how hot is too hot?

[twc1964]

Hi guys, I'm casting at around 675 degrees with coww with a bit of mostly pure mixed in. is this too cool? Seems like my spout gets clogged up at lower temps. i also don't want to lose any tin to overheating my mix though. my boolits are a bit frosty but sharp. I'm just trying to avoid as many blunders as possible just starting out. thanks guys

[Hickory]

It's too hot when;

You get frosted boolits.
When the lead smears under the sprue plate.
When your boolits get wiskers.
When your boolits fall apart when they leave the mold.
And finally when you pick them up too soon and burn your fingers.

[twc1964]

Thanks hickory, i see that you live in my old neck of the woods. got friends and family near dayton and lees creek.

[clearcut]

those are the answers to my questions today.I had "d" all of the above. but back in the pot they go.
Thanks CC

[canyon-ghost]

Too hot is when the frosting is severe. At a certain point the bullets go to a pure crystalline structure with no temper. Without temper, they will disintegrate on impact. Beyond that, there's a possibility of them disintegrating when the powder ignites, they'll just disappear altogether!

Of course, there's a long stretch between the extremes and the bullets are fine up to that extreme. Frosting on the surface isn't serious.

[twc1964]

Thanks guys, i still have some experimenting to do but i have my first usable boolits. i imagine that with time and patience, i will improve my technique. thx

[WILCO]

Thanks guys, i still have some experimenting to do but i have my first usable boolits. i imagine that with time and patience, i will improve my technique. thx

Keep at it Twc1964!

Don't be afraid to share a picture or two of your first casts.

[twc1964]

Hey wilco, believe me, i wish i could post pics but my p.o.s cell phome won't do it on this site. i live in an area where sattelite internet is the only game and expensive. I'm fixing to go clean out the garage and chill in front of my drip-o-matic. nice way to spend some quiet time.

[jsizemore]

Most of the more expensive bottom pours have part of the heating element in close proximity to the spout. Not the 4-20. If you want to cast at a lower temp with the 4-20, the drip is your friend. Each drip drags a little more heat through the spout to keep it fluid. Just like a dripping water faucet in the winter. When I used my 4-20 for my primary casting pot I would dump a little lead from the pot before I started pouring in the boolit mold to keep the spout temp up.

[twc1964]

Jsizemore, i bought this pot from a mem.ber for a really good price and couldn't pass it up. it was brand .ew in the box . i figured it would be a good starting point to keep within my wifes budget lol. could i keep a propane torch handy to heat the nozzle ?

[jsizemore]

I kept a self igniting propane torch handy when I used mine a lot. The additional flow of lead between pours will help keep the nozzle temp up. A half to full second dump of lead is all it takes. I use a bunch of 4 cavity molds so that helps with keeping the temp up. While the sprue and boolits are freezing in/on the mold I would grab the lead from the dump with needlenose pliers and put it back in the pot while the temp was still up.

[twc1964]

Ok, a torch it is. no big deal, I've been wanting a decent excuse to buy one of those micro torches anyway. oh, i did finally get about a hundred good boolits today. culled about 40 percent of what i made. hope the percentages get better lol

[boog]

Ok, a torch it is. no big deal, I've been wanting a decent excuse to buy one of those micro torches anyway. oh, i did finally get about a hundred good boolits today. culled about 40 percent of what i made. hope the percentages get better lol

At least the only thing wasted is your time. For me, it is free when I'm working for myself.

[country gent]

Temp depends on mold, alloy, casting pace and ambient temp. A good mold well cleaned, proper alloy, proper cadence, will cast good bullets. A little experimenting will show you

[osteodoc08]

If you're getting frosted bullets and alloy is at 675, you need to allow your mold to cool a little.

675 is perfect and I typically cast at 675 for my aluminum and iron molds. My brass molds prefer 700-725.

[osteodoc08]

Most of the more expensive bottom pours have part of the heating element in close proximity to the spout. Not the 4-20. If you want to cast at a lower temp with the 4-20, the drip is your friend. Each drip drags a little more heat through the spout to keep it fluid. Just like a dripping water faucet in the winter. When I used my 4-20 for my primary casting pot I would dump a little lead from the pot before I started pouring in the boolit mold to keep the spout temp up.

This also prevents the small wrinkle that you can get from the cooler alloy hitting the mold with hotter alloy behind it.

[62chevy]

Ok, a torch it is. no big deal, I've been wanting a decent excuse to buy one of those micro torches anyway. oh, i did finally get about a hundred good boolits today. culled about 40 percent of what i made. hope the percentages get better lol

A 50% reject rate was what I was getting until this last casting two days ago. read on here that mold and sprue plate temp was everything also a clean mold. scrubbed the dickens out of both molds, put them on a hot plate while the lead melted and when I was ready to cast dipped the base in the lead for a few seconds and then the sprue plate. when the lead stopped sticking to the sprue plate started casting. Oh boy the bases were filled out on the first pour and only a few rejects maybe less than 10 out of 300 boolits for the 45 and about the same for the 380. I was like in seventh heaven that day.

[454PB]

The key to temperature control is controlling MOULD temperature. The pot can be running 900 degrees and you can still cast good boolits if you keep the mould temperature down. Touching the filled mould to a wet cloth or sponge every third to fifth cast will do the job.

As far as the ideal temperature for the pot......it varies with boolit size, alloy, and the number of mould cavities, and of course has to be high enough to flow well if you're using a bottom draw pot.

My experimenting with temperatures indicates that 700 to 725 degrees works well for wheel weight alloy in my Lee Pro-4-20. I also found that the Lee thermostat will control within a 15 degree temperature range.

[2ridgebacks]

Can someone give me a ballpark on mold temp for iron molds? We are having a hell of a time getting close to 250. 250 being the max. We have had the alloy over 900 to get consistently good boolits. As for preheat, we are just rolling them through as they are on a casting machine. If we preheat with a torch, will they hold the temp?

[WILCO]

Hey wilco, believe me, i wish i could post pics but my p.o.s cell phome won't do it on this site. i live in an area where sattelite internet is the only game and expensive.

Simply text the pics to your e-mail account and right click to save them on your computer.
Resize them and post here. That simple. :p

[454PB]

Lee (and other aluminum moulds) cast well at a lower temperature than steel moulds. I checked my RCBS steel moulds with an IR gun, and they cast best at 375 degrees.

Something is not right if you're using alloy at 900 degrees and having "too cool" problems.

Preheat the mould,cast fast and do inspections later, and if you're using a large mould with small cavities, apply extra heat to the mould with a propane torch or a hotplate.

[2ridgebacks]

45 Acp. Hg68 mold. We were good at 900 plus. I figured something was wrong having to go that hot to get good bases.

Edited for darn autocorrect!

[John Boy]

twc - heat your pot up (using a thermometer) and the mold ... do a 5 second pour and when the sprue puddle frosts in 5 seconds ... cut the sprue and you will have fully filled out bullets that are not frosted. Be sure to hold the pot temp at that temperature and cast with good rhythm

[twc1964]

I will try that method john. i will also keep a damp towel handy to cool the mold when it gets too hot.

[Blood Trail]

Thanks guys, i still have some experimenting to do but i have my first usable boolits. i imagine that with time and patience, i will improve my technique. thx

I know this guy! Good to see you on here, brother! I think I've been casting my slugs too hot. They all come out frosted.