Need some questions answered about the bullets ive been casting.

[jlaudio29]

Ok so ive probably only cast about 400-500 bullets, and i have been throwing about half of them back... maybe im supposed to be or maybe not, you tell me!


SO are some pics. The 2 far left bullets are ones that ive been keeping, the 3 to the right ive been throwing back. The reason i have been throwing them back is because it appears to me that the base is not filling out, im judging this by the fact that the base is rounded and that there is no flashing like on the first 2.

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q261/jlaudio29/IMAG0917.jpg

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q261/jlaudio29/IMAG0916.jpg

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q261/jlaudio29/IMAG0918.jpg


The picture basically shows the verying degrees of fill out from what i would consider full fill out to the far left, to poor fill out on the far right.

Im throwing back about 50 percent of what i cast, this is from a Lee 452-230 TCTL DC mold, ive tried experimenting with pooring the front first, or the back first, it seems really hard to get both cavities to fill out properly. Im ladle pooring as well.

[rmatchell]

They look good to me, in fact alot better than my first boolits. One thing that really helped me at to preheat my molds on a hot plate and to not be to picky.

[pergoman]

I shoot hundreds every week that look worse than that. You would have to be one hell of a fantastic shooter to have those lower your scores ot 25 yards or less. Most guns wouldn't know the difference.

[geargnasher]

Watch for galling under the sprue plate that can cause it to lift off the blocks more in one place than another, causing the flashing.

That said, if you'll lube, load and shoot those after they've aged a week or two I'll bet you can't tell the difference in accuracy between them at 25 yards or less.

Gear

Pergoman beat me to it! He knows.

[jlaudio29]

THanks for the quick replies guys, Im more worried about leading being casued by the base being out of round due to improper fill out.

[454PB]

We see a lot of these type photos here....and the standard solution is thorough cleaning/degreasing and running the alloy hotter/mould preheating.

For me, if the boolits aren't showing at least a little "frosting", the alloy and or mould is not hot enough.

I don't lube my Lee moulds at all, but if you do.....make sure none of the lube gets into the cavities.

[jblee10]

I preheat my aluminum moulds with the sprue plate down on the hot surface. Sometimes I preheat the mould on a hot plate and sometimes on the top of the lead pot. It depends on which pot I am using. If the mold fits on the pot, that is what I use.
Also, I find tumble lube boolits the hardest to cast. And sometimes I feel that Lee moulds are not vented enough. There are threads here about tuning Lee moulds for better venting (Leemeanting? Sp?)

[jlaudio29]

yah, my first few rounds of bullets dont have any frosting, but they start to get there the more i cast, when my sprue hardening time reaches 8-10+ seconds i usually let it cool off. I have no used any lube either.

[1Shirt]

Look ok to me! Cast hot!
1Shirt!

[R.M.]

Make sure you're filling fast enough, and leave a good sized sprue puddle, along with the other recommendations listed above.

[jlaudio29]

Yah i always over poor since its hard to control the ladle sometimes, its not an actual casting ladle. I try to poor it as fast as i can. had a few that had waves in it. i throw those back in the pot immediatly

[jlaudio29]

Jblee10 - yah use a propane burner to for my heat source, the heating element is elongated so i have a few inches of flame that is expose on one side, i usually set my mold near it once my ingots are melted and by the time im done fluxing it usually warmed up pretty good. I cast until the sprue hardening time gets to high, and i can start feeling the heat from the mold in my gloves.

It very well may be a venting problem. i had read about venting issues before which is why i tried pouring the back first, then the front, and vise versa to see if i could get different results from differnet pouring methods, i beleive i did. I havnt cast in a couple weeks. So im thinking it might be a venting problem, but if those 5 bullets that i posted pics of are able to be loaded then i dont think i need to worry to much about it.

[runfiverun]

pour some lead on the sprue plate that will help.

[44man]

Once the mold is hot, keep the ladle in place long enough to allow the boolit to pull molten lead from the ladle and never depend on the sprue itself.
The sprue can set before the boolit is done needing lead.

[snuffy]

Yah i always over poor since its hard to control the ladle sometimes, its not an actual casting ladle.

It sounds like you need to spend a few bucks to get some actual casting equipment. If you're using a spoon or soup ladle, you can't control exactly how the alloy is entering the mold. get ya one of these;

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/286579/lyman-lead-dipper

That dipper/ladle will give you the option of simply pouring/flooding the lead onto the sprue plate, OR matching the nipple on the ladle with the tapered hole in the sprue plate. The second option is called pressure pouring. It can be done by quickly rotating the ladle to make contact with the sprue hole, or by mating the nipple to the hole, then rotating the whole thing vertical. A short pause while the cavity draws lead from the ladle, then separate it to leave a little lead on top of the sprue plate.


The reason i have been throwing them back is because it appears to me that the base is not filling out, im judging this by the fact that the base is rounded and that there is no flashing like on the first 2.

That lee boolit is a bevel base boolit. It will never have a nice sharp base like a PB,(plain base), mold. That's one reason I don't like them. It's just so hard to see if they're actually filling out properly at the base.

But I agree, I'd shoot all those and they should work good.

[HORNET]

First, the amount of base rounding that you're showing will have minimal effect on the grouping as long as it's pretty much even all around. You'd have to be a very good shot to notice any difference in the groups.
Second, I'll agree with snuffy, you really need to get an actual casting ladle. Trying to use a modified spoon or that *** that Lee sells will usually result in a rounded-off base until both mold and alloy temperatures get much higher than necessary. I think most of your problem will go away with a real ladle and you'll be able to reduce the heat a little.

[wallenba]

I give my molds a little extra time sitting on the hot plate first. Then, the first casts are frosty but well filled out. Some casts later, the mold drops to the right temp. The only down side to this method is at first, the sprue takes a longer time to harden up before you can cut it. It soon comes around, Then it's off to the races.

[popper]

8-10 sec for sprue hardening sounds a little long to me. Been whacking the plate open? Should be able to open it with a gloved hand when sprue just changes sheen. Take the plate of and align it with a hammer on a vice anvil. No, the funny base won't make em shoot bad. Eventually you will have flash over the mould top and you will have to size to get them to seat, still not very well cause the fringe won't be even. Lee put that bevel there to make seating easier. I removed it from mine with a pocket knife (very carefully) and emery cloth. When sized I have a larger rear drive band and flat base.

[GRid.1569]

They're Lookin' Good.....

[jlaudio29]

THanks grid.

popper - when the mold is heated i am able to open it with a gloved hand, i still use my wooden stick to just swing it open though. I do open it right when the sprue changes sheen. the 8-10 second is not how long i wait to open the mold, its the time between pouring and when the sprue hardens to where i say ok i need to let the mold cool. typically its between 2-6 seconds.

I will for sure have to get one of those ladles and try it. it probably will solve a lot of my concerns, but never the less you all are saying i should have no problem firing these bullets which makes me sad because i have thrown back a couple hundred over the last few casts haha.

[trapper9260]

I agree with what is said .I would shoot all the ones you shown on here you will be surprize what you will have .I see on one that the spur was cut you need to snug your spur plate some not over tight if you can because it looks like there is lead between the mold and the plate just check that first before you tight the screw if you can. Orther wise I say shoot them