New caster, need assistance please

[wilit]

I finally got my setup up and running and decided to start casting. So far I've done three sessions and I'm having the same result every time.

I'm using a Lee 20lb bottom pour pot and a Lee 125gr RN dual cavity mould. I cleaned the mould with rubbing alcohol and then smoked it. The first batch of boolits was horribly wrinkled and frosted so all 80 went back in the pot. The second session, I cast 150 and about 130 were wrinkle free but have this frosted texture to them. I cleaned the mould with brake cleaner and a tooth brush thinking I maybe got some wax in the mould or maybe some sort of contaminate that was giving the boolits the texture. The third session resulted in the same type of frosted texture. I've tried different temps on the pot and it doesn't seem to make a difference. Also, I measured the boolits and they are out of round. On the seam they measure .357 and .360 on the "smooth" side.

Here's the pictures of the third session boolits.

http://www.wilit.com/firearms/boolits1.jpg
http://www.wilit.com/firearms/boolits2.jpg

[gutpile]

Wrinkled is a too cold mold...cast with a faster rythm and preheat your mold a little, frosted is ok lots of aluminim molds have a sweet spot on temp and it usually means frosted boolit mine do that and shoot fine you seem to be getting nice sharp edges indicating good fill out .(what alloy are you using?)
lube 'em and shoot them! most molds are slightly out of round thats why we size them lube! size! shoot!
you are doing good!

[runfiverun]

frosting is more white and galvanized looking.
antimony on the surface of a boolit looks different, more like an even pattern of lattice work.
you can alter your across the seam measurement with mold temperature.
yoe are most likely gonna size them to 358 at some point anyway.
but if you want them a bit more round look up lee-menting in the sticky's lapping will help.

[MBTcustom]

Everything is looking good. There is no need to smoke the mold though, and I would like you to go over that mold and see if there are any burrs that are keeping it from closing all the way (seeing some part line flash).
Now, the issues you are having are not anything that every single new caster has not dealt with. You are miles ahead of most though because you have both frosty and wrinkled boolits which means that you are all over it like a cheap suit. You are there you just need to work on your consistency.
Go get a lead thermometer, and use it. I could not get good results from my 20Lb pot without it.
You don't mention what alloy you are using, but if its WW then you need to be at 700*-750*.

Now the temperature of your mold is determined by your casting speed, not the heat of your pot. True, your mold will heat up faster when your pot is hotter, but that just means that you need to cast slower because the only heat that is getting in that mold is getting there through the cavities savvy?

So, inspect you mold for burrs and use a razor blade to cut them off if they are keeping the mold from closing all the way.
Clean your mold by blasting it out with carburetor cleaner, followed by an air hose (if you don't have a compressor, then buy some canned air from the electronics dept. at walmart) no smoke!
Get some bullplate on that sprue plate (do a search, you'll see what I mean).
Watch that thermometer, and keep the heat where it needs to be on the pot.
Start casting hard and fast until you get past the wrinkled boolits and start dropping frosty boolits, then slow down a little to keep the boolits just this side of being frosty. You can control the temperature of your mold very closely by watching your sprue puddle. When you take the mold out from under the pot, you should have a puddle of molten lead on top of the sprue plate. If you watch closely, it will "freeze" all of a sudden. That is when you start counting "one-one thousand, two-one thousand, three one thousand........) Usually I cut the sprue about 1 second after the freeze, but your mileage may vary. The point is that now you have consistency on your pot temperature, and your mold temperature.
If you have to beat your mold like a red-headed stepchild to get the blessed thing to turn loose of the boolits, then read the sticky on "leementing" you will be very glad you did.

[waksupi]

One reason they are out of round, is you had a spot of lead between the mold faces. That is what caused those little fins on the boolits.

[wilit]

Wrinkled is a too cold mold...cast with a faster rythm and preheat your mold a little, frosted is ok lots of aluminim molds have a sweet spot on temp and it usually means frosted boolit mine do that and shoot fine you seem to be getting nice sharp edges indicating good fill out .(what alloy are you using?)
lube 'em and shoot them! most molds are slightly out of round thats why we size them lube! size! shoot!
you are doing good!

They do have a galvanized look to them. The "texture" I mentioned is not raised and I can't feel it, so I'm assuming this is just frosting?

[wilit]

Everything is looking good. There is no need to smoke the mold though, and I would like you to go over that mold and see if there are any burrs that are keeping it from closing all the way (seeing some part line flash).
Now, the issues you are having are not anything that every single new caster has not dealt with. You are miles ahead of most though because you have both frosty and wrinkled boolits which means that you are all over it like a cheap suit. You are there you just need to work on your consistency.
Go get a lead thermometer, and use it. I could not get good results from my 20Lb pot without it.
You don't mention what alloy you are using, but if its WW then you need to be at 700*-750*.

Now the temperature of your mold is determined by your casting speed, not the heat of your pot. True, your mold will heat up faster when your pot is hotter, but that just means that you need to cast slower because the only heat that is getting in that mold is getting there through the cavities savvy?

So, inspect you mold for burrs and use a razor blade to cut them off if they are keeping the mold from closing all the way.
Clean your mold by blasting it out with carburetor cleaner, followed by an air hose (if you don't have a compressor, then buy some canned air from the electronics dept. at walmart) no smoke!
Get some bullplate on that sprue plate (do a search, you'll see what I mean).
Watch that thermometer, and keep the heat where it needs to be on the pot.
Start casting hard and fast until you get past the wrinkled boolits and start dropping frosty boolits, then slow down a little to keep the boolits just this side of being frosty. You can control the temperature of your mold very closely by watching your sprue puddle. When you take the mold out from under the pot, you should have a puddle of molten lead on top of the sprue plate. If you watch closely, it will "freeze" all of a sudden. That is when you start counting "one-one thousand, two-one thousand, three one thousand........) Usually I cut the sprue about 1 second after the freeze, but your mileage may vary. The point is that now you have consistency on your pot temperature, and your mold temperature.
If you have to beat your mold like a red-headed stepchild to get the blessed thing to turn loose of the boolits, then read the sticky on "leementing" you will be very glad you did.

I bought this lead so long ago, I forgot where it came from. For some reason, reclaimed range lead sticks out in my head.

I do have a thermometer and have tried varying the temp from as low as 650 to as high as 800 and they all seem to come out the same.

[dverna]

wilit,

Without a casting themometer you will not know when the pot has reached the "dailed in" temperature. It can take a while.

Good luck,
Don

[thegasharkman]

I am still new at casting but i have found that sitting your bullet mold on top of the Lee Pot when you plug it in and leaving it there until you flux and remelting about the first 5 pours brings the mold to the perfect spot. I have gotten very consistent boolits from this method. I also use recycled range lead and no wheel weights, this also helps with consistency.

[hedgehorn]

Mold is a little warm but they are very shootable ;)

[Cherokee]

They look good enough to size, lube, load and shoot. Some good suggestions on checking the mold condition.

[454PB]

Control mould temperature by touching the bottom of the FILLED mould to a wet cloth. Frosting is fine and indicates that you are slightly above the optimum temperature for casting, but if the mould gets too hot, it can be quickly controlled with the wet cloth.