what temperature is best for bullet casting?

[mozeppa]

i have several lee 6 bangers

9mm up to 45 colt

i get sharpei bullets (wrinkly looking abominations)
until my molds get up to temperature...then they seem to cast moderately okay.

i use a "PID" on my pot set at 715 degrees f.
and i have a needle thermometer on my hot plate....and it read 390 degrees f.
and this temp. pair-up seems to work well for 45acp 228 gn. round nose and 45 colt 255 gn RFN.

BUT THAT DOESN'T WORK SO WELL WITH 9MM or 38 special.
right now i'm using wheel weights.

whats the sweet spot.. temperature wise ?

also , i have to use a wooden dowel rod to poke at the bullet bases to get them to release.

any suggestions on a releasing agent?

[montana_charlie]

BUT THAT DOESN'T WORK SO WELL WITH 9MM or 38 special.

also , i have to use a wooden dowel rod to poke at the bullet bases to get them to release.

any suggestions on a releasing agent?

How long does it take for the sprue to solidify on the last bullet you pour in that six cavity mould?

CM

[runfiverun]

tooth paste.

and 430-f

[adanymous]

tooth paste.

and 430-f

???????

[sdcitizen]

Careful use of a razor knife to remove the burr around the edge of the cavities is the best release agent i have found for sticky lee molds.

[Handloader109]

My pid is set at about 710 to start.. Smaller 95gr gets turned up a bit. Mold has to be hot

[Larry Gibson]

The "sweet spot" with WWs is to add 2% tin so it flows and fills out the mould better.

Apparently you are casting to slow to keep the mould up to temp. If you cast at an appropriate tempo the hot plate isn't needed.

A "release agent" should not be needed nor used.

Your casting seems to work well with the larger 45 caliber bullets because there is less metal in the mould and you are adding more heat to the mould with the larger amount of alloy in each cavity. You are either not casting fast enough with the 38/9mm moulds or your alloy is not really 715*.

Also are you using a bottom pour or a dipper?

Larry Gibson

[454PB]

I get good results casting with WW alloy at any temperature above 650 degrees, IF the mould is hot enough.

It's all about mould temperature, either preheat, cast very quickly, or both.

[runfiverun]

toothpaste to polish the mold and 430-f mold temp.

[RED333]

Temp, well what ever works for you and your mold.
I try to keep a up a good pace, I pour, count to 3, cut the spure, count to 3.
Open the mold, drop and start over.

[Pb2au]

Proper mold prep. Clean, de-burred, and lubed.
Get your lead to temp.
Keep a steady even pace while casting. No lolly gagging around or gawking.
With this, you will have joy.

[mdi]

Wow, I don't have any of them electronic deevices and I kin get good boolits. IMO, each mold pretty much has it's own "personality". Most of my good bullets come from a melt (alloy) just a bit over liquification and a mold just warm enough for good fill-out. I keep an eye on each bullet that drops from my molds and can either slow down my casting or cool the mold (with a spray of water), or warm the mold a bit more to get what I want...

[prs]

runfiverun suggested the temp I use and I cast fast and prefer a lightly frosted bullet. WW alloy or other, I do the same; pure lead muzzle loaders a bit hotter yet. Why so hot? Because even if you screw-up a little and pour/spill a little alloy into the next cavity and then over fill that second or two later, the result is still a perfect boolit without the sharpie effect (I call it scarab bettle or worm wood effect or snail tracks). The down side is a little more tin oxide to reduce or re-flux or whatever the castboolit-correct term is. The upside are beautiful boolits with hardly any to cull. And I certainly agree with Larry G, modern WW metal is tin poor.

prs

[mozeppa]

i kinda thought that my mold temp was too low .

and yeah i might be too slow....actually i thought i might be too fast.

but based on ...pour , 1 2 3 , cut & dump ....pour , 123 , cut & dump......etc.
i may have been too slow.

i was like pour , watch the sprue frost over , marvel at my handy work ...sing a little with whatever is on the radio.
cut, try to dump ...take a wood dowel rod and poke at the boolit bases to get them to lego my mold!
close inspect and pour....begin new song............ya da ya da ya da

need to bump up the hot plate some in temp.

was thinking on it as i was returning home from work today,

if my pour temperature was 715 /720 ...and my pid keeps it pretty close to that.
my probe is 1/2" from the inside bottom of my lee bottom pour pot ...very near the spout, maybe to one side about 3/4"

and my hot plate is a brand new Oester co. hot plate with a lead pot thermometer mounted on a piece of steel via a hole drilled thru the steel
so that the end of the thermometer touches the plate....and it reads a constant 390 degrees.

my thoughts were as i was driving....hmmm ....715 degree lead is poured into the 390 degree mold.

thats quite a temperature jump from 715 to 390 in a fraction of a second!....325 degree jump!

that leaves no extra time to fill out a mold properly ...so i need to get the mold up some in temp.
look for burrs...de-burr them and use plate lube.

what is plate lube?....what do you use?

[RED333]

what is plate lube?....what do you use?

2 cycle motor oil

[williamwaco]

I get good results casting with WW alloy at any temperature above 650 degrees, IF the mould is hot enough.

It's all about mould temperature, either preheat, cast very quickly, or both.

DITTO.


Adjust your cadence so that it takes the sprue puddle 3 to 4 seconds to solidify.
In my case, this is three to four fillings per minute with a Lee 6 banger.

Alloy temperature is not critical. Mold temperature is.

[RED333]

723.343 degrees is the absolute optimum good sweet spot!

You are SO wrong, it is 384.079 celsius is the best. LOL

[ericc]

You sure its not 1183.013 rankine?

[RED333]

You sure its not 1183.013 rankine?

Nope, that is the wrong scale, you have to use what we all use.

[Tar Heel]

Nope, that is the wrong scale, you have to use what we all use.

Yup. The 'Merican scale. Fair-en-hot.