Automated my Master caster.... a few questions....

I automated the Master caster with Hatch’s setup.

1. Some of my bullets go into the sprue output hole. I have tried to slow down the “down” force but even going as low as I can, it still drops some there.

2. Some bullets getting dinged up. How much should I worry about that? I am dropping the bullets down a pant leg (cut jeans) into a bucket of water.

3. How tight do you make the rails? If I make them just touching, some of my molds “leak” creating whiskers and fins. One in particular (brand new 530gr Accurate mold) had to be cleaned to remove the lead. If I tighten the rails, by the time things heat up (and expand), the downward force (even at max) isn’t enough to push them down. Seems to be a problem with heavy bullets only. Not having trouble with my small cavities.

Thanks for your expert advice.

I make my rails so the mould carrier doesn't move, not tight but little to no side to side play.

I get lead build up on my sprue plates and mould where the two touch after 100 or so cycles, i have yet to find a cure that works.

You will always get sprues in your projectiles and vise versa, a few here and there is nothing to worry about.

The dings will be the soft lead hitting something, you may want to add padding where it's hitting.

Leaky moulds is not ideal, either you have stuff stuck between the halves or you have a warped mould. Sadly not a lot you can do if it's warped.

Happy casting!

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Originally Posted by Tazza

I make my rails so the mould carrier doesn't move, not tight but little to no side to side play.

I get lead build up on my sprue plates and mould where the two touch after 100 or so cycles, i have yet to find a cure that works.

You will always get sprues in your projectiles and vise versa, a few here and there is nothing to worry about.

The dings will be the soft lead hitting something, you may want to add padding where it's hitting.

Leaky moulds is not ideal, either you have stuff stuck between the halves or you have a warped mould. Sadly not a lot you can do if it's warped.

Happy casting!

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Good advice. I lube my sprue plates every so often maybe 50-75 cycles? You get to know when to lube after awhile.
As for dents I get that when the mold is staying a bit hot. I just run the fan to cool it down or slow the cycle time a bit.

I have tried lubing more often, but still seems to get build up :(

I did find that running it slower helped somewhat, but still does it around the 100 mark

I can't complain too much, it has done really well, i can't remember when i automated it, but since then, it has cast over 500,000 projectiles, i feel that's pretty decent for pretty much a home user casting machine and not a fancy commercial one.

All the molds/ sprueplates on our Auto caster get sprayed with HITEK mold release. Zero lead build up. The machine can run all day (40,000 bullets) with no issues.

Great feedback, thx!


I don’t see that release stuff for sale on Donnie’s site. Might call him. How often do u need to coat? Any change in bullet thickness?

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Originally Posted by Ausglock

All the molds/ sprueplates on our Auto caster get sprayed with HITEK mold release. Zero lead build up. The machine can run all day (40,000 bullets) with no issues.

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Donnie only sells over phone as it has to be shipped ground (flammable). He says it doesn’t change thickness so I will give it a try.

So you spray mold face too? Would it cause any harm? Maybe prevent lead from building up if mold has any issues? I got a couple used molds pretty cheap. One had lead in face I cleaned off. Maybe warped a little. We’ll see how bullets drop.

I don't know what's up with my magma moulds, but the mould release didn't work for me all day, it did seem to help a little, but i still had build up. All i can think of is that the commercial auto casters allow the mould get a lot cooler than they do in my master caster. I tried running slower and using a hotter lead temperature, but still, the same issues occurred. For me, it just seems to be the nature of the beast, if i want to cheap out and not spend about 24k for a commercial unit, i just need to suck it up and deal with the hiccups of my master caster.

The mould release from Hi-Tek is very slippery, i got mine in powder form, you add metho to add it to the sprue plate and mould surface. For the cavities, Joe told me to use like a cotton tip and use the powder straight and wipe it into the surface to give it a nice coating.

The powder mold release is great. Add Metho to the correct ratio and I have it in a pump spray bottle. Spray the underside of the sprueplate when it is cold. Cotton bud it into the molds and the mold mating faces... All good all day.

I run 680 deg F for casting with 2 fans impinging of the molds.

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Originally Posted by Ausglock

The powder mold release is great. Add Metho to the correct ratio and I have it in a pump spray bottle. Spray the underside of the sprueplate when it is cold. Cotton bud it into the molds and the mold mating faces... All good all day.

I run 680 deg F for casting with 2 fans impinging of the molds.

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That's essentially what i did. Small bottle with metho and the powder dissolved in it, i used a pipette to drop it on the mould and the sprue plate, i let it evaporate before tightening the bolt up.

As for casting temperature, i was running 330c to keep it just hot enough to stay molten, but then i tried hotter and longer cool down times, it seemed to cast better. I think i'm at 350c, so very close to your 360c. I found that if i let the cool down time before cutting the sprue that i'd get a bump on the base, cut it when it's hotter and it gives a nice clean cut.

the bump is too cold a melt..

I'll give the extra heat a go, see if it helps.

I am interested in a Master Caster and would like to email to start the conversation about shipping to the UK, etc.

Anybody have an email address?

http://www.magmaengineering.com/master-caster/

sales@magmaengineering.com

Great people to deal with, hopefully with the beer bug, they may not be as staffed as they usually are, but i got answers the next day and shipping was super fast all the way to Australia.

Good luck on getting you hands on a MC, they are very good.

Thank you