Welcome and congrats on your first casting session. I think you need a little more heat in your moulds but the other possible causes are worth looking into as well. Quite honestly all the boolits in your pics will probably shoot just fine but if you want to throw them back in the pot and try again, practice will improve your technique and sometimes a mould seems to get better with time as well.
Good job and thanks for posting, keep us posted on your progress.
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A brief update for those who are interested.
A minor tragedy befell me. I realized as I was cleaning things up that I had boogered up one of the alignment pins on my mold. I'm guessing that in the frenzy of the casting, I was less gentle than I should have been with this mold. I did some sanding/stoning, and I think it's back in good form. However, now I'm nervous about mucking it up again and I'm going to try the RCBS 250-K mold I have. It is new, so I expect little the first time, and I will also be more gentle. Perhaps I was overly ambitious to try a 6 cavity mold my first time. Well, live and learn. I measured my new bullets and some of them were as big as .449 which seems quite a bit over.
Subscribing to help me learn more, great comments from many, thanks!
Alrighty,
I fired up the pot yesterday during the day. Same alloy as last time, range scrap, as I have lots of it. I decided I would give the Lee 6 cavity mold a rest and I would try and RCBS 44-250K that I bought. The mold was brand new, so I had to clean it and the like. I cast for almost 2 hours with some good results. After throwing the first 20-30 back in the pot, I kept the rest, which turns out to be more than 200. I had as much fun as I did last time, and probably some more. I felt a little more in control, getting in to the rhythm, trying to monitor the lead temperature more, just more breathing in general. I think I was holding my breath alot the last time.
That being said, I made a list of things I need to work on and improve. I did notice the bullets a little more filled out with sharper corners, but still not as sharp as I would like. Also, I noticed there was some smearing towards the end of the session. The top of my mold has a nice scratch on it, a bur must have formed or somethings. I decided I need to get rid of the little "sinkholes" that keep forming on the base of the bullet. I get a feeling it's related to my pouring but I'm not sure. And finally, I noticed I am sore as hell. That Lee aluminum mold is near weightless compared to this monstrosity. It did not occur to me that this would be a fatigue inducing activity, but I was definitely feeling it all last night and still today. Perhaps I should look for more aluminum molds.
Well, again, any advice, criticism, comments about how handsome I probably am are appreciated. Here's some pictures of the results, as well as the smear. Not sure if it's a big deal or not.
Over time, I've come to believe that the sinkholes are a tin/heat issue, I've never really pushed for an answer as in shooting them, I' can't prove they affect overall accuracy. That is both from handguns and rifles; I shoot a 44 Special, a 44 Magnum Contender and a 44 lever gun. I also see those sinkholes in 45 caliber boolits from time to time. Again, I've never thought much of it. I bottom pour and have also thought that it is a lack of sprue problem, meaning that there is not enough sprue poured. The boolit as it cools will draw metal down from the sprue. A lack of metal for the boolit to pull from, or the sprue cooling before the boolit cools would result in the same thing. As to smearing, there is a thread, I think it is in mold maintenance about using automotive air conditional oil for mold lubricant. It only takes a little bit, if you can see it when applied it's too much. Find the thread and follow directions. My cure for this is to have two molds hen I'm casting. The time it takes to empty, refill, set down pick the other up allows the sprue and boolit to cool enough that the metal will shear and not smear. There will always be tiny lead flakes from the shearing of the sprue, any which build up only attract more. Your sprue plate should not be over tight. It should sing free, but not be loose. Nor should it drag on the mold face. It's a feel thingy. Too loose and the boolit base will get flashing, too tight you get smearing and scratching. Too fast opening you get smearing. Several threads here have good info on removing the smears. Do so before using the mold again. Just my take, others here know lots more than I. Read, read, read.
PS... Good looking boolits, they'll shoot well.
Well you only need a little warmer if there is no wind.
I have successfully cast on a 28 degree F day with little wind on my coleman stove.
I plan on bringing my pop-up canopy home from the range this weekend so I can cast next week, looks to be in the 20's-30's.
Originally Posted by Seeker
what johnh said leave more sprue and slow down a touch ,as long as the base is good they we shoot well.enjoy it gets easier the more you do it
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