Casted my first batch today!

[Atakawow]

Couldn't believe how easy it was. I should have done this way sooner! I learned that molten lead touching your skin is not fun. I also learned that I need to wear long pants when casting.

I have a couple of questions:

1) What causes the base of the bullets to burr? I had quite a few with sharp edges on the base. I think it's due to the fact that I cut the sprue plate too quickly before letting the lead cooled down.

2) I think I might have ruined one of my molds. I was using a pair of winter gloves with rubber palms. While handing the hot mold, I accidently touch the inside of the mold blocks with the rubber part, causing the rubber to melt and made a mess. Luckily, none of the melted rubber got inside the cavities. However, there are quite a few of burnt rubber marks surrounding the cavities.
What can I do to salvage this? It didn't seem to affect my casting much, just a bit tough to line up the mold blocks flush.

3) Is fluxing and skimming neccessary if I use a bottom pour pot? Reason I asked is because if the unwanted excess will float to the surface, why not just leave them if the lead is coming out from the bottom? I'm not trying to shortcut the process, it's just that the Lee 20# pot I have is too small on the surface and I burnt my hand a couple times trying to skim stuff off.

Here are a couple pictures of the bullets. About 1/4 would be considered "bad" bullets but I will go ahead and use them anyway.

125gr .356
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa91/atakawow/FirstCast9mm.jpg

200gr .452
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa91/atakawow/FirstCast45acp.jpg

[Doby45]

Mold too cool on both sets of castings. You heat that mold up real well and you will be at 98% keeper rate.

[462]

Use a hot plate to heat your moulds.

Do some reading about the necessity of fluxing -- I see what appear to be inclusions in some of the boolits. Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook, 3rd edition is one place to start...read it at least a couple times. You need to understand how oxidation occurs and steps you can take to minimize it and correct it, as well as removing crud that adheres to the sides and bottom of the pot.

You'll see that lead burns go deep and take a long time to heal. Proper safety equipment is paramount, particularly gloves and natural fiber clothing. Rubber, synthetic materials, skin and very high temperatures don't mix.

The various stickies and the archive are invaluable learning tools and will answer a myriad of questions.

[onondaga]

Gotta agree with your mold temp being way too cool. Your alloy temp was likely just fine. Most likely your casting rate was way too slow. You should be opening and dropping 3-4 times a minute. That is tough for a beginner.

I see black void holes or dirt specks in your bullets and rounded bases and winkles.
The wrinkles are from the mold being cool/and/or oil in your mold. The holes and specks from crud in your alloy.

To effectively flux your metal has to be hotter than casting temperature, hot enough to instantly char and flame a rolled newspaper..675+ or so. It should be hot enough to flame the wax flux. When you get it that hot, add flux, stir briskly and scrape the sides of the pot and stir again. Then skim the top. Dont flux when the temp is too low it doesn't work as well and you may loose some good tin that wasn't hot enough to flux. After fluxing, lower your pot temp to about 600-650 depending on your alloy.

I use a pea size piece of candle for fluxing then because I use a bottom pour pot. I cover the alloy with sawdust before I start casting. Don't throw sprues back in till you start the next pot, they drop your pot temp.

Your bullets look pretty good for the first time. As you get more experience they will get better and have good fillout and no specks if you pick up your speed and flux better to get your metal clean.

Don't wear rubber gloves. You already found out why. Wear leather or even double cotton gloves, they don't melt.

Gary

[Atakawow]

Thanks for all the help, folks. I will take all into consideration the next time around I get to cast. :drinks:

Another thing, is it alright to use Hoppes 9 to clean the mold cavities?

[onondaga]

NO, hoppe's has petroleum. use no products with any kind of petroleum or petroleum distillates to clean molds. they leave oil in the grain surface of metal that boils up into bubbles in your bullets from the heat of casting. Boil molds in dish soap and water and scrub with a small brush.

If you just have to use a solvent, Acetone is fine with Q-Tips.

Sounds like you need to study more basics.

Gary

[lead-1]

I took an old electric skillet to the garage as a multi use heat source, I filled it with water and put a couple molds in it and as it heated it brought the **** to the surface. Then when it got to boiling I used a tooth brush and dawn dish soap to clean the molds then rinsed them good. The next day I smoked them and they worked great.
The main thing is not to get discouraged if the boolits look crappy, just remelt and start over.

[462]

Lead-1,
Conduct and easy and interesting experiment:
Re-clean your moulds, don't smoke them, see how they cast.

A dollar says that, if your moulds have been properly cleaned and prepared -- burrs removed, clean vent lines, correct mould block alignment, etc. -- you will discover smoking is not necessary.

[RayinNH]

Ata,your mold with the rubber is not ruined. You should be able to put the block back together and then carefully scrape the cooked rubber off of the sides...Ray

[HATCH]

alternately you could just put the mold block on the hot lead and it will burn off the rubber