Lead Stuck In Mold

[Michael J. Spangler]

ok guys,

here it goes
MP 454-200 RN HP brass
i noticed some bits of lead smeared in between the blocks, in the HP pin slots and actually a touch stuck to the bump that creates the lube groove.

whats the best way to get this cleaned up? i've heard of hitting it lightly with a torch after the mold is heated up from casting or preheat. the wiping with a towel

i just noticed that once this started to happen the HP pins have a little light showing around them, and i'm getting a tiny bit of flashing around the HP on the nose.

also more importantly what is the best way to prevent this in the future? colder mold temp? colder alloy temp?

thanks guys!

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Spot heating and wiping with burlap cloth or paper towel will work. Also add to the list....scrubbing/rubbing the spot with the corner of a lead ingot (can be done cold), but it may be difficult to do in some places that are tight. Flashing is a pain anywhere and really should not be present...the cause for it should be eliminated...a tiny bit is ok as long as it does not continue to build up as that in turn will interfere with operations. Colder temp of mold and/or alloy can be tried as long as it does not create problems with fillout. LLS

[Michael J. Spangler]

ok so i tried messing with this today.
i preheated my mold on a hotplate to bring it up to temp, as not to have the heat be sucked out of the spot i was trying to clean.
i hit it with a propane torch and it seemed like it took a lot of heat to get it anywhere near ready to clean.

can i damage my mold like this? i stopped and figured i won't worry about it till next time.

i just noticed that i have some finning on my boolits and figure it could be from improper mold closure due to some funk built up here and there.

some of the lead is stuck where the lube groove is, and it super tough to get to.

can i just disassemble my whole mold and let half of the mold sit in the melt for a few minutes and everything will come up to temp and melt off?

i've tried the corner of an ingot and that was impossible to get into that tight area too.

thanks guys

[Mal Paso]

My best luck has been to heat the mold on a hot plate to normal casting temp, and use hardwood sticks to scrape and pry up the edges and Sprue Plate Lube to help the process. One new one I tried today was a dab of Bee's Wax on a warm mold. Seems to get under the lead.