head scratcher

[gpidaho]

Not trying to be the safety police but remember guys, acetone can be very damaging to your liver so please wear gloves for protection when using this excellent cleaning product. Let's save our liver cells for more important use. Gp

[jimb16]

The mold is hot enough and so is the lead. I check the temp regularly. The heating element is fine and it is pretty steady temp-wise. The sprue puddle takes several seconds to harden so that isn't the problem. I'm beginning to think it is residual oils in the metal. If it was a single problem, it would be easy to sort out, but I got the variety pack! If I cast any faster, I'll be smearing molten lead on the sprue plate and the top of the mold. Looks like I need to clean it again and again and again! I've never had a mold that gave me so many problems. Almost 50 years of casting and this is the first one that has driven me to the brink! Maybe a bit more tin??? already put in more than I have for any other boolit, but maybe that's what this mold wants....

[Echo]

BTW Gary, I'm already gray haired and talk to myself. I'm 68 so I think that is excusable. *LOL*

My problem is that, at 82, sometime when I talk to myself, I say 'Huh?'...

[Down South]

The mold is hot enough and so is the lead. I check the temp regularly. The heating element is fine and it is pretty steady temp-wise. The sprue puddle takes several seconds to harden so that isn't the problem. I'm beginning to think it is residual oils in the metal. If it was a single problem, it would be easy to sort out, but I got the variety pack! If I cast any faster, I'll be smearing molten lead on the sprue plate and the top of the mold. Looks like I need to clean it again and again and again! I've never had a mold that gave me so many problems. Almost 50 years of casting and this is the first one that has driven me to the brink! Maybe a bit more tin??? already put in more than I have for any other boolit, but maybe that's what this mold wants....

I usually add an extra 2% tin to my alloy but I have plenty of it and can afford to splurge.
My thinking is the same as yours.

I'm beginning to think it is residual oils in the metal.

Casting a bunch of boolits at a high temp usually cures this after a good scrubbing.
I'd keep casting and throwing the boolits back into the pot until I started getting a good fill out.

[country gent]

Some moulds you need to find the sweet spot for heat both the blocks and the lead, pour rate. cadence, and timing. Sometimes heat cycling on a hot plate helps develop the needed pataina and or surface quicker than simply casting does. I would check the vent lines carefully between the 2. If these are the new style blocks with fly cut vent lines then they may not be as deep as they appear, if they don't line up like the old straight lines did then they may not be deep enough and you may need to use a scribe or awl point to slightly deepen them. Sometimes the sharp edges under the sprue plate cause a venting issue and a light 45 cut along the top edges with a fine stone or fine sand paper backed by a file helps a lot also. A to tight sprue plate can also create a venting issue.

[Traffer]

I had a similar problem with an aluminum mold. Try cleaning it again with alcohol or acetone.

[bstone5]

Cleaning with liquid dish washing soap and a tooth brush followed with a scrubbing with Bar Tenders Helper will clean and polish the mold. After cleaning heat the mold hot to remove any moisture and residual solvent used in machining the mold.
Works for me.

[jimb16]

Already cleaned with lighter fluid and acetone. Did that several times before I even started to cast. I just think the mold was probably hot and dumped into oil to cool it. That is about the only way I can imagine so much oil getting into the metal.