Gonna try to cast first bullets tomorrow

[magmoose]

My Lee pot came in from Midway along with RCBS mold and handles (240 Keith). The mold is soaking in paint thinner tonite and I plan to boil it in water and Dawn in the morning when the wife leaves the house.

Is there anything else to do to the mold after the water/Dawn cleaning???

Regarding the pot... I plan to plug it up and add wwt ingots and start the process.

Anything else to consider???

moose

[lwknight]

It takes awhile to get started melting. It will go faster next time if you leave about 1" of lead in it when you are done.

[Echo]

And I suggest that you rest the 6-banger on the top of the furnace, to warm it up, so you will get keepers sooner.

[Doby45]

I have heard that you might want to lap the valve with some Comet to help prevent the drips. I plan to do that to my Lee pot as soon as it gets here. I just ordered mine. :)

[AZ-Stew]

Echo's advice about the Lee 6-banger moulds applies equally to the RCBS mould you have. Just be sure it's securely placed on top of the pot so it doesn't fall into the melt. Two bad things can come from this: Molten lead splashed all over the place and maybe on you, and you get lead all over the mould and handles which is difficult to remove. You'll spend a half hour or so of casting time trying to clean up your mould and handles. It's no picnic.

Be sure your mould is DRY before casting. Water in the mould cavities will instantly boil on casting, blowing hot lead back on you under steam pressure. If you pre-heat your mould, this shouldn't be a problem, but keep it in mind. Molten lead+water=trouble.

Regards,

Stew

[gunsablazin]

I'll be casting my first in over 20 years this weekend. I'm picking up a new Lee pot and a six cavity Lee .45 mold on Friday. I'm going to try the tumble lube boolits with the 45-45-10 lube mix posted here in the lube section. I really want to thank the great folks here for getting this "old noob" started off in the right direction! Great site! [smilie=w:

[magmoose]

Thanks for the replies...

Regarding the mold prep,,, should it be smoked with a candle before casting??? I've read many posts about using KROIL, wiping it dry and casting. I've looked around town and can't find the product. Is there another product or would you recommend smoking the mold cavity?

moose

[Echo]

Don't use a candle! It will deposit wax on the cavity, and you will have unnecessary problems. If you want to smoke, use a butane lighter, or match. And you probably don't need to smoke, but do it, anyway. Can't hurt...

[magmoose]

Thanks ECHO,,, will use butane lighter

moose

[Cord]

Safety First, Always !

When using a new electric melter the first time,
and after every time you empty it to change alloys or clean,
pack it as tightly as you can with metal up past the level
of the heating element.

If the melter is empty, or has just a few pieces and lots of air,
the heating element will turn the sides of the sheet metal pot
cherry red in short order – and this is not good for
the life of the element, or the life of your melter.

[MtGun44]

No need to smoke. No need to soak in solvent. Just scrub with an old toothbrush
and Comet to remove gunk and burrs. If you do smoke (don't bother) don't use
a candle, it leaves a waxy residue. Butane charcoal lighter is best, but again - not
necessary.

Bill

[chris in va]

I don't bother with mineral spirits, just scrub it down with an old toothbrush and Dawn/hot water.

[Fire_stick]

I' ve been casting for only a little over a year now. And only recently did I get a Lee bottom pour melting pot. Up till now I' ve been using a coleman stove to melt my lead and a laddle to pour.

I thought the Lee would be make things a little simpler. What I learned was, it was harder (for me) to cast good bullets (quicker) using the Lee melter. With the stove, my melt and mold came up to proper temp quicker. Using the same rhythm I developed for the stove, the Lee melter did not work out so well, and I learned some things that I took for granted before.

I say all this only to finish with, make sure your mold is warm enough. With the Lee melter, my mold was not, and I was pretty frustrated for a time 'til I figured it all out.

Since your original post, you may have some shiny boolits to show off now. be sure and send pictures of the new borns!

[RobS]

Mold temp is important for proper fill out. I have to say if you don't already have a cheapo hot plate to invest in one so you can preheat your molds; it makes quite a bit of difference.

Sounds like you have had some good advice so far.

Have fun.........Good luck.

[Doby45]

You can also get the mold up to temp quickly by leaving it on your pot as the lead is coming up to temp. Then once your lead is good and melted pour a few with the sprue open and then just dump them right back in the pot.

[mdi]

Clean your new mold first, keep the "fixes" for later if a prob arises (smoking, leementing, mold release, etc.). I've had a couple Lee molds that didn't need anything but cleaning and preheating.