405grain
10-14-2022, 05:54 AM
305607 305608 I tried something new, and it worked good. Earlier I was having a problem with another mold. one of the bullets would stick in its mold cavities on every pour and I'd have to tap on the handle pivot like a woodpecker to get it to let go. Thanks to the collective knowledge base on this site I was able to find a solution: just get an ink eraser and use it to gently de-burr the edges of the mold cavity. It worked like a champ, and now the bullets fall right out.
I did have a little trouble actually finding an ink eraser though. Nobody actually still uses a typewriter any more, and they don't even teach cursive writing in school either, so an ink eraser isn't as common as it used to be (kinda like lead wheel weights). I couldn't find any at either the office supply stores or Walmart. Finally I went online and got a 3 pack off Amazon. The difference between an ink eraser and a pencil eraser is that ink erasers have powdered sand mixed in with the rubber, and pencil erasers are just rubber.
On the mold I was using today, (RCBS 30-180-FN), it has a tendency to get those silver skid marks across the bottom of the sprue plate. I let the puddle get good and solid before I open the sprue plate - once it solidifies I wait until after the color turns a dull grey. Maybe it's my alloy: I'm only casting these around 10 BHN and their coming out of the mold at just over 200 grains. Either way, I was getting some lead flash on the bottom of the sprue plate. If left unchecked It would eventually start building up enough to begin causing problems. The standard answer to this is to take a rag and wipe off the lead while the mold is still hot. I don't like that. Not only does it only hardly work most of the time, but for ten years I used to have a scar on my left arm where I just momentarily accidentally touched it on a 44 mold. I'd rather try something while the mold's cold.
So I thought "maybe the ink eraser might work"? Oh Boy dose it! There's just over one minute elapsed time between the first and second photo. That ink eraser takes the lead film right off with just a little scrubbing. Plus it doesn't seem to hurt the sprue plate at all. I don't know if it will take off huge caked on massive chunks of lead, but for light duty lead removal it works great.
I did have a little trouble actually finding an ink eraser though. Nobody actually still uses a typewriter any more, and they don't even teach cursive writing in school either, so an ink eraser isn't as common as it used to be (kinda like lead wheel weights). I couldn't find any at either the office supply stores or Walmart. Finally I went online and got a 3 pack off Amazon. The difference between an ink eraser and a pencil eraser is that ink erasers have powdered sand mixed in with the rubber, and pencil erasers are just rubber.
On the mold I was using today, (RCBS 30-180-FN), it has a tendency to get those silver skid marks across the bottom of the sprue plate. I let the puddle get good and solid before I open the sprue plate - once it solidifies I wait until after the color turns a dull grey. Maybe it's my alloy: I'm only casting these around 10 BHN and their coming out of the mold at just over 200 grains. Either way, I was getting some lead flash on the bottom of the sprue plate. If left unchecked It would eventually start building up enough to begin causing problems. The standard answer to this is to take a rag and wipe off the lead while the mold is still hot. I don't like that. Not only does it only hardly work most of the time, but for ten years I used to have a scar on my left arm where I just momentarily accidentally touched it on a 44 mold. I'd rather try something while the mold's cold.
So I thought "maybe the ink eraser might work"? Oh Boy dose it! There's just over one minute elapsed time between the first and second photo. That ink eraser takes the lead film right off with just a little scrubbing. Plus it doesn't seem to hurt the sprue plate at all. I don't know if it will take off huge caked on massive chunks of lead, but for light duty lead removal it works great.