Dirty Bullets

[bigjake]

I got the molds to fill out, that was my first problem. Now I'm getting dirt in the bullets. I'm using an old lyman "mould-master" it has a heavy cast iron pot, and a cast iron base. does anyone know how old this unit might be?
I thought the dirt and crud all floated to the top. I flux it often with wax.
does anyone know why im getting this dirt in my boolits?
thanks

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Hi and welcome to the forum. The Lyman Mold Master is an old pot, 3-4 decades or so, but it is a good one. The source of the dirt that you are encountering is coming from one or both of these sources.....the metal you are using has the dirt in it and or you have dirt in the pot---on the bottom and or the sides of the pot. The pot has to be emptied and when cool it has to be wire brushed (gently) out. Pots need to be cleaned regularly to prevent what you are experiencing. The crud in your metal, (if thats where it is) has to be fluxed out or else you will get It (inclusions) in your bullets and you don't want any of that in your gun's bore. Its normal for oxides/slag to form on the melt and thats one of the things that regular fluxing is all about. Wax is ok for fluxing, but there are also some good alternatives. LLS

[Bret4207]

You have a couple choices. First, you can empty the pot, let it cool and wire brush the interior. That's probably a good idea since ferrous pots rust and that's a good bet to where some of your dirt is coming from. Second, instead of using wax to flux, try stirring and scraping with a dry stick. It performs the same action as wax, getting carbon down into the mix, and works far better really since it's getting the carbon UNDER the mix and not just sitting on top smoking and flaming. The part of the wax that does the work is the residue left after it burns. The stick avoids all the flame and most of the smoke. Plus, you can scrape the sides and bottom of the pot as you stir keeping the crud from building up and loosening anything that's there. The fluxing qualities of the a simple stick run through the mix exceed any wax or sawdust I ever used.

[qajaq59]

Yup, a good dry stick will easily clean the sides and bottom of the pot quite well. And you can scrape without doing any damage to the pot. You'll be surprised how much crud comes up when you use one. Just put it into the lead slowly in case there is any moisture left in the stick. I say that because here in Florida anything made of wood always has a little moisture in it.

[skeet1]

One other thought. I just started using saw dust for flux and I think it is far superior to wax or bullet lube. It leaves my pot much cleaner and seem to draw more of the impurities to the top when you stir it in. I had used bullet lube for the last 30 years; it just goes to show that you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Skeet1

[GabbyM]

Try using more flux material. As in larger volume.

Heat lead up to 650 to 700 degrees. Poor on enough corn oil to cover the lead. Stir in raising your long handled spoon out of the mix to incorporate air. Wear gloves and have a place for all the smoke to go.
when it all burns off if you still have lumps instead of gray ash do it again. When it all burns down to ash scoop it off into a can and your good to go. Once you clean the pot you won't need but a teaspoon of oil for follow up.

[Centaur 1]

Paint mixing sticks work good for this. Whenever you buy paint just grab a few extra sticks. My daughter just bought her first house and they painted the whole inside. I trained her well, I now have a big bundle.

[Mk42gunner]

I'm cheap, I use sticks that fall out of trees in my yard. There is always a new supply after a windstorm.


Robert

[XWrench3]

also, one thing you can do once your pot is clean is to run your parafin around through it when you are done casting to prevent future rustiing. simply empty the bowl, wait for it to cool quite a bit (you want it just warm enough for the parafin to melt into the poors of the metal) , and melt in some parafin. as the bowl cools, the parafin will harden up, and seal it from moisture. this is what i do to my smelting pot, because it will sit for long periods some times. also, i double flux my molten lead. i use parafin first, then i use saw dust. personally, i think they both do the job a little differently. all i know for certain, is the cleaner the melt, the better the boolit.