My bottom pour stopped pouring!

[snaketail]

Was taking advantage of the cool weather and casing form .45 Colt Boolits. Going slow, letting the mold cool some between pours - then the Lee bottom pour stopped pouring
(however, it did keep dripping).

Being a newbie to casting, and finally starting to get more "good" ones than "bad" ones. So, I was a bit lost - I poked to pour spout with a long paper clip, stirred the pot, and finally just turned it off.

Obviously I have something blocking the pour, but I'm not sure what to do next...heat it up and dip all the molten lead out to find the blockage?

Any suggestions?

M

[slim1836]

You need a larger wire, try stripping the insulation off a piece of #12 wire, bend a 1" "L" shape in it, and use a pair of pliers to wiggle it up the nozzle.

Make sure the pot is heated enough to melt the lead thoroughly throughout the pot.

Sounds like you've got crud at the nozzle.

Slim

[tazman]

I agree with slim on the larger diameter wire. I used the largest paper clip I could find.
Another trick is to get a small gas torch and heat the nozzle. Sometimes a little extra heat will bring the flow back.

[500MAG]

Along with what Slim said, I would stir the pot constantly all the way to the bottom while holding the spout open. Just make sure to have your catch pan underneath in case it opens and doesn't stop.

[williamwaco]

Was taking advantage of the cool weather and casing form .45 Colt Boolits. Going slow, letting the mold cool some between pours - then the Lee bottom pour stopped pouring
(however, it did keep dripping).

Being a newbie to casting, and finally starting to get more "good" ones than "bad" ones. So, I was a bit lost - I poked to pour spout with a long paper clip, stirred the pot, and finally just turned it off.

Obviously I have something blocking the pour, but I'm not sure what to do next...heat it up and dip all the molten lead out to find the blockage?

Any suggestions?

M


I suspect it just froze up.

Try to heat it up with your propane torch and turn up the heat on the pot.

This happens frequently in cool weather.

[nagantguy]

Heavy wire is a must remember to bend if in an L shape and do not do not do not put hand under spout. If your pot has the large flat heat screw on top of the stem give that a half a turn or so back and forth, like everyone else said use heat, lots of it. Also use two pots one for melting igots and one fer casting g nice clean known igots keeps your put from junking/ scaling up. That's about the best advice anyone ever told me on casting, never melt ww old sinkers scrap dirty whatever in your clean casting pot.

[Mk42gunner]

Also, if you are using an aluminum mold, you will get better boolits the faster (less cycle time) you cast. Every time you slow down the mold is cooling off and every Lee mold I have ever seen likes to be run hot and fast.

I used a Lee 4-20 exclusively for a few years and I never had the spout clog; but did have it freeze often enough that I always made sure my propane torch was nearby to get it flowing again.

Robert

[snaketail]

Robert - I slowed down because I was getting frosted boolits - mold too hot. Its a single cavity aluminum mold .454/255 that shoots great in my .45 Colt rifle.
I'll get some heavy wire, bent the "L", clean 'er out and remember to stir the pot often.

If I weren't having fun I would have quit this a couple of weeks ago. But its a challenge and I'm enjoying the learning curve...I shoot Lever Action Silhouette and it makes me feel pretty good to make my own boolits, reload them and (sometimes) win a match.

"Cool weather" means high 70s and low humidity - when I lived in Dallas or Tucson we never had cool Julys!

M

[HATCH]

Turn temp on pot up higher
i run about 750

[dikman]

Snaketail, don't give up 'cos yes, it is fun. These little bumps in the road of life come along occasionally (more often, it seems, if you shoot muzzleloaders!) and solving them is part of the fun. It could be a blockage or it could be the nozzle freezing, I've had both. It's a bit of a balancing act, I've found, to get the right temperature. You don't want it too hot, but if it's not hot enough it freezes at the nozzle - my RCBS is prone to that if I pause too long between casting.

So, I keep a piece of bent wire and pliers handy, along with my Dremel propane torch. One of them usually fixes the problem.

[slim1836]

I've had those "bumps" many a time, just got to know when to back off and think about it some.

I enjoy taking a wheel weight, turning it into a boolit, developing a load, and hitting what I aim at, all for a fraction of the cost of "off the shelf" bullets. A lot can be said for that.

It's not for everybody, but it's for me.

Slim

[snaketail]

Oh I'll keep casting. I'm a long way from mastering the learning curve, and it's fun to discover new techniques. Can't wait to get to the range today and see how my new mold is shooting.

A couple of years ago I was involved in a Psychology research program at the University of Texas. We worked with Sr Citizens to determine the best way to enhance their mental abilities. I taught them digital photography and did testing to see if they were getting better - they did. The program was new to them and the problems they had to solve were a challenge mentally. So is making my own boolits - a challenge I enjoy, and I learn new things each time I heat up the pot... like what the tinsel fairy is, and how long big bullets stay hot, and don't cast without socks on...yea, I have a lot to learn.

[canyon-ghost]

Just used mine the first time, 9mm 6 cavity. Yes, do get a flatblade screwdriver to spin the stem with. It does help a lot, in fact, sometimes it works really great. Mine stopped while I was pouring well over 1,000 bullets twice. So, twice I spun the stem and it went back to work.

PS: Any mold can be cooled by opening it up and waving through the air for a few minutes. You said you had cool air, put 'er to use!

[MT Chambers]

It's designed to not pour at all until you stick your bare hand under there.

[williamwaco]

It's designed to not pour at all until you stick your bare hand under there.


Ask him how he knows that! :bigsmyl2:

[snaketail]

If its all the same to you guys I won't stick my hand under the spout.

I just got back from the range. Gun went bang, holes appeared in the target, a few adjustment and they were all going where I wanted them to go. The new RNFP cast boolits shot higher than the SWCs I had been using. Fed well through my Rossi 92 and was a lot of fun to shoot.

I was actually more worried about the lube I was using than the lead Boolits...I'm using paraffin, Vaseline and STP oil treatment with a blue and yellow crayon for color (ugly green) - its a bit sticky - reminds me of black powder lube, but no excessive leading noticed.

Something about hearing a .45 bullet smack the target at 100 yards, and put a darn but hole in the Shoot-N-See target - makes me feel like I've accomplished something.

M

[dikman]

Snaketail, I think I qualify as a Senior Citizen (I even just bought two new pairs of slippers :lol:). Yep, it's good to keep the mind active, and since taking up BP shooting I've found a whole new world of learning has opened up to me - not just the shooting, but everything else that goes with the Holy Black.

[snaketail]

dikman - me too. But you only as old as you act, no - as old as you look, no that's not it. As old as the women you look at - no, that not right either. As old as you feel...and some days I feel older than others.
I moved from Tucson, Az - where we didn't need a melting pot to cast boolits, then we moved to the land of snow/humidity/green trees...I know-retirement in reverse. I haven't gotten into BP - but there is always the possibility of learning something new.

M

[h8dirt]

You need a larger wire, try stripping the insulation off a piece of #12 wire, bend a 1" "L" shape in it, and use a pair of pliers to wiggle it up the nozzle.

Make sure the pot is heated enough to melt the lead thoroughly throughout the pot.

Sounds like you've got crud at the nozzle.

Slim

Yeah … and standby for it to dump the whole pot on your workbench (or worse).

[tazman]

Yeah … and standby for it to dump the whole pot on your workbench (or worse).

Why I use a catch pan under my lead pot.
I always use a large cookie sheet/pan that has 1 inch sides under my lead pot to catch spills. I also keep several ingots of lead handy to quickly cool/solidify the lead in case of a problem. I have my lead pot plugged into a switched outlet for fast power cutoff if necessary as well.
So far I have not had to use the safety options but you never know. I just try to anticipate problems so I can avoid damage to myself or my equipment.

[Bad Water Bill]

There was a rhyme about "FROST ON THE PUNKIN".

Not sure if you are REALLY old enough to remember that one.:bigsmyl2:

Try some of those frosty boolits and see how they work.

Wrinkles are one thing but a little frost might work great in your gun.

It is all about just what that particular gun likes.

You may get many suggestions here but I do not think anyone here will GUARANTEE a 5 shot 1/2" load at 100 yards.

Keep great records in a separate book for each gun and save the targets as proof if for no other reason than to remind yourself of how well that load worked.

Yes that means how warm it was that day,the wind even to who was shooting near you and If that might have bothered you in any way.

The learning NEVER stops here because new powders,moulds or techniques keep popping their heads up.

Sit back in your favorite rocker with a cup of mud and enjoy.