zinc in my lead

[dearslayer]

My first time melting WW's was this past Sunday. I went through about 75% of my 3/4 full 5 gallon pail checking by hand for lead versus Zinc/ steel and figure if I kept the temp down to around 650 the remaining 25% would melt and I could avoid sorting by hand ( guess I should have just done the rest and I could have avoided this post ) . I bought a Lyman temp probe for this purpose. I did try to maintain the temp the best I could but would have to increase the flame under the pan when adding more WW's to the mix to get it back up to temp to melt so I guess it was at these times I should have paid better attention and used the gauge more often. Anyhow I tried to cast some .40 S&W boolits last night and no matter what, I could not get a decent cast. Mind you this is only my second time casting boolits so what the heck do I know. My first attempt with 9mm a couple weeks ago with already cast lead that was gifted to me turned out great ( for a rookie ). So when melting this newly cast lead in my old Lee pot it looks normal with none of the porridge looking stuff in the melt like I've read about. I guess my question is ...do I have zinc in my lead or could it be that my temp in the pot is not high enough or my mold is not hot enough or a combination of both. It seems like the pour isn't pouring fast enough??? and I'm not getting fully formed boolits and there are a lot of distortion/ wrinkles etc and the edges are not sharp and they are somewhat rounded.
I emptied the pot the best I could and used some of the gifted lead to see if it made any difference and although not perfect they did come out much better than the previous ones. What is the best temp to have the lead at to cast?

having trouble attaching photos.

[Tar Heel]

The liquidus phase of the melt with a zink alloy is much higher than lead. When I accidentally got zink in my melt there was a bluish sheen on the top of the melt. A significantly higher temperature was needed to flow the metal. I had the temperature rheostat all the way up and had to leave it there. I am averse to zink in my bullet alloy since I don't want to zink coat my alloy pot, molds, or barrels. For me, the alloy with any zink is problematic. Can't help you with the precise temp since my thermometer pegged out.

[Bloodman14]

As I understand the theory, use some sulfur (rose dust, local farm supply store) to chelate the zinc, removing it from the alloy. There is a thread on this process, search for it on this forum; lots of good info.

[toallmy]

If you don't see oatmeal your probably ok with your alloy , it's just a not the alloy you have been using . I ran into several problems when I first started casting that all looked like I had zinc in my alloy . After sticking a thermometer in my alloy I rediscovered everything I had read about melting temperature between pure / coww's +&- tin as well as mold temperature . My poor old propane burner could barely melt pure so several times I thought I had ruined a large batch when rendering my alloy . Then a member kept telling me to preheat my mold to get good fill out until I finally tried it . Even adjusting your flow could cause the problems you have described .
Thanks Bangerjim

[GregLaROCHE]

If there are no signs of zinc on the surface, you’re probably ok. Make sure you flux well with sawdust several times. Try increasing the temperature of the alloy and keep checking, until the boolits start to get a frosty look. Be 110% sure the mold is oil free.

I don’t use wheel weights, but I think most people add a bit of tin to the mix. It sure make casting good boolits easier than pure lead. Finally, don’t get discouraged. Keep casting over and over and you will be surprised how you will get better at it.

[dearslayer]

The thing is I don't see any difference to the melted lead in the pot other than the sprue ( is that what it's called ... the big overflow blob on top of the mold when pouring ) looks a little frosted. Maybe I need to turn the temp way up as "toallmy" suggest. Wish I could attach photos as it shows more clearly how the boolits look and form.

[dearslayer]

If there are no signs of zinc on the surface, you’re probably ok. Make sure you flux well with sawdust several times. Try increasing the temperature of the alloy and keep checking, until the boolits start to get a frosty look. Be 110% sure the mold is oil free.

I don’t use wheel weights, but I think most people add a bit of tin to the mix. It sure make casting good boolits easier than pure lead. Finally, don’t get discouraged. Keep casting over and over and you will be surprised how you will get better at it.

I cleaned the new mold with dawn dish soap the day before using it. I don't have any tin so will have to get some. Some suggest solder .... is normal plumbing solder ok to use or no? I want to stay with this as I'm really enjoying the challenge however it is a little frustrating

[AlHunt]

The thing is I don't see any difference to the melted lead in the pot other than the sprue ( is that what it's called ... the big overflow blob on top of the mold when pouring ) looks a little frosted. Maybe I need to turn the temp way up as "toallmy" suggest. Wish I could attach photos as it shows more clearly how the boolits look and form.

Are you checking the temp of your casting alloy? If it first melts around 620f, I'd think you don't have zinc in it.

[dearslayer]

Are you checking the temp of your casting alloy? If it first melts around 620f, I'd think you don't have zinc in it.

I'll have to check .... If I put say 4 bars in the pot when should I check the temp??? as soon as all 4 bars are completely melted or when they just are starting to melt??

[Sasquatch-1]

You never said what the problem is with the bullets you are casting. Are they wrinkled, are they brittle are you not having good fill out?

As far as solder for the tin content, check the label. Old school solder (which you can still find) was somewhere in the vicinity of 40 to 60% lead with the remainder being tin. I believe lead free is somewhere around 95% tin with the remainder being a non-heavy metal such as silver and copper mix. Solder will definitely be an expensive way to add tin. Read a few of the pewter threads and start looking for pewter at yard sales, flee markets, Goodwill and Salvation Army stores.

[AlHunt]

I'll have to check .... If I put say 4 bars in the pot when should I check the temp??? as soon as all 4 bars are completely melted or when they just are starting to melt??

I put the thermometer in early, usually with whatever I'm melting and leave it in the whole time I'm casting. At around 620F my COWW melts. On my thermometer. Thermometers can vary or get damaged, so for me it's a check that it's doing what I expect.

Then I cast in the mid to upper 700s. Others think that's too hot, but it works for me. I like frosted bullets.

If in doubt you could put your thermometer in boiling water to be sure it's at least accurate at 212F.

If you don't have porridge, I doubt you've got a lot of zinc, if any. People have reported success casting with a small amount of zinc. I'm not going to try it.

[dearslayer]

You never said what the problem is with the bullets you are casting. Are they wrinkled, are they brittle are you not having good fill out?

As far as solder for the tin content, check the label. Old school solder (which you can still find) was somewhere in the vicinity of 40 to 60% lead with the remainder being tin. I believe lead free is somewhere around 95% tin with the remainder being a non-heavy metal such as silver and copper mix. Solder will definitely be an expensive way to add tin. Read a few of the pewter threads and start looking for pewter at yard sales, flee markets, Goodwill and Salvation Army stores.

Yeah sorry...both lack of fillout and wrinkles.

[dearslayer]

I put the thermometer in early, usually with whatever I'm melting and leave it in the whole time I'm casting. At around 620F my COWW melts. On my thermometer. Thermometers can vary or get damaged, so for me it's a check that it's doing what I expect.

Then I cast in the mid to upper 700s. Others think that's too hot, but it works for me. I like frosted bullets.

If in doubt you could put your thermometer in boiling water to be sure it's at least accurate at 212F.

If you don't have porridge, I doubt you've got a lot of zinc, if any. People have reported success casting with a small amount of zinc. I'm not going to try it.

I think I'll try raising the temperature..

[Sasquatch-1]

Try some tin.

[dearslayer]

Try some tin.

If I put let's say 5 1 lb ingots in the 10 lb pot what percentage or how much tin would I need to add?

[CastingFool]

3.2 oz of tin will give you 2% , in 10 lbs of lead. To test for zinc, try a few drops of muriatic acid on one of your ingots. If it doesn't bubble or foam, there is no zinc.

[dearslayer]

3.2 oz of tin will give you 2% , in 10 lbs of lead. To test for zinc, try a few drops of muriatic acid on one of your ingots. If it doesn't bubble or foam, there is no zinc.
I'll have to see where I can buy Muriatic acid.

[oley55]

To the OP, per already discussed, you probably do not have much zinc in your alloy, but...............relying on temp control to sort your zinc from your coww is hit or miss at the very best. The issue here is the heat of your pot can and will be well above your target temp until there is enough melted lead in the pot to even out the temps. The pot may well be over a 1,200 degrees and zinc weights are being held down by many pounds of unmelted weights. The result is something has to melt to get the process going and any trapped zinc will get melted.

Sorting is a pain (and dirty) but you really should sort and then use temp control to catch the mis-sorted zinc weights. I test cut nearly every weight just to be sure, but there is still a chance I tossed a zincer into the wrong sort pile. Although I haven't found any floating zinc in my melts, I have had a couple steel weights pop up. That is my indicator I have mis-sorted. If I mis-sorted a couple steel weights, I'd be nuts to think I didn't do the same with a zincer or two.

I do/did use a thermometer to carefully control my temps for my first 5 gal bucket and made marks on the regulator knob/dial as base or standard setting. I've come to the realization smelting wheel weights is a slow process at my set temp marks but cranking up the heat is an opportunity to screw up. So I don't. If it takes 45 minutes for the melt to start, so be it (a cover over the pile of weights will help).

There is a lot more zinc, tin and pewter information to be found in the "lead and lead alloys" section, https://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?57-Lead-and-Lead-Alloys

[Wayne Smith]

I'll have to see where I can buy Muriatic acid.

It's pool acid. Your local hardware store should carry it.

[oley55]

I'll have to see where I can buy Muriatic acid.

Muriatic acid can be found in any paint department or store. The problem is I can never find it in smaller volumes (less than a gallon). Although the plastic containers do not leak, over time the acid leaches through the plastic bottles in a vapor form and will attack any metals near by. Store you acid well away from anything you care about.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

You might have junk in your alloy, how did you flux the melt when you were smelting the WWs?

Also, maybe your boolit mold isn't Hot enough? that makes wrinkles and poor fillout.

[Petander]

FWIW my WW -alloy has Cu and Nb contaminants. No Zn, I had it XRF -analyzed. There is normal tin and antimony,too.

Muriatic acid sizzles and turns my bullets almost black in a few hours. So it reacts with something else too, not only Zinc. My acid-washed bullets coat with Hi Tek very,very well. I acid-wash my important batches overnight,then rinse all the black off.

So there can be a reaction without any zinc in the alloy.

[bangerjim]

I have done experiments in the past with doping good Pb alloys with 1 to 5% Zn with very little difference!. A little Zn in your mix will not hurt anything. Your boolits may be a small tad lighter, but will shoot and perform without problems.

Do not get lost in the weeds on Zn contamination. Up to 5% showed no concernable deviations., per my testing.

One zinker does not spoil the whole pot, as many in the past have bemoaned. And using sulfur to remove it is a stinky, smelly, deadly process! I have tried it, and it is not worth the hassle/danger. CuSO4 (septic tank root killer) is a better method, but it can remove all the Sn and Sb also!

bangerjim

[dearslayer]

I am truly amazed at all the responses thus far. I really appreciate it. I don't feel so lost now. I am currently out and about looking for some pewter as I write this because I don't have any tin to add to the mix.

[dearslayer]

Well I did manage to find a small piece that says it's 95% pewter. So would I melt this down before adding it to the lead or just weigh it out and add it to the lead while it's melting?

[RogerDat]

3.2 oz of tin will give you 2% , in 10 lbs of lead. To test for zinc, try a few drops of muriatic acid on one of your ingots. If it doesn't bubble or foam, there is no zinc.

This is spot on!

Alloy is different then everything changes. The temp you need the melt, the speed at which you cast, longer the bullet is in there the more heat goes into the mold. Tin makes lead flow much better, and even in small amounts will change the melting temperature of the lead. Then there is the mold. One mold wants more heat, another less. Aluminum will lose heat faster than iron as you dump the bullet and get the next load of lead in but also heat up faster from being filled with hot lead. Iron or brass hold the heat better but can take longer to heat up to the proper temperature.

Lot of posts about using a hot plate to pre-heat the mold, not too hot, molds can warp. You also don't want uneven heat like a coil burner will give. Set an old circular saw blade on that type of burner to spread the heat out. Or buy the solid type of burner. If you don't have a hot plate then simply putting the bottom corners of the mold in the molten lead until it gets hot can help get the first bullets turning out well.

Muriatic acid sold in hardware stores will react with zinc and bubble. Lead it will not react with. Good item to have if looking at a large chunk of unknown scrap that one is thinking of buying.

What I struggled with starting out is when I have a hard time getting the bullets to release so the mold cooled off too much between fillings while I tapped the handle bolt with a mold mallet. That and while a slow 4 count after the sprue "flashes" to be dull might be perfect for one mold another requires a 5 count and another only 3 count. So you have alloy, melt temp, mold temp, with time before opening full mold and time mold spends empty between dumping and filling that ALL can make a difference.

Smiling bullets with rounded corners are too cold for the alloy. Adding tin might allow that temp and cadence to work well. Or adjust the temp higher or cadence faster. Change one at a time to observe the change. If you ladle cast one can pour molten lead off the side of the mold to help keep it hotter during casting. I have a mold for 45 that insist on being very hot to get those big cavities filled without lead solidifying on the sides and getting flow lines. I am almost dumping a ladle on the mold for every one I dump in the cavity.

[RogerDat]

Well I did manage to find a small piece that says it's 95% pewter. So would I melt this down before adding it to the lead or just weigh it out and add it to the lead while it's melting? I would pre melt. Some candle sticks have a glue filling and I tend to avoid dumping "dirty" metal into my casting pot where I want to pull out clean lead as bullets.

[dearslayer]

I would pre melt. Some candle sticks have a glue filling and I tend to avoid dumping "dirty" metal into my casting pot where I want to pull out clean lead as bullets.
So I should melt the whole pewter vase down in a separate pot and put it into an ingot perhaps? I'm not sure exactly how much pewter the thing would yield once melted down it's only about 6 in high but it does seem to have a little bit of weight to it. It isn't a candle stick , it's it some sort of pouring item.

[oley55]

cast into boolits. great practice and will produce the shiniest boolits u ever saw. my very first cast boolits were with pewter. do note that nearly pure tin makes for a hard sprue cut.

you need your tin in a form you can use. ingots would only work for pretty large batches, bigger than our casting pots.

[dearslayer]

cast into boolits. great practice and will produce the shinest. oolits u ever saw. my very first cast boolits was with my pewter. do note that nearly pure tin makes for a hard sprue cut.

you need your tin in a form you can use. ingots would only work for pretty lRge. atches, bigger than our casting pots.

Ok so let's say I only want to put 5lbs of lead into the 10 pound pot incase I'm having the same issue with the possibility of bad lead contaminated with zinc how much of the pewter should I put in 5 lb of lead? Should I just break a piece off and put it on the scale to measure it out and then drop it into the molten lead?
Sorry for the stupid questions but I'm new to all this.

[NyFirefighter357]

Cut it up with a pair of aviation shears and weigh out how much you want.

[oley55]

I break it down to ounces. 5 X 16 = 80 oz X .02 = 1.6oz of pewter. how you chip off 1.6 ounced is the trick. that’s why I use pewter bullets. if I am wee bit high or low on my 2 percent doesn’t matter much.

[oley55]

as suggested, snips will definately work with most unprocessed pewter table ware.

sorry for typos but I am thumb typing on a cell phone

[dearslayer]

cast into boolits. great practice and will produce the shiniest boolits u ever saw. my very first cast boolits were with pewter. do note that nearly pure tin makes for a hard sprue cut.

you need your tin in a form you can use. ingots would only work for pretty large batches, bigger than our casting pots.
Aw ok. I misread your post originally didn't quite understand what you were getting at but now I get it. Yeah I guess that's a good idea to cast it into bullets make it more manageable.

[toallmy]

I'm not trying to over complicate things , but keep in mind a mold not up to a good casting temp , or a pore spout flow will cause wrinkles & poor fill out also .
After adding a touch of tin , be patient and keep at it .

[dearslayer]

I'm not trying to over complicate things , but keep in mind a mold not up to a good casting temp , or a pore spout flow will cause wrinkles & poor fill out also .
After adding a touch of tin , be patient and keep at it .

You are not over complicating things at all... I'll take ( and need ) all the advise and wisdom I can get. Wise heads do not grow on inexperienced shoulders!
I'm actually hoping that the whole issue is lack of heat and not Zinc contaminated ingots. I'm anxious to give it another go with the tin, but work always gets in the way of the fun stuff. Working steady nights and 6 days a week at my age sucks. Leaves very little time for anything else.

[Sasquatch-1]

If I put let's say 5 1 lb ingots in the 10 lb pot what percentage or how much tin would I need to add?

I have pewter melted into the corn cob corn bread molds. If I am having poor fill out I usually will stick about half of one of these in a 10lb pot. If that doesn't help I add a little more. I am not in it for the precision alloys. I just want bullet that shoot between 15 to 50 yards from hand guns.

What piece of pewter did you get? Was it a vase, goblet, picture frame or something else?

[dearslayer]

I have pewter melted into the corn cob corn bread molds. If I am having poor fill out I usually will stick about half of one of these in a 10lb pot. If that doesn't help I add a little more. I am not in it for the precision alloys. I just want bullet that shoot between 15 to 50 yards from hand guns.

What piece of pewter did you get? Was it a vase, goblet, picture frame or something else?
I believe it's some sort of Greek pitcher for pouring liquid..

[Rapier]

You should never mix or make alloy in your pour pot. This is Casting 101, you always make alloy in a separate pot. There are way to many ways to mess up the mix and screw up your pour pot.

[Jbiker]

I'll have to see where I can buy Muriatic acid.

true value hardware , or any masonary supply place.

[Helka]

I can help dearslayer out for pictures. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211117/367c09e9c39780da608e9bc5d4bc3ed9.jpg


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[Helka]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211117/ff94705e8d9d154d2dfc30855cec9c6e.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dearslayer]

Thanks so much Helka!

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Yep, Mold needs to be hotter.
I don't see any sign of zinc contamination in those boolits.

[Hossfly]

I get my mold up to about 400’ before i start pouring, results in good boolits from get go. Pot temp is at 750’ controlled with PID and digital thermometer to confirm. Get pace right with pour dump and you will be good.

[AlHunt]

You should never mix or make alloy in your pour pot. This is Casting 101, you always make alloy in a separate pot. There are way to many ways to mess up the mix and screw up your pour pot.

Funny, I disagree completely. I have COWW, pure lead, linotype and solder. I can weigh it out and add it proportionately as needed. It's all clean so no worry there. We all work different, I guess.

[AlHunt]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211117/ff94705e8d9d154d2dfc30855cec9c6e.jpg


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Yep, I agree, moar heat!

[Soundguy]

Yeah sorry...both lack of fillout and wrinkles.

warm clean mold.. warm pot.. bring temp up till frosted bullets drop.. then back off.

I'm not sure what specific allow you are casting if it is straight clip on or stick on too.. plus anything else.. but many times a mix that is close might just nbeed a little tin. drop some solder in.. .. flux often.. stir.. etc. see what you get with a clean warmed mold and a good hot pot with a little tin added. coww should drop decent bullets as is.. but a hair of tin makes it almost 'easy'

[dearslayer]

Well I just bought and applied Muriatic Acid to 3 of my ingots. I put a long 2" scratch in all three and applied it. No bubbling of any kind. Also done the same in one of the ingots that was given to me and the result was the same.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Well I just bought and applied Muriatic Acid to 3 of my ingots. I put a long 2" scratch in all three and applied it. No bubbling of any kind. Also done the same in one of the ingots that was given to me and the result was the same.

Zinc contaminated COWW ingots/boolits (over 5%), will have a oatmeal like pattern in them. When the pot is molten, the dross will be lumpy like cooked Oatmeal, and as you remove the lumpy oatmeal dross, more will form in less than a minute.

[oley55]

Well I just bought and applied Muriatic Acid to 3 of my ingots. I put a long 2" scratch in all three and applied it. No bubbling of any kind. Also done the same in one of the ingots that was given to me and the result was the same.

good news. One less thing to wonder/worry about, even if you had to buy a whole dang gallon to get a few drops. I have transferred a few ounces of acid into a urine type specimen bottle for future use and looking for someone to give my gallon to.

But I do need some ideas for a way to carry and use really small amounts for out and about lead buying and testing.

[toallmy]

Good save on your alloy .

[Sasquatch-1]

When I get bullets that look like that it is usually caused by wax I put on the sprue plate pivot that has gotten into the mold. I use Lee molds. When this happens I will place the mold on top of the lead and let it sit for well over a minute to get the mold very hot and burn out any residuals left in the mold. I will then pour a couple of molds, slowly dripping the lead in, with the sprue plate open and dump them. Let the mold cool a bit and the try casting in the regular manner. 90% of the time this takes care of the problem. Tin is still a good additive but don't over do it and waste the tin.

[blackthorn]

Funny, I disagree completely. I have COWW, pure lead, linotype and solder. I can weigh it out and add it proportionately as needed. It's all clean so no worry there. We all work different, I guess.

What you say is true---assuming you are working with known, clean ingredients. If you have raw (unprocessed) WW, range-pickup lead etc. etc. ---- not so much!

[fredj338]

IF its casting, probably not zinc issue. More heat will fix things most times. You can add tin, but it doesnt take much, 1%. First run the pot hotter, get the mold hotter. Keep up a good pace. I cast mostly range scrap sweetened with a bit of lino or even more clip ww. Cast fine at 750. If I get down below 700, things start getting odd like the pour is slow fromn the spout, which can affect fill-out.

[oley55]

FWIW my WW -alloy has Cu and Nb contaminants. No Zn, I had it XRF -analyzed. There is normal tin and antimony,too.

Muriatic acid sizzles and turns my bullets almost black in a few hours. So it reacts with something else too, not only Zinc. My acid-washed bullets coat with Hi Tek very,very well. I acid-wash my important batches overnight,then rinse all the black off.

So there can be a reaction without any zinc in the alloy.

good post Sir,

based on other threads n posts I was of the impression that ANY sign of bubbling was an indicator of zinc. My observations of minute/slow reactions caused me to question my alloys. This prompted to to test most every type/source of alloy I have around, including some zinc ingots. From my observations using Strip-kleen with 35.5% muriatic acid, the zinc did not exhibit the wild boiling reactions I had read to expect. The zinc did produce significantly more reaction than my alloys, but not quite the crazy boiling reaction I had come to imagine. Pure or nearly pure lead produced close to zero reaction.

That said, unless some chemist has conducted studies detailing the bubble count per second or something along those lines, some uncertainty remains for me.

[bangerjim]

Funny, I disagree completely. I have COWW, pure lead, linotype and solder. I can weigh it out and add it proportionately as needed. It's all clean so no worry there. We all work different, I guess.

I completely disagree also! I have always for years mixed my final pour alloys right in my several 4-20 pots with ZERO problems. I always start with clean PURE 3x fluxed alloys I have made myself, so there is no carp in there. But if you are using garbage-filled feed stock or unknown stuff from evilbay, keep it out of your casting pot! (never buy lead or alloys from evilbay anyway!)

But mixing CLEAN known alloy feed stocks in your casting pot is 100% OK.

Making up hundreds of pounds of alloy keeps you from changing the mix slightly if you need to. I never have pre-mixed alloys sitting around......only the raw pure alloy elements I intend to use for that batch of boolits. The only pre-mixed alloy I have sitting around is 900# or so of clean fluxed COWW's I made years ago which was pre-alloyed by the wheel weight makers. And I mix that with other goodies to make my specific witch's brews...........on the fly.............in the casting pots.

Do what you feel is best for your situation, but making huge batches of a certain alloy blend is a total waste of time in my book.

[dearslayer]

good news. One less thing to wonder/worry about, even if you had to buy a whole dang gallon to get a few drops. I have transferred a few ounces of acid into a urine type specimen bottle for future use and looking for someone to give my gallon to.

But I do need some ideas for a way to carry and use really small amounts for out and about lead buying and testing.

Well I didn't have to buy a gallon but got a litre instead and after tax it was only just over $8.00 . I would have paid $20 for peace of mind.
Perhaps the jug will come in handy down the road yeah?

[dearslayer]

Damn... I must be doing something seriously wrong. I tried the casting again this evening and at times had the temp of the melt atjust over 800F. This time I tried the old Lyman pot but I think the thermostat must be off because at times the dial was all the way up as far as it would go and the temp at the beginning wouldn't get over 400 but after a while it went up to 840F and the melt stayed at around 800 when I turned it down a bit. I also had the mold on the hot plate and still the boolits came out the same as before. Tomorrow I'll try the Lee pot again, but it's a bit frustrating for sure.

[toallmy]

You are working out several things at the same time it seems , but you have ruled out Zink , so everything else is fixable .
With a properly preheated mold & your casting pot in the 700-750 range you should be getting good boollits . Your pot should hold a constant temperature or within reason at least after a half hour heating up , all this + a pinch of tin should have taken care of your casting needs .
Unless you have mold issues like mold contamination or venting issues . That's where I'd look ......
Later you will look back on this as a learning experience so don't get out of heart .

[dearslayer]

You are working out several things at the same time it seems , but you have ruled out Zink , so everything else is fixable .
With a properly preheated mold & your casting pot in the 700-750 range you should be getting good boollits . Your pot should hold a constant temperature or within reason at least after a half hour heating up , all this + a pinch of tin should have taken care of your casting needs .
Unless you have mold issues like mold contamination or venting issues . That's where I'd look ......
Later you will look back on this as a learning experience so don't get out of heart .


The only thing I did different from the 9mm mold was I cleaned the 9mm with brake clean and smoked it and that cast was my first and the 440 boolits turned out great aside from about 15 ( beginners luck ) and at that time I was only guessing with the temperature. This time I cleaned the .40 mold with Dawn dish soap and smoked it as well. If there were any containments I would think the heat of the lead would have burned it off by now no? At any rate perhaps I should clean the mold with brake clean and start from fresh and go back to the old Lee pot that I used the first time. Oh and I did put a pinch of pewter in the lead this time ( not very much because I didn't want to chance adding too much ). I did notice after fluxing the lead twice , once with sawdust and once with wax there was a bronze / greenish skin on the top which I thought was because the temp was too high around 820-840 ( bought a Lyman temp gauge last week from Amazon ) so I turned it down a bit, but it still made no difference in the cast. I'm gonna keep at it ....it can only get worst right! hahaha.


Oh forgot to ask...what temp should the mold be at??

[AlHunt]

The only thing I did different from the 9mm mold was I cleaned the 9mm with brake clean and smoked it and that cast was my first and the 440 boolits turned out great aside from about 15 ( beginners luck ) and at that time I was only guessing with the temperature. This time I cleaned the .40 mold with Dawn dish soap and smoked it as well. If there were any containments I would think the heat of the lead would have burned it off by now no? At any rate perhaps I should clean the mold with brake clean and start from fresh and go back to the old Lee pot that I used the first time. Oh and I did put a pinch of pewter in the lead this time ( not very much because I didn't want to chance adding too much ). I did notice after fluxing the lead twice , once with sawdust and once with wax there was a bronze / greenish skin on the top which I thought was because the temp was too high around 820-840 ( bought a Lyman temp gauge last week from Amazon ) so I turned it down a bit, but it still made no difference in the cast. I'm gonna keep at it ....it can only get worst right! hahaha.


Oh forgot to ask...what temp should the mold be at??

People are going to advocate for all kinds of different methods. Here's my screed ...

Brake cleaner ... Be sure it's non-chlorinated. The regular stuff leaves residue. Spray some on your finger, let it dry and rub your fingers together.

We all have bad days at the casting pot. About a year and half ago, after few decades at this little hobby, I had a stretch where I couldn't get a good bullet to save my life. That's the time period where I learned the difference in brake parts cleaner.

I'd not smoke them either. It's not strictly necessary and adds a variable. Dawn dish soap, soft tooth brush, dry it, sprue lube on the pivot pin, the barest wipe under the sprue plate, a tiny drop on the alignment pins and go cast. If you get a little lube in a cavity, it'll soon burn out from just casting. 10, 20 casts at temp and it should clear.

You know, for years and years I used a #2 Ticonderoga to rub all over my cavities as a release agent - it's graphite. Coudn't find the Ticonderoga one day, grabbed another pencil and used it. That was the beginning of my period where I couldn't get a decent bullet. Turns out, the pencil I grabbed was some cheap chinese thing (said "made in china" on it). Well, evidently the chinese don't use straight graphite in their pencils. Whatever they used contaminated my molds and gave me a heck of a lot of trouble to figure out and clean it up. I no longer use a release agent.

Keep at it and you'll find a groove.

[Soundguy]

Damn... I must be doing something seriously wrong. I tried the casting again this evening and at times had the temp of the melt atjust over 800F. This time I tried the old Lyman pot but I think the thermostat must be off because at times the dial was all the way up as far as it would go and the temp at the beginning wouldn't get over 400 but after a while it went up to 840F and the melt stayed at around 800 when I turned it down a bit. I also had the mold on the hot plate and still the boolits came out the same as before. Tomorrow I'll try the Lee pot again, but it's a bit frustrating for sure.

Unless you have heated your mold till it frosts bullets..it hasn't heated enough. Clean it..get it frosting and go. As has been sad. A % of tin should fix any fill out once you have heat.

[Sasquatch-1]

Are you smoking with a candle? If so you could be holding the mold too close to the candle and picking up some wax vapors that are contaminating the mold.

Also, if I understand correctly, you are using two different pots and having the problem when using one in particular. If that is the case it sounds as though you may have an electrical problem with the pot.

Where do you live? You may be close enough to one of our learned brethren that they could come and assist you with finding the problem.

[dearslayer]

People are going to advocate for all kinds of different methods. Here's my screed ...

Brake cleaner ... Be sure it's non-chlorinated. The regular stuff leaves residue. Spray some on your finger, let it dry and rub your fingers together.

We all have bad days at the casting pot. About a year and half ago, after few decades at this little hobby, I had a stretch where I couldn't get a good bullet to save my life. That's the time period where I learned the difference in brake parts cleaner.

I'd not smoke them either. It's not strictly necessary and adds a variable. Dawn dish soap, soft tooth brush, dry it, sprue lube on the pivot pin, the barest wipe under the sprue plate, a tiny drop on the alignment pins and go cast. If you get a little lube in a cavity, it'll soon burn out from just casting. 10, 20 casts at temp and it should clear.

You know, for years and years I used a #2 Ticonderoga to rub all over my cavities as a release agent - it's graphite. Coudn't find the Ticonderoga one day, grabbed another pencil and used it. That was the beginning of my period where I couldn't get a decent bullet. Turns out, the pencil I grabbed was some cheap chinese thing (said "made in china" on it). Well, evidently the chinese don't use straight graphite in their pencils. Whatever they used contaminated my molds and gave me a heck of a lot of trouble to figure out and clean it up. I no longer use a release agent.

Keep at it and you'll find a groove.

I guess it's too late regarding the smoking of the mold. I was just following the Lee instructions that came with the new mold. Think I'll brake clean and start from scratch. I live in Ontario Canada.

[Hossfly]

The only thing I did different from the 9mm mold was I cleaned the 9mm with brake clean and smoked it and that cast was my first and the 440 boolits turned out great aside from about 15 ( beginners luck ) and at that time I was only guessing with the temperature. This time I cleaned the .40 mold with Dawn dish soap and smoked it as well. If there were any containments I would think the heat of the lead would have burned it off by now no? At any rate perhaps I should clean the mold with brake clean and start from fresh and go back to the old Lee pot that I used the first time. Oh and I did put a pinch of pewter in the lead this time ( not very much because I didn't want to chance adding too much ). I did notice after fluxing the lead twice , once with sawdust and once with wax there was a bronze / greenish skin on the top which I thought was because the temp was too high around 820-840 ( bought a Lyman temp gauge last week from Amazon ) so I turned it down a bit, but it still made no difference in the cast. I'm gonna keep at it ....it can only get worst right! hahaha.


Oh forgot to ask...what temp should the mold be at??

I run my mold at 400’ starting out and all good boolits.

[dearslayer]

I run my mold at 400’ starting out and all good boolits.

Thanks I'll give it a go. I have one of those IR temp readers as well so I'll use it to measure.

[fredj338]

Damn... I must be doing something seriously wrong. I tried the casting again this evening and at times had the temp of the melt atjust over 800F. This time I tried the old Lyman pot but I think the thermostat must be off because at times the dial was all the way up as far as it would go and the temp at the beginning wouldn't get over 400 but after a while it went up to 840F and the melt stayed at around 800 when I turned it down a bit. I also had the mold on the hot plate and still the boolits came out the same as before. Tomorrow I'll try the Lee pot again, but it's a bit frustrating for sure.

SOunds like the pots thermo is going bad if you get that sort of temp swing.

[dearslayer]

SOunds like the pots thermo is going bad if you get that sort of temp swing.

It's an old Lyman 61. You may be correct because I don't think the temp matches the reading on the dial faceplate. It's all new to me so maybe I'll have to monitor it better after the initial 30 min heat up to see if it matches the numbers on the plate.

[dearslayer]

I just thought of something else.... So could it be an issue if I'm dropping the sprue back into to pot immediately and lowering the casting temp and thereby causing my problem? Should the sprue be left out until the end when the pot is almost empty? I've been dropping it back in the pot just shortly after dropping the boolits. Hmmm ??

[Helka]

Yes that will cause the temperature fluctuations your experiencing.


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[bangerjim]

I've dropped freshly minted sprues back in the casting pot and found very little, if any, temp deviation enough to screw up boolits like he is getting. You got, maybe, 18# of 750°F-ish alloy in the pot and dropping back in a hot freshly cut sprue, weighing only an ounce or two at probably 500°F, has very little thermal mass impact to the overall casting quality.

[WRideout]

Muriatic acid can be found in any paint department or store. The problem is I can never find it in smaller volumes (less than a gallon). Although the plastic containers do not leak, over time the acid leaches through the plastic bottles in a vapor form and will attack any metals near by. Store you acid well away from anything you care about.

Toilet bowl cleaner; read the MSDS to see if it has HCl.

[AlHunt]

I just thought of something else.... So could it be an issue if I'm dropping the sprue back into to pot immediately and lowering the casting temp and thereby causing my problem? Should the sprue be left out until the end when the pot is almost empty? I've been dropping it back in the pot just shortly after dropping the boolits. Hmmm ??

You can do it either way. I usually drop each sprue back in as I go. Bust the sprue, drop it in, drop the bullets, re-fill the mold. It's all about balancing the pot temp, mold temp, casting speed/cadence.

For you, I'm going to suggest NOT dropping it back in for now. Once you find your groove, you can probably figure out a rhythm that will allow it.

By the way, I'm also suspicious that you're not running your mold hot enough. Here's a tell - as the mold heats up, the sprue will get easier to cut. At first, it sets quickly and takes a fairly stout whack to cut it (for me) but as I get to casting temp it takes hardly anything. Also note how long it takes your sprue to harden - at casting temp, for me, it's about a 2 to 3 count and it's set. Those are things that will help you monitor your mold temperature.

I'm looking forward to pics of beautifully filled out, frosty bullets.

[dearslayer]

You can do it either way. I usually drop each sprue back in as I go. Bust the sprue, drop it in, drop the bullets, re-fill the mold. It's all about balancing the pot temp, mold temp, casting speed/cadence.

For you, I'm going to suggest NOT dropping it back in for now. Once you find your groove, you can probably figure out a rhythm that will allow it.

By the way, I'm also suspicious that you're not running your mold hot enough. Here's a tell - as the mold heats up, the sprue will get easier to cut. At first, it sets quickly and takes a fairly stout whack to cut it (for me) but as I get to casting temp it takes hardly anything. Also note how long it takes your sprue to harden - at casting temp, for me, it's about a 2 to 3 count and it's set. Those are things that will help you monitor your mold temperature.

I'm looking forward to pics of beautifully filled out, frosty bullets.

I too am looking forward to photos of frosty boolits but I'll have to figure how to post them on here. I get an error message when I try. It was suggested to use Tapatalk for mobile phone but even that I'll have to figure out !

[bbogue1]

The thing is I don't see any difference to the melted lead in the pot other than the sprue ( is that what it's called ... the big overflow blob on top of the mold when pouring ) looks a little frosted. Maybe I need to turn the temp way up as "toallmy" suggest. Wish I could attach photos as it shows more clearly how the boolits look and form.

Thermometers are always close but rarely exact. If you suspect zinc then drop some muriatic acid on the ingot or bullets. It will react with zinc, not with lead. the reaction looks like fizzy bubbles.

As far as temp what you did (my opinion) was to get the alloy too hot (frosty bullets are from a mold or alloy that is too hot) If you are going to powdercoat, that is ok, if not it is ok, too, sharp corners is the goal. When you put cool lead into your pot the whole pot cools and you need to wait for it to heat up, not apply more heat. The blue sheen is from heat not zinc. The crappy fill most likely is from a sprue plate that was too cool I turn my mold over and lay it on the edge of the pot so the sprue plate warms up first. When I think the mold is ready I give it another 20 minutes. Plan to recycle the first 5 or more pours, watching the quality to assure your mold is warm. When it is ready, go to town.

A very old way of testing temp is as the COWW melts there is melt at the bottom of the pot as well as unmelted COWW waiting to melt. The alloy melted so you know it is 625F or greater. With a pair of pliers dip a known zinc COWW in about 1/2 inch. The zinc should not melt. If it does you are too hot (over 785F). Pull it out and memorize what it looks like. Put your thermometer into the melt as soon as there is liquid lead. Now read the thermometer. Remember ehere the needle is. Whatever it says that is about 650F or more (on your thermometer it is indicating the melting point of lead). Constantly be checking your thermometer as you work. It will fluctuate, guaranteed. You don't want to let it fluctuate in either direction. If you add any COWW or ingots the temp will go down. Leave the heat alone and let the whole mess use the heat trapped in the molten lead. The trick is to fine tune your adjustments to keep the temp about 650F. The real answer is get an electric pot and a PID when you can. A PID controls the temp by turning the pot heater on and off. That way you can pay attention to the important things. The next big purchase is to get another pot to melt your COWW in so your pour pot remains uncontaminated.

Last thing: Go to lasc.us and download Fryxells book "From Ingot to Target"and read it. It is free as a PDF.
Best wishes, have fun.

[bbogue1]

I guess it's too late regarding the smoking of the mold. I was just following the Lee instructions that came with the new mold. Think I'll brake clean and start from scratch. I live in Ontario Canada.

I bought a used mold that had been smoked. I cleaned it with a toothbrush, some abrasive cleaner like powdered Comet, continued scrubbing with the toothbrush as I rinsed it all off and then some. I do not smoke my molds. If you are having trouble dropping the bullets out , it is because there are tiny, burs obstructing the release. Go over your mold with a strong magnifier to see where the burs are. Remove them with an abrasive compound like valve grind compound or jewers Rouge. Put a little on your finger and rub the cavities, doesn't take much rubbing. Wash it off reasally well using the comet again.

[Helka]

Here is Dearslayer’s batch from tonight
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211119/ed5ee38cd5505b1241ce1260c317953e.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dearslayer]

Here is Dearslayer’s batch from tonight
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211119/ed5ee38cd5505b1241ce1260c317953e.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Helka for posting my photo. Well folks I cranked the heat on the pot to around 744°F and the mold to around 450 give or take a few degrees. Things went not perfect but at least much better. I also didn't weigh out but threw a couple very small pieces of pewter. The grooves are not as sharp as I'd like but at least it's in the right direction.

[dearslayer]

Thermometers are always close but rarely exact. If you suspect zinc then drop some muriatic acid on the ingot or bullets. It will react with zinc, not with lead. the reaction looks like fizzy bubbles.

As far as temp what you did (my opinion) was to get the alloy too hot (frosty bullets are from a mold or alloy that is too hot) If you are going to powdercoat, that is ok, if not it is ok, too, sharp corners is the goal. When you put cool lead into your pot the whole pot cools and you need to wait for it to heat up, not apply more heat. The blue sheen is from heat not zinc. The crappy fill most likely is from a sprue plate that was too cool I turn my mold over and lay it on the edge of the pot so the sprue plate warms up first. When I think the mold is ready I give it another 20 minutes. Plan to recycle the first 5 or more pours, watching the quality to assure your mold is warm. When it is ready, go to town.

A very old way of testing temp is as the COWW melts there is melt at the bottom of the pot as well as unmelted COWW waiting to melt. The alloy melted so you know it is 625F or greater. With a pair of pliers dip a known zinc COWW in about 1/2 inch. The zinc should not melt. If it does you are too hot (over 785F). Pull it out and memorize what it looks like. Put your thermometer into the melt as soon as there is liquid lead. Now read the thermometer. Remember ehere the needle is. Whatever it says that is about 650F or more (on your thermometer it is indicating the melting point of lead). Constantly be checking your thermometer as you work. It will fluctuate, guaranteed. You don't want to let it fluctuate in either direction. If you add any COWW or ingots the temp will go down. Leave the heat alone and let the whole mess use the heat trapped in the molten lead. The trick is to fine tune your adjustments to keep the temp about 650F. The real answer is get an electric pot and a PID when you can. A PID controls the temp by turning the pot heater on and off. That way you can pay attention to the important things. The next big purchase is to get another pot to melt your COWW in so your pour pot remains uncontaminated.

Last thing: Go to lasc.us and download Fryxells book "From Ingot to Target"and read it. It is free as a PDF.
Best wishes, have fun.

Thanks for the info. I suspected the blue sheen was from too high heat but wasn't certain. Also thanks for the tip on how to set the temp. I did find myself fiddling with the dial to get it right. Also when I melted the COWW I did it outside in a 12" cast iron fry pan that I bought for just that purpose. I didn't use my pots for melting them. I've been adding parts to my cart on Amazon to build a PID but it might be a minute. Got too many other things to pay for right now but I hope to get one sooner than later.

[toallmy]

The alloy flow filling the cavities can will cause wrinkles & smiles on your boollits .
Hot air not venting while the cavities are filling will drive you insane also .
It seems you are gaining a extreme casting course with your new adventure

[dearslayer]

The alloy flow filling the cavities can will cause wrinkles & smiles on your boollits .
Hot air not venting while the cavities are filling will drive you insane also .
It seems you are gaining a extreme casting course with your new adventure

I can't believe all the helpful folks on this forum. I am a member of a few other forums and I never get the number of responses that I get here and I'm new. I'm learning so much in a short amount of time. Many thanks to all thus far. As much as it is frustrating I'm still enjoying the new venture.

[ulk77more]

I am not an experienced caster, I have aquired a little over 10,500lbs of lead bricks that are 50lbs each, not ingots. these were "certified" 99.97% pure for use in an x-ray dept of an old hospital. These are grey with a little white oxide here and there. Checked to see if they had residual radiation contamination there was none. melted to make into ingots (cupcake pan) had a lot of dross that looked like oatmeal that I put to the side. and a blue color. never exceeded 650 deg as per the temp probe. checked for radiation again for the because of the blue color, there was none. took my saeco pot and put the probe in it along with a few of the new formed ingots. brought the heat up to 670. poured a few boolits. think I am going to frame them for being unique works of art. tried heating the iron molds, it helped a little. then I fluxed the heck out of it repeated the process had the same result.
got ticked off took the dross and put the dross in the main smelter, did not care about the heat, just wanted to see what happened, I had 150 lbs of dross. the dross started melting, so I made ingots and put an X on the top of each one with a sharpie
there was still some debris on the top of the pot and removed it.
interesting thing, the oxidided Lead that is on wheel weights and other types of of lead such as mine, need to be heated to the point that the lead does not just soak into the oxidized material and float looking like oatmeal. the oxidized material looks like ashes. had my lead tested the original pours that are bluish, and the ones made from the dross, all are 99.97% lead, put the saeco in a hood and brought it up to 750 deg and finally got a good pour. I definately have to add tin to bring the temps down as the 750 deg is getting a little to hot... to increase mold fill out does anyone know where I can find between 200-300 lbs of tin?

[AlHunt]

I can't believe all the helpful folks on this forum. I am a member of a few other forums and I never get the number of responses that I get here and I'm new. I'm learning so much in a short amount of time. Many thanks to all thus far. As much as it is frustrating I'm still enjoying the new venture.

You're definitely on track.

Here's a podcast I listened to today that might help you:

https://firearmsradio.tv/reloading-podcast/094

These guys are talking about casting for a new caster and talk about the things this thread has been about.

[JackQuest]

Try this link from this website:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?175796-Add-copper-to-your-alloy-for-tougher-CBs&highlight=copper+sulphate

Very comprehensive on the reasons and the how-to getting copper into lead. Short version is zinc can be exchanged for copper. You can't get more than about ½ of 1% copper by weight. You deliberately add zinc, about 1 US penny (new cheap zinc penny) per about 20-25 pounds of lead. Then you use the dry chemicals used in killing roots in your water pipes to pull the zinc out for copper. Your alloy may have a green sheen. The bullets will be more tough than hard. Pages of data under that link.

[toallmy]

I am not an experienced caster, I have aquired a little over 10,500lbs of lead bricks that are 50lbs each, not ingots. these were "certified" 99.97% pure for use in an x-ray dept of an old hospital. These are grey with a little white oxide here and there. Checked to see if they had residual radiation contamination there was none. melted to make into ingots (cupcake pan) had a lot of dross that looked like oatmeal that I put to the side. and a blue color. never exceeded 650 deg as per the temp probe. checked for radiation again for the because of the blue color, there was none. took my saeco pot and put the probe in it along with a few of the new formed ingots. brought the heat up to 670. poured a few boolits. think I am going to frame them for being unique works of art. tried heating the iron molds, it helped a little. then I fluxed the heck out of it repeated the process had the same result.
got ticked off took the dross and put the dross in the main smelter, did not care about the heat, just wanted to see what happened, I had 150 lbs of dross. the dross started melting, so I made ingots and put an X on the top of each one with a sharpie
there was still some debris on the top of the pot and removed it.
interesting thing, the oxidided Lead that is on wheel weights and other types of of lead such as mine, need to be heated to the point that the lead does not just soak into the oxidized material and float looking like oatmeal. the oxidized material looks like ashes. had my lead tested the original pours that are bluish, and the ones made from the dross, all are 99.97% lead, put the saeco in a hood and brought it up to 750 deg and finally got a good pour. I definately have to add tin to bring the temps down as the 750 deg is getting a little to hot... to increase mold fill out does anyone know where I can find between 200-300 lbs of tin?
A sight sponsor rotometals has any thing you need to work out the alloy you like , but you don’t need to do it all at once . As you mentioned pure takes more heat to melt .

[oley55]

I can't believe all the helpful folks on this forum. I am a member of a few other forums and I never get the number of responses that I get here and I'm new. I'm learning so much in a short amount of time. Many thanks to all thus far. As much as it is frustrating I'm still enjoying the new venture.

I agree on all counts. Last night I was thinking/hoping your initial difficulties would not put you off.

The thing I like the most about casting boolits is that bad boolits are just so dang easy to recycle, as opposed to recovering components from loading screw-ups.

[kevin c]

Just throwing out ideas, here.

Do you cast outdoors? I ask because you said that your prior session with another alloy went well, but that the most recent session with the same alloy wasn’t as good. Any seasonal change in air temperature or air movement where you cast changes how the casts come out, unless you compensate for them.

It’s cooler now; I’ve had to raise my pot temp and mold preheat temp by 30° each, plus really speed up my cadence, all to keep the mold at the best temperature for great fill out. If your new alloy needs more heat in general, it might need even more in cool weather.

Another off the wall thought: the higher the lead content of the alloy, the higher the liquidus temperature. Were your wheel weights all clip on, or did you have a lot of stick on, which generally are softer, more pure lead? Any non wheel weight soft scrap lead in the melt?

All that to suggest more heat might be a good thing to try.

[GregLaROCHE]

I’ve reread this thread. Something that was only mentioned one was how fast the lead was flowing out of the pot. If your pot is not new, there is a possibility that the spout or valve can be clogged with crud slowing down the flow rate. Too slow of a flow rate has given me wrinkled boolits in the past.
Otherwise, make sure the mold is clean. I spray mine down with Ballistol before storing. When get ready to use them again, I spray them with brake cleaner and then wash them with dish detergent in the hottest water possible and rinse well.
Finally, keep the temperature up with both alloy and molds. I suggest increasing the temperature while pouring until you have very frosted boolits and put the boolits aside in order to inspect later. See how things change and the temperature of the mold will be increasing too.
Good luck and just keep on casting!

[dearslayer]

Just throwing out ideas, here.

Do you cast outdoors? I ask because you said that your prior session with another alloy went well, but that the most recent session with the same alloy wasn’t as good. Any seasonal change in air temperature or air movement where you cast changes how the casts come out, unless you compensate for them.

It’s cooler now; I’ve had to raise my pot temp and mold preheat temp by 30° each, plus really speed up my cadence, all to keep the mold at the best temperature for great fill out. If your new alloy needs more heat in general, it might need even more in cool weather.

Another off the wall thought: the higher the lead content of the alloy, the higher the liquidus temperature. Were your wheel weights all clip on, or did you have a lot of stick on, which generally are softer, more pure lead? Any non wheel weight soft scrap lead in the melt?

All that to suggest more heat might be a good thing to try.

There was actually a lot of stick on lead. I had kept all those separate at first but at the last minute threw them all in the pan. I guess I should have melted them separate??

No other non wheel weight lead.

[dearslayer]

I’ve reread this thread. Something that was only mentioned one was how fast the lead was flowing out of the pot. If your pot is not new, there is a possibility that the spout or valve can be clogged with crud slowing down the flow rate. Too slow of a flow rate has given me wrinkled boolits in the past.
Otherwise, make sure the mold is clean. I spray mine down with Ballistol before storing. When get ready to use them again, I spray them with brake cleaner and then wash them with dish detergent in the hottest water possible and rinse well.
Finally, keep the temperature up with both alloy and molds. I suggest increasing the temperature while pouring until you have very frosted boolits and put the boolits aside in order to inspect later. See how things change and the temperature of the mold will be increasing too.
Good luck and just keep on casting!

I will check the spout next time. Yesterday I took the mold apart and cleaned it with dish soap. Used an old tooth brush and some tooth paste to polish it and washed again with Dawn dishsoap. Then cleaned with brake cleaner tonight before giving it another shot. To say I'm discouraged is an understatement. I had the mold on the hot plate forever and it was about 500°f on the bottom so I flipped it over but because of the handle bolt it wouldn't sit flat so I don't think the sprue got up to temp. The melt was around 750- 800 and still after all this the boolits dropped the same as before. After trying for about 2 hours I finally gave up in disappointment. Next time I'll try the 9mm mold to see if maybe the problem is with the new .40 mold. Can't figure why I can't attach photos because that would explain better.

[Dusty Bannister]

Perhaps you could rest the handles on a block of wood or something beside the hot plate so the blocks can lay flat on the surface of the plate? It will also help heat evenly if you could cover the blocks with foil or a metal can cut to set flat on the plate. If you remove the sprue plate screw from the mold, you may find that the plate will loosen with use during casting. That will require drilling and tapping for a set screw to hold the sprue plate screw in position.

[GregLaROCHE]

Try using the brake cleaner before the dish soap. As was mentioned, there could be some residue left with your brand of brake cleaner.

[toallmy]

If preheated as Dusty Bannister mentioned in post # 92 doesn't fix the problem , and your flow when poring is good you might have a venting problem .

[AlHunt]

OP, are you holding the mold directly against the spout? I don't like that method, I feel like I get a better, faster pace holding the mold away from the pot.

How about some video? Just some cell phone video of your setup and a couple minutes of you casting might give us a better picture of what's going on.

[dearslayer]

OP, are you holding the mold directly against the spout? I don't like that method, I feel like I get a better, faster pace holding the mold away from the pot.

How about some video? Just some cell phone video of your setup and a couple minutes of you casting might give us a better picture of what's going on.

I have a steel bed I made to support the mold and the height allows the mold to be about maybe 3/8" away from the spout. I thought closer might be better than further away. I wish I could post photos but no matter what it won't allow me. I go through the the motions of attaching them but then I get an error message.

[AlHunt]

I have a steel bed I made to support the mold and the height allows the mold to be about maybe 3/8" away from the spout. I thought closer might be better than further away. I wish I could post photos but no matter what it won't allow me. I go through the the motions of attaching them but then I get an error message.

Yep, a year or two back I screwed a wooden bock to slide my mold under the pot and switched away from pressure casting. It made a world of difference.

If you're willing to do a video you could post it to youtube and give us a link. Seeing your process firsthand might help.

[Helka]

Pictures from dearslayer.


https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211122/16dc363ee3ecbcdb3800ffabe3513f05.jpg


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[Helka]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211122/c3ec46a68c23f4ad94e7bfb8ca95b324.jpg


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[Helka]

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[Helka]

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[AlHunt]

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That mold is just not hot enough. Look at the bottom left bullet, laying crossways. You can see where the lead is solidifying before the cavity is filled out.

Edited to add: Also, they're shiny. Another sign, to me, you're not casting hot enough. That is wheel weight alloy if I remember correctly and should be frosting.

[AlHunt]

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I would run a bigger sprue. Looks like you're opening and closing the valve between cavities. Myself, I open the valve and quickly move front to back or back to front, depending on my mood. Take less than 10 seconds to fill the whole mold.

[dearslayer]

That mold is just not hot enough. Look at the bottom left bullet, laying crossways. You can see where the lead is solidifying before the cavity is filled out.
I see what you mean. I'm picking up another hot plate in an hour or so on my way to work. Hopefully that improves heating up the mold.

[dearslayer]

I would run a bigger sprue. Looks like you're opening and closing the valve between cavities. Myself, I open the valve and quickly move front to back or back to front, depending on my mood. Take less than 10 seconds to fill the whole mold.

That's what I have been doing as you suggested. Opening and closing the valve was just something I tried as a last resort last night. Obviously it didn't seem to make a difference.

[dearslayer]

That mold is just not hot enough. Look at the bottom left bullet, laying crossways. You can see where the lead is solidifying before the cavity is filled out.

Edited to add: Also, they're shiny. Another sign, to me, you're not casting hot enough. That is wheel weight alloy if I remember correctly and should be frosting.

Help me understand this. So if I did have the mold hot enough on the hotplate before starting what keeps the temp stable once removed and using it... the hot lead being dropped??? The lead in the pot was at 800°f at times so I assume it's hot enough but the mold isn't..

[dearslayer]

The alloy flow filling the cavities can will cause wrinkles & smiles on your boollits .
Hot air not venting while the cavities are filling will drive you insane also .
It seems you are gaining a extreme casting course with your new adventure

Can you explain to me the hot air not venting thing works? I don't understand that process. Like how does it happen and what is the fix or is there one? I understand the theory in your statement but I don't understand how it happens and the solution to stop it.

[Dusty Bannister]

I prefer to use the start and stop when filling the mold cavities. This prevents splashing from the upper part of the sprue plate opening from bridging across the sprue hole and blocking venting. By the use of start and stop you can get a straight stream directly into the hole and venting is not an issue.

The photos do not show a solid stream being poured from the nozzle as when filling the mold. Perhaps you are not understanding what is meant by pouring in a solid stream rather than a fast dribble of drops entering the mold. The sprue puddles should connect with a nice smooth ripple like a really nice bead when welding. Your sprue is a little on the skinny side and clearly not one smooth flow that stops and moves to the next hole. Some find it helpful to tip the mold so that you begin on the lower end of the 6 cavity mold so you do not have the fluid melt run into the next cavity until the mold is correctly positioned. With a good pour and fill, you might even see a dimple form in the puddle over the sprue hole where the molten alloy is sucked into the cavity as the alloy cools and shrinks.

[greenjoytj]

The pot outlet nozzle absorbs a lot of heat from the melt as it flows through it, so keep the valve open during the entire multi cavity fill. Unclog the valve/nozzle with a bent paper clip, a propane torch works great to unfreeze a frozen outlet nozzle.
The photo shows the lead is too cool also the mold is too cool.
The large aluminum molds required a lot more heat in the lead and the mold because the aluminum quickly removes heat from the incoming lead. Iron molds hold the heat but are heavy in multiple cavity molds.
Make the sprue puddle bigger it helps to keep the sprue plate hot.
Forget using toothpaste to clean the mold.
Forget using Dawn dish detergent to clean the mold.
Just use a non chlorinated brake cleaner that’s all that is required to degrease a mold.
Don’t smoke the mold with a candle, that will just condense gasified wax onto the mold.
Burn a popsicle stick if you want to smoke the mold, but no smoking of the mold should be required.
Lube the mold top under side of the sprue cutter plate with Redline 2 stroke racing engine oil one bottle will last a life time or two. Apply the oil with a Q-Tip if you can see the oil glistening you’ve applied too much oil so use another Q-Tip to dry some off.
A needle bottle oil bottle is great to dispense the oil to the sprue plate pivot.
Don’t put the cut off sprues back in the pot until you want to take a rest break. The sprues cool the melt it like dropping an ice cube into hot coffee.
You’ll know if you’ve got the melt too hot when the sprue puddle won’t form a thickish puddle and lies flat like water.
With the outdoor ambient temperature a near zero degrees (freezing) here in southern Ontario now, your short 20* at least that means the furnace has to work hard to keep the melt hot and the mold cools supper fast after opening and your cold sprues are going to take longer to melt causes they’ll be near freezing too. Think end of May through June. July and August are too hot to be standing over a 750*+ furnace.
You’l find the mold works better after its had several casting sessions I think the Al mold acquires an oxide coat that helps bullet release.

Air venting is taken care of by all those tool marks intentionally applied to the mold blocks during manufacturing, they let air get out of the cavity should a caster be trying to pressure cast by jamming the outlet nozzle right up against the counter sink divots machined into sprue plate.
The incoming hot lead must drive out the air in the cavity it is those tool marks that provide the air outlet pathways. Don’t let those fine tool mark get plugged with lead or burnt on oil.
If the incoming stream of lead is narrow enough to let air pass around it then you have no air venting issues to worry about.
Pressure cast has never worked for me because the lead pressure is always too high and the air vent lines fill with lead causing bullet to have finns.

[AlHunt]

Help me understand this. So if I did have the mold hot enough on the hotplate before starting what keeps the temp stable once removed and using it... the hot lead being dropped??? The lead in the pot was at 800°f at times so I assume it's hot enough but the mold isn't..

Yes, the hot lead into and out of the mold is what keeps your mold at temp. In fact, once you get hot enough, you'll have to slow your pace or even set it down for a couple of minutes to let it cool down. 800F is plenty hot for the pot.

I dont use a hotplate so I can't really address how it might work. But people have been casting bullets for as long as there have been guns to shoot them in and never used a hotplate.

I lay the mold across the top of the pot while it's heating. When I'm ready to cast, I'll fill the mold and break the sprue right away but let the bullets sit in the mold for ... I don't know, 30 to 60 seconds? I want the heat to soak into the mold. I'll do that for a few cycles and start picking up the pace. After maybe 5 to 20 cycles bullets start to drop filled out and begin to show frost. It just depends on how well I let the mold preheat. Until then, I drop them back into the pot.

After that it's just a matter of monitoring the pot temp, paying attention to how quickly the sprue hardens, how easily it cuts, all as a way to monitor mold temp.

There must be something in your pace that's not letting the mold get hot.

A couple of questions, maybe already addressed, but:

1) How many cycles are you casting before your quit?
2) You don't have a fan blowing on your work area (thus onto the mold), do you?

Maybe a 2 cavity mold would be easier to learn on? It heats up more quickly.

I have an old style 2 cavity Lee mold I acquired used a year or so ago. Ugly, loose, beat up ... but it casts beautiful bullets with ease. I've never cleaned it in any way. It came in the mail and I put it straight to work. If you want to eliminate your mold as a potential problem, PM me your address and I lend it to you. Just mail it back once you sort your process out.

A hot mold is a happy mold and I just think you're not getting to temp.

[AlHunt]

Also, it's my opinion that if you're not "pressure casting" with the mold right up against the spout, venting isn't an issue. Those little vent lines in the face of your mold are to allow air to escape the cavity, but if you haven't closed the sprue hole off, the air can escape out it.

I could be wrong.

[dearslayer]

I prefer to use the start and stop when filling the mold cavities. This prevents splashing from the upper part of the sprue plate opening from bridging across the sprue hole and blocking venting. By the use of start and stop you can get a straight stream directly into the hole and venting is not an issue.

The photos do not show a solid stream being poured from the nozzle as when filling the mold. Perhaps you are not understanding what is meant by pouring in a solid stream rather than a fast dribble of drops entering the mold. The sprue puddles should connect with a nice smooth ripple like a really nice bead when welding. Your sprue is a little on the skinny side and clearly not one smooth flow that stops and moves to the next hole. Some find it helpful to tip the mold so that you begin on the lower end of the 6 cavity mold so you do not have the fluid melt run into the next cavity until the mold is correctly positioned. With a good pour and fill, you might even see a dimple form in the puddle over the sprue hole where the molten alloy is sucked into the cavity as the alloy cools and shrinks.

These photos all just happen to show the different method I tried out of frustration. When I did my first batch of 9mm a couple weeks ago the sprue was much bigger and I used a steady flow method but given the fact that nothing was working this time ( including the steady flow and larger sprue ) I figured what do I have to lose.

[dearslayer]

Yes, the hot lead into and out of the mold is what keeps your mold at temp. In fact, once you get hot enough, you'll have to slow your pace or even set it down for a couple of minutes to let it cool down. 800F is plenty hot for the pot.

I dont use a hotplate so I can't really address how it might work. But people have been casting bullets for as long as there have been guns to shoot them in and never used a hotplate.

I lay the mold across the top of the pot while it's heating. When I'm ready to cast, I'll fill the mold and break the sprue right away but let the bullets sit in the mold for ... I don't know, 30 to 60 seconds? I want the heat to soak into the mold. I'll do that for a few cycles and start picking up the pace. After maybe 5 to 20 cycles bullets start to drop filled out and begin to show frost. It just depends on how well I let the mold preheat. Until then, I drop them back into the pot.

After that it's just a matter of monitoring the pot temp, paying attention to how quickly the sprue hardens, how easily it cuts, all as a way to monitor mold temp.

There must be something in your pace that's not letting the mold get hot.

A couple of questions, maybe already addressed, but:

1) How many cycles are you casting before your quit?
2) You don't have a fan blowing on your work area (thus onto the mold), do you?

Maybe a 2 cavity mold would be easier to learn on? It heats up more quickly.

I have an old style 2 cavity Lee mold I acquired used a year or so ago. Ugly, loose, beat up ... but it casts beautiful bullets with ease. I've never cleaned it in any way. It came in the mail and I put it straight to work. If you want to eliminate your mold as a potential problem, PM me your address and I lend it to you. Just mail it back once you sort your process out.

A hot mold is a happy mold and I just think you're not getting to temp.



PM sent.

[toallmy]

If you are resting your mold on the cold steel plate while filling the mold you are actually drawing the heat away from the mold . That plus a small sprue pore allowing your sprue plate to cool could be part of the problem .
Casting is a balance of several things coming together at the same time in the blink of a eye .

[dearslayer]

If you are resting your mold on the cold steel plate while filling the mold you are actually drawing the heat away from the mold . That plus a small sprue pore allowing your sprue plate to cool could be part of the problem .
Casting is a balance of several things coming together at the same time in the blink of a eye .

Well that does make sense even if it's just sliding along briefly. Would you suggest freehand or some other method to rest it on? Wood perhaps..not that it would be on there long enough to burn.

[Sasquatch-1]

If you are resting your mold on the cold steel plate while filling the mold you are actually drawing the heat away from the mold . That plus a small sprue pore allowing your sprue plate to cool could be part of the problem .
Casting is a balance of several things coming together at the same time in the blink of a eye .

+1 on this. If you have a silicon baking sheet, try placing that on the steel or eliminate that rest all together and see what happens.

[AlHunt]

If you are resting your mold on the cold steel plate while filling the mold you are actually drawing the heat away from the mold.

Good catch. That is a very good observation. That thing is a giant heat sink.



Casting is a balance of several things coming together at the same time in the blink of a eye .

Exactly. And dearslayer is soooooo close ...

[dearslayer]

+1 on this. If you have a silicon baking sheet, try placing that on the steel or eliminate that rest all together and see what happens.

I do have a silicon baking sheet that I will try. Any and all possibilities at this point is worth a try. Thanks for the suggestion.

[dearslayer]

Good catch. That is a very good observation. That thing is a giant heat sink.



Exactly. And dearslayer is soooooo close ...

Thanks for the vote of confidence...

[gwpercle]

I do have a silicon baking sheet that I will try. Any and all possibilities at this point is worth a try. Thanks for the suggestion.

If nothing else works ... try a Lyman Ladle and pressure casting ... some moulds just will not workk any other way .
Gary

[lightman]

I applaud you for hanging in there and trying! Most of us would be very frustrated by now.

You may have several things working against you. Those last pictures look like something is still too cold. Your mold guide looks nice but it may be acting as a heat sink. Most factory guides are made from aluminum. Your flow rate may also be a little slow. Something I might try would be to use a carbide scribe and carefully run it through the vent lines on your mold. Don't try to recut them, just clean them up a little.

Here are a few of my thoughts. Hopefully you can start getting good bullets!

I don't think you have a Zink problem. I hand sort all of my weights, not trusting the pot temps to weed out the Zinc. But it seems like you did a good job with yours.

I don't have any Lee molds but I disagree with their instructions to smoke the mold. I don't want anything in the mold cavities except lead. I also disagree with their suggestion to lube with Beeswax. The melting temp is too low. Use 2 cycle oil.

I use straight clip-on weights for nearly all of my casting needs. I run the pot temp at 725º. I preheat the mold on an open coil hot plate but I don't know what the mold temp is, or really care. I also preheat my ingots and I don't add the sprues back into the pot while I'm casting.

Good Luck and hang in there!

[dearslayer]

I applaud you for hanging in there and trying! Most of us would be very frustrated by now.

You may have several things working against you. Those last pictures look like something is still too cold. Your mold guide looks nice but it may be acting as a heat sink. Most factory guides are made from aluminum. Your flow rate may also be a little slow. Something I might try would be to use a carbide scribe and carefully run it through the vent lines on your mold. Don't try to recut them, just clean them up a little.

Here are a few of my thoughts. Hopefully you can start getting good bullets!

I don't think you have a Zink problem. I hand sort all of my weights, not trusting the pot temps to weed out the Zinc. But it seems like you did a good job with yours.

I don't have any Lee molds but I disagree with their instructions to smoke the mold. I don't want anything in the mold cavities except lead. I also disagree with their suggestion to lube with Beeswax. The melting temp is too low. Use 2 cycle oil.

I use straight clip-on weights for nearly all of my casting needs. I run the pot temp at 725º. I preheat the mold on an open coil hot plate but I don't know what the mold temp is, or really care. I also preheat my ingots and I don't add the sprues back into the pot while I'm casting.

Good Luck and hang in there!

Thanks for the advise. I'll follow all the advise and recommendations from all members on here until I get this nailed down. I'm not a quitter by nature but there are times when I feel like giving up so I walk away and come back another day but the same goes for most things in life that are a challenge right. I'll get it right if it kills me. Onward into the fog.

[toallmy]

When you cast again try to pay attention to the time you spend through out the whole adventure from the beginning , like .
Turning on the pot at 615 pm
Putting the mold on the hot plate at 625 pm
When the pot is up to a constant casting temperature 645 pm
This will give you a idea of a good precasting set up time ..
Then try to keep a mental note of the time you do the steps involved in casting like
Filling the mold from beginning to end count it off in your mind 1 2 3 4 ......
Watching the sprue closely while poring is a wonder in its self much to be learned during the process .
Count off how long it takes for the sprue to go solid
After cutting the sprue how long did you take dropping the boollits
On and on
You will learn much from this process , you are well on your way to becoming a boolit artist

[Ohio Rusty]

Use it for fishing lures and sinkers if all else fails.
Ohio Rusty ><>

[GregLaROCHE]

Is there anyway you could borrow a one or two cavity mold from someone, even if it’s not your caliber, just to see how the boolits turn out? That may help to rule out if something is wrong with the mold and could be easier to cast with. Most casters don’t start with six cavity molds.

[dearslayer]

Is there anyway you could borrow a one or two cavity mold from someone, even if it’s not your caliber, just to see how the boolits turn out? That may help to rule out if something is wrong with the mold and could be easier to cast with. Most casters don’t start with six cavity molds.

This would be a great option but I don't know anyone with a 2 cavity. I'm gonna try the mold again in a couple of days when I get time now that I'm armed with a ton of new information thanks to you all. If things don't improve I'll try my 9mm 6 cavity to see if the same issues occur. I had beginners luck with it a few weeks back when I cast for the very first time. I'll keep everyone posted once I get there.

[GregLaROCHE]

I don’t know what your budget is, nor am I certain this is the right diameter for you. I don’t shoot handguns. Here’s something to think about.
https://www.ebay.com/p/2254341688
This may come up with charges to France, where I am now, but you won’t have to pay that much.

[toallmy]

When you get ready to give it another go here are a couple things that might help besides what has already been mentioned
As I understand it you are attempting to cast with a 10 pound pot & a 6 cavity 40 caliber mold . If your pot is like everyone else's a 10 pound pot it really holds less than 10 lb plus you must maintain a few pounds in your pot so your operating in a very small window of several pounds of alloy trying to gain experience casting , you are probably battling wild temperature swings from beginning to end . Hardly getting a few pores in the middle before the pot gets low , then to complicate matters your mold temperature is constantly changing as well . As your sorta new to casting I'm sure your boollits are not just jumping out of the mold , so it takes a few seconds to cut the sprue remove the cast bullets then prepare to refill the mold .
Even with all this going on your actually producing cast boollits , so your getting there ......
If you have the time on your next attempt possibly just cast not trying to produce boollits , but practice casting .
Having preheated ingots or even molten alloy ready to add to the pot will give you more time going through the motions of casting rather than watching your pot temperature swing up and down trying to maintain a workable level , and allowing the mold temperature to change drastically as well .
I'd fill up both pots get them and the mold up to a good casting temperature then cast with one of them until it got down on alloy then dump everything back in to melt again , while casting out of the other pot just for the experience or practice . But I enjoy casting
Good luck

[greenjoytj]

You don’t have to fill all 6 cavities. Just fill the first 2 or 3. The mold will be easier to open and faster to refill.

[dearslayer]

Well giving this another go. A couple differences than the last session. This time the boolits look a little frosted and also when I break the sprue it also is frosty and seems to break apart. The temperature of the lead when I started was originally 723° and as I was casting the temperature climb to over 850. Should I assume that 850 is too hot that's the reason why the bullets are frosty?
I can't seem to attach photos from my phone

[Helka]

That’s correct. 750 is what I set my PID too


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[dearslayer]

Having a bit of a hard time keeping the temperature around 7:50 if I leave it it climbs too high if I turn it down it goes too low. Definitely think I need a PID.

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[dearslayer]

Not sure if these photos will attach or not.292194292195292196292197

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[Helka]

Those look great!


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[dearslayer]

Thanks. It's definitely a huge improvement over the last time that's for sure. They are all fully formed with no smiles. My only concern is the sprue breaking apart like that almost to the point of being crumbly if that's the right word. It gives me some hope at the very least. I think the biggest thing this time was having the mold sitting on the hot plate to heat it up from the get-go.

[jimb16]

You probably aren't letting the sprue cool enough. Give it a few more seconds to cool before you cut.

[dearslayer]

Ok I'll give it a try.

[AlHunt]

Not sure if these photos will attach or not.292194292195292196292197

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Congratulations, you've done it. As said, let the sprue cool a second or two more if you're not happy with it. As long as it's not smearing on the mold top, it's really ok.

Maybe a 10 pound pot and 6 cavity mold won't let you add the sprues back as you go and keep your pot temp up. My 20 pound pot eats them fine.

You're down to tweaks and details now. Feels good knowing you'll never lack for bullets, doesn't it?

[dearslayer]

Congratulations, you've done it. As said, let the sprue cool a second or two more if you're not happy with it. As long as it's not smearing on the mold top, it's really ok.

Maybe a 10 pound pot and 6 cavity mold won't let you add the sprues back as you go and keep your pot temp up. My 20 pound pot eats them fine.

You're down to tweaks and details now. Feels good knowing you'll never lack for bullets, doesn't it?

Man oh man I thought I'd never see a decent bullet!! Thanks to all the advise and encouragement from everybody here it certainly made things go a lot easier and kept me a little bit optimistic. Now that I know I can actually do it getting the 20 lb pot is certainly an option. In fact I found that the valve rod on this 10 lb pot really gets in the way of trying to spoon the crud off the top of the molten lead making fluxing a little bit difficult. I have to admit I'm feeling much better about the whole ordeal now and I think a PID and a new pot is in order! I'll try to attach a photo shortly showing the difference between the frosted bullets and the not so frosted bullets. I tried to keep the temperature down a little bit and the frosting seem to go away for the most part. My next question is are my frosted bullets okay to use or do they need to go back in the pot for a remelt?

[dearslayer]

Frosted on the right and not so frosted on the left . It's a really rainy damp evening here so I had to quit for the night. Arthritis in my thumbs is killing me292198292199292200

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[AlHunt]

Frosted on the right and not so frosted on the left . It's a really rainy damp evening here so I had to quit for the night. Arthritis in my thumbs is killing me292198292199292200

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Frosted bullets are fine. Good fill out is what you're after.

I like frosted bullets, mostly as a sign my temperature is where I want it.

Some casters don't like frosted bullets. Also, depending on your alloy they may not frost - I can't remember offhand which element it is that causes the frostiness - a certain amount of antimony, maybe? Wheel weights frost.

[dearslayer]

Frosted bullets are fine. Good fill out is what you're after.

I like frosted bullets, mostly as a sign my temperature is where I want it.

Some casters don't like frosted bullets. Also, depending on your alloy they may not frost - I can't remember offhand which element it is that causes the frostiness - a certain amount of antimony, maybe? Wheel weights frost.So examining most of these bullets I noticed at the base there seems to be a small divot. Is that because I was cutting the sprue too soon and will this affect the bullet or are they still okay to use?292202

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[dearslayer]

Is there a specified amount of time required between casting and powder coating?

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[Helka]

Usually you can tell when the sprue changed colour and dimples a bit. Usually a 4-8 count.


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[AlHunt]

So examining most of these bullets I noticed at the base there seems to be a small divot. Is that because I was cutting the sprue too soon and will this affect the bullet or are they still okay to use?292202

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Yep, that goes along with the crumbly sprues. Maybe another second or 3 before you cut it. You'll learn to watch the sprue and know when the time is right.

For shorter range pistol bullets, they're fine ( at least the close up one ). Something to be avoided in future. One of those tweaks you'll make with experience.

Unrelated to sprues, but I will add that I've read casting too hot can result in a smaller diameter bullet. I've never had any drop too small to size, but it's something to keep in mind as you go forward. I think this is why some casters avoid frosty bullets.

[AlHunt]

Is there a specified amount of time required between casting and powder coating?

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Nope. Powder coat away.

[dearslayer]

I did notice that as the mold cooled a little the sprue seemed to stay a little more intact and he bullets dropped a little less frosty. I hope with practice I will be able gauge things a little better.

[toallmy]

Well done

[Sasquatch-1]

Those look fine. Now a cheap toaster oven and a half pound (I guess that would be a 1/4 kilo up where your at) of powder coat paint and you're ready to go.

Did you get rid of the platform you had or did you put the silicon sheet on it?

[GregLaROCHE]

Congratulations! It looks like you’re getting the hang of it. Yes, I think the bases will improve if you wait longer before you cut them. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Wait longer and longer until it’s too difficult to cut the sprue. Then look at the boolits you made and decide how long works the best for you. I recently started waiting longer than before and have found that I get a lot sharper bases when I do.

[dearslayer]

Those look fine. Now a cheap toaster oven and a half pound (I guess that would be a 1/4 kilo up where your at) of powder coat paint and you're ready to go.

Did you get rid of the platform you had or did you put the silicon sheet on it?

I actually already have powder coating and oven. Did some 9mm a few weeks ago. I did most of it freehand and decided to try the platform toward the end ( without silicon sheet ) to see if it made any difference. None that I could tell but next session I will start out with the silicon sheet for comparison purposes.

[dearslayer]

Congratulations! It looks like you’re getting the hang of it. Yes, I think the bases will improve if you wait longer before you cut them. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Wait longer and longer until it’s too difficult to cut the sprue. Then look at the boolits you made and decide how long works the best for you. I recently started waiting longer than before and have found that I get a lot sharper bases when I do.

Thanks so much. I've actually enjoyed anticipating the responses I've been receiving on this little journey. It's definitely been a learning curve and look forward to doing it again.

[dearslayer]

Well I gave it another go tonight because I was curious if I had learned anything and whether or not there would be any improvement.
I wasn't nearly as anxious and heating up the mold and the pot all fell in line however I did have to give up toward the end because the bullets were sticking in the mold so badly I was actually creating splinters from hitting the wooden mallet on the handle bolt head in order to release them from their hold. The bullets himself turned out fine but it was really a chore to get them out. Now I have to do a little bit of research to find out why and how to prevent it going forward.

In the attached photo you can see bits of wood sitting on top of the cloth from having to hit it so hard.292241292242

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[dearslayer]

Also the bottom of the sprue plate has leading. And it's also worn in a couple areas already. This thing is just about brand new so I must be doing something wrong. I did use 2 stroke oil very lightly for the pivot points. Does the leading and bullets sticking mean mold isn't hot enough even though the bullet were casting fine? 292245292246292247

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[Helka]

Wipe 2 stroke not only on pivot pin but underneath the sprue plate


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[toallmy]

^^^^^^ what he said . Take time and clean the lead off the bottom of the plate & the top of the mold before doing damage to the mold . Take a look at the mold face as well checking for lead splatter .
Lead smearing comes from cutting the sprue before the lead completely sets up .
Mold temperature can cause sticky boollits as well .
I think you have got your mold hot enough now , maybe a little to hot ...

[GregLaROCHE]

As has been said, clean that sprue plate before it causes problems. You are probably cutting the sprue too early. If your mold is getting a little too warm, you need to wait longer to cut the sprue. Take your time and let things cool a little more. As I said before, experiment with increasing the delay in cutting the sprue more and more, just to see what happens.

[AlHunt]

I notice more smearing on the 2 cavities closest to the pivot. I'm guessing those are the last 2 filled. One technique to control heat is to occasionally reverse the order of fill.