I DID IT! Um, sort of...

[armoredman]

Well, enough is enough, and I plunked the Lee pot out on the porch at 7AM, cool enough to work outside. I dropped three 1 pound ingots of WW, (thank you, sir!), in, plugged it in, and went for coffee. About 20 minutes later, all was melted, and I dropped a small pea sized bit of bullet lube in the melt, avoided the fumes, and stirred vigorously with an old tea spoon, (the slatted spoon I bought was WAY too big. Dagnabbit.), and attempted to lift out dross, without lifting out the tin. I didn't get much of anything out, whether I wasn't scraping enough or what, but the metal was clean and bright for several seconds when scraped, and the Lyman book says that's good. OK, so I had put a small amout of bullplate lube on the sprue plate, and some on the hinge pin. I forgot to put it on the alignment pins. Oops.
The old Lee 358-158SWC went under, after being "smoked", with a lighter, no matches available. Don't think it helped much. I did try to hold the Lee mold in the melt, but dummy that I was, I couldn't get it all the way into the melt at the bottom with the bar for the bottom pour in the way. Double oops. So I placed it in the pot, and left it there for a bit. Pot was set at 5.
Then the first pour - WOW did that stuff come out fast! Poured on the funnel area, to "swirl", like the book says. Wait a few second, strike the sprue plate...and here it is.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b13/armoredman/PICT0106.jpg

Check the book, wrinkled means cold mold. OK, I'm keeping this one, first ever, but I tried warming the mold again, then I just started to pour and drop as fast as I could safely, figuring that would warm it up. After about 20 minutes, I had this.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b13/armoredman/PICT0111.jpg

That's the best of them. All the others had rounded shoulders, wrinkles, etc. Tried warming the mold up more, same thing. And, the spout started to slow down...and down...to now it was dripping at full open. Uh, oh. I didn't know what to do, so I tried moving the screw, moving it back and forth, and it would help slightly, but I knew there was something in the spout. A few drips, but soemthing is clogging it,and I am unsure of how to clear it.
So, I decided to end it, and cast the remaining metal into the ingot mold...it dripped so slowly I have two terrible looking ingots.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b13/armoredman/PICT0112.jpg

I had another towel in front of the pot, to keep fresh lead off my new concrete. Worked.

OK, there it is, I finally did it, what did I do wrong, and how do I clear the spout, please? Thank you for all the assistance so far - this does seem much easier than I feared.

[Duckiller]

Big paper clip straightened into a U works to clean spout. U shape keeps fingers from getting burned. Have not been successful clearing spout without molten lead in pot. Then I just run the wire, single, up and own in the spout, turning screw a few time until a reasonable flow is restored. My pot is at least 15 yrs old and I have no idea how fast lead is supposed to come out.

[imashooter2]

I used a bit of twine to lash my bent paper clip to a few inches of dowel, but clean the nozzle the same way. Melt the pot full of lead and run the paper clip up through the spout. Place your ingot mold below while you do this as some lead will flow out past the wire.

[armoredman]

Thanks, I'll try that.:)

[Springfield]

First off, I don't think 5 is high enough, crank it up all the way. The worst that can happen is you will get frosted bullets. . But you will never know unless you buy a temp gauge. And you don't need to put the whole mold in the lead, just the end of it. But it sounds like the pot wasn't turned up high enough. The lead will melt at slightly over 500 but best casting temp for me is about 675. But at least you got the first one done, that is always the hardest part.

[NVcurmudgeon]

armoredman, congratulations on your getting your toe in the water. Excellent show and tell, also. Next time try warming up the mould with a few casts, leaving the boolits in the mould, applying the Bull Plate Lube, and then wiping off the excess BPL. That is to prevent BPL from getting into the cavities, where it will act like oil and wrinkle your castings. Bullet lube is excellent, but expensive fluxing material. I use pea-sized bits of candles, as my wife makes sure that there are always surplus candles around. I am a dedicated ladle caster so have to flux and skim, but I think many bottom-pour casters float a layer of kitty litter on top of the melt and avoid fluxing and skimming altogether. I'm sure a bottom pour guy will check in and confirm or deny.

[Jon K]

armoredman,

Congrats, you're getting the hang of it, and a lot of good tips.
Well, how did it feel when the first one fell out? Great didn't it? So now you've got a sickness, that's hard to get rid of.
Welcome to the Asylum!:Fire:

Have Fun Shooting,
Jon
:castmine:

[GLynn41]

agree with all you have been told raise temp --make sure the cavities are oil or what ever free and try again

[trickyasafox]

hmm maybe i just got lucky. my spout got choked up once and i just twisted the screw at the top a couple times and boom i had great flow! i think i'm the exception not the rule though.

if you were casting from ingots, you probably didn't get much out after fluxing because the lead had already been cleaned. also, and again this may just be me because i'm a pretty new caster myself, i seem to have better luck when the pot is half full or more. . . .

listen to the others here, i'm lucky if i know my elbow from mold handle :)

[38-55]

Armoredman,
Congrats ! Not a bad start at all.. Try more heat next time and try more lead in the pot. I find that I need at least 1/3 of a pot to have good head pressure to get consistent boollits.
Enjoy !
Calvin

[Blammer]

Sounded good!

turn the temp up a bit, only need to put the corner of the mold in the melt. Pour faster if you can, will help fill out better, over pour a little, won't hurt. Higher temp will help. Dont' put over pour or bad boolits back into the melt it'll cool it. do at theend then let it reheat again.

Them boolits will shoot fine!

I want to see the 10,000th boolit next to the first one later... OK?

[jrgift]

I think it would be better to start off with a melt that is a litle bit too hot,always cut back later.

[Lee]

Nice lookin' concrete!

Seriously, the boolits look fine. Experimentations will help greatly...........Lee

P.S. any of them ugly boolits can be sent my pay prepaid. I'll test 'em fer ya!!![smilie=1: ...............................Lee:wink:

[Lee]

Chuckle! Just took another look at yer set-up. Is that a Lee mold with most of the handle stem broken off?? Boy, you'd think those guys would learn!!
(Mines about ready to do the same thing. Makes me want to smelt up some old beer cans(where would I get those[smilie=1: ) and make a "SUBSTANTIAL" ingot mold using the Lee as a starter die............Lee

[JohnH]

Setting 6 is plenty hot enough on that pot, have cast with mine at that setting long as I've had a Lee IV pot. I always leave the pot topped up, and set the mold I'm gonna use on top of the metal as I wait for it to melt. After it melts, wait about 1 1/2 minutes and it'll be ready to cast. When you lift the mold off the melt, some metal will stick to it, no problem, have an old screwdriver at hand and just push it off. If you wait till the metal won't stick to the bottom of the mold, it'll be way too hot.

[pumpguy]

My first thought was to tell you to take the bottom pour pot and throw it in the trash. I decided that wasn't very nice. I have always used a ladle; just seems to work better for me. I think the others advice about turning up the heat is pretty sound. Be careful with Lee molds, though. My experience says that if they get too hot, they don't cast as well. I haven't heard many others complain about this, though, so, it is probably just me. If you still get rounded boolots at higher temp, you could add a little bit of tin. Keep in mind that the base of the boolit is more important than the tip. The ones you cast should shoot fine for plinking. Have fun!!

[armoredman]

Ah, good tips! I will try again tomorrow AM! Ohboyohboyohboy...
PS, so I can lube and size these 7 victims? Cool, something to do tonight!

[Phil]

Best way I've ever found to clean a mold is to boil it in water/dishwashing soap for about fifteen minutes then rinse in clean boiling water for five minutes or so. Never oil a ferrous metal mold, keep them in a GI ammo can with a bit of dessicant. Aluminum molds just go on the shelf, they won't rust. The rest of the advice given on this thread is right on. Keep the heat up, make sure you have a nickle sized puddle of lead on top of the sprue plate, use Bullshop Sprue Plate Lube, and work fast.

Good looking bullets, now give us a report on how they shoot.

Cheers,

Phil

[armoredman]

Just lubed 'em with Lee Alox, dry overnight on paper in the closet -keeps the cats off of 'em. Size 'em in the morning, and into the orange cast boolit box I just so happen to have laying about!
I am a 40 year old child.:mrgreen: :rolleyes: :lol: :lovebooli :holysheep :redneck: :bigsmyl2: :cbpour:

[Blammer]

7 boolits? I was thinking that was 7 of the hundred you cast....

anyways! tomorrow.. HUNDREDS!

[44man]

First of all you are not miserable enough! It is hot and humid here, around 97 degrees. I spent the day weed whacking and mowing because we finally got a little rain. I could have gotten the mold hot enough for you by holding it on my head for a second.
You are starting out OK, give it time and practice and keep that hole open! Turn the pot up.

[armoredman]

Our temp is around 100-110, humidity during monsoon is anywhere from 10%-90%. Gah. Then it's another dry heat, then the extended fall we call winter.[smilie=1:
Blammer, I wish! I cast about 50-60, and that's all that came out nice. I will do better tomorrow morning.

[MT Gianni]

I clear the spout with a paneling nail held by a pair of pliers. Gianni

[NuJudge]

Decades ago, my Metallurgy professors told me that the reason Tin helps with mold fill-out in Lead castings has to do with it enhancing flow of liquid Lead to areas that are partially frozen.

Lead alloys such as we use do not freeze in front moving through the metal. Instead, tree-like bodies called dendrites grow into the liquid. The arms of the dendrites get to be quite a tangle, restricting flow of liquid into the areas where there are a lot of dendrite arms. As Lead shrinks on freezing, if no Lead can flow into areas where freezing is occuring, either surface or internal voids are the result. Tin enhances flow, so less surface or internal voids.

It also gives you a harder bullet, especially with antimony.

CDD

[armoredman]

Ok, so where, and how? I was told 50/50 bar solder, but where do I find that?
Oddly enough, in the little town I now live in, the big chain stores like Home Depot and Lowes said they would never handle lead, and pointed me to a small dedicated plumbing supply house...that happens to be about 1/2 mile from my home. gee, shucky darn... :) Would they carry this bar solder, or is that a welding item?

[R.M.]

I've been buying lead-free solder from various hardware stores, Lowes included. I think it's a "Duthboy, or Dutch something or other". It's 95/5, tin/antimony. I know it's not the most cost effective, the last I bought was about $18.00/lb, up from $11.00, the last I bought a year ago. I'll roll out the whole roll and then fold it up so I have 16 equal lengths, equivalent to 1oz. Seems to me it was 21 inches long.
I'm sure the plumbers lead would be cheaper in the long run. There was a guy selling tin on here somewhere for $5.00/lb. Good deal. I should have got some. Midway was selling it for something like $15.00 for 2 lbs.

Good luck, and enjoy.
R.M.

[NVcurmudgeon]

Your local plumbing supply may have only lead-free solder, but that's no problem. You will get plenty of lead from your buddy at the indoor range, so there's no point in paying for the lead half of 50/50 solder. Lead-free solder is 95% tin, and will work fine for adding tin to your melt for improving fillout. So far, the cheapest place I have found for lead-free is Lowe's, with the local plumbing supply and Home Depot being higher. The last time I bought lead-free it was about $10 per pound. It comes in the form of wire. To add 2% tin to my WW, I weigh out a length that weighs 140 gr. and add that much with each one lb. ingot. You may not need that much, because the wheelweights have a little tin in them to start with. Some casters report that additional tin is not needed at all, experiment. I prefer to add the tin, as I want all the help I can get in making good boolits. My time is worth something,even if I am an old retired guy.

[armoredman]

Thanks! I'll check Monday morning. BTW, I think I can put this one up now...:castmine: