Need help what is going on here?

[MK1MICAH]

Ok Im not figuring it out what is causing this. This is my new Mihec mold.

http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g372/MK1MICAH/FIREARMS-RESTORATIONS/16_zps3b97c61c.jpg

http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g372/MK1MICAH/FIREARMS-RESTORATIONS/thequestion_zpse036afc1.jpg

http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g372/MK1MICAH/FIREARMS-RESTORATIONS/thequestion2_zps6f32b9e1.jpg

[MBTcustom]

Flux your lead with sawdust, and scrape the junk off it. Get a thermometer and run at about 700*.
Clean the mold with hot, soapy water. Blow it out with canned air, or an air compressor.
Get the mold hotter.
Start casting, and go hard and fast until your boolits start turning frosty. Slow it down, and keep a rhythm that will keep you just this side of frosty.
Good casting is all about temperature, cleanliness, and timing. Master these three, and you will be golden.
However, there is a small chance that you have a bad batch of lead, but I see a lot of temperature fluctuation in your boolits, and that needs to be addressed before we holler fowl.

[nhrifle]

Looks like there might still be some coolant from the machining operation left in the mould. That happens with any mould I have if I am not thorough enough with my cleaning process. Maybe try soaking it in a neutral solvent like acetone or naptha. If the mould is completely clean, I would be looking for contaminants in the lead melt. Try fluxing a couple more times and scraping the sides and bottom of the pot thoroughly.

[captaint]

Goodsteel - I couldn't have said it better !! Nailed it, son... Mike

[MK1MICAH]

Thanks Guys Ill be all over that I Have a feeling that I didnt flux enough. These are .462's and I actually see this sandy apearance in a few of my molds. Ill soak them and scrub them out also. How can I remove the contamination from the lead?
this batch is 20-1

[theperfessor]

Dirty alloy. Flux better.

[MBTcustom]

How can I remove the contamination from the lead?
this batch is 20-1

Go to the pet store and get some hamster bedding. You know the type that is a bunch of wood shavings? (while you're there, grab a bag of lizard bedding. It's crushed walnut hulls....same stuff you buy from Frankford Arsenal, or Lyman for your tumbler.)
Walk next door to the hardware store and pick up a bunch of those wooden paint stirring sticks.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.......

Throw a handful of those wood chips in the pot. I just make sure there is about 1/2" of shavings on top of the lead. Use the paint stirring sticks to stir your pot, and scrape the bottom and sides. Keep stirring and scraping until all you have on top of the melt is grey dust. Skim it off, throw another handful of chips on top of the melt, and get to work casting.
Try to pour the same puddle size on top of the sprue plate.
Maintain your temperature.
Count how many seconds before you cut the sprue, and do it the same every time, modifying the delay to control how hot you keep the mold.
Try to control how long it takes you to drop the booltis, close the mold and refill it.
The more consistent you can be in these things, the better your quality will be.

[MK1MICAH]

Ok Ill get the shavings but what about the wallnut shells. I have a couple of 40# bags of that stuff? If It is possible that I have Zinc contaminated melt how can it be removed? I have read adding the CuS rootkiller to replace the Zinc with Copper and also using sulfur to burn off the zinc. But what really works?

[Iron Mike Golf]

If your melt is actually melted (looks liquid) then you don't have zinc.

Wrinkles are caused by two things: mold not hot enough and some oil in the mold. By "oil in the mold" I mean trace amounts in microscopic nooks and crannies. When the hot alloy hits it, the oil trace turns to vapor and forms the wrinkles. Too cool a mold makes the alloy set up before it can flow everywhere. That's also why the edges of your drive bands are not sharp.

Those brass molds really need a hotplate to get them up to temp. Better to start a little over temp (getting frosted boolits) than too cool. You can go through a lot of alloy trying to get up to temp by casting.

Folks are telling you to flux more because you have inclusions of oxide. Those are the dirty pits. Those specs of oxide don't melt at casting temps and get in the way of the mold filling out completely. If you flux good several times and scrap the pot good, those should disappear. Fluxing pulls the oxygen out of the oxide and reduces it back to base alloy. If you still get inclusions, drain the pot and scrub with a wire wheel.

You are nearly there.

[runfiverun]

Ok Ill get the shavings but what about the wallnut shells. I have a couple of 40# bags of that stuff? If It is possible that I have Zinc contaminated melt how can it be removed? I have read adding the CuS rootkiller to replace the Zinc with Copper and also using sulfur to burn off the zinc. But what really works?

you dont have zink you have inclusions and a dirty mold.
using sulpher to remove zink does work,it however burns off with a green flame.
which you can't see in the daylight.

forget the other stuff.
just fix what you have.
get the mold to oxidize a patina in it.
clean the alloy,get your mold temp correct,and you'll be fine.

[Wayne Smith]

Are you using a bottom pour or a ladle? Two different issues. If a bottom pour you have seriously dirty alloy. It needs to be cleaned, with the sawdust or shavings stirred through the alloy.

If you are using a ladle you have a mess on top of your pot. I have that problem when I'm running a hot pot and using sawdust to keep the tin in the mix. The carbon builds up on top of the melt and sometimes gets in the ladle. I've got some freckled boolts but they still fly well.

However, I've never got a boolit to come out of the mold with a gc on it!

[MUSTANG]

I believe there is a combination of the lead melt having dirt and other contaminants, coupled with a new mold that still has residual oil in the mold.

Mustang.

[MK1MICAH]

Are you using a bottom pour or a ladle? Two different issues. If a bottom pour you have seriously dirty alloy. It needs to be cleaned, with the sawdust or shavings stirred through the alloy.

If you are using a ladle you have a mess on top of your pot. I have that problem when I'm running a hot pot and using sawdust to keep the tin in the mix. The carbon builds up on top of the melt and sometimes gets in the ladle. I've got some freckled boolts but they still fly well.

However, I've never got a boolit to come out of the mold with a gc on it!

Ill keep that in mind. about the GC I must have been holdin my mouth right as only 2 showed up like that I see from the picture, must be an anomaly lol..!

[MK1MICAH]

Thanks Iron Mike Ill keep it in mind and keep you posted