Looking for help using Lyman molds

[ilcop22]

Good afternoon,

I should preface this by stating (as apparent), I am still in my infancy with casting, having only done it for less than a year. I have only cast using a Lee Precision mold for 30-06. Recently, my friend's grandmother began selling her late husband's equipment. I procured a couple of Lyman molds from this Master Caster, God rest him.

One of these molds is the Lyman #452460. When I purchased it, a set of cast boolits were still in the mold. I began to try casting using this mold with less-than-satisfactory results. On to my question.

The Lyman mold was consistently over-heating, taking a long time to cool before I could drop. I lowered the temp of the pot, but still kept dropping frosted boolits. Is there a technique I am unaware of with my limited knowledge and experience when it comes to these steel molds? I've attached a picture of a few cast boolits from this mold. The two on the left are ones I dropped, while the two on the right came in the mold. The level of hardness is also considerably different, mine being quite soft.

Thanks for your help!

[Ben]

Take a sponge , wet it, sling most of the water out of it.

When your bullets are frosting, touch the wet sponge to the mold.

This will help cool the mold.

BE CERTAIN THAT NOT A MILLIONTH OF A DROP OF WATER GETS INTO THE MOLD CAVITY.

Ben

[theperfessor]

Lyman or any other ferrous molds usually don't need to be run as hot as a Lee or other auminum molds do. The difference in appearance and hardness is most likely your alloy composition. I've never found frosted bullets to be a problem.

Your bullets look good to me, if they come out with sharp, square bases and grooves I'd say you are OK. Wouldn't think soft bullets would be a problem at normal .45 velocities if they are the right size.

[Catshooter]

Frosting a boolit is unimportant. Doesn't affect performance at all.

Welcome to the forum.


Cat

[243winxb]

Is there a technique I am unaware Cool the mold with a fan between fills if the bullet is frosted. Or just wait 10 seconds to fill again. You bullets look perfect. If they are the correct diameter or larger as they drop from the mould, your good to go. Need larger diameter or harder, add antimony or linotype. As said above, frosting is not really a problem unless the bullets are under the correct diameters.

[ilcop22]

Thank you all for the feedback. I tried the sponge method, only I used a wet rag. Frosted boolits disappeared and I got consistent fill outs. About 99% success rate. I love these Lyman molds.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Hullo and welcom, ask a question you get good answers at this fourm...lot of helpful folks here. Good casting....

[Dennis Eugene]

by the way , Those are very good looking boolits. Dennis

[454PB]

I agree with the others, you're doing just fine.

I usually throw the non-frosted ones back in the pot.

[Green Frog]

The way I see it, when I cast pistol bullets containing antimony, if it ain't frosting, I'm not doing it right! JMHO, YMMV!

Froggie

[WHITETAIL]

:-PHay 22! Welcome to the forum!
And if frosted is OK with Tony theTiger.
That is OK with me.:Fire:

[MtGun44]

Frosted is irrelevant. If you get good fill out go and load some.

In my experience, this boolit is wonderfully accurate with low velocity loads like
3.5gr of Titegroup or Bullseye in .45 ACP.

Bill

[Bret4207]

Welcome, you're doig good. Do a search here for "BruceB Speedcasting" and it'll help you.

[runfiverun]

oonce you get the flat grey look and the mold is getting hotter turn down your pot temp.
i return all my sprues and top off my pot every lb or two, keeping a constantly full pot.
you will keep the mold in the zone longer this way.
i open the mold by [gloved]hand. and can moniter the readiness of the boolits this way.
the lower temp also keeps the mold from heating up beyond where i want it and all i have to look at is the color of the boolits to see if i need to speed up a tad or use the damp rag,or turn down the pot a bit more....
all easy quick adjustments that doesn't interfere with my tempo.

[beagle]

Take your pot temp down a little and if you're bottom pouring, drop the mould down a little more below the spout. Sponges are okay but I don't care for any type of water on the casting bench. I have a cooling fan that I use when I encounter one of my moulds that overheat.

If you want to get fancy, it's fairly simple to construct a "casting" table several inches high with the fan mounted below a hole in the top and a screen mesh to set the mould on. This cools very nicely. Small 4" cooling fans are available at Radio Shack for several bucks and they work real well./beagle

[Cadillo]

That is my favorite bullet. I have it in a four cavity mould. My Sig P-220's feed and shoot it very well. Try Bullseye and WW 231. They both work well.

Your bullets look great. Find something else to worry about! ;)

[AZ-Stew]

Non-frosted boolits work, too. In my opinion (obviously a minority here), frosted boolits are an indication of wasted electricity. You can keep your boolits shiny and completely filled-out by adjusting pot temp and casting rate. As long as they're completely filled-out and of consistent weight, more heat serves no useful purpose. The two on the left in your photo are right on the edge, while the two on the right look great, as long as they're consistent and filled. Either will shoot well and I doubt that anyone here can prove that "full crystal frost" boolits shoot better. With some metals (pure lead and linotype, for instance), you'll have a tough time getting them hot enough to frost. They naturally produce boolits that are almost chrome-like at the best casting temps.

Good casting and good shooting. You've got a nice mould, there.

Regards,

Stew

[1Shirt]

Well to add a bit to this, I offer the following. I like slightly frosted blts, cause I think they hold lube better. If you are completely frosting the blts they will still shoot well if completely filled out, but like someone said, you are probably wasting electricity. Speed in casting is usually one of the reasons for frosting, and slowing down a bit, or using two molds at the same time and switching back and forth works well for me. Fan behind me is good, and it keeps lead fumes going away, in addition to a bit of cooling for the mold. However, that works for me only in warm/hot weather, as I cast in my garage, and in the winter it is to cold to have a fan blowing over my shoulder. Good luck!
1Shirt!:coffee:

[Wayne Smith]

Well, Stew, I would agree with your analysis of the boolits if we knew that they were of the same alloy. In fact we know they are not of the same alloy. The difference in alloy can account for the differences seen.

Remember that the boolits that were in the mold had been there for an unknown length of time and an unknown exposure to air and thus an unknown amount of surface oxidation.

[JIMinPHX]

I find that I need to go a little slower when I use an iron mold compared to an aluminum one. Some people that I know keep a damp (not wet, just damp) rag next to the pot so that they can touch the mold to the damp rag when it needs to cool down a little.

Like I said though, I just cast a little slower with iron molds. It works well for me.

Also, I'll jump on the band wagon about frosted boolits being OK.

[AZ-Stew]

Well, Stew, I would agree with your analysis of the boolits if we knew that they were of the same alloy. In fact we know they are not of the same alloy. The difference in alloy can account for the differences seen.

Remember that the boolits that were in the mold had been there for an unknown length of time and an unknown exposure to air and thus an unknown amount of surface oxidation.

You're right, Wayne. I missed that when I read his original post. As we used to say in the Navy, "RTFQ", which stands for "Read The Cotton pickin' Question" (where the "F" is a Navy word that translates to "Cotton pickin'). I didn't carefully RTFQ.

Wheel weights-left and Linotype-right? That could account for the differences in appearance and hardness.

Regards,

Stew