when casting...should i... "mold question"

[mozeppa]

i have a hot plate to keep my mold up to tempurature.
and will be getting frozones "pid" controller for my lead pot.

"should i"

get some blocks of steel to stack up on my hot plate... forming a heat capture sink, so the mold doesn't lose heat to rapidly between pours?

i'm using 6 cavity lee molds 45acp & 40 S&W.

wow ...it sure is hard to get 50+ posts here....everything i ever wanted to know is already here to read and learn!:bigsmyl2:

[wv109323]

I do not use any type of "oven" to keep the mold in. I do use and old circular saw blade to put between the burner and the mold so that the mold will not be in direct contact with the hot element. I make sure the bottom of the mold is resting flat on the saw blade so the entire mold gets hot. I get "keepers" after about 3 or 4 pours. I use the hot plate to heat the mold initially and to keep the mold hot when I add lead to the pot. It takes 10 to 15 minutes for the 20 lb. to get back up to temp after putting 6-8 lbs of lead in it.

[500MAG]

I use an electric junction box with a cover lid on it. One side is cut out and it sits on my hot plate. I have a thermometer mounted on it. I was considering adding a PID to it.

[geargnasher]

This is a data mine for certain, but all of our experiences are still unique and new threads add perspective to the "same old" themes as well as many new ones.

For your moulds, make one of these to get it going, and cast fast enough to keep it hot, you won't have much trouble if you keep up a three-pour-per-minute pace, which is a nice, steady rhythm once you get the hang of it. You won't need to heat between pours.

http://i1328.photobucket.com/albums/w538/Geargnasher/thum_89094e5ad65ae2e31_zps1c2ed255.jpg (http://s1328.photobucket.com/user/Geargnasher/media/thum_89094e5ad65ae2e31_zps1c2ed255.jpg.html)

I use a grill thermometer from homeless despot in the top, heat-soak the mould for at least 20 minutes at 400-425F before casting.

Gear

[bangerjim]

I use one of those "coil-less" flat element hot plates and just lay the molds right on top of if.

bangerjim

[Mk42gunner]

Call me archaic, but I don't use a hotplate to heat my molds. I preheat my molds by dipping the corners and front of the mold into the lead pot.

Will a hotplate and mold oven make it easier? Probably, a lot of guys whose opinions I respect recommend them. Is it necessary? No.

I find that when using a Lee aluminum mold, 2 or 6 cavity, that I get better results running the mold at a three to four pours per minute pace. It works out better for me to do two separate casting sessions than to try to run two aluminum molds at the same time.

Good luck

Robert

[Lead Fred]

I just pour into until they get to the right heat range, and cast away

[ElDorado]

I use a coffee can over a hot plate for an oven to get the mould up to temperature. Just cut a hole in the side to allow the handles to stick out. Once I start casting it stays hot enough on its own.

['74 sharps]

i like to keep it simple. Temp on hot plate is medium, and by the time my melt is at temperature, good to go from the first pour. Generally use two molds during casting, and have no problems with hot or cold molds.

[Tatume]

I just lay the mold across the top of the pot. When the alloy is the right temperature to cast, so is the mold (or it soon will be). Usually I will dump the first six or twelve bullets back into the melt, but after that they are good.

Casting cadence depends on the weather. In the middle of summer when it is nearly 100F outside, I may have to run two molds, and also turn down the heat in the pot a bit. Alternating molds allows one to cool a bit while the other is being filled. In cooler weather I run only one four- or six-cavity mold at a relaxed pace, so it doesn't overheat. In the cold of winter I run one mold as fast as possible, with the pot turned up to max temperature.

Take care, Tom

[dragon813gt]

My mold oven is a metal coffee can cut in half. You don't need anything fancy. The mold is laid directly on the hot plate but mine is not a coil type. I use the coffee can because I run brass molds. They come up to casting temp a lot faster this way. Also helps them retain heat after adding lead to the pot and waiting for it to remelt. It's not necessary but it definitely helps.

[Larry D.]

You guys just answered every question I had about get a mold up to temp.

Thanks.

[geargnasher]

I "corner dip" small moulds, but it takes a bit to get a six-banger going so I preheat. Also, if I need a break for a minute or even 15 seconds, I can "park" the multi-cavity moulds in the oven and do whatever needs done without losing consistency of boolit quality due to mould temp fluctuations. Mould ovens certainly aren't the only way, but I find it helpful.

Gear

[Mk42gunner]

I "corner dip" small moulds, but it takes a bit to get a six-banger going so I preheat. Also, if I need a break for a minute or even 15 seconds, I can "park" the multi-cavity moulds in the oven and do whatever needs done without losing consistency of boolit quality due to mould temp fluctuations. Mould ovens certainly aren't the only way, but I find it helpful.

Gear

That is the most compelling reason I have read to get a hot plate and mold oven. I think I will try it the next time I cast, if I can find my old hot plate.

Robert

[dondiego]

Where do you guys get your hot plates? Never seen one. Don't drink coffee

[williamwaco]

Lead Fred + 1

I find that it takes six to eight pourings to reach the optimum temperature.

After getting there, I dump the bullets then set my mold in front of a small ( 6" ) fan to cool while inspecting them.

It is usually under the fan for 10 to 15 seconds.

I never have any trouble keeping the mold hot. I have trouble keeping it cool.


Now do you see the issue here?
If you ask 6 people how to do it, you will get 12 answers.

The correct answer is "Do what works for you."

[44MAG#1]

What ever happened to just casting by getting the mold up to temp and casting at a cadence that will keep the mold up to temp and staying that way till the casting is done?
Do making things complicated make things more fun or do people do that to make themselves think they are more educated or more scientific minded to give them a feeling of superiority over us simpletons?
I've cast the simpleton way for years and have really no trouble using Iron molds, aluminum molds and brass molds.
Have I been doing it all wrong?
If I have I sure have been getting some awfully good bullets by accident then.
Educate me as I am willing to learn.

[prs]

I also just lay the mold directly upon the hot plate on medium, non coil type burner, and let it get happy while the temp comes-up in the lead pots. Maybe I will sacrifice a 3# coffee can soon. I intentionally get the mold a little too hot and discard the first few drops as the alloy settles the mold to an agreeable temp.

44mag#1, the advantage is that by the time my molds would be at the happy temp the old way; with the new way I already have a ponderous pile of nice consistently slightly frosted boolits with NO CULLS, jest the way I likes 'em. I also do not return the mold to the hot plate unless I need to take a break and then I set the hot plate to a low temp.

prs

[44MAG#1]

"44mag#1, the advantage is that by the time my molds would be at the happy temp the old way; with the new way I already have a ponderous pile of nice consistently slightly frosted boolits with NO CULLS, "

I preheat my molds too. But I cast the way I described. Still no problem.
Still educated me. My simple way has worked since maybe around 1980 with various alloys etc..

[dragon813gt]

I fail to see how using a hot plate to preheat the mold makes things difficult? It's just sitting there warming up while the lead is melting. It takes no extra effort to use one. Now there are guys that have thermocouples attached to their molds and the hot plate is PID controlled to maintain a set mold temp. That's not really adding any difficulty but it's just a route that I don't see myself going down.

[WALLNUTT]

Mould on top covered w/ aluminum foil, all heats up together. Never stop to refill,when level drops an ingot I add an ingot ,temp remains constant.

[ElDorado]

Where do you guys get your hot plates? Never seen one. Don't drink coffee

walmart sometimes has them.

[JeffG]

Where do you guys get your hot plates? Never seen one. Don't drink coffee

I got mine at Walmart. They had a selection of 2 or 3, all under 20 bucks.

[44MAG#1]

"I fail to see how using a hot plate to preheat the mold makes things difficult? It's just sitting there warming up while the lead is melting. It takes no extra effort to use one. Now there are guys that have thermocouples attached to their molds and the hot plate is PID controlled to maintain a set mold temp. That's not really adding any difficulty but it's just a route that I don't see myself going down. "

It seems to me that nowadays if things can't be made more and more complicated one is not doing it right anymore.
It is like a bunch or engineers at ones work trying to make upper management believe said engineers are earning their money by coming up with more and more cockeyed ideas that adds up to zilch in reality.

[dragon813gt]

It seems to me that nowadays if things can't be made more and more complicated one is not doing it right anymore.
It is like a bunch or engineers at ones work trying to make upper management believe said engineers are earning their money by coming up with more and more cockeyed ideas that adds up to zilch in reality.

We obviously have two different definitions of complicated. I really don't understand how placing a mold on a hot plate is complicated. It's a time saver since you have keepers pretty much instantly. There is no six to ten pours to get it up to temp. And no holding the mold in the lead. It's two different ways to end at the same end result. And in the case of using a hot plate it does add up, not to zilch, in more bullets in a shorter amount of time. Techniques evolve over time and this one happens to be a simple and efficient one.

[mold maker]

A cut off #10 food can with a discarded saw blade, on a $3.00 GoodWill hot plate, making keepers by the 3 cast dosen't sound complicated to me.
It also makes a dif in the size boolit being cast. It takes a lot of duds before a 223 mold gets hot enough on it's own, but a 45 cal heats fast.
It make no diference to anybody but you, how you get to success, but I'm all for quick and easy.

[44MAG#1]

Have at it. I say do what you want. I have been getting good bullets for years. Are they all near perfect? No. But I have very few rejects for anything.
So. If you want to cast a certain way have fun. More power to you guys.
NUFF said by me.

[fecmech]

Nothing wrong with a hot plate but your lead pot is one. As previous posters have said,set the mold across the top of the pot and cover with foil. When the melt is ready the mold is ready. If I take a short break from casting I simply fold the towel (that I'm dropping bullets on)over the top of a full mold. Keeps it nice and warm while I hit the bathroom.