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Thread: Juat had the worst casting session ever :(

  1. #21
    Boolit Master

    FLINTNFIRE's Avatar
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    I cast in all temps winter or summer with brass molds aluminum molds , get your mold up to temp , I first wash with soap and hot water then heat cycle it a few times , then start casting with mold up to temp and throw first casts out where I can glance at them when they show fill out and no wrinkles it is down the cushioned ramp to catch basin , spout freezing on my pro melt needed temp up a little more , a little at a time till you find what works , thermometer I have is showing a lot lower then I believe it to be , PID seems right on so it is what I am running by ( yes for years I used no thermometer or PID ) and lead and freeze time seems right torch close by to unfreeze spout when tossing in sprues if needed , level of pot plays a big rule I have noticed in pressure of pour and in staying running when tossing in sprues , I like to keep adding them back and freshening level with ingots as needed , caution on ingots pre warmed is best no need for nasty pops and splatters from ingots , be surprised how one day everything goes in fine and next day there is a splatter from cold or moisture , I have just ran 2 separate MP brass molds last few days they are both brass no lee style lever .

  2. #22
    Boolit Grand Master In Remembrance
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    Don’t have to use paper clips if you ladle pour, especially with a 6x cavity
    Regards
    John

  3. #23
    Boolit Master

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    You didn't mention the alloy being used, just that the boolits would not scratch with your fingernail. If not already, add ~2% tin for better mold line fill out. Also, start out filling only two cavities for a while, then three for a while, then four, then six. Let the mold and in particular the spru plate heat up.

    You can still shoot wrinkled boolits, they're fun too, while you get the "hang" of this particular mold. Not everything down the barrel has to be "perfect". I know. I know. "Perfection" breeds confidence. This will get better.
    If it was easy, anybody could do it.

  4. #24
    Boolit Grand Master


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    Besides what others have mentioned, make sure you have an adequate flow rate.

  5. #25
    Boolit Master
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    I preheat my molds on our glass top range. The should be very hot to the touch, not just warm.
    "If everyone is thinking the same thing it means someone is not thinking"

    "A rat became the unit of currency"

  6. #26
    Boolit Master
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    TODAY I had one of my worst sessions ever. I was casting pistol bullets with a Lyman DC mold and a Lee DC mold alternately, something I've done many times previously. I just kept getting bullets with poor fillout and wrinkles like the OP posted. I degreased and smoked the Lee mold again but no improvement. I went back to the Lyman mold and cast as fast as I could without smearing sprue cuts. When I started getting good clean bullets with sharp edges I was down to about half a pot in my ancient Lee 10 lb. pot. I had already turned the heat up to near max.

    After I cast enough good bullets with the steel mold I went back to the Lee mold and started getting good bullets with it! I started adding wheel weight metal one ingot at a time to keep the level below half a pot and everything worked. I had no problem with a full pot and a steel and Lee mold Sunday and yesterday.

    My conclusion is that the 30-something year old Lee pot is dying. I poured the last of the metal out of it when I was finished today. I'm getting a new one before my next session because we all know that when this one dies it will be half full of metal.

  7. #27
    Boolit Master oldhenry's Avatar
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    My Pro Melt is also of the '80s era. I began to doubt the accuracy of the thermostat a while back, so I just increased it until I started getting good boolits (using 4 cav. iron molds then). After finding this sweet spot I made an arrow from a file label & stuck it 1/2 way the 750 zone ( a newly established 725). As it turns out the newly established 725 is almost exactly 180 degrees from the RCBS marker (go figure). Now that I'm using 6 & 8 cav. alum. molds I seem to do better around the space between the 750 area & 800 area (with my stick-on arrow).

    I agree with Mal Paso: a hot plate is your friend. I got a lead thermometer about a year ago ( from Rotometals-great deal) but to be honest I use it only to set the thermostat on the hot plate. A hot plate is the best thing going: no more stress on the 3rd. handle if the temp is right.

    Good luck!

  8. #28
    Boolit Buddy Hardcast's Avatar
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    Thanks for the additional posts. Having retina surgery tomorrow so I will not be able to cast for a least a couple weeks. By them I will have my lead thermometer and maybe I will have a better casting session. Will also look into getting a hot plate. I will need one for making Ben's Red anyway.

  9. #29
    Boolit Grand Master
    rintinglen's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mal Paso View Post
    That 6 cavity really benefits from preheating on a hotplate if just to make the first sprue cut easier.

    If it's the old Pro Melt your thermostat could be off.
    This^^^
    Aluminum needs more heat and a fast cadence, or you run into the kinds of problems you seem to be having. I find that preheating is essential to good production
    _________________________________________________It's not that I can't spell: it is that I can't type.

  10. #30
    Boolit Grand Master fredj338's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hardcast View Post
    Aluminum mold. I will turn the temp up next session, but I was unable go get a rhythm going to keep the mold up to temp. Being this is the first time I have used a mold with the 3rd handle to break the sprue, that in itself is a learning experience. I also have some MP-molds 4 and 6 cavity brass molds, but have never used them. Hope I have better results with the brass.
    IME, alum molds are easy to keep hot. I often heat on top of the pot while the alloy melts then start casting. after a couple fills the mold is producing. Brass requires a longer preheat but once going stays hot vs an alum mold.
    As to pot spouts clogging, only time this happens is if my alloy is suspect. Usually turning the pot temp up solves that. I never melt scrap in my casting pots, never empty them 100%. This keeps crud out of the spout, even on my LEE pots.
    EVERY GOOD SHOOTER NEEDS TO BE A HANDLOADER.
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Abbreviations used in Reloading

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
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check