Mold smoking...

[Victor N TN]

Like I have admitted elsewhere, I have been out of casting for several years, (15?) . I was always told to use either a candle or rubber band smoke on molds so they wouldn't stick. Has anyone else got a BETTER process?

Thanks in advance.
Victor

[Vulcan Bob]

Don't know if its better but I use a butane lighter. I'm told this will not leave any petroleum deposits in the cavity.

[bhn22]

Don't use anything wax based, or you'll foul the cavity. Smoking a mold is overrated and usually unnecessary. The bullets will not stick in the cavities unless there are burrs or other irregularities holding them in place.

[GT27]

Don't use anything wax based, or you'll foul the cavity. Smoking a mold is overrated and usually unnecessary. The bullets will not stick in the cavities unless there are burrs or other irregularities holding them in place.

I second this,its a waste of time!

[fredj338]

Did this with my first Lee mold. I have found a super clean mold casts better bullets, so never again.

[Doc_Stihl]

I sometimes smoke a mold when I get to the garage and I didn't degrease it well enough. I smoke it, then cotton swab out the soot. Seems to work well degreasing miniscule amounts of oil left over. I don't leave the soot in the cavity though. Just saves me from having to walk back inside.

[Grendl]

I find them hard to light and they don't draw worth a hoot, I stick to a good cigar😉

[Baja_Traveler]

A properly cut mold does not need smoke. After I cast up 40 pounds worth of lead, I generally don't cast that particular round for the next 8-10 months while I deplete what I've cast. I spray that mold inside and out with RemOil and store it away - when I break it out to cast again, I douse it down with Acetone to degrease and hit the sprue plate with BullPlate and it's ready to go...

[leadman]

I do find smoking a mold helps at times. Nothing wrong with doing it. It will absorb any oil left in the cavities that that did not come out on initial cleaning.
I have had alloy stick in an aluminum mold in different spots but usually on the edge of the meplat. Don't know the cause of this as there are no burrs or other build-up but smoking the mold prevents this. It also keeps a good portion of the little flakes of lead that get trapped between the mold halves from sticking and then they can be wiped off.
Many times I will cast several thousand boolits at one time so it helps to smoke a mold rather than stop and let everything cool down to correct a minor problem.

[aspangler]

Personally I don't like the taste. :kidding: I use a propane torch to burn out any oil, etc from the cavities after cleaning with carburetor cleaner. Just don't get the mold hot enough to melt.

[Echd]

Seems to help sometimes, and many mold makers advertise it as good practice in their literature. NOE even says to do so on this forum and in their instructions.

I am not a fan of mold release but smoking does seem to help, although it certainly isn't necessary.

[dkf]

I don't smoke any of molds.

[Driver man]

I smoke my moulds , I have found it works well and although i only cast for 6 calibre's I have about 30 moulds. The method of smoking I have developed is with a common candle as follows.First clean the mould properly. I use mineral spirits and acetone. I clean several times as machine oil seems to come out of the metal. When dry and no vapours are present light the candle and let it burn a few minutes till there is a small pool of molten wax feeding the flame ,place the cavity over the flame a few seconds then lower into the flame till very black( making sure you dont touch the wick) lift out of the flame and hold over the flame a few seconds. The hottest point is just over the flame and this will harden the soot.
I have found this method to be very good .

[Maven]

I don't subscribe to either orthodoxy, i.e., smoking v. no smoking required. In my experience, it depends on the mold, and sometimes the material the mold is made of. E.g., most of my Lee molds require smoking, but my LBT's (also aluminum) do not need it at all. My brass (Tanner and CBE) and iron molds (Lyman & RCBS) require smoking, but very little typically, whereas my Saeco and B & M do not. Btw, using wooden matches to apply soot to a warm -> hot mold cavity works very well for me. The flame from a butane lighter is my second choice.

[pworley1]

I have been casting for over forty years and never had to smoke a mold to get it to drop the bullet.

[DeanWinchester]

I have molds that will NOT cast any other way, so to me it is certainly NOT a waste of time. I have one particular mold I've scrubbed and cleaned and debarred till I nearly went blind. Refuses to fill out or drop free. Butane lighter and 30 seconds later, boolits fall like philistines at the hands of Samson.

To me, it matters very little what others think is right or wrong because at the end of the day, it only matters what makes square bases and no wrinkles.

[phaessler]

I too am from the ultra-clean school of thought. Clean and burr-free and set forever. Be sure to lube the sprue pivot, alignment pins. Let it cool thoroughly before storing and treat accordingly to prevent corrosion.

[swheeler]

I may smoke them, but never inhale.

[Old Caster]

When you smoke the mold they may fall out easy but are they as good. If you only care that the bullet comes out the front of the barrel and aren't into accuracy then whatever is the easiest is the direction you go. I have been casting since 1965 and have used many brands of molds and have never smoked a mold or had one I couldn't manage. The worst was a Lyman drilled off center and it was still usable when clean.

[monkeywrench]

Smoking is bad. I tried it once in college but didn't like it.

[Donor8x56r]

I tried smoking my molds and had very hard time casting.

As soon as I tried just scrubbing mold with dish soap and old toothbrush things went so much better(and faster).

So now I clean my mold before use.

[cbrick]

Smoking a mold is an old wives tale that will probably never go away. If your one that thinks it's a benefit have it but the very best it could/might/possibly do is cover up a problem. If there is a problem with a mold logic tells me to find and correct the problem as opposed to covering it up and hiding it. I have over 75 molds and all cast as they should and none of them get smoked. Ever.

The simple reality is that the very best casting mold is a perfectly clean mold. And speaking of logic . . . How much time did you just spend getting your mold clean? So the very first thing you are going to do before even using it is to gunk it up? Go figure.

If you still feel you need to follow the old wives tale and smoke your molds the very worst thing to use is a candle. Candle smoke is oily and waxy, do you REALLY want that in your cavities?

Rick

[leadman]

A smoked mold does not affect the accuracy in my experience. I have shot many groups from 1/2" to 1" at 100 yards with boolits cast in a smoked mold.
As far as an old wives tale I don't know about that. Just know some molds prefer it, some don't, even after lementing.

[bangerjim]

I smoke 'em all....aways have......always will.

AND.........I use a beeswax candle!!!!! OMG!!!!! It works far better than a lighter and regular candles. Just sumpin' 'bout that beeswax-------for lots of things.

(randyrat should pay me for endorsements!!!!! HA....ha!)

bangerjim

[GT27]

:kidding:I turn 2 circles,do the lead dance, and pray to the Goddess Galena that she grant me good castings for that particular day,sometimes she has her selective hearing on!:dung_hits_fan:

[DLCTEX]

If it isn't dropping then it's time to Leement.

[geargnasher]

I gave it up for gum. That didn't really work either, so now I use good Scotch.

Gear

[btroj]

Gear, how can you tell of scotch is good or not? Sort of like being good at bagpipes, who can tell?

[Jailer]

Gear, how can you tell of scotch is good or not? Sort of like being good at bagpipes, who can tell?

Heh. That one got a LOL out of me. :grin:

[MtGun44]

Tried smoking on Lee's recommendation. IMO, it is voodoo nonsense and does nothing
except dirty the mold and shrink the boolit size a bit.

Scrub your mold with a toothbrush and Comet to get a mild deburr and you will
likely solve the problem of not dropping well.

Bill

[Suo Gan]

I am a lazy person by nature and I never do any extra step I don't have to. That being said, there are several molds I have used that drop bullets much better after being smoked. My preferred method is a kerosene lamp set on sooty.

It is not like you are etching them with acid or drilling them. This is an easily reversible thing to try. I did, I found it actually works on some stubborn molds. You don't have to scrub them, stand on a bucket and hold your mouth just right, buy special whale grease from Iceland, etc. Just hold them over a smoky flame for a few seconds and they drop good boolits!

Have fun with this, that is the ENTIRE point. The ENTIRE point to any of this is to find YOUR OWN groove, using some community knowledge (hard won too). Some folks have problems with that. They are probably communists that wear pink underwear...pay them no mind!

[geargnasher]

Gear, how can you tell of scotch is good or not? Sort of like being good at bagpipes, who can tell?

You can tell the same way you can tell about good flan.

Gear

[btroj]

Never had flan. When it is good is it considered to be flantastic?

[6bg6ga]

I have been casting for over forty years and never had to smoke a mold to get it to drop the bullet.


I will second this

[btroj]

I am a reformed smoker. When I was young and ignorant I smoked moulds. I even used a mould release spray at one point.

Now I am more educated and experienced and my moulds go naked.

[Pb2au]

I used to sit on the corner with my friends and smoke moulds. We thought we looked cool, hip,,,,,,,"with it".
I finally kicked the habit.....it was difficult.
The menthol ones were the worst.

[cbrick]

IMO, it is voodoo nonsense and does nothing
except dirty the mold and shrink the boolit size a bit. Bill

There is one other thing it does . . .

It also helps plug the vent lines.

Rick

[btroj]

But Rick, I like a light airy bullet.......

[GP100man]

I agree with cbricks comment on pluggin vents , but also agree with leadmans comment on the smokin absorbin or placin a barrier on the oils in the cavitys .

Here`s what I do to most aluminum (since they take longer to purge/clean the pores) I clean em in HOT water ,scrub em with an old tooth brush & coment, disassemble, let em dry , lube with bull plate (as recommended) smoke the cavitys very litely with a butane liter, clean the vents with a tooth pick/remove all un needed soot, assemble mold. I preheat my alloys to 750f , mold to 350-400f then work down as needed. My first boolits are as good as my last, any rejects are a fault of my own , not payin attention to the sprue hole or not enuff build up on sprue.

I also have iron/steel molds I would`nt dream of smokin & could`nt phatom a boolit ever stikin in em !

[cbrick]

I agree with cbricks comment on pluggin vents, but also agree with leadmans comment on the smokin absorbin or placin a barrier on the oils in the cavitys.

I just gotta ask . . . Would it not be better to have no oil in the cavities?

Rick

[sundog]

What Maven said, post #14.

[DeanWinchester]

Well, you can get the hide off a cat more than one way.
Wouldn't matter if you rubbed bacon grease in the cavities IF the base is square, the boolit is perfectly filled out, weights are consistent (no porosity), they fall a usable size that fits the bore shoots accurate and doesn't lead.
All of mine do. Some have a little soot on them, some are clean as a operating table.

[mold maker]

The only molds I ever smoked, didn't improve.
When I fixed the problem and removed the smoke (hard to do), all was well.

I do like an old wives tail, just not this one.

[richhodg66]

I may smoke them, but never inhale.

I couldn't figure out how to keep them from tearing up the rolling paper. Care to share your technique?:grin:

[montana_charlie]

I don't think anyone should smoke moulds recreationally.
Doing it for medicinal reasons might be worth talking about.

Some may think this is an old fashioned philosophy, but I am also against recreational abortions.

CM

[btroj]

Opening another can of worms.....

What about hemp moulds, should they be smoked?

[DeanWinchester]

Smoking moldy hemp would probably be rough on the lungs.

[btroj]

True that

[WILCO]

I don't subscribe to either orthodoxy, i.e., smoking v. no smoking required. In my experience, it depends on the mold...

Well said Maven. I find it annoying when folks pooh-pooh long established methods for dealing with common casting problems. Sends the new folks down the wrong path.

[cbrick]

Sends the new folks down the wrong path.

Your probably right . . . We should promote all the old wives tales, the new folks will be on the right path then.

Rick

[dragonrider]

If scrubbing and deburring does not help then lapping will. Lapping cleans a mold better than scrubbing will and it removes any small burrs.

[btroj]

Your probably right . . . We should promote all the old wives tales, the new folks will be on the right path then.

Rick

But I'm not an old wife, I can't do that......

[montana_charlie]

I find it annoying when folks pooh-pooh long established methods for dealing with common casting problems.
Not all long-established practices are as valid as age might indicate.
For instance, using a compound made with beeswax CAN be used as a lubricant for the hinges on a barn door, but it is a very poor for lubrication the sprue plate pivot on a bullet mould.

But, back when it was 'discovered' there may not have been ANY lube in existence that would withstand 500 degrees farenheit.
Today, there are much better choices.

Smoking the mould cavity is a similar thing. It was something a guy could do when out in the wilderness which would allow him to 'get by' until a time when he had other options.

CM

[Victor N TN]

WOW...! I guess I stirred the pot some huh...

[btroj]

WOW...! I guess I stirred the pot some huh...

Don't worry, we don't need much to get started.

[yondering]

I don't get why so many people think smoking a mold is for bullet release? I smoke most of my molds with a butane lighter, but I do it for better fill out; nothing to do with making them release easier. I cast with straight wheel weights with no tin added, and expect perfect bullets by the second or third cast, at most. Works for me. I do know that the same molds do not fill out as well when perfectly clean, without adding tin to the mix.

[cbrick]

But I'm not an old wife,

Yes Brad, I know your not old. [smilie=1:

Rick

[btroj]

Oh no you didn't......

[Driver man]

You must all be cold and snowed in over their.

[wallenba]

I stopped smoking my molds a few years back, but when I did, I broke the points off those stout round tooth-picks. I lit them from the stove burner, and with the mold inverted, I'd introduce the flame to the cavity. The lack of oxygen would snuff it out and the smoke would just linger inside a while.

[madsenshooter]

I find them hard to light and they don't draw worth a hoot, I stick to a good cigar😉

I agree only thing worse is smoking crawdads, can't get em lit, they won't hold still when the flame gets close! Maybe I ain't figgured out the right end to light yet.

[WILCO]

Your probably right . . . We should promote all the old wives tales, the new folks will be on the right path then.

Rick

Hi Rick!

I'm just saying that if it's still valid information, it shouldn't be pooh-poohed.
Mike Venturino keeps a box of matches handy, so I guess he's not promoting old wives tales. Keep in mind, just because you've outgrown the technique, somebody else hasn't.

[Littleton Shot Maker]

Or spray the inside of the molds with BULLET PREP or BULLET DROP or Graph Molly mix.
Smoking was good back about 50+ years ago.
Used the Mold Prep for years on automated casters, never went back.
Even tried some stuff called Juicy Lube, it works, but it takes a few rounds to burn off the liquid and then the surface on the bullets and mold can be distorted if you use too much or leave heavy residue behind, but the bullets did fall out .....I thought Brownell's sold the stuff in a little black bottle . Mold Prep?? It's been so long ago and we tried about 6 different types of mold release agents.

[knobster]

Tried smoking on Lee's recommendation. IMO, it is voodoo nonsense and does nothing
except dirty the mold and shrink the boolit size a bit.

Scrub your mold with a toothbrush and Comet to get a mild deburr and you will
likely solve the problem of not dropping well.

Bill

I will need to try the Comet thing. I have a 223 Lyman mold that seems to have a mind of its own. Sometimes they drop right out, sometimes I have to really pound to get the bullets out.

[cbrick]

I will need to try the Comet thing. I have a 223 Lyman mold that seems to have a mind of its own. Sometimes they drop right out, sometimes I have to really pound to get the bullets out.

Welcome to CastBoolits knobster,

Pretty good chance the problem your having is a temperature thing, very possibly the melt too hot. The reason any boolit ever falls out of the mold is because as it cools it shrinks and no longer fits the cavity that made it. It could well be taking too long for them to cool enough for this to happen.

So the question is: What temp are you casting at?

Rick