Frustrating day casting

[metricmonkeywrench]

I have a Lyman 358429 HP .38 mould, first casting session with the mould I was using some 14 BHN lead that I have been using for most of my pistol bullets. I ran hot In my little 3lb Potter and had a real good run of bullets with few rejects. The 38 Pistols loved them, they hit where I aimed them and I got some great chrono results (SD of 10!!) and no leading. The little Potter is an odd duck, it’s either on or off so I dont generally stick my thermometer in it and never let it get below half full, but it does pour some nice bullets.

Being that I can’t leave well enough alone I decided to try to cast some out of my range scrap 10 BHN Heinz 57 mix out of my 20lb Lee pot to get a softer bullet. It is my standard go to for my Lee soup can 148g and HG #50 wadcutter moulds and the bullets drop good and fast.

Now for the frustration... well over a 50% reject rate, the noses filled out well but drips and blobs in the bands, bad fill out and rounded lube groove edges. Oddly enough the majority of the bases filled out well.

I suppose I need to sweeten the mix with a bit of tin (pewter) to help with the fill out but it’s still a bit of a bummer to dump half your work back into the pot....

[Greg S]

If your mold was up to temp, I'd try alittle more heat on your melt before sweating it. I used to get big swings with my Lee 20 pounder before I built a couple of PIDs. Now, my melt stays +/- 5° of my target temp. Also try bumping up your pre-heat temp on your mold.

Remember, that Lyman mold is gonna need more heat than those aluminum molds until it gets heat soaked.