Okay... need help with frosting and fillout

[gwpercle]

I understand hard circumstances. Sorry to hear about your house.
I upgraded from the little Lee 4 lb. pot to a 10 lb. bottom pour pot only to discover I don't like the bottom pour way. I was going to try to plug the 10 lb. and use open top it with a ladle....when Amazon had the 20 lb. Magnum Melter on sale....really cheap , so I bought one . I don't use the 10 lb. bottom pour any more , if you would like it PM me an address and it's yours. It leaks a little but it works....I didn't put many miles on it before discovering I do my best casting with a dipper ladle .
Actually the Lee open top pots are darn good for the price.
Gary

[Bazoo]

I gave it some thought, as what I have works, But I think it would be a blessing gwpercle. I appreciate it.

[Grump]

Just in case your diligent cleaning hasn't uncovered and/or fixed an potential problems with this:

VENTING!

I think only one prior answer has even mentioned this.

My RCBS 9mm two-holer suddenly wouldn't fill the bases for nuthin' after I looked at it and saw a tiny light gap between the sprue plate and the blocks, then hammered it flat an otherwise made it fit totally flush with the tops of the blocks.

Then I noticed a pattern of low spots on the H&G 4-cavity when I dressed down a scratch with an Arkansas stone. Went too far and base fill-out went down the tubes. Gently restored the "wave" to the blocks and problem solved.

Then I made sure the RCBS was lightly beveled on the top where the blocks came together, and restored the little bit of "bridging" of the sprue plate over the cavities. Problem with second mould solved.

Since seeing that happen, I have been more diligent about checking the vent lines before every session. The base fill problem was quite frustrating because the REST of the boolits were filling out very, very nicely. Ran hot enough to go beyond frosty and start getting fill into the mid-body vent lines and the bases still sucked. And this was even when pouring the puddle over the top for a ridiculously long time.

All the heat and tin in the world won't help if the air can't escape.

[Bazoo]

I checked the vent lines, but will recheck them.

[gray wolf]

I think my problem is that the melt was not hot enough

You have answered your own question,
higher melt temp = higher mold temp. faster casting gets the mold hotter.
your answer is in the temp. my vote is don't change your casting cadence
but add a little more heat to the pot.

Then look up (new egg) and get a thermometer.

[woodbutcher]

Just a little FYI.For one of those fans,check with a computer repair shop.They just might have on that is a take out from an upgraded tower,or a tower that died for not a lot of money OR even free.And yes,some of them are 110V.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[beagle]

That's what the one I have is from. Works well. Just be sure to keep fingers out of the blades or it will trim your nails. They have a really high RPM./beagle

Just a little FYI.For one of those fans,check with a computer repair shop.They just might have on that is a take out from an upgraded tower,or a tower that died for not a lot of money OR even free.And yes,some of them are 110V.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[woodbutcher]

Either that,OR stumpy or three fingers.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[Bazoo]

Im still having problems. What Im getting is inconsistent dimples/voids on the sides of the bullet. Sometimes on the nose, sometimes on the driving bands, and on most of them. Every once in a while i'll get a good bullet.

Before i started, I took my mould blocks off the handles and scrubbed the cavities under hot water with dawn and a weapons toothbrush.

When the mold got hot, I lubed the sprue bolt with just a dab of synthetic 2stroke oil. Then the underside of the sprue plate got a dab, but wiped off with a rag so there was only a trace amount.

I also tried cleaning with lacquer thinner and running the mold with no lube, but that didnt help either.

I switched to the 10 pound lee bottom pour pot, but used the same lead from the previous pot.

Switching to the production pot helped me with keeping my melt hot, and allowed me to focus on keeping my mould at a good temperature.

I Normally run the mould hot enough that I get some spider lines but not frosted. I got to this temperature and was getting good fillout without wrinkles, But was having voids.

So, I added some tin. Dont know how much, as I just melted a small piece of pewter in. Fillout became somewhat easier, but still voids. So, I emptied the pot, and refilled it with fresh ingots so that I could rule out a bad batch of lead. This gave me the same results. I added some tin to this pot, with the same results.

Only thing I can think of, Is I have some sort of contamination on the mold. Once before I used a dab of bullet lube on the sprue bolt. That caused a baked on mess. So, I tried scrubbing it with various chemicals, lacquer thinner, soap and water, acetone. I heated the mold and tried scrubbing it with a toothbrush while hot, which in turn melted the toothbrush to the mold. I cleaned it with a combo of soaking in hoppes 9, and then carefully brushing with a bronse bristled tooth brush. I cleaned the vent lines well with the brush. The cavity got very gentle with the brush, and picked with a toothpick to get any gobs I could see. It has since done okay... not great.

Any help is appreciated.

[Echo]

+1 on adding 2% tin modern wheel weight don't have the same alloys that they used to have

Plus One!

[Bazoo]

After pondering it, and talking it out.. both on here and to the wife (for hours), im convinced I am getting 2 stroke oil in my cavities. I didnt specify, but I applied it with a q tip. I wiped the bottom of the sprue plate wet and then wiped all I could off with a cotton rag.

[marvelshooter]

After pondering it, and talking it out.. both on here and to the wife (for hours), im convinced I am getting 2 stroke oil in my cavities. I didnt specify, but I applied it with a q tip. I wiped the bottom of the sprue plate wet and then wiped all I could off with a cotton rag.

If you are applying so much oil you have to wipe it off you are applying too much. Put on just enough to see in good light with a damp not wet q tip.

[Jeff Michel]

Was your mould up to temperature and your cavities filled before applying the oil? Sounds like you over oiled. Clean it out the best you can and cast until there isn't any residue left. You'll have problems till it's burned out. I seldom lubricate mine (every second or third use) and they don't seem to suffer from galling or sticky behavior.

[Good Cheer]

Reading though here it reminded me of trials and tribulations with mystery metal.
Sometimes the elements come together in rebellion and turning up the heat no longer works.



Never did find out what all was in this stuff. Worked with it, finally added some #2 babbitt and got it to cast good HP bullets though.

[Tom W.]

I know it sounds like heresey, but when I've tried all that I know to do and get frustrated I blast the cavities with Rem Oil. After about five or so casts with the thermostat turned wide open and taking longer than usual to empty the mold things come out well for me. That's what works for me. It may not work for you, but if you're already having problems It may not hurt to try.

[Bazoo]

Thanks everyone for bearing with me. Thanks for the advice. A member sent me a message, asking questions, and giving some advice. This is in part some of what I told him today.

I fired it all up today and figured out a few things. I started by cleaning the accurate 434240 with dawn and hot tap water. I have not boiled the molds. I forgot bout that. I wiped some graphite on the sprue plate before assembly. When I got to casting, and got the mold up to temperature, I had a few problems, but had some decent bullets. So my first problem was having contamination from the 2 stroke oil. I let my mold cool some, and cleaned it with alcohol and a brand new tooth brush. Then i had even less problems.

I read that a too cold sprue plate will cause wrinkles cause it cools the lead as it is poured through, but the mold can be too hot, and still cause frosting. This was my second problem. So I got my sprue plate good and hot, and the mold not too hot. I had my production pot cranked up to 8.5/9.

So I was fluxing with some 2:1 beeswax/crisco bullet lube I had, this was my third problem. I was not cooking off the flux and giving it enough time before trying to cast. I noticed i Started having some voids/wrinkles right after I fluxed. So.. I switched to sawdust, and let it cook longer, and it really helped. Then I switched back to the beeswax and wrinkles started to appear again.

Also, As my mold has 1 PB and 1 GC cavity, I was only casting the PB cavity. I keep a better temperature this way.

When I first started today..... I had the idea, of running the production pot to feed the 4 pound pot. This did great. I was able to keep a really good cadence without having to stop to top off my pot. This helped me also.

I dont know that I have it all figured out, but I feel pretty confident now. I made a pile of decent bullets. Not the best I ever made, and certainly not the best I ever saw, But they'll do alright for some plinking ammo at the present.

[mac1911]

One other thing to remember is ambient air temperature. Going from winter temperatures to spring and summer temperatures I always have to remember to leave the mould open to cool for a few seconds or I get something like you are talking about. I use that time to do a quick inspection of the bullets I just dropped.

Sent from my SM-T713 using Tapatalk

Once I moved my casting in doors most of my issues went away.
Do your self a favor buy a small cast iron pot and a small Colman stove at minimum to smelt your wheel weights down. I started with a Colman portable camp stove for 3$ from yard sale and a small 4"ish cast pot.

[mac1911]

After pondering it, and talking it out.. both on here and to the wife (for hours), im convinced I am getting 2 stroke oil in my cavities. I didnt specify, but I applied it with a q tip. I wiped the bottom of the sprue plate wet and then wiped all I could off with a cotton rag.

I,gave up on "oiling" my molds unless I put them up for long storage.
I just use never seize on the sprue pivot and a touch on the pins.
I take the sprue pivot apart and lube with never seize... I to seemed to get lube fouling with any other method.

[Bazoo]

Thanks to the help here, and the help in message from a member, I feel confident I have the problems under control. Thanks everyone for the comments.

[John Boy]

I don't have a thermometer. Im using a lee pot and lyman dipper. I think, my problem is the melt is not hot enough.

Bazoo - to cast non frosted completely filled out bullets with sharp edges you really don't need a thermometer.
Heat the melt and the mold to a temperature so with a 5 second ladle pour, the sprue puddle frosts in 5 to 8 seconds. The key is the frosting of the sprue puddle in 5 -8 seconds. Works for me!