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Thread: Casting flaws

  1. #1
    Boolit Bub
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    Casting flaws

    Got a used Lee pot, a little dirty.
    Casting Minies for .58 right.now, getting mild localized pitting with a blue discolouration.
    I`m sure some of you have seen this before. Any ideas?

    Other side is relatively shiny

  2. #2
    Boolit Buddy Cast_outlaw's Avatar
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    Looks like you need to clean the mold. Use chlorine free break clean, then dawn dish soap and water with a toothbrush. most of the impurities should Float to the top in your pot, especially if you flux it, paraffin or candle wax works fine for flux
    Last edited by Cast_outlaw; 05-22-2020 at 08:53 PM. Reason: Punctuation and clarification

  3. #3
    Boolit Master
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    I would do a higher temp too.
    The only amendment the Democrats support is the 5th.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master
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    What do you think your alloy is, and what is the melt temperature? For a hollow based bullet, cast from pure lead you might need to be casting at about 800 degrees. I would consider pressure feeding the alloy if that is a bottom pour pot. If the pot is dirty, then the pour might be impaired so if you have not done so, clean out the pot and flux well. Is it supposed to be pure lead with maybe up to 1% tin?

  5. #5
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    I would clean the pot drain all the lead out let cool fill with water have water to add on hand also a steel parts brush to help clean
    turn on let boil scrap and brush sides well your pot will look like new
    kids that hunt and fish dont mug old ladies

  6. #6
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    It is soft lead from stick on wheel weights. Makes really nice accurate boolits when cast with a torch, ladle and mold.
    My next step is a thorough cleaning of all equipment. The pot is mostly cleaned out, there is some impossible crud at the bottom- shiny if you scrape it-it won`t melt out
    How would one pressure feed from a bottom pour pot?

  7. #7
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by eggwelder View Post
    It is soft lead from stick on wheel weights. Makes really nice accurate boolits when cast with a torch, ladle and mold.
    My next step is a thorough cleaning of all equipment. The pot is mostly cleaned out, there is some impossible crud at the bottom- shiny if you scrape it-it won`t melt out
    How would one pressure feed from a bottom pour pot?
    put your mold right on the pour spot and fill when i do that all i got was flash or fins on the boolit
    kids that hunt and fish dont mug old ladies

  8. #8
    Boolit Master

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    After mold cleaning, alloy fluxing, and other advice above, add about 2% tin to the alloy, and pre-heat not only the mold, but also the spru plate. A cold(er) spru plate will inadvertently "chill" the alloy as it passes into the mold and will cause some of your wrinkles.
    If it was easy, anybody could do it.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by LUCKYDAWG13 View Post
    put your mold right on the pour spot and fill when i do that all i got was flash or fins on the boolit
    When I pressure fill a mold with the Lee 10 pound pot, I have the melt up to temp as noted, I have the mold pre-heated to about casting temp, and you probably want to wear a glove if you are not already doing so. Test the flow with the valve open as you want a free flowing fill. With the sprue plate firmly against the nozzle open the valve and watch for the overflow to force it's way out between the nozzle and the sprue plate. It will most likely spurt a bit and you need to quickly shut the valve, lower the mold and then very quickly pour the sprue puddle. When the sprue freezes over, you will probably see the dimple formed by the puddle feeding the cavity. Cut the sprue, empty the mold and quickly refill to keep the heat in the mold.

    If the casting has flashing on the base, perhaps the sprue plate is not fitting flat on the mold, or the plate is too loose. If the casting has fins on the sides, it may be due to a loose grip, or the blocks are not fitting flush due to dings, or debris on the mold face. If you see whiskers on the sides of the casting, your venting is a bit too excessive.

    As you fill the mold using the free flowing method and a half inch or so gap between the plate and the nozzle, you will have cooling as well as oxide forming on the stream as you fill the mold and this can result in visual imperfections on the cast bullet surface. With pressure casting, there is no premature cooling as you are pouring directly into the sealed vessel of the mold cavity. Much the same benefit as ladle casting. You will avoid the usual swirl marks or patches of oxide on the sides of the casting and they will be smooth shiny and well filled out. Once up to speed, you probably will need to slow the pace, or lower the pot temp, or perhaps add the sprues or small ingots as you cast to maintain a working pot temp.

    Since you are casting black powder bullets, you probably will have an alloy with sufficient tin for the ratio you prefer and not just pour any type of lead that you come across. It sounds like your alloy of stick on WW might be a bit short on tin and is why I suggested 1% added to start with. Then figure out what works best. Good luck and be safe when pressure casting by making sure all tools are dry and preheated before casting. Dusty

  10. #10
    Boolit Grand Master

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    If you have a ladle give it a try, It ills the mould much faster, You want to fill the mould before it starts to solidify. Run in the 725*-750* range temp wise. Measure with a thermometer. Pour and cast at a brisk pace, this keeps mould up to temp. If this is a hollow based minnie you need to run it fast as you have the core pin blocks and sprue plate to keep hot.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by LUCKYDAWG13 View Post
    put your mold right on the pour spot and fill when i do that all i got was flash or fins on the boolit
    I've noticed "hairs" sticking out along the marriage lines where the vent lines area on RCBS molds pressure casting linotype at too warm a temperature.

    Flash and fins are caused by the mold not closing completely and/or the sprue plate not sitting perfectly flat --- my 2¢

    I cast pure at 750° -- occasionally 800°

    a picture of the cavities might help.

    You could cast a hot glue boolit, drill a small hole and run a 1/4" flat head screw into it, cut a couple of slits in the side, smear on some fine polishing compound and slowly spin the glue boolit for a few seconds.

    sometimes a little smoke from a lighter helps.
    Last edited by Conditor22; 05-23-2020 at 02:14 PM.

  12. #12
    Boolit Bub
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    Cleaned everything, even got the pot clean. Pot works like a charm now. Did some casting, first few boolits came out a bit wrinkled as expected, but nice looking, no blueish oxidization bits. Then they started coming out with the blue marks and rough texture again. Not as bad as the photo above. Fluxed twice with sawdust, seemed to clean it up a bit. Picked up some paraffin today, will used that for flux next session. Coated the molds in soot, they released a lot better.
    Tried the pressure pour. Nice sharp edges where they are supposed to be. Did get some flash and needles from the Lyman mold. Kind of expected it, both .58 molds i used today are over 35 years old. One brass mold, made in Italy, no idea of make. It has short handles, and an upper and lower plate. It has a pitted bottom plate, and the lead under pressure took full advantage of it. My Zouave likes that bullet, so I don’t think i will cast those that way anymore. May get a cast iron pot for the Coleman and cast those by ladle as i have always done.

    Cast some .45 REALs in a steel Lyman mold- they came out mostly perfect except for a bit of that blue stuff.

    Have also noticed that i get a void at least 50% of the time at the apex of the hollow base.

    Will leaving lead to solidify in the pot have detrimental effects on the pot?
    Last edited by eggwelder; 05-23-2020 at 08:00 PM.

  13. #13
    Boolit Buddy Cast_outlaw's Avatar
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    No it should be fine to leave it in your pot I got a lee drip-o-matic 20plus years old always left full And it’s not that drippy

  14. #14
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cast_outlaw View Post
    No it should be fine to leave it in your pot I got a lee drip-o-matic 20plus years old always left full And it’s not that drippy
    I do the same with the same pot
    kids that hunt and fish dont mug old ladies

  15. #15
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    I’ve also gotten a void at the point of the hollow base, casting at about 850 degrees seemed to help. This is with scrap pipe and sheet lead.

  16. #16
    Boolit Grand Master fredj338's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LUCKYDAWG13 View Post
    put your mold right on the pour spot and fill when i do that all i got was flash or fins on the boolit
    The trick with pressure casting is to lift the mold from the spout just as it fills.
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  17. #17
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    Getting a void in the mold in the FIRST cavity you pour can be caused by not clearing the spout (squirt a short burst of lead into the catch container below to remove cool cold lead in the spout. this cool/colder lead inhibits the flow of lead in the cavity --- voids usually in the corners by the sprue plate.

  18. #18
    Boolit Bub
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    I was thinking thats what it was, i was knocking the drip off, but maybe there is cooler lead still inside the spout.

  19. #19
    Boolit Bub
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    Another session today, fluxed with paraffin. Makes a nice flame in the pot. The boolits in each picture on the left are from the pot. Lots of blue dross or oxides that seem to be coming out the spout. Seems to clog it after a bit. The pot is cleaned free from previous casting sessions dross.
    The ones on the right are ladle and propane torch cast. Nice color, little bit of mold not filling out on the ideal. the group of 5 are from a Italian brass mold. The group of 4 are from an ideal steel mold.





    The lead is stick on wheel weights and some roofing lead.
    Last photo is what happens at 50 yards into a sand filled bullet trap. The small piece is a .45 ball of the same lead

  20. #20
    Boolit Master

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    Nice "splat" mushroom shape those. Is that a plain base boolit mold? I don't understand the "rim" at the base of those recovered boolits. At 50 yards, your accuracy is going to be roughly the same for wrinkled plinkers as for smooth surfaced boolits. Shoot 'em up. You can make more!
    If it was easy, anybody could do it.

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BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
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HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
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LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check