newbie, mold not filling out

[waltherboy4040]

Hello first time caster here with a problem. I'm using a lee two hole 40sw 145 grain mold but I can't get the hole close to the handles to fill out. It seems like if I fill it slowly or right dead center in the hole it fills out so could air be getting trapped?

Things I'm going to try

Clean and smoke mold again

Loosen sprue plate so it swings freely



any other suggestions would be appreciated!

[Smoke4320]

Clean with Dawn/toothbrush and hot water and smoke mold again

get a flat surface (not exposed coils) hotplate to heat the mold... get mold hot while the lead melts in your pot...Spew plate down...
if you don't have 1 to 2% tin in alloy... add that

[osteodoc08]

Preheat your mold.

What alloy?

Zinc content?

[waltherboy4040]

Preheat your mold.

What alloy?

Zinc content?

unsure alloy my friend gave me some he casted and was already in ingots.

None that I know of.


Okay thanks for the tips

[Larry Gibson]

Clean with Dawn/toothbrush and hot water and smoke mold again

get a flat surface (not exposed coils) hotplate to heat the mold... get mold hot while the lead melts in your pot...Spew plate down...
if you don't have 1 to 2% tin in alloy... add that

Concur.

Also do not smoke the mould.

Larry Gibson

[osteodoc08]

Ok. Unknown alloy. Add some tin.

I'm glad there's no sign of zinc.

Clean mold as suggested.

Smoking molds seems to have its supporters and detractors. I've never been able to tell a difference. If you do smoke your mold, be careful what you use so jot to re/contaminate the mold.

[bangerjim]

unsure alloy my friend gave me some he casted and was already in ingots.

None that I know of.


Okay thanks for the tips

Well......your "casting in the dark" with free-bee lead. Not knowing what it is.....a problme.

1st thing pre-heat mold to close to casting temp on a hotplate.

If fill problems, add some tin (solder/pewter/pure) You many not have any in there...could be just WW's.....or even pure Pb.

Cleaning is not going to solve your fill problm. It is probably temp/alloy related. I smoke all my molds with a BEESWAX candle......far better than standard wax ones.

Let us know!

bangerjim

[gtgeorge]

Hello and welcome. Make sure the stream is in the hole and not deflecting off the side and make sure your mold is preheated. If it is neither of those you may want to look and make sure the vent lines are there and not clogged. I personally do not see a need for smoking molds and have several different brands and all are not smoked.

I doubt alloy or cleanliness would be affecting fill out on 1 cavity

[robpete]

To add on to the venting theory, make sure the sprue plate isn't too tight. It should swing open under its own weight (when empty...of course).

[williamwaco]

That is all good advice.

I suspect robpete has the correct answer.
I know from personal experience that if the sprue plate is too tight you will almost always have trouble with that back cavity.

One suggestion.

If you are not already getting good sharp bullets:

Cast as fast as possible without being careless or reckless. Pour as big a sprue puddle as will set on top the sprue plate.
Do not wait for anything to harden.
Dump the bullets immediately.
Do not take any time to look at them. Don't even spare them a glance.
Repeat this process until the sprue takes four to six seconds to harden.
This means that after three seconds, if you tilt the mold over, the sprue puddle will run off like water.

Now your mold and your metal temperature are both too hot.
Drop two bullets and look at them.

If they are wrinkled, the mold is dirty.
If they are frosted, the mold is too hot ( This is very likely at this point )
If the base is not filled out you are trapping air and probably because the sprue plate screw is still too tight.

Wait 30 seconds and pour again.
Keep going until the frosting is very light.
You might have to slow down to 40 to 60 seconds between pours depending on the temperature of the pot AND the ambient air temperature. Believe it or not, you can cast much faster at 40 degrees than you can at 90 degrees.

Good luck You will get it right. It just takes a little tweaking.

[MtGun44]

Scrub mold with Comet and a toothbrush. Add some tin to your alloy, until
you know you have 2%. Heat the mold well by casting rapidly, do NOT take
time to inspect boolits.

Do not smoke the mold.

Bill

[DrCaveman]

Is the fillout problem in the base, or along the features of the boolit? How about air cavities trapped within? All of the above, not sure? Im guessing its base fillout issues, since those are easiest to see.

I seem to have base fillout problems with my larger molds (357+) when the alloy is too hot and my flow rate is too high. Molten lead just shoots right out as it comes in. Then usually the puddle is too small and cavity is not filled out. Adjusting flow rate helps but the alloy temp is the cure for me that actually solves things. Ran at 800-900+ for a long time to help mold temp regulation but have recently been able to make things work closer to 750-800* and im liking the results.

Im no expert but ill bet that the temp issue is the most likely culprit, if your sprue tension is right. If its working for you "slow and dead center" then perhaps that is what the mold likes.

I wish you the best in solving this.

[kryogen]

I get good fillout when the mold is hot, and alloy is at 800, and you need a large enough puddle on the sprue plate.
Dont shoot the lead too fast or too slow.

I get that when my mold is too cold, or when I shoot lead too fast or too slow. or if I dont puddle enough over the sprue plate.

[waltherboy4040]

Thanks everyone for the tips. I ended up loosening the sprue plate and cleaning mold. I think the biggest biggest problem was not having the mold hot enough since it seems to work perfect now. I am getting some wrinkles by the tc nose but they don't seem severe.