what am I doing wrong?

[happyhunter]

Today I had my third casting session. I put a new sprue plate on my Lyman 358477 two cavity mold. I get a bit of lead under the plate that forms little wings on the base of the bullet. Here are a couple picts

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d96/happyhunter/DSCN1571.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d96/happyhunter/DSCN1572.jpg

Is it normal to get a bit of extra around the base? Is it OK to use this way? I have not tried to size them yet.

Thanks,
HH

[jblee10]

Wait longer before cutting the sprue to avoid "smearing".

[GRUMPA]

When I get those "wings" at the base of the boolits it's because my sprue plate is elevating or not seating to the top of the mould. I have fixed it by taking a washer, either there's or mine and putting it in my vise and squeezing the washer ti the point it bends just a little to give it what I call a crown.

Then I put it together making sure the newly formed washer pushes down on the sprue plate, so far this has worked for me. And if waiting longer to cut the sprue doesn't seem to work, I lap mine flat and smooth, that can be done with some 220 sandpaper on a small piece of glass for flatness, some of the sprue plates are bowed and may require the user to flatten them.

[happyhunter]

When I look under the plate I can see light on the other half of the mold (the half the plate does not attach to). It is almost as if the top of the mold is not flat. I wondered about how to flatten that..... not sure I want to try..... I have not had much success trying to flatten things in the past.

I will try some bent washers. I have the new Lyman dished washer ontop of the plate now. Will try making one that is bent so as to push that far corner down.

Later tonight I want to try sizing some of the funny bullets.

HH

[GRUMPA]

Here's an old machinist trick so give this a try. Take you calipers and completely close them (I'm hoping that they are the metal type) and rest the narrow part of the calipers (the part you hold onto) and lay it flat on the mold and hold it in place while looking for light leaks. If you see any that's an indication of the top of the mould not being flat.

Now do the same thing with the sprue plate and I'm sure that you'll see more light between your calipers and sprue plate than you did with your mould.

http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa341/grumpaboo/Calipers720x540.jpg

[snuffy]

When I look under the plate I can see light on the other half of the mold (the half the plate does not attach to). It is almost as if the top of the mold is not flat. I wondered about how to flatten that..... not sure I want to try..... I have not had much success trying to flatten things in the past.

I will try some bent washers. I have the new Lyman dished washer on top of the plate now. Will try making one that is bent so as to push that far corner down.

Later tonight I want to try sizing some of the funny bullets.

If you want to get along here, you gots to call them boolits!:kidding:

If your mold is like you say not flat on top, then your locating pins my be the cause. If it's a used mold, then those pins may have elongated holes where the pins enter the oposite holes/bushing. I don't know if Lyman sells new pins and bushings to eliminate that misalignment. But that would be a way to stop it. Sometimes just tapping the pin out a bit further will help, but if it's elongated holes, it will only last for a short time.

[mdi]

Yep a straight edge will tell you if the top of the mold is flat, and the sprue plate should be tested too. I occationally polish the underside of my sprue plate by using a piece of glass, some fine emery paper/cloth, and oil. Set the emery on the glass and lightly oil it. Place the sprue plate flat on the emery and carefully slide the plate back and forth with long strokes. You can see where metal is being removed and tell you how flat the plate is. This will flatten the plate and polish it so it'll cut easier and set on the mold better...

[happyhunter]

Wait longer before cutting the sprue to avoid "smearing".

What happens if you wait too long? Can you wait too long? Will it be hard to cut?

Thanks,
HH

[DLCTEX]

It does appear to be a misalignment between mould halves. The flash seems in the photo to be on one side on both boolits. Also the underneath pic appears to show a step at the parting line. A side view of the nose band will show whether there is misalignment.

[oneokie]

The alignment pin closest to the handle appears to be protruding more than the front pin. Do you have trouble closing and opening the mould?

When lapping a sprue plate, use a figure 8 motion to keep the plate flat. Back and forth motion will take more off the edges than in the middle.

[Dennis Eugene]

That is not lead smear, the top of the mold shows no evidence of lead smearing. I believe DLCTEX has nailed it and agree with him,misalignment between the blocks. I don't know that you can actually wait to long to cut the sprue,old timers used to leave the last bullets cast in there molds in the belief that it would keep the mold from rusting. However if left longer than usual the sprue will indeed be harder to cut. Dennis

[runfiverun]

it looks like one side of the mold is just a titch higher than the other.
you'll have to work the alignment pins to get things right.
it could be in the handles too.
look for a burr in the alignment holes.
or lightly champher them.

[happyhunter]

I looked at the boolits to see if there was a step across the nose from misalignment. There may be a bit. Sometimes my finger nail would snag in one direction. Sometimes it would not snag either direction. Sometimes it would not snag at all..... Also running my finger nail over the top of the mold felt just as flat as the boolit nose.

The mold opens and closes easily, at least it did. I tried tapping the pins a bit outward for more engagement. Only about .01 to .02 inch more (measured before and after). Now it does snag a bit on the one pin. I tapped it back some because at first there was a good bit of hanging onto.

As I was putting it all back together I noticed a big problem. When I tighted down the set screw onto the sprue plate screw it lifts the plate off the other side of the mold.

This brings the question of just how do you adjust the screw to hold the plate? Maybe I would be better off just back the screw off. At least then the plate lays flat. I don't think the lead would lift it up, would it?

Or what about adjusting the screw and using locktite instead of the setscrew?

Thanks,
HH

[runfiverun]

you want the sprue plate flat on top of the mold whether thats loose or tight don't matter.
i have some that swing open under thier own weight and some that drag on the mold.

[wallenba]

Cutting the sprue too early leaves a smear on the under side of the spue plate. As it builds up it pushes the sprue plate higher, allowing overflow to form'wings'.
The ridges around the parting line of the mold could be from the alignment pins pulling out a bit. When that happens the halves don't fully close.

[oneokie]

As I was putting it all back together I noticed a big problem. When I tighted down the set screw onto the sprue plate screw it lifts the plate off the other side of the mold.

This brings the question of just how do you adjust the screw to hold the plate? Maybe I would be better off just back the screw off. At least then the plate lays flat. I don't think the lead would lift it up, would it?

Or what about adjusting the screw and using locktite instead of the setscrew?

Thanks,
HH

Sounds like the sprue plate screw is undersized or the hole in the mould block is oversized. How tight are you tightening the lock screw?

The mould gets too hot for Locktite to hold.

When you cut the sprue, are you applying pressure parallel to the mould top? Try putting some downward pressure on the plate as you swing it open.

[hardy]

Hi Happy Size em and see Had asimilar problem same mold Sized em and all great shooters

[hardy]

Hi again You can go insane trying to throw a perfect boolit but as long as the mold halves are not horribly misaligned AND you ARE going to size them then the sizer will solve a lot of your problems,consistently..Hope this helps ..Mike

[.22-10-45]

Hello, happyhunter...I have had this same problem..set screw pivoting sprue-plate screw over.
The late Don Eagan made his plate to swing of it's own weight..with just the barest hint of clearance..when sprue-plate screw was bottomed out...this took a bit of careful machining.
I long ago ditched those way too heavy lock washers & substituted a lightweight "wave" washer..using two or three, lets me have a bit of tension, yet will not raise plate.
You might adjust sprue plate screw to where there is slight tension yet plate still lies flat & mark this position on end of sprue plate screw (as viewed thru set screw hole)
Using a file, put a small flat at this point on end of screw.
Now, you won't need to tighten set screw nearly as tight, yet will still hold screw in place.

[GRUMPA]

Happy, it would be nice to know if any of the advise fixed your problem, I'm curious myself about this.

[Larry Gibson]

As I was putting it all back together I noticed a big problem. When I tighted down the set screw onto the sprue plate screw it lifts the plate off the other side of the mold.

That is the problem.

The sprue plate screw does not have to be tightened down very much. Putting too much tension raises the plate as you've found. Loosen the screw and just put a very little bit of tension on the wing washer/wave washer. As mentioned the weight of the sprue plate alone is usually sufficient. Several of my moulds have sprue plates that swing freely on their own weight as also mentioned.

Larry Gibson.

[happyhunter]

Hi all,
I am just getting back to this thread. Spent my Sunday am at church and then took my 13 year old scouting for youth turkey next Sat.

When I tighten the sprue screw as soon as it touches the plate it starts to lift it. If I then tighten the set screw that lifts the plate even more. If I leave the sprue screw as low as possible but without lifting the plate and then tighten the set screw then the plate stays flat on the mold. I think that is what I will use the next time I cast.

I noticed some galling on the top of the mold around the sprue screw hole. I am thinking this may be part of the problem. The mold was used. It looked great in the photos. Maybe I should just stick to new molds from here out.

I did set up my Lyman 450 yesterday evening with the 358 sizer. I ran two bullets thru and they look nice. They micd at .363 before and .362 after. Not sure why they are soooo big. I will look into that later. But the small flat excess lead was gone. So, maybe all will be well. I will play with sizing some more this week as I can do that anytime I have 10 or so minutes. This whole casting thing is taking more time than I thought it would.... wife and 5 kids need attention too.

I will post back to this when I know how my plan works. It will be a while. I only get to cast outside in nice weather on Sat morning and April 21 morning I will have Matt out turkey hunting. Not sure what the next Sat holds.

Thanks to all for your help,
HH

[hardy]

See, I told you!!! LOL Good luck.Mike

[tenx]

you can get the wavy pressure washers at a automotive parts house, go to the nut and bolt section, they will be with the metric stuff, they tend to run 6-8 cents each.