Need help with casting hollow points

[Tripplebeards]

This is my third Devastator mold and I have leaks around the hollow point area (finning) on every pour. My first one leaked a third of the way around the lip, the 2nd one leaked all the way around the lip and finned all the way up and down the boo lit seams), and this being the third has a lip half way around the lip on every pour but the finning is barely noticeable. I have made sure there is no lead build up or burry on the mold or pin. I have made sure the screw in the bottom that holds the pin is tight and has not loosened. I have tried four different lead mixes with the same results. Lastly, I have varied the heat on the lead, mold,and pin to see if that was a factor and got the same results. I got to the point of turning down the head on my lee pot and not heating the pin...thinking everything was too hot causing the lead to flow too freely and out the seams and I still had leaks on one side of the hollow point and it not forming on the other half of it. What am I doing wrong or I would assume after three molds they all are going to leak and nothings perfect?

This what every bullet casted looked like...



Here’s what they looked like after I turned down the heat on purpose to see if I had everything too hot causing “overfill out of my mold” and still had leaks along with partial fill outs....



What am I doing wrong? I can’t believe I would have three molds in a row leak at the pin? Lyman told me they were going to test the mold before it was sent to me being I had the last two fin around the hp pin. I’ve tried it with coww and 2% pewter, pure lead and 6% pewter, 50/50 with 2% pewter, and 80% coww 20% pure and added 6% pewter all with the same finning around the hp area.

I have been scraping off the fins with a knife and it’s getting monotonous. If I leave them and pc over them when I seat the. Boolits it seams to flatten the lip on softer PB mixes but ends up either braking off off or exposing the bare lead after folding over.

I have probably casted a good 20-30 lbs of Devastators now and have been practicing and would have thought I would have had some perfect/no finning by now but they all some finning on them. 99% vary by about 2 grains so I’ve been getting consistent weight variation I just need to fix the finning issue.

[Bent Ramrod]

You might try a spray of Mould Prep or smoke the mould and pin with a BIC lighter or candle. The Internet Authorities frown on this practice, but it has tamed many a balky mould for me. But I’m always more interested in getting a pile of boolits done than analyzing a cranky mould’s “fundamental issues” and fixing them.

Frankly, as long as the rest of the boolit is filled out, I would size and lube with a flat punch and iron the bit of flash down on the lip of the cavity. Or size, if you are powder coating. If your weights are as close as you say, the slight fin, flattened down on the lip, shouldn’t matter at any reasonable pistol range.

As a last resort, you might try ladle casting, which gives more or less the same head of pressure each time.

[Tripplebeards]

I just casted about 6 lbs after I posted and just finished. I smoked the mold and pin several times I also bent the "c" clip on the pin for more tension and if anything made it worse. Every boolit has a fin of at least half way around the hollow point area if not more.

[Grmps]

Make sure the mold surfaces are coming together tightly and that the surfaces are perfectly clean/smooth [hold the mold up to a light and see if you can see light through it. If you smoke it wipe the excess smoke off the mold faces.
I don't think I would smoke the pins, I not familiar with that mold but I would think you would use sprue lube on the pins. What do the directions say?

[HeavyMetal]

First make sure the mold half are spotlessly clean and then check for light coming through the joined half's, without the pin in!

The mold may or may not have an alignment pin to far out, to close in or there may be some burr, left over from making the mold at the factory.

Once you've checked all this, with the pin out, close the mold with the handles, tightly, and insert the pin. There should be some slight drag on it if fitted right form
the factory, if not as soon as it heats up it will be to loose and you'll have finning.

The next step, if you still have the problem, is to contact Eric at hollowpointmold.com and have him fit a better pin for you!

You've given the factory three tries to get it right, if it is still doing it go to Eric and forget the maker, they can't help you.

HM

[GLynn41]

i had the same problem at times - the lead is getting past the top of the pin just a little- it goes back (for me) about making everything is clean and seating completely --Here is what I, me I did I took some 0000 steel wool and polished the pin and the barrel of the pin -- then I made sure that it fit completely in the brass mold blocks- - have not had a problem since then

[whisler]

I notice that all your alloys have pewter added, for tin. If you find no defect in the mold or pin fitment, try an alloy without added tin. Maybe reducing the flow properties of the alloy will correct the problem.

[Tripplebeards]

Tried it with straight coww this after noon as well and it it still leaked. I just got done scraping all 6 plus lbs of HP boolits fins off and lightly running them across sand paper to even them out. Between sweating my butt off and fingers looked black as night from the lead i plan to talk with Lyman tomorrow.

[Time Killer]

I have had some fining on hp molds this is what i do to correct it. Run temp of lead around 750( My therm temp or as low as the lead will flow good from your pot), used spru lube on the pin when hot to bake it on ( adds a touch of size to the pin), slow the pour down and pour as close to the spout as possible for minimal drop pressure.

If that does not work and it was my 3rd mold i would send it back and get me a quality hp mold from NOE or Mihec. Both make quality hp molds for not much more than you are paying for that one.

[Dryball]

contact Erik here: http://www.hollowpointmold.com/
He has excellent customer service.

[evoevil]

who makes the mold, have you contacted them

[Tripplebeards]

Lyman said after three tries and the same issues that the only thing they could do is to refund my original purchase. I asked several times for a replacement being I like the boolit and don't want a refund. They weren't willing to send me another to try. They told me I needed my original receipt and of course I didnt have it so I called Natchez shooters supply where I bought it. They were willing to send me the receipt and or a replacement mold. I going to take a chance one more time and exchange the mold again. If the 4th one doesn't work I'll send it back to Lyman for a refund. I really like this boolit and am not going to give up on it yet. I'm going to try ladle pouring with the replacement mold to see if that makes a difference. The first mold which finned the least I ladle poured.

[Tripplebeards]

I have had some fining on hp molds this is what i do to correct it. Run temp of lead around 750( My therm temp or as low as the lead will flow good from your pot), used spru lube on the pin when hot to bake it on ( adds a touch of size to the pin), slow the pour down and pour as close to the spout as possible for minimal drop pressure.

If that does not work and it was my 3rd mold i would send it back and get me a quality hp mold from NOE or Mihec. Both make quality hp molds for not much more than you are paying for that one.

Thanks for the tips. I thought with HP you wanted to pour fast for a proper fill out? I'll find some spru lube as well. I see there is franford arsenal release spray and some 2oz graphite lube in a bottle...is this what I need and is it the same stuff?

[bangerjim]

I have several MiHec 5 cavity brass molds and the HP's just rain out of them.....perfect every time. I preheat all my molds on an electric hotplate to FULL casting temp B4 ever starting and get perfect drops from the 1st one.

His molds are amazing. All the moving parts (pins, etc) move smoothly and allow the boolits to drop perfectly with no banging or "tapping" with a wooden mallet.

If you like HP's check those out! And he gives you 4 different shape sets of pins to use!

bangerjim

[gwpercle]

Thanks for the tips. I thought with HP you wanted to pour fast for a proper fill out? I'll find some spru lube as well. I see there is franford arsenal release spray and some 2oz graphite lube in a bottle...is this what I need and is it the same stuff?

The Frankford Arsenal is a spray graphite....it sorta builds up and after a while you have to clean all the cruddy build up off. Try some spray on Dry Lube as a mould release spray....works amazingly well , these are usually micro teflon particles and don't leave a residue. I've been using Liquid Wrench Dry Lube but any spray on dry lube will work like Super Lube , Blaster , LPS or WD40 Dry Lube ...check around the house and if you have some try the dry lube first, it works a lot better than FA Mould release...trust me.
Also don't use a lot of pressure when casting...if you have a big bottom pour pot , full of metal and hold the mould tight up to the spout , all that pressure is going to encourage fins. I get my best with a Lyman ladle , I fill it with just enough metal for 1 boolit and a sprue puddle.

Three moulds in a row than cast with fins.....it just might be technique and not so much the mould.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Gary

[Time Killer]

I use 2 cycle synthetic oil for my spru lube. The type you mix with gas for the weed eater chain saw etc.

[Tripplebeards]

I bought a lee Hp .430 mold from a member today and turned my lee pot up to 9. They only issue I had was trying to keep the halves lines up properly. I had a touch of finning around the hp area at times but I figured it was from using my lee pot again. Ill try the ladle tomorrow.

[Brassduck]

had a fining problem with a lyman 4 cavity mold, found I was using the wrong handles.

[15meter]

had a fining problem with a lyman 4 cavity mold, found I was using the wrong handles.

What he says, I've changed handles and solved molds not closing completely. If you don't have another set of handles, try flipping the mold over in the handles.