson1662]

These are my third casting attempt. They are from an H&G #50 from pure WWs. 145.3gr +/-0.5gr, .359" to .360". About half of the casts I was pretty happy with until I checked out the bases and I got to wondering how good they really are. My understanding is that the bases are the single most important part of the boolit in regards to their potential accuracy. This picture demonstrates the different sprue cuts I got. I had a thermometer but still had difficulty maintaining consistent temps (varied from ~650 to ~900; most of the time it "seemed" best around 750) in my Lee 20# bottom pour. Some of them are raised enough that it causes the boolit to wobble (like a "weeble") if I put my finger on the nose and press down a little. I'm pretty sure they're all good enough to shoot at rats and cans but I'd like to cast for match. Currently using Hornady 148gr HBWC's.

I also had to use a rubber mallet to cut the sprues if I waited more than ~10 seconds to cut. That doesn't seem right. I used Bull plate lube and kroiled the cavities. Seemed like that as the mold got hotter the boolits wanted to stick more and always on one side, two of the cavs. Also, some of the booltis seemed to "slump" to one side just a tad which made me wonder if I was trying to get them out of the mold too quickly. Is the "slump" something you have to just see or can you measure that somehow?

CastBoolits.gunloads is my only mentor and I would appreciate any constructive criticisms and suggestions for how to improve my casts.
17539

17540

Thanks,

Jay

[wallenba]

It looks a little like the sprue was cut before the alloy had cooled sufficiently. When that happens the waste sprue pulls some out of the boolit base at the same time the fill is contracting down as it is cooling. If you watch the head on the fill as it cools it will go from bright to frosty and a small dimple will appear. If you leave a generous head on the mold that will not happen as often. That is from the lead being pulled into the cavity. I would not hesitate to shoot those, low velocity wadcutters are forgiving at typical range distances assuming the other variables in your loading are tight.
The sticking in opening the mold is probably from the alignment pins. Check that they are lubed a bit and are not being pulled out of the block.

[lwknight]

Are you using stick-on or clip-on wheelweights. The spru is more tar like to cut on pure lead.

Also about 2% tin added should help the bases fill better.

I use a hardball mix and the spru just snaps off. Actually a lot easier than with low antimony alloys. You have no wrinkles or burns so you are OK on mold and cast temps

[HamGunner]

The melt temp certainly would be better to have it fairly constant as well as the same amount of generous flow onto the sprue plate each pour. That should help fill out the bullet bases and maybe help with the sprue cut. The sprue plate could be in need of adjustment as it should not be that hard to cut. Could your metal be in need of a bit of tin? Not much needed, but a small consistent amount with each batch should help some. I have cast plenty of WW without tin, but a bit of tin makes casting so much easier.

One thing I forgot to say, was be sure to hold the mold clamped together good and tight each pour. Looks good for starting out. Practice, and you'll get it down.

[JIMinPHX]

Quit yer belly aching. Load those things up & shoot them.:Fire:

Seriously though,
You could make some very small improvements, but those do not look bad at all, just the way they are. They should shoot well as is.

[AZ-Stew]

At first look, the sprues appear to be torn, but after looking at the enlarged photos, they look OK. On 2, 7 and 4 the bases aren't completely filled out. Torn sprues can be caused by cutting too soon or by a loose sprue plate.

I've worn out two sprue plate beater sticks over the 35+ years I've been casting. As long as you hit the plate in the plane in which it rotates, no harm will come to the mould. If you cut while the alloy is still soft, just so you can turn the sprue plate by use of a gloved hand, you risk cutting it before the boolit core can pull in alloy from the sprue plate puddle. This may result in base voids and inconsistent weight boolits.

I'd shoot the ones you show in the photos. You need some positive reinforcement to show you that you've made some good boolits. At 25 yards these should give you a nice group.

Regards,

Stew

[Char-Gar]

Those lead kegs look like 99.5% of the bullets cast in America. Perfection is for the gods. Go shooting!

[Echo]

A suggestion - load them backwards, so the base, with ugly sprue cut, faces out. That way, the sharp top of the boolit will be the base, and the base of the boolit is the rudder that steers the whole thing. Look nasty, but the group is what counts.

[Nora]

Defiantly, load 'em & shoot 'em!
Something that I do to help me get a nice fill out is to keep the sprue plate cooler than the mold. I've got a very wet wash cloth that I use for the job. When it get to hot I'll quench it on the cloth wile it's open. This will help to draw the lead in to the the mold the same way it does when soldering pipes. The solder will always be drawn to the hottest part of the joint, or in this case into the mold.

Nora

[pearson1662]

"Are you using stick-on or clip-on wheelweights."

Clip on.

"I've worn out two sprue plate beater sticks over the 35+ years I've been casting. As long as you hit the plate in the plane in which it rotates, no harm will come to the mould. If you cut while the alloy is still soft, just so you can turn the sprue plate by use of a gloved hand, you risk cutting it before the boolit core can pull in alloy from the sprue plate puddle. This may result in base voids and inconsistent weight boolits."

Thanks, that's reassuring. I thought the sprue plate seemed to be a little loose but the sprue plate screw didn't readily tighten. I'll try a little harder.

"Those lead kegs look like 99.5% of the bullets cast in America. Perfection is for the gods. Go shooting!"

Oh, they'll get shot, I just want my ammo to shoot better than I can.;)

"Also about 2% tin added should help the bases fill better."

I wanted to avoid any more alchemy than necessary but I keep hearing aout adding 2% tin that I guess I'll give that a chance. Haven't even looked into sources of tin, yet. I've gotten my wws free so far, probably not going to be so lucky to find free tin.

Thanks for your help.

Jay

[runfiverun]

i have this same mold.
i run just a bit faster than you do and open the sprue cutter by hand.
your boolits are pretty shiney mine come out a bit more grey.
they do stick a bit in the mold and thats because of all those angles.
i just go as quick as i can and when i go to open the mold i flip it over and give the handle bolt a quick whack with the stick as i am opening it.
the extra heat will help the bases fill in,this mold is actually pretty hard to get hot enough to require a rag.

[Recluse]

Wadcutters are probably, for me, the hardest boolits to cast "perfectly."

Those look more than fine--as others have said, load 'em and shoot 'em.

:coffee:

[HORNET]

Size and lube 'em, load 'em, and shoot 'em. They look usable. You'll work out the small bugs in your casting with more practice. Like most of the better vices, you get better the more you do it.
BTW, I've worn out a couple of sprue-whacker sticks as well, and have to tap the handle pivot bolt for some molds.

[lwknight]

The only consolation to the need for tin is that you need so little of it.
One pound will tin up 65 pounds of WW or #50 of pure lead.