If had hair enough to get a grip on I wold have tried pulling it out today.
Second session with my NOE 360 155gr WC 2-cavity mold. I heat cycled it a couple times before I used it the first time, then heated and let it cool as I was casting a couple times as well. It cast OK, not outstanding, that first session, showing a tendency to not fill out real well. Alloy that time was certified 96.5 Pb/3.5 Sn.
I the pot today and refilled it with what has been a pretty good casting alloy of sb 1.49, sn 1.23, bi 2.34, pb 91.94, cu .27, fe .80. Tht alloy likes to be run hot, at 750° it works flawlessly in several Lee molds in 38, 40, and 45 calibers. I could not get it to cast for beans today.
That NOE mold has six bands, the end and two middle bands appear to be the same width with the first and fifth bands being somewhat narrower. Those two narrow bands would not fill out. I ran melt temperature from just over 700° to 775°, cast fast to where the boolits were frosted, slowed down, pressure cast, poured right down the throat and ran the metal down the taper of the sprue holes. ZIP, zilch, nada.
Stars & moon not properly aligned? This metal fills two Lee SWC designs, 105 & 140 gr., both of which have real narrow bands and gives me just about no rejects after the first couple warming fills. I'm thinking about mixing a pot load with extra tin to see if that helps any.
ARGH!!