Filling Multi Cavity Molds

[dale2242]

Do you fill a multi cavity mold from the front [cavity nearest you] or from the back [cavity farthest from you] first?
I fill mine from the front first.

[rintinglen]

Furthest to nearest works best for me. I get fewer rejects, though why I can’t guess.

[RedlegEd]

Do you fill a multi cavity mold from the front [cavity nearest you] or from the back [cavity farthest from you] first?
I fill mine from the front first.
Hi Dale,
I alternate to try to keep the mould temperature uniform. Not sure if it works, but that's what I do.
Ed

[2wheelDuke]

I'm thinking it may matter if you're using a bottom pour pot or not.

I fill the cavity furthest from me first, and keep the pour going until the cavity nearest me is filled. That's "pushing" the mold further under the pot. After the last cavity is filled, I keep the pour going as I withdraw the mold, running a stream of lead across the sprue, basically reinforcing it.

I watch for it to solidify and "glaze" over, then cut the sprue with a gloved hand. Give that a few then I invert the mold over the pot and open the plate further. I guide the cut sprue into the pot with my gloved hand and then open the mold and tap the handles if necessary to drop my boolits.

[dannyd]

I do furthest from me.

[curioushooter]

I alternate. I find this essential to keep temp even. Especially important with casting Hollowpoints.

[georgerkahn]

Age has reduced my multi-cav mould use -- forty years ago there were zero challenges using, say, a 10-cavity H&G iron mould... like, all of an afternoon! Now, I primarily use 2-cavity moulds. Interestingly, I have pretty much -- for no reason I ever gave thought to -- kind of push the mould under the spout of bottom-pour furnace -- first in, gets alloy first. One of my "reasons", thinking on it for a few milli-seconds, is I keep handles raised just a smidgeon, and this keeps alloy from pouring over a to-be-filled cavity while providing ample in sprue dimple, guaranteeing no loss from shrinkage as alloy solidifies.
geo

[Conditor22]

Hi Dale,
I alternate to try to keep the mold temperature uniform. Not sure if it works, but that's what I do.
Ed

I agree :)
Before I did that I always started nearest the hinge -- less pressure opening the mold.

[GhostHawk]

I ladle pour and pretty much always go from furthest to closest.
In my experience if the melt is right and the mold is warm it does not make much difference.

Comes down to cadence, if the cavity is being filled every X number seconds with hot lead, what difference does it make which end you do first?
The blocks are hot, and tend to stay hot. If I have an issue I am more likely to have a towel dampened with water so I can cool a mold if it gets too hot. Starts sticking.

[Mal Paso]

3-1-4-2 for 4 cavity LOL



First in gets filled first.

[rancher1913]

at least wilco would have a "start in the middle" option [smilie=s:

[Mk42gunner]

Had to make sure I answered correctly, I always figured the front of the mold was the one farthest from the handle.

It doesn't matter if I using a two, four or six cavity mold, ladle or bottom pouring; I pretty much always fill the farthest hole first.

Robert

[Harter66]

I pour to the sprue hinge so that's handles out in the Lee's . The 8C H&G pours out from the handles as does the 4 C Lyman , away from the hinge , they're on the clamshell handles and just run better that way . The NOEs in aluminum under 35 cal tend to want alternating pours from the hinge/to the hinge 2/1 on Lee handles those 35+ cal don't seem to care and I pour them handles out . I have 1 5C the 7mm 150 , fickle beast . From the handles it needs 3,4,5,1,2 - 1,2,5,4,3 repeat , it's weird , it took forever to get 5 keepers and even with the tedious pouring I only get about 75% I should probably open the fill holes a little and break the top edge .

[Walks]

Front 1st

[smithnframe]

Depends on what works with a particular mould on a particular day!

[Green Frog]

I always fill mine from the bottom up!! :bigsmyl2:

[old cobra]

It depends on what the mold likes some of mine seem to prefer front to back and others don’t

[MT Gianni]

Ladle cast furthest to nearest.

[pworley1]

It depends on the mold. Usually front to back.

[dragon813gt]

I’m scratching my head because it’s been well over a year since I last cast any bullets. Can’t remember if I push or pull the mold, slide them on a piece of plywood under the pot. Pretty sure I usually pull the mold which means that I start at the cavity closest to me.

[Shuz]

I start with the cavity closest to me and pull the mould out from under the spout.

[SSGOldfart]

I alternate. I find this essential to keep temp even. Especially important with casting Hollowpoints.

Same here.

[Dapaki]

Third selection, I alternate back and forth to keep the mold temp even.

[Martin Luber]

The NOE website suggests alternating. Traditionally, l found it easier to pull to me than to push.

[poppy42]

Hi Dale,
I alternate to try to keep the mould temperature uniform. Not sure if it works, but that's what I do.
Ed

+1 on Alternating

[Dieselhorses]

Third selection, I alternate back and forth to keep the mold temp even.

How is alternating keeping the mold temp stable? You fill the last cavity (front or back) and it's your hottest so start back at the other end where it's cooled the longest. Correct me if I'm wrong!

[osteodoc08]

Hi Dale,
I alternate to try to keep the mould temperature uniform. Not sure if it works, but that's what I do.
Ed

Same here

[fredj338]

I said front but with 4-6cav molds, it depends. I will often go front to back & rotate that sequence. It gives me less failure to fill out with some molds. Odd I know but that works for me.

[Echo]

I go near-to-far, back-to-front. If I fill front-to-back, the pin holding the Lyman mold trough catches the front of the mold, and screws things up. Going back-to-front, I can rest the front of the mold ON the pin, and pull it off after I have filled the first cavity...

[John Boy]

I use a larger ladle and make one sprue puddle over every cavity

[Oldfeller]

I am a believer in a frosty bullet, so I cast hot enough and fast enough to get there and stay there. I also keep a soggy rag nearby so I can chill the aluminum blocks or the sprue plate as needed when lead congealing begins to get all laggy and slow.

There is a cooling gradient on those multiple spues, making the oldest sprue the strongest so to speak.

By casting from the sprue pivot on up the line to the furthest sprue then striking the plate when that last sprue jells, I can minimize the amount of disruptive force needed to cut all the sprues. This makes the earliest/toughest sprue see the highest rotational leverage on the cut off plate and allows you to judge the entire casting set by judging off the last sprue that was cast.

My goal is to be able to cut the sprues without beating on them with a chunk of hardwood. When you get your timing working well, cutting sprues can be done with simple hand force. Cast, jell, move the plate by hand and finger force.

[jsizemore]

How is alternating keeping the mold temp stable? You fill the last cavity (front or back) and it's your hottest so start back at the other end where it's cooled the longest. Correct me if I'm wrong!

Exactly!

I sit at a bottom pour. If I pour closest to farthest, I have trouble seeing the next sprue hole with the alloy stream and generous sprue puddle in the way. Pouring the farthest first to closest last, I can see everything and have a healthy sprue puddle.

[HangFireW8]

How is alternating keeping the mold temp stable? You fill the last cavity (front or back) and it's your hottest so start back at the other end where it's cooled the longest. Correct me if I'm wrong!Alternating doesn't have to be furthest ends towards the middle... it can be, you know, every other in one direction, then fill the skips on the way back.

[stubshaft]

Back to front letting the lead continuously flow over the filled cavities.

[robg]

nearest to me first .usually use 2 or 3 molds fill fast so i dont have to slow down .

[kevin c]

Using 8 cavity aluminum molds with a bottom pour, and averaging just under two fills a minute, I push the mold away (filling the furthest back first). Maybe it's just what I've gotten used to, but I find it easier to see the sprue cavity and control the movement of the block for greatest consistency this way, as opposed to pulling towards me.

I'd think that the end of the mold blocks filled first, especially on a long gang mold, would get hotter as there's more time for heat transfer from the alloy compared to the other end? I really haven't appreciated a big difference (what'd I look for, a change in frosting, boolits sticking in the cavity more from still being hot?) on my few attempts to alternate, though. Maybe I cycle the mold so slowly that the aluminum cools enough.

[Bazoo]

I ladle pour and I've experimented with both and I seem to get the most keepers filling closest to me first. I figure it has to do with the handles sucking heat out of the mould until it's completely up to temperature. By that time I'm in a rythm so I keep going.

[high standard 40]

Exactly!

I sit at a bottom pour. If I pour closest to farthest, I have trouble seeing the next sprue hole with the alloy stream and generous sprue puddle in the way. Pouring the farthest first to closest last, I can see everything and have a healthy sprue puddle.
This is what I do and I share the reasoning.

[bedbugbilly]

I'm also guessing it is going to depend on if you ladle dip or bottom pour.

I use a Lee 10# dipping pot and a Lyman bottom pour ladle. I had a few 4 cavity Ideal/Lyman molds at one time and I just never liked them. Most of my multiple cavity (more than 2 cavities) are NOE and in different calibers - seems to depend on the mold. I do rest the blocks on the pot to help maintain heat. Some seem to like a certain direction and others don't. I have a 5 cavity NOE for the likes of the Lyman 454-190. That one requires me to make at least two and sometimes three refills of the dipper to pour the whole mold. I was worried about it when I bought it (used from a member here) but it is one of my easiest to cast with and likes to be poured in either direction.

George makes a good point though - the older I get the more I prefer to use a 2 cavity - the stamina to keep a multi cavity mold going sometimes just isn't there! LOL

[Billwnr]

I use a Rowell ladle and work from back to forward so I can watch the pour.

[cwlongshot]

I also alternate. But always farthest away first.

Unless its a six cav with hard lead... Then I alternate holes till its fully up to temp.

CW

[tmanbuckhunter]

Farthest to nearest. With bottom pour, I crank the flow up as high as I can go without drip and pour two cavities at a time. With ladle pour, one at a time, same order.