First casting session for the newb

[dmdracer]

I got my mold, furnace, etc wed form Midway, read all the destuctions and tried it out this a/n. not too bad for my first time. I'd say I have 2/3 as keepers, you can cast alot of boolits from a 20 lb. pot !
I had some that were wrinkley, is that a word? and some that did not form all the way, think that is how I let the lead pour into the mold. I'm not there yet but I experimented some and don't have a good consistant technique yet but I'm trying. I got some that were... how to descibe...like you pour and then you pour some more and you get a "layer" type look, had a little trouble being consistant with the speed of the stream coming out of the bottom pour, perhaps letting the pot getting low amounted to that.
I measured 2 of the boolits, they were .310 to .3105 dia. that made me happy but I bought a .309 sizer so need to do something there, remember this is for a Marlin micro groove, grabbed a gc and placed it on the bottom...is it suppose to be real loose? I understand that the sizer will crimp these on but it seems too loose, thought they would almost snap on and then the crimp does it's thing to make sure it stays on...??
One other observation, I weighed a few, they were in the 152 to 152.6 gr weight without the checks, so I think they will be close to 157 or 158 ready to shoot, I'll have to adjust the load from the 149's I purchased and shot with the 4756 powder, any suggestions there? was 10,0 gr and around 1400 fps. Also noticed my cast are approx 3/16 shorter than the leadhead ones I bought, see any problem there? all in all it was neat to see a finished product, they are shiney looking if that means anything, you think I should turn the heat up some to smooth out the wrinkles? no thermometer yet, I did set the corner of the mold in the melt for 20 seconds and the first pour was frosty but sharp edges, let it cool b4 next pour, back to shiney
thanks all for the great info
Dave

[Willbird]

OK, what kind of tools and mold did you get ??

typically what you describe is indicative in MY opinion of either the alloy being too cold, the mold being too cold, or both.

It is always good to be on the conservative side with loads, myself I would look at the bearing area differance and where the base of the bullet ends up inside the ctg. case to consider how much if any to drop the load.

Those two factors again in my opinion are more important that the extra grains of weight.

Marlin Micro groove I have no experience with yet (have a rifle but have fired no cast in it YET), but I wouldnt be afraid to try the bullets run thru a .309 die.

Bill

[imashooter2]

I run my Lee C309-150F hot to get most consistent fill out. I use the Lee 10 pound pot and rigged up an adjustable stop for the handle to help keep the stream consistent. Dropping in a fresh ingot (preheated on the rim of the pot) as the level falls helps as well. If you remember my post in your mold thread, my bullets drop at .312 diameter and 156 grains, so your mold is right in the ball park.

Checks should be loose enough to press on with your fingers, but tight enough to stay on the shank till you get them through the sizer die. You did buy .30 cal checks right?

My 30AS microgroove shot well with bullets at .309, but better with bullets at .311. Go ahead and try some through the .309 sizer. If they don't shoot you can always make the die larger with a sandpaper flapper.

[David R]

I pour them till they get frosty, then back off a little on the heat, or my speed in pouring (slow down the rythm) so the boolits are dull, but not frosty or shiny. Frosty is aledgly too hot and shiny/wrinkly is too cold. I shoot frosty looking boolits with no problems at all. If you look at the shiny ones, the driving bands might not be filled out and the corners could be rounded. Once you get the hang of it, the first couple might not come out then every one after that will be fine.

Using two molds or three will help keep an even pace. by the time you get around to the 3rd one, its cool and ready to be dumped and refilled.

SEE what did they tell ya? Now you have to buy another mold so the first ones come out better.

[NVcurmudgeon]

Your wrinkled bullets are most likely because of not enough heat, especially as you said that the first cast, where you held the mould into the alloy, was frosty. You said that after the first cast, they went back to shiny. Frosted bullets are not necessarily bad, despite what the publishers say. Most of my bullets are frosted, I like to get the alloy just hot enough to make frosted bullets. If you get the alloy and/or mould too hot, you willl have to wait too long for the bullet to solidify and you might smear the sprue over the top of the blocks or bottom of the sprue cutter. In my experience aluminum moulds need to be run hotter than iron, probably because of aluminum's faster heat dissipation.

[dmdracer]

Bill, I have the Lee 20lb furnace, Lee c309-150f mold. The shorter lenght in the boolit is in the nose area, the 2 bases are the same.

Ima, the checks are 30 cal. yes I remember your post, after reading some replys I think I was on the cold side on this first pour, the checks will not press on by finger, at least not on the 2 I tried, I lubed around 150 and they are overnight drying now.

David and NV, Again By what you say, I am too cold, the nice looking, shiney ones are a little roundish and the frosty one is sharper on the edges.
Sounds like I need to start over again and turn the heat up, funny...I was too hot on the ingot melt and now too cold on the cast.
So, what if I load up the 150 I have lubed WITHOUT the checks and shoot them...think I would be ok? maybe drop to 9 gr powder, I suspect that would be in the 1200 fps range so no leading, is that safe thinking?
With all the help here, I think I'm getting a handle on this addiction....ahh, thats what they all say huh? ;-)
I'll try again later today with the heat up some.
thanks
Dave

[NVcurmudgeon]

Dave, you can try your non-GC boolits without GC. Sometimes they will work just fine, especially at low velocity. I shot a lot of RCBS .45/70 400 gr. without putting the GC on, at 1100-1200 fps, with good accuracy and no leading. The very worst that can happen is a little leading.