A little more heat made the difference.

[Arceagle]

I have been having some problems getting good boolits from a 9mm mold. This is my fifth mold and I have been able to cast and shoot good boolits from my other molds. This mold was starting to get the best of me, today was probably the 7th or 8th attempt to cast with this mold. I was using a alloy I have cast from before and had good results both casting and shooting. I was getting wrinkles and rounded shoulders like the mold was too cold or contaminated. I cleaned the mold with comet, brake cleaner and acetone several times but still no success. I use a hot plate and have cast as many as 300 bullets at a time with this mold and was culling most.
Well I was determined to get it to work today. I started casting twice and had to stop and clean the mold again. I don't think I have cleaned any of my other molds more than the first time except for one I bought from Lee. I was running my lead pot at the same temp (700) I run when casting with my other molds and was still not getting good boolits. I was running out of ideas and decided to turn the pot temp up. I brought it up to 800 degrees and all of a sudden it is dropping good boolits!!!
All of the fussing, cussing and head aches and something as simple as bumping the temp up an additional 100 degrees and problems are gone and I have a pile of 200 good boolits.
Man have I still got lots to learn, problem is I forget stuff faster than I can learn it.

[hanover67]

I had the same problem the first time i switched from pistol to rifle bullets. Turned up the heat and the wrinkles went away.

[Prodigal Son]

I was having a problem with getting some to drop from a Lee mold I bought the other day/ When they are shiny, they seem to have a wrinkle here and there. That was only the first problem, when I tried t drop them I had to beat the bolt in the handles so hard it would make the wooden handle slip off. I cleaned this mold, Leemented it, and cussed it! Nothing seemed to help. So I put the mold in the pot and let it get "Hot", the bullets came out slightly frosty, but just fell out of the mold just by opening it. I have never had success with Lee molds, but that is the trick! My iron molds if the get to hot to frost they don't cast perfectly round. It cast the best after the first 2 drops, for about 20, then I let it cool off and go back to dropping gorgous bullets, 20-25 at a time! Then let it cool again.

[454PB]

Arceagle, are you using a thermometer to measure that 700 degrees or going by the thermostat markings?

I normally cast (measured with an RCBS lead thermometer) at between 700 and 750 degrees with good results.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

once the lead melts no chunk's i bring the temp up 100 degrees that what i do

[462]

Turning the pot's temperature up only allowed the mould to finally reach its optimum casting temperature. In other words, prior to that, the mould was too cold.

Saturday evening, my alloy was a measured 600 degrees (2:1 wheel weights: lead) and nice satiny boolits were literally popping out of the mould.

A properly pre-heated mould (I use a hot plate and a "mould oven") will produce first cast keepers. If the alloy is liquid, it is hot enough to cast with. If the mould is not hot enough, it will produce wrinkled boolits. It's really as simple as that.

Qualifier: I used to be in the "crank up the heat" camp, till I started pre-heating with a hot plate.

[soldierbilly1]

462:
right on, someone who learns from experience. Operative word is 'learns' here. The Lee six bangers take some time to heat up, a little patience here is needed. To say the double cavities are easier to use is the understatement of the century.
The thermometer is the best, most meaningful tool buy I have made for reloading/casting in years!
(Analytical chemist for 35 years, I finally learned something.)
billy boy
center 'em up

[Arceagle]

I do have a regular lead pot thermometer so I am reasonably sure of the temp. I didn't mention the name of the mold because they are a site sponsor and the other molds I bought from them have not had any problems.
I kept thinking that it was just a dirty or cold mold but when I was dropping 100+ boolits at a decent clip and still not getting good boolits and the mold had been on a hot plate while the lead was getting up to temp, I was getting very frustrated. Maybe something about this mold does cause a cold spot but it's a tuff one if it is. One of the many things I have not bought yet it a mold thermometer so that's still a possibility.

[Marlin Junky]

Actually, it's better to have a warmer mold than warmer alloy in the pot... better quality castings will be the result. Naturally, tiny little cavities (in general, I'm not saying 9mm is tiny) will make it harder to maintain consistent mold temps. Nevertheless, start with a preheated mold and maintain a consistent casting speed for the best results. 700-750F alloy should be the temperature range to shoot for in the pot depending on mold material and cavity size. If you run your pot at 800F or better and your molds are too cool, you'll end up casting boolits with sunken spots and incompletely filled out features. Preheat your molds to about 500F... it's easier to let them cool a bit by slowing your casting than heat them up by increasing your rate. Also, you'll be able to properly lube the mold when it is very hot and produce fewer boolits that need to be remelted.

MJ

[John Boy]

... I was getting wrinkles and rounded shoulders like the mold was too cold or contaminated ... One of the many things I have not bought yet it a mold thermometer so that's still a possibility. Casting without a thermometer is like trying to row a boat with no oars! Ya get nowhere - Fast. Then come to the forum looking for answers!
Spend the 20 bucks and cast like the rest of us
http://www.teltru.com/p-272-big-green-egg-primo-grill-dome-kamado-replacement-thermometer-lt225r-5-inch-stem-2001000-degrees-f.aspx

[454PB]

While I'm glad I finally bought a lead thermometer, perfectly good casting can be done without one. I had been casting for 35 years before I bought one, and had learned to adjust heat by all the "signs" of proper temperature. As others have said, mould temperature is more important than alloy temperature. I can cast good boolits at 850 degrees as long as I control mould temperature via a wet cloth. I can also get good results at 625 degrees with most alloys, as long as I have a propane torch to preheat the mould.

The men that lead the way in using cast boolits for the last several hundred years didn't own thermometers or hardness testers, they knew what worked by the quality and accuracy of what they produced. Those fairly new tools have just allowed us to reproduce the same results every time.

[Arceagle]

I built a mold oven when I got my first mold. It is big enough for my larger molds, I guess it's possible that this small 2 cavity 9mm mold may not be getting up to temp in the oven. I have cast several hundred boolits at a time with this mold however and still had to cull 70% to 80%. I do not have a good way yet to check the inside temp on the mold. I do have a thermometer that reads the overall oven temp and yes I am using a lead pot thermometer in my casting pot. When I ran my pot at a higher temp I ended up culling less than 30 out of 250 boolits. Thats not counting all the boolits I dropped in the sprue pile before starting.

[Echo]

My daughter gave me a Harbor Freight remote thermometer for Christmas - I use it to monitor the temp of my molds, and it seems to work well.

[MtGun44]

Like Bret said some time ago. Most of the time the answer to every newbie question is

"because your mold is too cold". Fairly close to true.

Bill

[John Boy]

I have cast several hundred boolits at a time with this mold however and still had to cull 70% to 80%. I do not have a good way yet to check the inside temp on the mold.Here's a hint to resolve both issues: The pot melt and mold are in agreement properly when after a 5 second pour - with a good sprue puddle ... the puddle frosts in 5 seconds. Less = cold melt & mold = 70 to 80% culls

If one is casting large weight bullets, 300+ to 500+ ... use a 8 to 10 second puddle frost as the guide

In addition, pouring with a good head pressure and the above, the bell curve weight variance of the bullets will be 1gr or less ... With a steady casting rhythm

[Marlin Junky]

Here's another tip:

The casting conditions I look for is that which produce a color change after the boolit has hit the catch pad. You're going to need a properly lubed mold in order to cast in this manner; however, your reject rate will be negligible. Look to Bullplate or Amsoil for the answer, weed-hopper.

MJ