Help I have black specs in my boollits

[jimkim]

I cast twenty pounds of bullets this weekend. They looked good(nice and shiny) straight out of the mould. I quenched them just like I usually do. Every one of them has black stuff embedded in the lead. Last week we had a plumber "blow out" our lines. Could this be dirt or soot? That is the only thing that has changed. Help!!

[missionary5155]

Good afternoon and MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!
"Imbedded" I take it to mean particles in the boolit and not a superficial attachment like paint or dust. Therefore your mix is contaminated and needs a thourough cleaning.. Flux Flux Flux... possible your pot is contanimated with "Crud" 2 and needs a good scraping. I use an old Datsun pickup hubcover for my small casting jobs and I am always amazed at how much stuff is left down inside and I flux abouit every 50 boolits.
Weigh what -cha got and if they do not vary SHOOT them. A few superficial imperfections are not going to bother pistol boolits as long as the bases are filled out unless you are shooting a match. Rifle... how far are ya gonna shoot and for what ? If they are for plopping bowling pins hung on a wire... no problem.

[jimkim]

These are Ranch Dog TLC311-165-RF's they were going to be used in a 30-30,308, and 30-06 and I WAS going to send some to someone in a trade, but I wouldn't insult them with these. The bullets that I dropped and let air dry don't have any any spots. It's only the ones I quenched.

[targetshootr]

If the water has flakes wouldn't they be visible on the bottom of the bucket.

[montana_charlie]

Every one of them has black stuff embedded in the lead.

The bullets that I dropped and let air dry don't have any any spots. It's only the ones I quenched.
It appears you have proven that the specks came from the water...but I don't see how quenching would cause them to be 'embedded'.

BTW...What's the purpose of having a plumber blow out your lines?
CM

[jimkim]

We had dirt and clay in them. We have our own well. When I say embedded I mean stuck in the surface of the bullets. They look like they have black freckles.

[docone31]

It sounds like you had carbon in colloidal suspension.
Water quenching, I do not believe, will cause carbon to embed. Actually, quite the opposite.
I suspect, it is from fluxing. Either not enough, or too much trapping particles in the melt.
The individual particles have to really push against a lot of mass to surface. I have found, making the melt spin in the pot helps to bring small suspended particles to the top. I also use a bottom pour pot, so I do not run into that much.

[runfiverun]

when you water drop it pulls the antimony to the outside and causes the extra hardening.
jim you need to flux and get a good carbeurization in there.
use a carbon type of flux.
this will get the inclusions out you will probably get a ton of grey fluffy stuff out of the mix.
fire up the pot flux early flux often.
i like to flux while i am smelting, and again while casting.

[jimkim]

I would say maybe too much. I fluxed more this time than usual. I am sending some bullets to Handyrandyrc and I wanted them to be perfect. Why would they only do this if they were quenched. The air-cooled bullets didn't do it. I'll re-smelt the lead tonight and clean my pot and go at it again. By the way I use a bottom pour pot too.

[jimkim]

I used candle wax last night. I have ground charcoal. Will that be better?

[docone31]

I stir with a wood dowel, about 3/16th. It carbonizes, makes smoke, and gets the corners clean. I also drop Kitty litter on top of the melt. It grabs almost everything. I toss some of my waste lube, or candle wax, or some soldering flux on top of the Kitty Litter. It melts and hits the melt.
In my bottom pour pot, I get scale on the sides, corners, and around the spout. I stir these into the melt and move the dowel around in a circle. It all comes up in the center. I do this before I add Kitty litter. Everything floats and sticks to the litter. I do not lose a lot of alloy to the Litter. Some, but not too much.
I had 20 gas checks that disappeared into my melt once. I had thought the melt had dissolved them. I really did. Several melts later, they started popping up. Since I had no flux on them, and they had oxide already, the alloy did not have a chance to begin dissolving them. I couldn't feel them with my stir stick. They finally did pop up. Any alloy on them pulled away as soon as they hit the surface.
I also use beeswax to flux. I like the smell also.

[docone31]

I also have a well, and the water has high iron and clay content. Makes a real fine deposit in all the low spots in the pipeing.
I installed a fine filter between the pump, and expansion tank. It is a small unit, and simple to install.
Being the Bozo I can be sometimes, the water started really slowing down. It was driving me nuts. I never thought the filter had an element!
The filter I use for my well has a simple filter cleaning procedure.
I can shut off the water from my pump to the filter, and from the filter to the expansion tank. Two turns of two ballcocks, and I can remove the filter, scrub the container in a bucket, then hook it up and use the water pressure to blast the filter to remove the clay.
With the lower water tables we have been experienceing now, sediment is an issue with us also. It can fill the expansion tank completely and really mess things up.
You might look into that. It is a simple fix for grit in the water.

[KYCaster]

You know, beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clear to the bone! [smilie=1:

Are the black spots just on the surface? Can you wipe them off? Can you scratch them off?

Did you run any through the sizer? Are the spots still there?

Run some water through a coffee filter and quench with that...see if that makes a difference.

Sounds really wierd so there's probably a simple solution...at least that's the way it usually works for me.

Good luck.
Jerry

[TCLouis]

Reading this makes me think carbon particles in the melt from someplace.

Cast from this ingot source again, but thoroughly and vigorously stir while fluxing

[44man]

The dreaded, black, lead eating mold! Quick, send me all of your lead before it spreads! :groner:

[jimkim]

You can scratch them off, but they wont wipe off. My smelting pot is busy right now.

[Junior1942]

I bet you're fluxing way too much. Try my method--don't flux at all. Give the melt a stir and dip off what floats to the top. Then make some bullets. Don't water quench, either. That RD 165 works just fine and lead-less at 2000 fps with plain ol' WW alloy non-quenched. That's in a 1 - 12 twist Model 94.

[jimkim]

I already cast some more. this time I did a few things different. One: I let the water run for a minute before I filled the bucket. Two: I put the water in the bucket then the towel. I figured that might help filter the water a little. Three: I only fluxed once when I filled my casting pot. They came out much better. Thanks everyone. Merry Christmas.

[Gunslinger]

I bet you're fluxing way too much. Try my method--don't flux at all. Give the melt a stir and dip off what floats to the top. Then make some bullets. Don't water quench, either. That RD 165 works just fine and lead-less at 2000 fps with plain ol' WW alloy non-quenched. That's in a 1 - 12 twist Model 94.

Didn't know you could flux too much! I only flux once, adding 3 small candles. I do stir very much all the time and constantly remove the dross that surfaces! What happens if you flux too many times?

[superior]

When I flux, I only add a pea sized chunk of candle wax. I'd bet that if I added a small candle all at once or even more small candles, there would be particles somewhere in the boolits.