Help!!!!

[swampmaster]

Boy do I ever feel so stupid. After about 50 throw away bullets I finally get a few good ones.I am running a RCBS pot and have to keep the dial up at the 850 mark to get things correct.I felt my mould was not hot enough either and left it on top for about 1/2 hour,the first few were still coming out with rounded corners and wrinkles at the end I finally got about 25 good ones.SOmeone please tell me that there is a easier way.

Or I was thinking I would love to find someone in Central Indiana that would come up and help me hands on. I would be happy to let them use my equipment and my lead to cast some of their own for their trouble.I also have 3 lubri sizers that they could help me set up and make sure I am on the right track.I am just so frustrated right now.I half way think I can get some good bullets cast but have to idea on how to lube and size them but also dont think it takes that many hours just to get 25 good bullets.Maybe I am being to anal thinking that my bullets must look like the factory meaning perfect in everyway.Am I asking to much or am I doing something wrong?

[nemo]

Hi Dont Feel like That I been there casting over 30 years .did you flox?,clean mould,?sure temp is up Temp takes About 30 mintues my spellin is off.casting is FUN not always easy,Flux 1 can use candle wax at 800 dig it will liteoff donot jump DONOT Pull HAND back BURNS NOT EASY I LEARNED I live in southern Az HOT here I ware long sleaves Hat Goggles Gloves sounds like new mould oiley needs deoiled use aolchol or nailpolishremover or the like chek hardware store put some 50/50 soder in for the tin about 8to10 in rosen core best helps to flux al this free info I took years to learn LOF read Lymans Cast bullet books liberys should have or get them,read Phil Sharps Book Comple Guide To HANDLOADING out standing book& Man Taked to him I am that old Don

[Blacktail 8541]

Swampmaster, Just leaving your mould on top will not useally get it hot enough to start casting good boolits for a considerable length of time. Try holding the corner of the mould in the melt for up to 3 minutes to warm it up. When the melt does not stick to the moud you are just about there and will start getting good boolits. You will still have to experiment with how much space is needed between your mould and pot but I have found about 3/4in works best for most. Try not to fill the mould to slowly, keep adjusting the spout rate as the alloy level drops and let a nice sized puddle form on the sprue holes. Get a dripp pan so you can catch any over flow. You will get a little at times. Good boolits are not hard, just need to find that little thing you are doing wrong.

Hope this helps.

[44man]

Hot water and dish soap with a liberal scrubbing with an old toothbrush should get the mould clean. Then get the mould HOT. After dipping in the lead for a while, if boolits are still not good, pass a propane torch flame all over the mould and sprue plate. Don't hold it in one spot, just keep it moving all over the mould.
Smoke the cavities too.

[chunkum]

swampmaster,
On resuming casting activities after years of not-enough-time, I've developed an approach that is close to always working for me. First off, I routinely preheat my mould with a Walmart hotplate. With any mould - new, out-of-storage or otherwise, I rinse it down witn non-chlorinated brake cleaner before and after heating it up. This seems to remove the volitile hydrocarbons from the moulds more effectively than other measures I've used. I start out by moulding hot - with my bottom pour pots set at the top and then turn them down a little at a time as indicated by the bullets I'm getting. If you're getting "rounded corners" (ie the sharp edges are not filling out, then this is usually remedied by adding a little tin. You can get pure tin at Midways and other online suppliers or, most likely you can find 50/50 tin/lead bar or roll solder at a plumbing or hardware store in your community. It is expensive, but it doesn't take much to alter the "surface tension" enough to get those sharp edges just right. Aside from being sure a mould is venting properly, I haven't run into any casting problems these measures won't correct - yet. Good luck in your casting ventures.
chunkum

[swampmaster]

Ok I took a break and let everything cool down and will try again tonight and start fresh. Clean the moulds and smoke them.heat them in the lead,How does one tell the proper flow rate for a mould? I am trying to cast a double cavity 35-200 mould for my 35 rem and 356 winchester of the ones that came out the way I wanted them to look they are droping at 199.8 grains average and mic at .359 with out the lube and gas check.I will keep you updated.

Is there such way as in a hot plate to keep different moulds on to help keep them warm?

[chunkum]

swampmaster,
I have sometimes kept two or three moulds on a hot plate for that purpose when casting more than one type of bullet in a casting session. You'll need a wooden block (I use a 7" piece of landscaping timber) to prop you mould handles on to keep them level:
http://img489.imageshack.us/img489/3782/hotplatepreheat3da.th.jpg (http://img489.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hotplatepreheat3da.jpg)
You kinda have to arrive at the optimum temperature by doing it. Be advised that it is likelly possible to scorch your handles if you let it get too hot for too long. So far, I've avoided that. As you can see, the Lee single (and double ) cavity moulds can be set on "their head", while the Lyman four cavity (and the others) can lie flat. The landscaping timber piece is just about the right thickness for my hotplate.
Best Regards,
chunkum

[snowtigger]

What alloy are you running? Straight lead? Wheel weights? What?

[woody1]

swampmaster, I too would like to know what alloy you're using 'cause it might help in diagnosis. That said, every RCBS mold I have casts well with wheelweights IF it's good and clean and the alloy is up to temp. I know nothing about your RCBS pot, but would guess that the dial set at 850 might not have the alloy up to good casting temp. My suggestion (as others have said) make sure your mold is clean. Preheat your mold but don't overdo it and start casting. If the boolits aren't coming out frosted after the mold is at the alloy temp, turn up your temp until the boolits are frosted. You should be getting good boolits by then. HTH Regards, Woody

[Ken O]

I think you need more heat. I don't care what your dial or thermometer says, if your not getting any frosting, your not as hot as you think. When you pour, the puddle on top the sprue should take 3 or 4 seconds to freeze, if not, the mold, lead, or both need more heat. As mentioned above, putting the corner of the mold in the lead until it doesnt stick is the way to go, and crank the pot to max, when you frost you can always cut it back.

[mooman76]

When I first start I pour lead on the sprue plate and keep doing it letting it run down the side of the mould to help get the mould up to temp. I also since I mold on the stove stick my mold right next to the flame, not in it while the lead is heating up and usually get good casts by the second or third try!

[Char-Gar]

Getting into casting all on your own, without a buddy by your shoulder can be a frustrating experience for certain. It is far easier to show somebody something or look at what the are doing and know what needs to be done different.

I was lucky when I started casting 48 years ago. I had an older gent who was my mentor. That and the old Lyman 41 handbook was all I had.

I have had many failures, frustrations and false starts over the years. But this bullet casting stuff will yield to patience and persistance. The resuts are worth the frustrations of learning when you get there.

You are at the best place on the web to get the kind of help you need...so hang in there and keep on.

[wills]

You can make an aluminum foil “boat” to put your mold in and float it on top of the alloy for a few minutes to help get the mold up to temperature.

[MT Gianni]

One of the things to learn about casting is to get a rythm or cadence that gives you consistent temperatures in your mold cavity's. By keeping a count or having a loud clock you can cut your sprue at the same time in the cadence and know that it is at temp by the way the cut feels. Too slow and the sprue is hard, too soon and the sprue isn't set. If something varies in your bullets at the same count in mid session then change your t-stat accordingly.
I have cured improper fill out at the base by loosening up the sprue plate to increase venting, another trick that hasn't been mentioned yet. Some sprue plates should just flip over. Gianni.

[swampmaster]

Ok Thanks for all the help so far! I finally got them to come out the way I think they should be.Having the mould hot enough helped, and I feel really silly but I found out what the mould rest was used for,and that helped me a bunch along with watching the spru cool and sink( that 3 or 4 second count) helped feel out the bases square.I also cleaned the mould really good and used a release agent that also helped.All in all I turned out about 200 good bullets and had about 10 scrap.

Next question: I decided to try out the 311284 single cavity mould but am having a 50 percent failure rate due to the nose not filling out all the way I think from the HP Pin,could this be that the mould is hot but the pin is to cold and setting up the lead before it can fill out? BTW I am using WW for all my casting stuff.

I also cast some 454424 that all came out good,but the HP mould has me scratching my head.

Also can someone tell me the proper nose punch for the RCBS 35-200 bullet I am looking for my .358 or .359 die but so far I may have to use my .357 die but I cant find the nose punch number Thansk to all in advace this is starting to be more fun

[Bucks Owin]

FWIW, I generally just cast wrinkley boolits in quick succession to get the mould up to temp. I also run the pot "thermostat" at high until my alloy is melted and fluxed and I actually start casting. Usually after about a dozen fills the mould is good and hot and I can start adjusting the temp down to eliminate too much "frost"...

Sort of backwards to your problem I guess...

Maybe try starting the session with HOT alloy and see what happens, never mind the "temp setting" on your rheostat at first. In my experience the numbers don't relate very closely to actual temp anyway.....

Dennis

Main thing is to hang in there, it'll all come together...:-D

[454PB]

Using a hollowpoint mould is quite a challenge, especially for a newbie caster. They make keeping the mould and hollowpoint pin hot even trickier. I use a propane torch for preheating and maintaining the heat in the hollowpoint pin. Your analysis is correct..... because the pin has such a smaller mass than the mould, it tends to lose heat faster.

All the previous posts give excellent advise, hang in there. In a month or so, you'll be an expert!

[swampmaster]

Using a hollowpoint mould is quite a challenge, especially for a newbie caster. They make keeping the mould and hollowpoint pin hot even trickier. I use a propane torch for preheating and maintaining the heat in the hollowpoint pin. Your analysis is correct..... because the pin has such a smaller mass than the mould, it tends to lose heat faster.

All the previous posts give excellent advise, hang in there. In a month or so, you'll be an expert!


So are saying to keep a lit propane torch handy and preheat the hp pin each time befor the pour?

[Blacktail 8541]

The correct nose punch number for the RCBS 35-200 is #565. RCBS brand top punch.

[454PB]

You don't have to preheat it before every cast, just whenever it begins to cause incomplete filling or malformed hollowpoints. This varies with each operator, I'm probably a little faster at casting hollowpoints than you because I've done a lot of that. I find it easier to just light the torch and turn it as low as it goes without extinguishing, then put it at the back of the casting bench. The easiest hollowpoint moulds I've used are the Lee moulds, because the pin doesn't have to be removed. The pin is part of the handles and stays in place. The Lyman design requires that the pin be removed and laid aside. That's when it begins to lose heat.

[swampmaster]

The correct nose punch number for the RCBS 35-200 is #565. RCBS brand top punch.


Thank you Looks like I might need to buy one iunless I can find a Lyman Number that matches it I have about 20 lyman punches

And a big thanks to 454PB for the torch tip I will try it out

[D.Mack]

swampmaster.... Keeping the pin hot is the answer, you can do as 454pb, and keep a flame going, or another solution is build a bracket , either on or above your pot, and hang the pin in the lead when it's not in the mold. If you do it this way, just remember the handle will get hot so gloves are in order. DM

[swampmaster]

Ok hopfully the last question on the casting part.Do you all keep you pot at least 1/2 to 3/4 full at all times?I remember reading it somewhere I think so as to keep the same pressure of the lead coming out at the same flow rate,also how much solder to add to the ww and do you readd whenever you add more or do you do it more how the bullets look?

Thanks to all as I have so many questions which will be coming up on other things like setting up my lubrisizer and best place to find gas checks and so gas checks go bad?I have some with still a 3.00 price tag on them

[chunkum]

On the amount of alloy in a casting pot (a bottom pour, I'm deducing from your post), they do give a more consistant flow when the pot level is higher. Obviously it is impossible to keep it the same if you are using up your alloy as you cast. I think this is one of the reasons that a lot of casters like to use a dipper/ladle rather than a bottom pour. I don't worry about it unless I see "fill-out" problems developing in my bullets. It no doubt helps to add alloy to keep the level semi-constant before it starts getting real low when your goal is a large batch of bullets that exceeds the one-time volume of your pot.

In regard to the amount of 50/50 solder to add, I've found that with the wire solder I can get around here, 17" or so is about an oz so I call myself adding an oz of tin when I cut off 34" of the wire. With the bar stock, you'd have to cut and try it but, in my experience, about 3/4" is an oz so 1 1/2" is needed to make an oz of tin. Some clipping/cutting and weighing (postal scales work well here) will give you more concrete numbers for whatever type of tin containing material you have. I add this much to 5 - 7# WW alloy for starters. Some casters report getting good fillout from pure wws but I've never been that fortunate. And yes, if adding heat and the initial amount of tin doesn't correct the "fill out" issue, then it gets to be a "add a little bit more" kind of a titration method according to how your bullets are looking. It usually doesn't take very much.

In regard to the gas checks, I wouldn't think they'd go bad unless they are/show bad corrosion. I have some old ones myself but $3.00? If you were the original purchaser, then you've been around bout long as I have. I'd say use them and rejoice you've got 'em.
Best Regards,
chunkum

[swampmaster]

LOll no not the origianal buyer of the 3.00 gas checks I find them semi often in estate auction and such

[chunkum]

Though I've not found any loosness or indication of loss when firing cast bullets shod with some of my old Lyman gascheck stock from the old plain cardboard boxes, there is, I've read, a difference in that the newer gas checks are reputedly all manufactured by Hornady, and have slight increase in thickness on the rim so that they crimp on and are more secure. I haven't taken a micrometer to any of them but have no reason to doubt this. As stated above, my old gas checks have always, to me, given the impression of being securely attached.
c.

[Goatlips]

Do you all keep you pot at least 1/2 to 3/4 full at all times?


Swampmaster, I use a feeder pot, (a hotwired Fry Baby) that I melt my ingots in, and ladle hot melt from that into my bottom pour to keep it mostly full. My casting pot doesn't suffer the big temperature swing that results from dropping raw ingots into it. What a luxury! Works fer me.

Goatlips

[Ken O]

I use the Lee 20#er, and I try to keep it over ½ full. I havent had any problem when it gets lower, its just my preferance. There is room on the rim of the pot for two ingot to preheat, for example when I cast .45 200gr SWC in the Lee six holer, so after six or seven casts, I drop one ingot in and put another on the rim, so the ingots have about 15 casts to preheat. Also I have a handfull of kitty litter on top the melt which insulates and keeps the oxygen off the melt, and stir the new ingot in with a wooden stick which helps flux.
I have been casting for several years also, but the above "tricks" I got right off this forum.

[454PB]

I have a box of 1000 Sierra .30 caliber gas checks that still has the original price: $1.75!

[swampmaster]

Mine is a Tin of Hornady 35 caliber marked 3.00, I would like to find a bunch more at that price. I also have a old box of Lyman marked 38/38-55 but no price.

I update I want to thank everyone that helped me out,I cast about 500 44-240 yesterday all without any problems,this is getting alot easier now just have to find a good lead supply as I really dont want to dip into the emergency reserves that i have stashed.

I have found a Magma Master Caster used with I think 6 or 8 moulds and a Sarco Lubrisizer what would be a good or fair price to pay for one of these and are they worth the money?

[454PB]

Take a look around this site and it'll give you an idea what a Magma Master Caster is worth. I think the Saeco lubrisizers are around $200 new. You can do some searches on this forum to find reviews of each.

http://www.magmaengr.com/products.php