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Thread: MP 358395 casting problems

  1. #1
    Boolit Bub
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    MP 358395 casting problems

    Tried casting some HBWC today without much luck. Many of the bullets had a deep wrinkle part way around the OD or small voids.
    I cleaned with brake cleaner and a tooth brush, preheat on a hot plate. Lead is half WW half shower liner and 1% tin at 700 degrees. Also raised mold guide to within 1/4 inch of the nozzle thinking stream was cooling.
    Any suggestions as to the next logical thing to try? Don't want to up the heat if not necessary.
    TIA
    Gene

  2. #2
    Boolit Master fryboy's Avatar
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    pre warm the mold and especially the pin !! you may have to pressure cast a few to get it started even then ( eg; holding the sprue plate directly to the spout ) dont pause and look for a bit because you're going to have to cast madly and furiously to keep the mold up to temp and yeah , 750 F mite be better , smoking the pin or the problem area of the cavity also may help , if it's in a groove take a #2 pencil and shade that problem area ( works kinda like mold lube ) gotta keep that pin hot dont pull it out until you're ready to drop the casting
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  3. #3
    Banned

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    well heat is your only friend, especially if dealing with a pin of some sort.
    many make a little jig to hold the pin in their pot or in front of a torch's flame.

    think about the hot alloy hitting the too cold piece of steel as soon as it hits the cavity of the mold.

  4. #4
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    JonB_in_Glencoe's Avatar
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    MP ...eh?
    I assume it's a cramer style. and I also assume this is a new mold.
    I also assume you cleaned it well enough,,,but a second cleaning wouldn't hurt.
    I think you need to raise the heat and/or cast a little faster.
    If this was just the first time using this new mold, sometimes it takes a few casting sessions for a mold to "get into the groove" so to speak. Keep trying...varying the little things.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    Need more heat in the mold

  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master
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    I hold with them as holds with more heat in the mold. MP Cramer style, brass molds are outstanding, but they typically need two or three sessions before they do their best work, and they always seem to require more heat than many here recommend. I recommend that you crank the pot up to 750 degrees and then cast as fast as you can until the boolits start to frost, then back off a bit to the 725 range and moderate your casting rate to keep a light frost on the boolits. Then just cast, fill, cut and dump. Try for 2 1/2 to three casts per minute. Most importantly don't stop to smell the roses on the way, but ignore the temptation to check your work as you go. You will slow down and you will get bad boolits. Keep casting till the lead runs low, then look. You will get more good boolits this way.
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  7. #7
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    MP 358395 casting problems

    Either heat up the mold and pins more. Or turn up the pot temperature and cast fast. Once it's up to temp you can turn the pot temperature down. I typically cast between 715-735 w/ MP molds.

    This particular mold gave me a lot of rejects at first. It was before I started keeping detailed notes on hot plate settings and lead temperature. I'm thinking I turned the pot temp up to 750 because of the mass of the pin.
    Last edited by dragon813gt; 09-27-2015 at 09:11 PM.

  8. #8
    Boolit Bub
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    Higher temp may help the fill out around the hollow base pin, at first look I thought the pin was off center but it was incomplete fill out at the bottom .
    This is my first cramer MP mold,sure well crafted.
    Thanks

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