Boolit Analysis

[mr-natural]

Can someone suggest a post or link that has close up photos of boolits that are not up to standard and why they are the way they are (lead too hot/cold, mold too hot/cold, etc)? I trying to get a new aluminum Lee 405HB mold to do something nice and it seems I'm going in the wrong direction so I need to relate what my boolits are looking like to what's causing the problem - other than me.

[44man]

That might be difficult but so much is here with the written word there is no need for a chart.

[Boolit_Head]

Might be better to post some pictures of your results and we can give you a direction to go.

[Love Life]

If you can post some pictures that would help greatly.

[mr-natural]

These pictures are fairly typical - all three photos are of the same boolit.
128076128077128078

[Yodogsandman]

Cold mold and not enough tin would be my guestamate.

[45lcrevolver]

What type of lead are you using? Ex- range pick up, ww, pure?

[country gent]

Lead on the cool side possibly mould a little cool. What alloy are you using? was the mould cleaned before starting? Was it pre heated and if so how ( hot plate, on top of pot, corner dipped in molten metal)? Are you using a ladle or bottom pour pot? I would clean mould again with accetone or solvent, then dawn dish soap and tooth brush to remove residues. allow to dry and lightly lube with sprue plate lube or 2 cycle motor oil lightly with a q tip. Pre heat to aropund 400 degrees and allow to "soak" there for 5-10 mins to make sure it heated evenly clear thru. (the pin for the hollow base needs to be hot and it takes a solid fast flow to keep it hot. Run pot temp around 700* -725*. If bottom pouring try fitting the sprue right onto the spout allowing pressure to fill mould give it a 4-5 count and fill sprue. Also try pouring in with stream hitting an edge of the sprue hole giving a swirl effect when filling. Sometimes slightly tipping the mould helps with fill out. If ladle pouring, fit sprue plate to ladle and tip upright together allowing ladle to pressure fill cavity and then fill sprue. Or fill ladle and slightly tip mould to side and pour not to fill sprue but pour a full ladle letting excess run of the side back into the pot and form the sprue as it does. This method keeps the cavity liquid as long as possible allowing a complete fill and cavity to release gasses much easier. As to lead an alloy of lead / tin should cast these very well. Lead / atimony / tin should also work well. A small amount of tin added will help with flow and fill out.

[StratsMan]

Not to sound flip, but I'd shoot those in my Trapdoor (got some to load now) as long as they dropped at the right diameter... Sure, I do try to improve my boolit quality... but I'd still shoot 'em...

[mr-natural]

Well, here's the kicker. I know that the hardness of this lead is 14.3 and I cast some others using lead that was 8.5 with the same results. I'm just getting back into casting after a 10 year hiatus and this is just some lead that I had. I have a tough time believing that the mold is too cold as the boolit shown was about the 11th one in that run. Remember that it is a new aluminum mold but I have spent some time using alcohol to insure it is clean.

[Boolit_Head]

Oh I think I see now, that mold has a steel pin in it. Increase your heat in the melt and cast faster to keep the heat in the mold. I had issues like that with a new NOE HP mold I got until I upped the heat. Would not hurt to scrub the mold with a tooth brush and some dish detergent just to make sure.

[mr-natural]

Stratsman would you be able to maintain a decent group shooting boolits like that?

[mr-natural]

Thanks Country Gent for such a detailed response to my issues. I'm using a new Lee bottom pour pot and I'm preheating my mold by letting it rest across the pot. I'll follow your recommendations regarding cleaning and temperature control and will report back in a day or so. Thanks again,

[runfiverun]

your nowhere near hot enough.
dip the corner of your mold in the alloy until the lead doesn't stick.
that should be close to where you want. [about 430-f mold temp]
a 14 bhn alloy should produce grey [galvanized] looking boolits as they cool off after coming from the mold.

[high standard 40]

Some good advice has been given. To add to what "country gent" said, only apply the lube to the underside of the sprue plate and the top of the mold blocks. A little on the alignment pins and holes as well. Very little is needed. do not allow any lube into the mold cavities. The Q-Tip method is the one I use as well. The best way to do this is to get the mold up to working temp, fill the cavities, cut the sprue, but leave the bullets in the closed mold. Then lube while the mold is hot and bullets still in the cavities. This way you can help assure no lube makes it's way into the cavities. I apply a small amount of lube with one end of the swab then use the dry end to wipe the surfaces again to remove any excess lube.

I agree you should try cleaning the mold again first and running the melt temp a little higher as well as using a faster pace to keep the mold hot.

[GabbyM]

Flux your metal good. Cast some up intentionally to hot just to burn out the new mold. Don't over do that of course.
Get them to frost over for fifteen minutes or so. Then turn down the temp by slowing down and allowing the mold to cool more. With those big bullets you need to watch for shrinkage which will occur from to hot a mold and metal. You are no where near getting shrinkage and those flaws just may be from dirt in the metal.

[Wayne Smith]

When you get flashing around the base pin and in the seams you are too hot! I have a Lee HB 41Colt mold that is of the same design. Once I get going I have to slow down or I get that flashing. I am ladle pouring and my alloy is between 700 and 750 degrees.

[mr-natural]

Thanks to everyone for all the great tips. It will be a few days before I get to play around again with this issue but I do look forward to it. Thanks again - what a great community.

[Pilgrim]

Your alloy is dirty. Flux it with sawdust, candle wax, boolit lube....don't use Marvelux!! You can see the inclusions in pix of your boolit. Rounded edges are most likely heat, alloy, or venting, in that order. Wrinkles on the boolit are usually related to temperature, and occasionally the alloy. The BHN 14 alloy is most likely COWW + tin. The BHN 8 alloy is very near pure lead. It isn't rocket science, but you need to have the right combination of alloy, heat, and mould condition. Then it's ridiculously easy. Loading and shooting them accurately? Well that's a whole new set of issues. Learn and have fun. FWIW Pilgrim