Newbie screw up

[Longarm]

Did my first experiment with casting today, all went pretty good until I decided to set a corner of my mold into the pot to try and maintain temp. First time was ok, second time I guess it wasn't closed all the way. So now I have lead stuck down in the cracks where the notch to align the blocks is. I've scraped out all I can with improvised wooden tools since it's aluminum, but the mold still won't shut completely. Any suggestions for an easy way to clean this out?

[mooman76]

Dip it in the lead again until it gets really ho and the lead don't stick good. Then it cleans out easy because it is melted. Are we talking steel or aluminum?

[Longarm]

Aluminum Lee 2 cavity. I tried that, but I think I was simultaneously running low on propane so maybe the alloy wasn't hat enough.

[Firebricker]

moonmans advise is what I do when it happens. Once the mold is hot enough the lead will drip off it like when you take a spoon out. No big deal it happens or does to me anyway LOL. FB

[gvanzeggelaar]

I have done the same thing. I just take a knife and peel it off.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Once you get it cleaned up . . . apply some Bull Plate to it, it'll be much easier to clean up next time!

[Longarm]

Thanks for the help guys, sounds like I just need to get er good and hot again.

[*Paladin*]

Once you get your mold cleaned up, go to a 2nd hand store or Harbor Freight and buy a cheap hot plate to pre-heat your molds. I also made the same mistake once, following Richard Lee's instructions on pre-heating molds.

[Longarm]

Well, I followed all of the above suggestions and that stuff won't budge. I'm guessing my lead isn't getting hot enough, using a Greatland 2 burner propane stove, all the way up. Should a basic camp stove like this be adequate to get the alloy hot enough? It took about an hour to smelt down a bunch of range lead, but I think I filled it too full. This evening it only took about 15 minutes to melt the ingots I made last weekend. Been keeping an eye out for a cheap turkey fryer and electric hotplate, and I sent off payment for some Bullplate on monday.

Any other suggestions? All the bullets I casted tonight have tiny little bubbles on one side, I believe due to one of the air vents being locked up with lead.

[stubshaft]

Both your alloy and mold are too cold. when you get them both to the proper temp the lead on the mold will melt and drop off.