guninhand
05-22-2012, 10:21 PM
This is a tip. I have read on here of using a fan to cool the sprue when casting, the object being to avoid smeared lead between the bottom of the sprue plate and top face of the mold. Now it just happens that I got a small cheap air compressor for gun room cleaning, and I decided to give that a try as a sprue-cooler-downer. Just put the nozzle right over where the pour hole should be and give a 2 to 3 second blast.
It worked great. I was ladle casting big 45-70 bullets for long range accuracy and it is so important to get good bases, and I found I have to keep the melt and the mold fairly hot, over 800F.
The only caveat is watch closely and make sure the sprue has turned frosty, otherwise you will be blowing molten lead who knows where. There was no problem using welders gloves while doing this.
It worked great. I was ladle casting big 45-70 bullets for long range accuracy and it is so important to get good bases, and I found I have to keep the melt and the mold fairly hot, over 800F.
The only caveat is watch closely and make sure the sprue has turned frosty, otherwise you will be blowing molten lead who knows where. There was no problem using welders gloves while doing this.