Need advice on a NOE 311365

[PuppetZ]

Got my new NOE 311365 recenly. Yesterday, the temp cleared up enough (Temp was about 20°f) so I decided to give it a test drive. I gave it the same treatment I give every new mold I get, toothbrush and brake cleaner. I preheated it by dipping the corner in the melt and strated pouring. I swear I poured the same 20 lbs of lead almos twice. I did not get one single keeper. All were wrinkled very badly. Fillout appears to be ok a first glance with good, square bases.

I tried cleaning it twice more during that session, no good. Tried ramping up the melt temp to no avail either. I use the lee 20lbs bottom pour so I tried different pouring height. Short story is nothing did it. And I'm a little confused about it as it's the first of my molds that I cant get to work right off the bat. I got another NOE mold that is a little temperamental but nothing like this one.

I also noticed some boolit have "wings" on the very end of the nose. I held it up to the light and I can see between the mold halves, but only when I look at the bottom of the cavities. Not between them.

If anyone have advice/suggestion/comments, feel free to chime in.

PuppetZ out.

[CWME]

I clean mine under running hot water and dawn dish soap. A toothbrush like you already mentioned is also used.

Being so long I had some issues as well with fillout with this boolit. The lead was setting up before the mold filled out. I had to get some more heat into the mold and specifically the sprue plate for it to work. I heat the molds on a hot plate with the sprue plate down. That and a fast pace helped me get some nice looking boolits.

[cbrick]

Casting with an aluminum mold at 20 degrees could well be the problem. Aluminum looses heat very quickly and at 20 degrees I'm sure it does really fast. Sounds like a case of casting faster to get and keep the proper heat in the mold. Pre-heating on a hot plate should also help.

Al sells a digital thermometer with a probe for the mold, if you were to get this and cast with it you could see exactly at what mold temp your boolits are wrinkled or well filled out.

Rick

[Willbird]

I clean mine under running hot water and dawn dish soap. A toothbrush like you already mentioned is also used.

Being so long I had some issues as well with fillout with this boolit. The lead was setting up before the mold filled out. I had to get some more heat into the mold and specifically the sprue plate for it to work. I heat the molds on a hot plate with the sprue plate down. That and a fast pace helped me get some nice looking boolits.

I'll second that, plain old hot water and dish soap, and a toothbrush takes out something brake clean does not touch, a running theory is that the substance is residues of coolant from machining the molds.... maybe surfactants.

[PuppetZ]

I made a batch of 45 cal boolits with a Lee 2 cav right before I tried he 311365. The NOE bloc is massive compared to the Lee one. Maybe the lead just doesn't heat it enough indeed, but I swear I got it quite hot. To the point the sprue stayed liquid for a couple seconds and the lead stayed shiny for a bit longer. It was very hot.

I ramped up the lee pot to almost double what I cast at usually. The lead was starting to get funny colors and I poured as fast as my arms would take it.

Could it be a venting issue?

[PuppetZ]

Allright, I'll try washing it in the sink wih dish soap and see if this help me out.

Thx!

[Willbird]

I usually take wrinkles to mean the mold is cold.

[CWME]

I am with willbird, the mold is still too cold. I would turn your pot down, no need to be running the lead super hot and loose all your tin. Give cleaning another shot and then get that mold HOT.

I have an RG4 NOE 358429 that is hard for me to get up to temp and keep it there. I quickly wash the pins and the sprue plate through the flame of a propane torch to get it up to temp after sitting on the hotplate. Now i said QUICKLY washed through the flame, it doesn't take much. You can warp things if you get carried away. I cast a bit and then have to do it again after while, I just can't go fast enough to keep it up to temp in the 10 degree shop. I wash with the flame until the sprue takes a bit to solidify, then get to casting.

[Hardcast416taylor]

A thermometer will be a great help, especially when using a LEE pot. If you have some tin to add that can also help fillout.Robert

[cbrick]

I ramped up the lee pot to almost double what I cast at usually. The lead was starting to get funny colors and I poured as fast as my arms would take it.

That's not a good idea if your using tin in your alloy. Tin cannot do what it is in the alloy to do past 750 degrees and tin itself oxidizes much faster past 750. You need mold heat, not pot heat. 725 degrees is much hotter than needed mold temp and is plenty to get and keep the mold at the proper temp.

Did you pre-heat the mold? Don't inspect your bullets while casting, keep the blocks closed and full as much as possible. Re-fill as soon as you dump the boolits. It is amazing how fast aluminum will shed heat.


Could it be a venting issue?

Doubtful, by your own admission the bases are well filled out & square indicating that the sprue plate is up to temp but the boolits are wrinkled which means a too cool mold. Try the hot plate and get the mold well warmed up, even to frosted boolits. With the mold so warmed and as you cast the problem starts to return it is because the mold is cooling off . . . Again.

Since the sprue is up to temp keep in mind that steel does not shed heat nearly as fast as aluminum so it will stay properly warmed much easier.

Rick

[PuppetZ]

Just wanted to let y'all know that I managed to make it work. I disassembled it, cleaned it with dish soap and put it in the oven at 400°f for an hour to dry it thouroughly. I then pre-heated it on my small hot-plate. I got some good boolit this time around. Emptied a full 20 lbs pot and proceeded to refill make some more. So I filled the mold and set it on the hot plate while waiting for the lead to melt/get to temp.

When I went to pick it back up, I realized there is a god for ********* like me. Unknown to me, the lead in the mold had melted, and picking it up, I tilted it to cut the sprue. I managed to empty it all over my chest, hand and thigh. :holysheep Lucky for me, the heavy winter jacket, doubled pants and gloves I had on saved me from some pretty nasty burn I'm sure and I walk out unscatted, though I ruined a perfectly good jacket in the process. I dubbed the incident the tinsel fairy SIL encounter.

Note to self, melted lead on a sprue plate look the same as hardened one....

I still got some very nice boolit so it's all good :2_high5:

[saint_iverson]

Good evening... I've had the same problem with the same mold if I recall the numbers correct. Adjusted temp heat to blocks, height, etc. Same as you. Although I cleaned mine with denatured alcohol. I havent had a chance to have another casting session, but I only recovered one good boolit from the first. Likely mold temp, but I had mine from hot to cold and everything in between - more to come. Actually I have another post with pictures showing the "wings" and poor fill out if you want to seaarch for it.

[madsenshooter]

I get a kick out of reading all these clean it with this or that posts. I have a half dozen of Swede's molds, never had to do anything but what he recommends. I will admit they take a bit more heat than some other molds though. My solution is preheating on a hotplate set on medium. Hot, but not hot enough to warp things. I put an oven thermometer on the hotplate too and get it registering around 375-400. Your little fins should break off easily. I get a little finning with some of the molds (311365 not among them), if I get either the melt or the mold too hot. If you can see through the bottom of the mold you might have a problem that you should talk to Swede about. You won't find any other moldmaker more responsive.

[BruceB]

Good fortune was smiling upon you..... but, see??? NOBODY needs gloves for casting, nope, uh-uh. Just awkward, dontcha know?

[Baja_Traveler]

Cast 200 from my new 311365 mold a few weekends ago - perfect boolits from the first drop to the last. I flush all new molds with acetone when they arrive just for drill, then cast away. I put the mold (or molds depending on the session) on a hot plate when I turn the casting pot on, so they pre-heat for 20-30 minutes first. Rarely do I have more than 1 or 2 drops before I get perfect fill out.

[Willbird]

Just wanted to let y'all know that I managed to make it work. I disassembled it, cleaned it with dish soap and put it in the oven at 400°f for an hour to dry it thouroughly. I then pre-heated it on my small hot-plate. I got some good boolit this time around. Emptied a full 20 lbs pot and proceeded to refill make some more. So I filled the mold and set it on the hot plate while waiting for the lead to melt/get to temp.

When I went to pick it back up, I realized there is a god for ********* like me. Unknown to me, the lead in the mold had melted, and picking it up, I tilted it to cut the sprue. I managed to empty it all over my chest, hand and thigh. :holysheep Lucky for me, the heavy winter jacket, doubled pants and gloves I had on saved me from some pretty nasty burn I'm sure and I walk out unscatted, though I ruined a perfectly good jacket in the process. I dubbed the incident the tinsel fairy SIL encounter.

Note to self, melted lead on a sprue plate look the same as hardened one....

I still got some very nice boolit so it's all good :2_high5:

Now you can join the "hot soap and water cures many ills" dream team :-)...applies to us, wives and girlfriends, and even the dog now and then :-)...oh yea and new bullet molds :-).

[HangFireW8]

Just wanted to let y'all know that I managed to make it work. I disassembled it, cleaned it with dish soap and put it in the oven at 400°f for an hour to dry it thouroughly. I then pre-heated it on my small hot-plate. I got some good boolit this time around. Emptied a full 20 lbs pot and proceeded to refill make some more. So I filled the mold and set it on the hot plate while waiting for the lead to melt/get to temp.

When I went to pick it back up, I realized there is a god for ********* like me. Unknown to me, the lead in the mold had melted, and picking it up, I tilted it to cut the sprue. I managed to empty it all over my chest, hand and thigh. :holysheep Lucky for me, the heavy winter jacket, doubled pants and gloves I had on saved me from some pretty nasty burn I'm sure and I walk out unscatted, though I ruined a perfectly good jacket in the process. :

I would prefer you were completely unscathed, but am happy you were at least unscatted. :)

[PuppetZ]

I was unscathed and unscatted, though I almost sh** my pants when it happened! [smilie=l:

I'm sure I could be more grammatically acurate in french, which is my native language, than in english, but I like to think my level is pretty good with the odd mishap here and there. :kidding:

[cbrick]

I was unscathed and unscatted, though I almost sh** my pants when it happened! [smilie=l:

To be technical it was you that was unscathed and your pants that were unscatted. :mrgreen:

Rick