Slag In my Lyman # 311299 Cast Boolits

[OregonCaster]

Hello fellow casters:

My furnance is a Lyman bottom pour and it looks like I've got some "Black particles" in my boolits my question is after I clean the pot do I need to "Flux" it some more and while doing that do I need to "Stir the Pot" some more and bring that slag to the surface. Your input is most welcome.

[williamwaco]

Several tips.
Clean the downspout with a paperclip while it is hot enough for the lead to flow. Use the clip to push up into the spout and push the flow control rod up to open it.

REMEMBER, LEAD FLOWS DOWNHILL.

KEEP YOUR FINGERS ABOVE THE OPENING BY BENDING THE PAPERCLIP INTO A LARGE "U" SHAPE AND HOLDING IT WITH PLIERS.

When stirring the pot, be sure to scrape the sides and bottom with something that will scrape off the crud stuck to the sides. I use a long handled tea spoon. Others use different tools. Scraping this stuff loose will not necessarily bring it to the top. Flux, flux, flux until no more appears.

When you get it clean, NEVER LET YOUR POT GET EMPTY. Most of that crud gets into the downspout when draining out the last of the metal. I never let the level go below one inch.

If you do have an empty pot, take out the flow control rod and clean out the hole the best you can. You will not be able to remove the metal frozen in the spout. You will have to wait until you get the pot hot enough to melt the metal in the spout.

This doesn't apply to your case but: One final word, the Lee 10 pound pot has a crooked spout. I have never been able to clean one of them effectively. The best I can do is get it very hot while full and open it full bore and let the metal flow until the rate of flow appears normal. This make three or four pots full of metal.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Hi and welcome to the forum. What you are seeing in/on your bullets are called "inclusions"...also known as crud that is found in dirty/sandy metal...often in range (gathered) lead. Its not good for the bore of whatever gun you shoot so it has to be cleaned up/out. The pot has to be cleaned well to start with (scraped and or wire brushed and then vacuumed) and then the alloy has to be fluxed and skimmed until the metal is thoroughly clean. William Waco has given you excellent advice in the previous post. Try a number of different fluxes...read up on the subject by doing some searching/research. Keep your dipper/scoop/ladle clean too at all times; get rid of oxides-dross and don't let them build up anywhere. The valve if you are using a bottom pour pot has to be kept clear/clean or else it will clog, drip or not pour right. All of this is a necessary and ongoing process...like rust--crud never sleeps!! so you have to be relentless in dealing with it. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure", as the saying goes. It is all part of good practice in order to get good quality castings/bullets. LLS

[Gtek]

Where did you get the lead, was it really clean before you started? I started out having a big dog for smelting/fluxing/cleaning for ingot work. Then total clean up for ladle work or known clean for bottom pour. If you use wood stick for stirring, keep off bottom and sides. The rubbing puts flecks of charcoal and it hides in melt until you start dropping, ask me how I know. I am fairly confident that by the time I am at pour time, its a pea of beeswax every now and then for fluxing of alloy. Gtek

[Moonie]

I've noticed that if I water drop my boolits they look just aweful, dirty. But when air cooled they look fine. I have discussed this with others on the forum that have noticed the same issue and I believe it is caused by minerals in the water rather than the lead being dirty.

Not saying that's your issue, just pointing it out.