1/3 boolit speckled, remaining looks good, novice caster

[soflarick]

3 new Lee molds. Scrubbed all three with Dawn, then 90% iso alcohol, heated till dry.

Fourth session with each mold. Casting temp with a cheap analog gauge is consistently at 650ish. Range scrap with just under 1% more tin from a roll of 50/50 solder. Using a Lee bottom pour pot. Fluxing with wood shavings, then some candle wax.

I'm new to casting, so it's probably me. I've been working on it for a few days, experiencing what to look for, what to do, diagnosing issues, etc. I'm now much better at getting and keeping molds at temp, touching them on a sponge when I can tell it's time. I stir the mix with a wood dowel now and then. I'm not messing with the sprue leftovers, nor the boolits, while casting. Trying to keep a rhythm. I drop onto a silicon bake pan.

Issue I'm experiencing with all the molds is that the boolits all exhibit some kind of frosted speckled appearance on about a third of the boolit, then the remainder has a dull-smooth (nice to me) appearance, with what looks like good fill out. The areas of the frosted speckle appearance can go either way with fill-out appearance.

So, I scrubbed again with a toothbrush and dawn, but same issue occurs. Tried pot temp from 600 through 725; same result. However, they are looking better on the fourth casting session than any of the first three.

The molds themselves are a 405gr 45 cal hollow base, a 450gr 45 cal solid, and a 60 cal ball.

Molds still dirty? Not fluxing enough? Molds need more time in use? Nut behind the wheel needs what?

I can post photos later.

[Rcmaveric]

Frosted bullets means your molds too hot. Won't hurt nothing. Once the frost starts showing swipe your mold across a damp.sponge for a few seconds. That will help.

I prefer heat my molds. In about 3 or 4 cast I will have over heating issues. Depends on the mold but either bullets will frost or bases will crater. You can see the signa leading up to that. So I learned to work in a damp sponge to keep the temps down. A mini desk top fan helps too. I cast twice then swipe the mold for 1 to 2 seconds. If the mold was all ready over heated then it gets about 4 seconds


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[Rcmaveric]

Molds tend to work better the more times you use them. Kind of like cooking with cast iron or seasoning a good cooking skillet


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[soflarick]

The frosting seemed to happen not long after I began casting, so I turned down the pot temp. It just felt like the molds hadn't enough time to get too hot that early on, but I don't have that "feel" yet.

BTW, I'm doing it in the garage, with the door open a little, and I'm in Ohio.

I read the frosting isn't an issue; it's the speckling I'm concerned about. It's not a smooth surface. I assumed the molds were still dirty, so I washed them again. I can tell which mold needs more time to come up to temp, and which one heats very quickly. The single 405 takes more time, whereas the double 450 overheats quickly.

An issue I'm having specifically with the 405 hollow base mold is that there is some lead flashing left around the circumference of the base, as if the hollow point nipple isn't seated tightly to the mold. Happens more often than not.

[Dusty Bannister]

What are you using to lubricate the mold pins and contact surfaces on the HP plug? Too much oil creeps into undesired places and could be a source of pitting appearance. The mold should be held tightly closed, but not white fingered tightly. Careful closing to align the pins might help as well.

[soflarick]

I'm using NOE lube on a qtip. After cleaning, and heating the mold/handle, I wipe the qtip on the top of the mold, bottom of sprue plate, and the alignment pins. Then wipe off the shine with the other unused end of the qtip. Maybe during the wipe, there's a bit of oil getting into the cavity, but I was pretty careful to stay away from them. I have graphite spray I use on the tractor; sprays on dark gray, can fan it to go with a light or heavy coat.

[reddog81]

When you say speckling, do you mean wrinkles? When I hear speckled I think of frosted bullets which aren’t really a big problem. If 1/3 of bullets have wrinkles and aren’t completely filled out that is usually a problem with the mold being to cold or oil in the cavities. Too slow of flow into the mold can also cause those issues.

[soflarick]

Not wrinkles; I've experienced those. I just took photos, so I'll crop and upload.

You can see on the hollow base boolit the flashing on one, but not the other. Like that on all I casted. The round ball shows one side all narly, but the other smooth.
25504925505625505325505025504725505425505125504825 5055255052

[Jniedbalski]

I shot frosted and semi frosted and they all shot fine. If your bullets are speckled or frosted here and there they shoot fine. Good fill out is more important than anything

[soflarick]

Would smoking with a wood match or butane lighter aide in fill-out? Some of the boolits dropped showed frosting, but inadequate fill. I didn't think more tin was necessary. The hardness of the alloy right now is 10.5, so I assumed there was enough tin in it. The range scrap was a mix of jacketed, powder coated, and plain cast. Most were jacketed, which I know contains mostly pure lead.

[swheeler]

What I see on the ball and nose of bullets are inclusions/ dirt/debris/dross, you need to flux really well. The flashing around the base usually can be prevented by keeping the base of the that pin lubed so the cavity halves close around it completely. I used to get those inclusions when I fluxed with Marvelux however you spell it.

[mdi]

As mentioned above, frosting is from a hot mold, not melt temperature. 400 grain bullets are pretty big and depending on the mold (single, two, or multi cavity) uneven heating can happen, possibly why just part of your bullets get frosty. Leave the temp at about 675-700 and I'd say quit cleaning/scrubbing the mold and don't "smoke" it or use anything in the cavities (usually smoking a mold is to aid bullet release, not fill out). I sometimes "season" a new mold, aluminum too. After one good cleaning I heat the new mold on my hot plate set on high, let it reach temp and then turn off the hotplate and cool. Repeat 5-6 times. This seems to help getting keepers quicker.

I've seen it said a few times; "The only way to learn to cast bullets is to cast bullets". Practice, practice, practice...

[soflarick]

Perhaps stirring with the wood dowel isn't helping. I thought it'd help flux by putting some carbon into the mix now and then. I should scrape the bottom better with a metal spoon.

Wipe some NOE around the base of that pin on the hollow base?

I'll do the hot plate thing.

Lots of fun practicing and learning, anyway.

Thanks.

[swheeler]

Perhaps stirring with the wood dowel isn't helping. I thought it'd help flux by putting some carbon into the mix now and then. I should scrape the bottom better with a metal spoon.

Wipe some NOE around the base of that pin on the hollow base?

I'll do the hot plate thing.

Lots of fun practicing and learning, anyway.

Thanks.

I think you are on to something there. Sometimes emptying the pot and giving it a good scrubbing does wonders, I use a ss cup brush in a drill, do it outside and wear a mask and nitrile gloves. What looks like a clean pot can yield a tablespoon full of junk that gets into your cleaned alloy. Those black dents are inclusions from debris poured in with your alloy.
https://i.imgur.com/9MWPz1T.jpg

[soflarick]

K, dump and clean. I have brass and stainless utility brushes to do it. I use a carbon mask when I do anything with lead.

[swheeler]

I'll bet you find a bunch! Your bullets look good, sharp lines no rounded edges mold temp looks right on the money. When you get the crud out of your pot you will be making some nice bullets, good job!

edit: could it be in your "range scrap" alloy?

[soflarick]

Well, thanks. I should have cleaned the NEW pot better than just a hosing of brake cleaner. I assumed it was clean enough. That, and the wood stick. I have a couple small tubs of that Brownells flux. Haven't yet used it; just wax and wood shavings right now. Candle wax seems to do a nice job. I think I saw someone suggesting a ball of wax and lithium grease as a flux. Probably as many recipes for flux as there are for boolit lube.

[OS OK]

Those freshly cleaned moulds need time in casting to develop a patina in the cavities.

If you do anything just make some powdered graphite from rubbing pencil lead on fine sandpaper and use a Q tip to rub it into the cavities.
Blow out the excess and go to town casting. Let that natural patina form up.

Don't know what's been said in the posts above but those irregularities look to me like crap in the lead in the pot boolit-metal...like suspended oxidized lead that didn't stir out when you fluxed.
I wouldn't put anything in the pot other than wax to stir the mix well and then cap off the top of the melt to prevent oxidization while your casting.

[Winger Ed.]

I'd go easy with that wooden stick.

If it bubbles when ya put it into the pot,,,,, that's the tinsel fairy knocking on your door, and wanting in.

[soflarick]

Fluxed with candle wax and spooned off dross before dumping the pot. Yea, lotta junk in there. No more wood stir stick in the casting pot.

I'll give the pencil trick a try.

Thanks all for the help.

[lar45]

When you lube the top of the mold and the sprue plate make sure that you have a freshly casted bullet still in the mold with the mold closed. I use a leather glove and a piece of towel, put some of the sprue plate lube on the corner and rub it over the top of the mold and bottom of the sprue plate.
Slide it back and forth a couple of times, then drop your bullet and cast away.

The black speckles could either be the oil getting into the mold, or as the others have said, there is contamination, dirt, crap... in the lead.
What I do to flux is take an old spoon, get a pea sized piece of wax flux, then stir the flux down into the lead several times, this seems to help get ahold of the dirt and float it to the top. Use your spoon to scrape the bottom and sides to clean out any junk that will float to the top. Pull it to the edge with your spoon and scoop it out.

Also another important thing is to not process your range scrap in your casting pot. If you do, you are just putting dirt back in the pot. Use something else to process your scrap and then clean it, flux it and pour into ingots that will fit in your casting pot.
If you're already doing this, just ignore... :)

Post pics of your progress, it definitely helps to diagnose the problems.

[mdi]

If your alloy was dirty, why would only the noses of those long bullets get dirty? It doesn't hurt to clean your pot but scale builds up fairly quickly. I clean my Lee pot about twice per year (have no idea how many bullets/lbs of lead I cast). I flux with saw dust once, nothing else, and stir through out the casting session with a wood slat (paint stick). There are members here that have much more experience than I do, but in casting for just 25 years stirring with a stick has presented no problems...

Lar45 mentioned something important; don't clean your scrap alloy in your casting pot. I use a Coleman propane stove and a "custom" 20 lb. steel pot to melt/clean my scrap, scrounged lead. Nothing but clean ingots go in my Lee pot, not even my culls...

[kevin c]

mdi,

I'm fairly new, so forgive my ignorance: why not the culls? Is the assumption that the casts are not up to par because the alloy in the rejects has inclusions, or is it something else that you're considering?

[soflarick]

I process range scrap and wheel weights in a cast iron pot on a turkey fryer burner. I know to use the casting pot strictly for casting. The pot had a lot of carbon down below. I fluxed the mix well before pouring it back into the muffin tins. That brought up a lot of junk I didn't see before.

Would graphite be a good replacement lubricant for oil? I have an old, small bottle of powdered graphite with needle tip.

Sounds to me a good technique to keeping it clean is to wait putting the sprue lead and scrap boolits back in the pot until I'm done, then put it all back in and flux again.

[Rcmaveric]

I use antiseize compound on my sprue plate. Use a dab of beeswax for all the pivot points. Really helps prevent oil intrusion into the cavities. Also having a bullet in the cavities is a good insurance policy.

NoE sprue oils is only two troke oil. Works well but you can easily over do it and it doesnt last long. Over heating the mold it burns off fast. Never use candle wax (brain farting and can't remember what paraffin wax is called). Its mineral based and creaps and flows quickly and easily. It penetrates everything and sucks as a lubricant.

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[soflarick]

When you say antiseize on the sprue plate, do you mean apply it to the flat surfaces of the plate? Pivot points being the hinged joints, not surfaces, correct?

[Rcmaveric]

When you say antiseize on the sprue plate, do you mean apply it to the flat surfaces of the plate? Pivot points being the hinged joints, not surfaces, correct?Antiseize on the bottom of the sprue plate and top of the mold. I used to apply it to the the entire surfaces, but now I just apply it to the where the edges first meet like scissors. I have noticed that that's the area where galling and wearing happens so that's where I focus on keeping lubed with antiseize. Not point in doing the whole surface. Plus working the sprue will spread it out from there.

On my first Lee mold, before I started using anti seize, it has a very noticeable angle of wear and galling. Still usable but the wear and galling has stopped since I switched to anti seize.

Pivot points are the hinges. Beeswax is an excellent lubricant and won't creep and flow. Dont forget your guide pins. You dont want those galling and wearing out.

When metals get hot, they can friction transfer material and wear faster. That's what galling is. The lubricants on the mold are to prevent galling not actually lubricate anything. Lubricants on the handles are to actually lubricate things. Aluminium is bad at galling. My 9mm mold is only 4 years old and you would think my dad used it. The vent lines on top of the blocks are worn away and galled away from the sprue plate on the contact edge. Lessons learned and I pay a little bit more attention to things and care a little bit better for things.

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[soflarick]

K thanks. I have a big bottle of copper antiseize.

Did a round of casting with the 3 molds. I'm now realizing how quickly the molds heat to the point of frosting the alloy. I starting getting nice 405 hollow base boolits, once I put a wet sponge in reach, and used it judiciously on the mold base, then waiting a count of 3, then poured.

[Rcmaveric]

Using two molds at once can really help with heat.

Fill mold A.
Fill mold B
Cut sprue and dump bullets of A then refill
Cut sprue and dump bullets of B then refill
Repeat

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[Mitch]

PM sent to see where you are.willing to help you out.

[WRideout]

I process range scrap and wheel weights in a cast iron pot on a turkey fryer burner. I know to use the casting pot strictly for casting. The pot had a lot of carbon down below. I fluxed the mix well before pouring it back into the muffin tins. That brought up a lot of junk I didn't see before.

Would graphite be a good replacement lubricant for oil? I have an old, small bottle of powdered graphite with needle tip.

Sounds to me a good technique to keeping it clean is to wait putting the sprue lead and scrap boolits back in the pot until I'm done, then put it all back in and flux again.

I don't know why, but vegetable oil worked really well as a flux for smelting purposes. Elsewhere on the forum, someone advocated using a carpenters pencil to apply graphite to the sprue plate and mold top. I've tried it, but the jury is still out.

Wayne