better fill out with pure lead?

[troy_mclure]

how do i get better fill out with pure lead?

im casting for black powder loads, and the lube grooves are pretty rounded.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Higher heat and/or add 0.5% tin.

I've found the addition of a little tin keeps the boolits from tarnishing/corroding
in long term storage.

I imagine I'm using the wrong terminolgy, but the boolits
stay silvery and retards white powder formation.
Jon

[LAH]

I use more heat.

[geargnasher]

This is one time you might want to run your pot at 800 degrees or higher, and you'll definetely want to cast at a very fast and steady pace to keep the mould very, very hot for good fillout. Adding just a bit of tin to make 40:1 or 50:1 helps a lot, too, but if you do keep the pot temp below 750, but still keep the mould as hot as you can. Think four pour cycles a minute minimum, don't stop or pause between casts because your mould is losing heat the whole time.

Gear

[williamwaco]

+1 on Gear.

The best answer is add a little tin. It will not make the bullets noticably harder.

50:1 is 2%. That should be no more than 7 BNH.



.

[troy_mclure]

thanks guys. ill try it out tonite.

[Jailer]

Yep, more heat. You don't have to worry about frosting with pure lead. They should be coming out perfectly filled out and shiny.

Don't forget to pre heat your mold so you can get it to a stable temp quicker.

[cbrick]

Yep, both suggestions are good. Higher pot temp or a touch of tin but not both at the same time. Your adding tin for better mold fill out but tin looses it's ability to do this at about 750 degrees and the tin itself will oxidize much faster past this temp.

Cast at around 800 degrees and get the mold hot OR add the tin and cast below 750. Either way mold temp is important.

Rick

[BPCR Bill]

Which mould / bullet are you using?

[jonk]

This is the one time I still use a ladle. Pressure cast with the spout firmly pressed into the sprue cutter. If needed shake or lightly tap the mold on a wooden block as you are filling it.

[prs]

When casting round balls or Maxi Balls for front stuffers, I keep a propane torch going beside the pot so I can hld the mould over the flame a bit before the pour. This works great with single boolit cavity or double ball cavities. If you are gonna use tin, try 1% first; even that much makes a big difference.

prs

[troy_mclure]

Which mould / bullet are you using?

lee 311-100-2r