Help

[PTeague]

I'm having problems trying to cast 9mm boolits. I've cast a 1000 pounds of 45ACP without any problems. I haven't cast for years and am now just getting back in and got a 9MM for my wife to shoot so I bought a lee mold TL 356-124-2R and fired up my Lee pot. I cleaned the mold and applied a coat of that nonstick spray for molds and a little bee's wax then went to making boolits. Even after pouring 5-10 times, to warm up the mold the mold would just not fill properly. After removing the spew there would still be a small ring around the base of the boolits that didn't seem to fill with lead. For some reason the back of the mold had more problems filling that the front one. It didn't matter which one I filled first front or back I also on inspecting the boolits found them to look like they had been poured stopped then finished or as if they had been poured in layers. I tried a different batch of lead but still had the same problems. I recleaned the mold and smoked it like the old days but still had the same problems. I don't think its the mold, but I am thinking of buying another, you can't have too many molds, just to see if that helps. I tried pouring as hot as the mold would go and backed off till it was all most to cold to pour but still had the same problems. Do any of you guys have any ideas.
Thanks
Pat

[Bad Water Bill]

What is your thermometer saying?

Is it 2-4 or 6 cavity mould?

What do you call a "non stick spray?

Lots of information missing here.

Welcome BACK to the fold.

[NSP64]

Yuuup^^^^^^^^^
all My lee molds like to run hot .

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

sounds like oil or beeswax in the cavities to me.

when you say you ran it as hot as you can...
does that mean the sprue puddle would stay molten for many seconds after the pour ?
4 to 6 seconds is about what I like to cast at.
Good Luck,
Jon

[gbrown]

Aluminum molds tend to take more time to heat up and need to run a little hotter than iron molds, in my experience. I got an NOE mold in 9mm, and followed their instructions. Even then, it took about 100 boolits before it started casting nicely. Never had that before, but I guess that was the "break-in" time. Stay with it, it'll work.

[Echo]

Clean again to get rid of the anti-stick stuff. How will you know if the mould is too hot? If the sprue alloy runs off the sprue cutter like water, then it's too hot, and needs to be cooled down by turning upside down on a wet folded rag. Let it steam for 3-4 seconds, and get back to casting. And forget the beeswax.

[PTeague]

OK, no bees wax and a good clean and a little smoke. I'm going to melt 5lbs of lead heat up my mold and go for it. Again.
Thanks
Pat

[searcher4851]

Are you pre-heating the mold? 45's heat up an aluminum mold faster than the smaller 9mm will. Just a thought.

[aspangler]

Dip the mold in the lead for about 30 seconds or until the lead won't stick to it. Don't use anything in the cavities except kitchen match smoke. Light coat of that. Run that Lee mold HOT and it should start casting good. If all else fails, Try this old trick. Use the flame from a propane torch to burn the soot from the cavities. Don't get it so hot that the Aluminum melts just enough to burn the soot. Let it cool a little (not too much, you want the mold hot) then try casting again. If that don't work, call Lee.

[Smoke4320]

Aspangler is dead on as to the mold.. flux your lead with DRY sawdust .. best flux you will ever find
cedar, pine, whatever you have laying around..

[PTeague]

Will I went out and fired my pot up with some of the bad boolits I made before. I set the heat on 7 and left it there. While the lead was melting I cleaned the Lee mold again and remembered someone telling me a long time ago that the lead ought to be just hot enough to light the wax when you put it in. If it doesn't burn too cold if it flares up quickly too hot. If it smokes a little then catches fire just right and that's what I had. I smoked the mold again and poured a few rounds to heat up the mold then took a look and there they were. Boolits. Clean, shiny, pretty boolets. Completly formed no rings around the bottom and no lines through them. I'm not to sure what I did wrong or what I did that was much different other than casting in the am but thanks for all the advise now all I need to do is change over the Dillon reloader from 45 to 9mm and away I go.
Thanks again!
Pat