Vintage Newbee A-haa Moment

[TXBRILL]

Last night, after reading all the kind advise. I fired up everything and thought through everyones suggestions.

The first thing I realized I was doing wrong was I did not rest the mold or even hold the mold over the melting pot. I was holding it over the stove and trying to pour directly into the sprue plate hole from above and not spill any lead while trying to get a pretty puddle. I now rest the mold over the pot, now the mold is not a moving target, then I rested the ladel either on my glove or on the mold and used a rolling motion to pour the lead instead of the tipping motion I was previously using. Thirdly since I was over the pot I poured with confidence and poured extra lead that I did not worry about making a mess with, after a while I was going along pretty good. Now and then I even had one of those pretty nickle size puddles.

I cast for a while and then stopped to examine my boolits. I have to admit I was being extremely critical and found out about 50 % of them were culls but I did cull anything that had any imperfection. The most common cause for culling was creases in the nose. I started pouring at 700 degrees. Next time I think I will heat the leads to 750 and give it a try. I feel pretty good about my progress.

I just want to thank everyone who took the time to give me advise.


Allen

[sqlbullet]

700° is plenty hot unless you are casting pure lead, which I doubt.

What you need is more heat in the mold. This is a common difficulty for beginners, especially if using aluminum molds. Pre-heat the mold thoroughly by placing it on the pot while the lead melts, followed by dipping an edge of the mold into the melt for a full 45-60 seconds just before the first cast.

Casting IS messy. Put down cardboard of a sacrificial towel if you are someplace you don't want spotted with lead. Worrying about making a mess slows you down, which allows the mold to cool which results in wrinkles on the nose.

Finally, cadence. I run aluminum molds with a bottom pour pot. I find anything less than 3-4 fills per minute and my molds won't stay to temp. Much faster than 5 per minute and the mold over heat. This, of course is variable depending on room temp, boolit size, mold composition and pot heat.

Increasing the pot heat will allow a slower cadence since more energy will have to pass through the mold with each pour. But it will also increase oxidation of melt, so a better approach is to work on increasing the cadence.

hope this helps.

[excess650]

Different molds like different temps. Your nose wrinkles sound like oil in the mould or not enough heat in the blocks. The heat is transferred from the poured metal, so temp of the metal and cadence both affect the heat in the blocks.

I've been casting with a new Lyman thermometer, and it shows different temperature(higher) than does the one it replaced. It really doesn't matter if the calibration is off, but once you find the temperature that the metal needs to be with your cadence, make a note of it.

As of late I've cast with a 6 cavity NOE 311299, 2 cavity Saeco 311, 2 cavity RCBS 30-165-SIL, and a 2 cavity Lyman 311672. The RCBS liked more heat than the others. The Lyman and Saeco were similar at about 20-40* less than the RCBS, and the NOE 40-60* less than the RCBS.

Don't become frustrated at your first few attempts. I've been casting for more than 35 years, and still am learning. Some days things just don't seem to work and the best thing to do is just turn the pot off and walk away.

[geargnasher]

Good advice above. Like I mentioned in the other thread, ladle casting is slow compared to bottom-pouring and it's more difficult to keep the mould up to casting temperature. Lee two-cavity moulds need to be HOT to work right, and seem to be more difficult to get degreased than some other brands when they are new. You need to cast faster to keep the mould hot, remember: Maintain the pot at the temperature that's best for the alloy itself (100 degrees over it's fully-molten point for your particular alloy), and maintain the mould temperature at the point that drops the "best" boolits in your estimation by controlling your casting pace.

Just "cranking up the heat" on your pot will only lead to alloy degradation through excessive drossing and loss of tin through oxidation. Also, if you get a tin-containing alloy any hotter than 750 degrees, you destroy the effectiveness of the protective oxide layer that tin gives to the alloy stream, and the lead "de-wets", or becomes less fluid in the mould because the lead oxide on the surface of the stream makes a tougher "skin" on the flowing molten metal. Think of it as water flowing vs. lava flowing. There are several reasons we add tin or use alloys that already have some in them (better sharp-detail fillout, bonding with antimony in ternary alloys, lower melt point), but if you're crowding the red-zone on the tin-oxide barrier, you could start to see fillout issues. Try for no more than 725, and if you can cast fast enough to keep the mould hot enough, then only 100 or so hotter than the end of the alloy's "mush" point will keep your alloy happier, and you'll notice the decreased dross formation right away. I run wheel weight metal with an additional 1% tin at about 675F, without at about 700. On the rare occasions I use real Linotype alloy, I run it at about 580 and it runs like water. Pure lead is a different story, it needs 800+ to fill out well without any tin whatsoever, but that's ok because there's no tin in there to ruin!

Gear

[runfiverun]

now you know why i set the mold on the edge of the pot while pouring with the ladle.
and let it sit there till i open the sprue.
mold temp is vital.
an occasional dip of the corner in the alloy to maintain mold temp will help too.

[1Shirt]

All good advice, but after all is said, it is an individuals trial and error process that will in the long run produce what he considers satisfactory!
1Shirt!:coffee:

[DeanWinchester]

My greatest newbie revelation came when I stopped be afraid of the molten lead. There is a great difference between fear of it and proper respect. Without a healthy respect for what it can do to flesh, you're going to get hurt eventually. Being scared of it will also get you hurt and make really crappy boolits. You have to know what you're working with almost intimately, but when you truely have a feel for it, you will find that discovering faster, more efficient methods for casting will come naturally.

Also, there's no shame in being afraid of the molten lead. Hell, it'll burn you!!!!

Learning where and how to put your hands isn't something you can just cough up on the spot. It takes time.

[DeanWinchester]

Casting IS messy. Put down cardboard of a sacrificial towel if you are someplace you don't want spotted with lead. Worrying about making a mess slows you down, which allows the mold to cool which results in wrinkles on the nose.





I respectfully but vehemently disagree. You won't find more than a few tiny specks of lead anywhere in my casting area. I don't allow the spru to pool up too much and run everywhere either, only enough to ensure the base fills out square. I've seen other folks casting area and it looks like a silver paint grenade went off.
No sir, not necessary and uncalled for with a practiced hand and at no appreciable loss in production rate either. Not with me anyway.

[Dumasron]

Re: messy

Down at the big-box lumber yard one can buy a 2ftx3ft piece of light gage steel
that makes an excellent protective top for a workbench.

[Bullet Caster]

I have found that my casting area remains relatively clean with only minute bits of lead. I am careful about pouring over the pot and very seldom overflow the mould. I just try for a nice puddle on top of the sprue plate. And all is well...and the pheasant women dance. BC

[williamwaco]

Tip.

I find it difficult to get the mold hot with a ladle. If I want to use the ladle ( I do occasionally )
I cast bottom pour as fast as I can safely cast -- DO NOT RUSH -- until the mold is hot enough to frost the bullets. Then I pick up the ladle.

If you don't have a bottom pour. Forget about the "pretty puddle". Make it as big and as ugly as you can get it. Cover the entire sprue cutter plate with alloy. Let it harden completely. Then cut it.

More lead = more heat transferred to the mold.
More time means more heat transferred to the mold ( up to 10 to 15 seconds )
Do this as fast as you can safely -- DO NOT RUSH -- but do not waste any time looking at the bullets.

This will cause the mold to heat up faster.

When it gets hot enough to cast perfect bullets, slow down and cast more deliberately.
A word about pretty puddles. As the bullet cools, it will suck in more alloy from that puddle if it can or if it needs it. That puddle needs to be large enough and hot enough ( still liquid ) to allow for that.

I try for a puddle about the size of a nickle or a quarter and about 1/8 inch thick.
If the puddle doesn't take three to five seconds to "frost over" I consider the mold to be too cool.

And, I agree, 750 is not necessary. I get best results between 600 and 650. ( With my NOE thermometer. )


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