A little help with a lee 6 cavity mold

[reloaders4you]

I JUST BOUGHT A NEW LEE 6 CAVITY 45 CAL 200 gr. SWC MOLD FROM MIDWAY. CLEANED IT, SMOKED IT AND USED SPRUE LUBE AS DIRECTED. BEGAN CASTING AND THE CAVITYS ARE NOT FILLING OUT AT THE BASE OF THE BOOLIT. I HAVE NEVER HAD THIS ISSUE WITH MY 2 CAV LEE MOLDS. ANY INFO WOULD BE GREAT. I HAVE INCLUDED PICS.

[HeavyMetal]

Mold is still to cold! Alloy temp may need to be bumped up as well.

Turn that 6 banger on it's side to pre heat on top of the pot, this puts the sprue plate in contact with the pot and will help get it up to temp as well as the rest of the mold.

I have found that the 6 bangers loose heat fast and bought a 10 Buck hot plate from Wal Grens, along with a piece of scrap steel plate, to use to keep my molds hot thus preventing this exact problem!

[reloaders4you]

I will give it a try. I thought i had the temp hot enough. I am using a promelt from rcbs, guess i will crank the dial up a few more degrees.

[reloaders4you]

mold is still to cold!

the pictures i took were from about the 8th 0r 9th casting cycle

[Phat Man Mike]

that's why I started casting one to two holes and work up to the whole thing.

[jimmeyjack]

Do the hot plate on med and never look back

[JIMinPHX]

the pictures i took were from about the 8th 0r 9th casting cycle

Try 20 or 25 cycles. Try running the pot around 700F. Try pressure casting.

[skimmerhead]

mold too cold, had same problem. lee molds like hot lead mine bout 750 to 800 degrees. mold likes bout 425 i check it with a hand held laser thermometr. works best when you have to wait 10 or 15 seconds to cut sprue, and wait 10 more before opening mold. i found that opening mold to soon often will give bad results. if your boolits come out frosty mold is too hot boolits still good, let mold cool a little. i have an out door cooker with a 1/2 inch steel plate on it to heat my molds. heats evenly now when mold gets too hot i have wet cloth to touch the mold to lightly to cool it don't leave it on there just a second or two. once you get rite the boolits will fall. i hope this solves your problem.

skimmerhead

[JIMinPHX]

skimmerhead, I'm with you on most of that, but you can't trust the numbers on those IR laser thermometers when you point them at shiny metal objects. They are calibrated for a flat black surface. Try pointing one at the lead in your pot & then look to see what your regular thermometer says. You might be surprised at the difference.

[hammerhead357]

IMHO you need a hot plate to preheat your mold. I never had much luck trying to preheat them on the pot. I don't think they get hot enough.

You might try dipping a corner of the mold into the melted alloy to get it hotter. Some casters do that. But I like the hot plate better. I set a boolit on the steel plate on mine and if it melts then I turn the setting down just a bit. I like them so hot that they start throwing good boolits after a cast or two. Doesn't always work that way but I like for it to....Wes

[Newtire]

I agree on the mold having trouble heating up & all but one other thing that I know causes bases to not fill out is having the sprue plate too tight. If all else fails, back the screw out a little.

[reloaders4you]

As always, THANKS FOR THE HELP GUYS!!!!!!!!

[mooman76]

6xs need allot of heat to get going.

[skimmerhead]

your rite JiminPNX doesn't give same reading in pot, but on my molds in center on side blocks i either smoke or use a black marker to mark a spot to shoot laser, i don't know but it works for me. i use a rcbs thermo in my pot. which is a lee 20lb. bottom pour pro that works for me. i don't recomened going and buy a laser thermo. i just had one in my tool box and put it to work. also had a problem with a lee 2 banger some what similiar, i was useing F. A. mold release and it clogged vent lines in mold so i don't use it any longer. well can't think of any thing else rite off so i'll shut up and give it to some one else. hope i can help!

skimmerhead[smilie=f:

[405WIN]

Also, it looks like you may not be allowing enough metal to form on top of the mold (sprue).

[captain-03]

Also, it looks like you may not be allowing enough metal to form on top of the mold (sprue).

+1 - also a generous sprue will help bring the mould to temp and also assist in keeping it up to temp ...