If it ain't broke...don't fix it 'till it is.

[rockrat]

Also like Dale53. Seldom use a 2 cav. Its either a 5 cav NOE or a 6 cav Lee. Preheat on a hot plate for about 15 min at least, put end in pot and let sit for 1 min. Pull out, clean off end and start casting. I can tell when the mould gets to proper temp. as then all the boolits drop out with a little jolt. Too cold, a cavity or two stick a bit. Run my alloy at about 715degrees. Usually casting good boolits by the third cast.
I usually put three moulds on the hot plate and leave the others on the plate while I cast.

[quickshot]

I have found that like tazman my 2 cavity molds like to be run as hot and as fast as I can run them. They also like the cavities coal black

[TXGunNut]

When a new mould has a bad day I let it cool, give it a good scrubbing and maybe heat cycle it a time or two before trying it again. I've broken in quite a few new moulds from Lee, RD (Lee) and NOE and have had an occasional bad session will more than one of them. A good scrubbing and a three heat cycles is now part of my break-in regimen with any new moulds. I've also learned that almost every one of my Lee six-cavs like to be run fast and hot, they're happiest just this side of frosty so I keep a wet sock around to cool it down now and then. Then again, I think sometimes they just have a bad day, especially if new.

[Geezer in NH]

62years old and have been casting since I was in my teens and have never smoked a mold.

Clean and hot is the way IMHO. Clean is nothing on the mold and hot is what it takes if frosted so what they will be filled cool the melt by 25-40 degrees and slow down bit.

I keep the heat first and slow down before cooling the melt. That works for me.

[paul h]

Another vote for clean and hot. I have several Lee six cavity molds, and they are my favorite type of lee molds. It's nice to make a pile of good boolits in a hurry.

I've never ladle cast, so perhaps having the added pressure of a bottom pour furnace helps, but I get good boolits whether the pot is empty or full. When my mold is up to temp, the sprue stays shiny for ~5-10 seconds, and once it's dull I cut it.

[DLCTEX]

I have 7 six cavity moulds (6 Lee, 1 Mi Hec) and they all like to be run clean and hot. I preheat on a hotplate and usually get keeper boolits first cast.

[Springfield]

If I could only run 100 an hour I think I would give up casting. As it is I prefer to do about 2 hours at a time with my LEE, accurate, noe or HM2 moulds and turn our at least 1500 bullets. But that's just me. I also like to load them 1000 at a time, then I can do a couple of months shooting without having to cast and load some more.

[hickfu]

All but 1 of my molds are between 4 and 6 cavity (the exception is the Lyman 525 shot gun slug mold) and I love how many boolits I can turn out in a short time (I really need to do it quickly because my hands wont hold up for long) I use a hot plate and a fan to keep temp just right.


Doc

[Blackwater]

I love the Lee 6 cavity moulds. I tend to cast at a good but leisurely pace these days, and they perform very well. Each cavity size has a temp that seems to work best in casting.

I'm thinking that the OP's problem wasn't with the mould, but with his smoking technique. I've found that over-smoking CAN, at least sometimes, cause problems like he's describing. I suspect, but can't prove, that it's due to the chemistry in the matches or whatever else is used. Tried a candle once to smoke with, and the results were NOT good. I think you want as pure a carbon as you can get in smoking a mould. Who can comment on this aspect of it? That's my impression and it's something I haven't ever thought to ask here, but I suspect some sort of gooey stuff got into the smoking process, and that stuf'll take a while to get out of a mould.

[Harter66]

You didn't have a hand on the sprue handle did you? At'll throw them outta whack every time. I have a 3-4 sixs a couple each of 4s and 5s. I just give them a bath and heat cycle 3x. The biggest problem I have is keeping the sprue plates hot.