Well I already destroyed a Lee mold in about 20 minutes. When the mold was open it dipped a little too far into the pot and get some lead into the cavities. After several pours the lead never melted out and got stuck there. I went and looked at the mold and one of the tumble lube grooves looks like it's mashed into the next one. Not sure exactly how that happens.
Use a propane torch or a hot plate to melt the lead.
When the lead starts to drip tap the hinge pin with a mallet, but not too hard. If there is still lead on the mold, do it again. Just don't strike the mould. Eventually you will "get the lead out."
Political correctness is a national suicide pact.
I am a sovereign individual, accountable
only to God and my own conscience.
You can also use a wooden tool such as a Popsicle stick to help scrape the lead out when it gets hot.
Hickory has the fix!
Go slow with the heat!
Eddie17
Tried all that. Problem is the almunim is messed up.
Pictures would help!
How long was the mold in the pot?
Aluminum melts at about 1200 degrees.
Not long...I think it was me using a pick. I'll get up pics soon.Originally Posted by reddog81
A learning experience for sure.
Just be glad it was an inexpensive Lee mold.
Political correctness is a national suicide pact.
I am a sovereign individual, accountable
only to God and my own conscience.
It's that bottom cavity. I'm thinking what it was, was me trying to peel the lead out with a metal pick. I didn't believe it at first because it kind of looked like that before. Then I got to thinking, it really can't be anything else.
run it anyway.
it's a TL mold a roll or scrunch ain't gonna shoot no worse and no better.
I guess I probably could run it. This is about the worst looking bullet. This is when there was a good amount of lead in it to, I cleaned pretty much all of it out. This was my first casting session. I'll give it another go tomorrow since I'm a little more comfortable.
If its a "crush" or ding the metal is still there and might be able to be pushed back into place with a hard wood form. Make it from hard maple rose wood is good to to match the grooves angle and close to the radious of the bullet. Make it long enough to get ahold of it good. with solid hand pressure pull it thru the damaged groove grooves. the idea is to flow or push the metal back into place. Go slow with fairly heavy hand pressure and see what happens. You might be surprised here. We fixed moulds at work with a radioused punch working the raised metal back into the damaged spot these were hardened steel casting dies. The aluminum should move with the hardwood and hand pressure.
I don't stick mine in the pot anymore.
I sent the end of the mold (closed) on the rim and slope it at maybe 75 degree angle. Then pour maybe 3 ladle's full down the bottom to warm the mold. Then start pouring. It will take a pour or 2 to warm the sprue and finish warming the mold. But no problems with lead cooling around the whole mold, etc.
They are a learning curve.
At least it was not a 150$ custom job. Easy enough to replace. Chalk it up to the cost of higher education. School of hard knocks.
I would coat or lube, size and reload 30-40 rounds. Then I'd shoot and check the barrel. The bullets don't look that bad. If they don't lead the barrel I don't care how beautiful or ugly is a thing I'll never see again after pullin the trigger.
Get the mold hot, open the mold and flood the inside with lead building up a good pile of lead then pop it off. this should remove any lead in the groves.
IMO a hot plate is a must have for all casters. The solid hot plate I have is used for heating molds, making and melting lube, boiling water when rust bluing and even as a heat source for the sweat box when rust bluing.
Liberalism is the triumph of emotion over intellect, but masquerading as the reverse.
I don't know how we ever shot maximum loads before P/C come along and saved us all. R5R
"No mosque in the United States flies an American flag."
"Dueling should have never been made illegal in this country. It settled lots of issues between folks."- Char-Gar
+1 on having a hot plate, get the temp knob right and you can even take a break without having to re-prep you mold. The ones that are a solid surface work best. Around $20 at the big box stores. Block of 2x4 under the handles to keep the mold flat on the surface helps too.
If you use the older coil heating element hot plates an old circular saw blade can give you a safe surface to set an aluminum mold on.
Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.
Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.
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I use an electric rectangular griddle to heat my molds. I also put the ingots to be melted on there. Takes much less time for pot to come back up to temp.
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