Frankford Arsenal Drop out anybody use it

[762cavalier]

and what were your results like also has anyone used their cleancast lead fluxing compound? any help is appreciated :-)

[waksupi]

and what were your results like also has anyone used their cleancast lead fluxing compound? any help is appreciated :-)

Welcome, 762.
Some of this has recently been covered, but we have been known to repeat ourselves. The Arsenal Drop out can be replaced by Napa graphite spary, for several dollars less per can. There is a current topic you can find here, on fluxing materials. What you are looking at will work, but for maybe ten bucks or more if you buy the suppliers goods, as opposed to the same stuff from elsewhere for free. You are just looking for carbon based, for flux. Doesn't matter what it is. Carpetman uses dried cat droppings. But he IS a bit strange.

[Scrounger]

Speaking of which, where is Carpetman? He hasn't posted in a couple of days. Do you suppose he went over into Louisiana to help some sheep over fences?

[Buckshot]

............I've found the mould drop out to reduce the diameter that boolits drop from the cavity. Sometimes not a good thing. I basicly use it as a dry lube now, and not to spray cavities.

For fluxing I use candle wax the wife supplies :D. I'd bought a brick of Gulf brand parrafin years upon years ago and still have it unopened in a drawer. When my folks moved to Arizona my mom gave me a bag of holiday theamed candles, so I possibly have a lifetime supply. VERY cheap and it does a superb job.

................Buckshot

[David R]

It has been covered here, but what the heck. I don't use it, some do some don't. I smoke the mold with a butane lighter turned up quite high. Sometimes I only need a good clean mold. A wooden match has wax in it and will get wax into your mold if you use that to smoke it. One guy uses a Zippo. I found one of those long lighteers you would use to light a hot water heater, or stove keeps my fingers far enough away from the hot mold.

David

[No_1]

I have used midway brand. I do not see the results as being much better than smoking the cavities first with a lighter. In fact, seems I get more blems at first when I use it. I have found that with a magnifier I can find the problem that keeps them from dropping in the cavity.

For flux I have used the remains of scented candles that my girlfriend supplies me ;) but my main source of flux is the crayons that we get at the local resturants. With 3 kids between the 2 of us, I can get 12 crayons per visit. Hell, I have 2 folgers plastic coffee cans overflowing with them now and have tried to cut back on collecting them but for some reason I cannot stop! Kinda like collecting w/w's. I am cut back on shooting for the moment because I am trying to ready the house for sale but It seems like every time I am sitting at a stop light looking around and I see a tire store on the corner, I MUST turn in while waiting for the light to change and see if they have any to spare...

Good luck,

[Newtire]

Good Stuff! Napa graphite spray! Now I like that. Someone on the old shooter's board told me about just using a Q-Tip to wipe a small amount of the spray dropout graphite stuff from Midway into the mould cavity and that was the answer to using the stuff and keeping it from globbing up inside the mould. I use the brake assembly fluid as case sizing lube. Squeeze a little on a piece of foam or sponge cut to fit into a foglight lens cover. Beats anything I've tried. Oh yeah...wandering away again from topic.

[sundog]

Newtire, I am the one who espoused the q-tip thingy with drop-out on the old shooters. I still do it on other than aluminium moulds. Also a coat on the outside when they store for a spell. Too much is too much of a good thing when in the cavities and can ruin the boolits. Swabbing works well. Sparingly, it's good stuff. sundog

[MT Gianni]

Another good product for a mold lube is permatex anti-sieze. I use a bit on a q-tip or paper towell and rub it into the areas needing lube. Gianni.

[shooter2]

and what were your results like also has anyone used their cleancast lead fluxing compound? any help is appreciated :-)

I use drop out on the outside of the mould. The alloy just slides right off and makes the mould easy to clean when I am done with the casting session. Like Buckshot, I found it reduced the bullet diameter a bit. I've never tried the Qtip trick, but it should work.

[Bret4207]

The Frankford stuff didn't work for me at all in the cavities. It works ok for lubing the hinges and sprue plate, although not as good as bullet lube on a Lee.

[Newtire]

Hey Mt Gianni,
I use the anti-seize wiped just to a "shine" on the inside of my rifle actions and reloading press linkages. to slick things up. I use it on transmission input shaft splines doing clutch jobs for the same reason. It doesn't fly off onto clutch lining or collect grit like grease does. A trip to the parts house and ace hardware for the Ed's Red ingrediments. I heard about some bullet lube recipes too. Just nice to know there are alternatives.

[Rick N Bama]

I have a 1 pound can of the Clean Cast that has seen very little use. If you want it, just shoot me a PM or email and it's yours for the shipping. I don't like the stuff at all. Like others, I use candle stubs or a piece of boolit lube for a flux.

Rick

[PatMarlin]

Hey Booliteers..

The beautiful thing about repeating old information is for the guys that missed it!

The Napa spray got past me!!

I use Midway mainly for galling protection and hinges, pins, Q-tipping and a mold I want to cast a smaller boolit. And that's a rarety.. :roll: :mrgreen:

[LAH]

I use the Frankford stuff for storeage. It's no easier to clean off than oil when time comes for use though.

When casting I use nothing in the cavity................no smoke...............no spray
............no pencil lead................no nothing.

[VintageRifle]

Is this the Napa Graphite Spray that will work as a bullet mold release agent?

http://tinyurl.com/22ehdq

Item#: BK 7651384
Attributes:
Manufacturer:American Grease Stick Company
Size:3 oz
Container:Metal Can
Features & Benefits:Contains Microscopic Size Graphite Suspended In Fluid Carrier
Application:Helps Free Frozen & Stuck Locks
Hazards or Warnings:Consult Material Safety Data Sheet / Product Label

[montana_charlie]

Vintage Rifle,
The NAPA graphite I have is not what you linked...but I can't find it on the NAPA website. So, I'll describe it...

It comes in a tall can...not the stumpy one in your picture...which is dark blue.
The name is Dry Graphite Film Lubricant, and on the can (where you expect to see the NAPA number) it says Mac's 1413.

I was in the NAPA store for something else when it caught my eye...otherwise I would probably have found a similar product elsewhere.

I (at first) tried it on all parts of my mould. That didn't work for me as bullets came out looking like they were cast in a dirty mould.

Now I leave a bullet in the cavity (or put one in there) and spray the entire exterior...including both sides of the sprue plate and the jaws of the mould handles. This is to keep lead from sticking in places where I want it to come off easily.

For actual lubrication of metal I don't want to wear or gall, I use the NAPA anti-sieze compound...applied as sparingly as possible to the sprue pivot washer, and the holes the alignment pins go into. I also use it on screw threads to keep them from (what else?) seizing.
CM

[VintageRifle]

Well, Napa still has the right stuff in their stores. Picked up a can and will be trying it out within the next couple of days.

[Jon K]

O.K. I didn't see it before, so here's my take on this, I have used it inside of the mold, long ago, didn't like it- like Charlie says "looks like the mold was dirty" and Buckshot "reduces the size". So it sat on the shelf for I don't know how long.
Then a couple of years ago, when I bought my first Paul Jones mold, he told me to coat the outside of the mold, and on the top of the sprue plate put a q-tip in the opening tip up then coat, and coat the ladle inside and out. So that's it when I get ready to pour I make sure the ladle and top of the sprue plate are coated. Outside of the mold only gets a thin coat once in a while, so the spatter doesn't stick.
Vent lines can't work, if they are plugged up with mold release or anything.

Underside of the sprue plate, top of the mold, pins and pin cavities I use Bullshop's Sprue Plate Lube.

Jon
:castmine:

[454PB]

My latest order to Midway included the Clean Cast flux. I normally use Marvelux in weather that doesn't allow opening the windows in my casting room, and the Frankford stuff seems to work about the same, but bubbles less than Marvelux. I do 95% of my boolit casting in the winter, so most all of my fluxing is done with "smoke free" flux.

I know there are a lot of people on this forum that don't like Marvelux, but all my offers to pay the shipping if they wanted to get rid of it were ignored, so I finally had to buy some.

[Matt E.]

seemed fine on my Lee 1oz key drive slugs, but then again a thousandth here or there is not a significant worry since you are tossing it in a wad anyway....
Tried the smoke method, worked ok, guess I will try candle smoke next.

[cas]

If you spray it in your mold and it makes your bullet too small, just spray it on your bullet and make it the right size again. ;)


I bought a can many years ago. Sprayed it on one mold once. I think the rest of it I used just spraying bullets, sort of powder coat in a can.

[Burnt Fingers]

seemed fine on my Lee 1oz key drive slugs, but then again a thousandth here or there is not a significant worry since you are tossing it in a wad anyway....
Tried the smoke method, worked ok, guess I will try candle smoke next.

Use a butane lighter. A candle can deposit unburned wax in the cavities.