Problems casting

[jtwodogs]

I was working this morning with my RCBS 2c .45 mold.
The problem I am having, (Tried to post some pics, but photobucket not working for me today)
is after I have the lead up to temp., added some wax, tin. Starting casting some bullets some look real "Grainey" while others shine like a new penny. This is all coming from the same pot of lead.

What is the grainey one symptomatic of.
Thanks for your help.
j
http://E:\DCIM\100HPDSC\HPIM0174.JPG

[onesonek]

As it was explained to me,, your casting tempo is too fast, making the mold run hotter than it should be. That is creating your "grainey" frosty boolits,,,, slow down abit.

[Calamity Jake]

Yap what onesonk said, your casting to fast slow down a little or use 2 molds at the same time, fill one set it down fill the other, dump the first refill and then dump the second, so on and so on.
Keeps both molds hot enough to make lots of good boolits but not so hot to be overly frosted,
a light frost is good.

[jtwodogs]

So they should not be shiney?
Thanks

[jtwodogs]

I do not have a lead pot to cast with, rather I have an outside building with a stove, and a small cast iron skillet. It has always worked well with me in the past, but I have for the most part used LEE alum. molds.
I was worried I was not getting the RCBS mold hot enough, so I was resting it on the edge of the skillet whilest I was pouring. So don't do that and slow down between pours?

[onesonek]

I do not have a lead pot to cast with, rather I have an outside building with a stove, and a small cast iron skillet. It has always worked well with me in the past, but I have for the most part used LEE alum. molds.
I was worried I was not getting the RCBS mold hot enough, so I was resting it on the edge of the skillet whilest I was pouring. So don't do that and slow down between pours?


I'm not sure I follow you on casting from a skillet. it matters none at this point to me. But it seems to me casting from a shallow skillet, rather than a deeper pot, you would get far more oxidation.
The boolits will come out shiney if the mold is not too hot, you can keep it warm on the skillet or stove if you get interupted. The frosty boolit will shoot alright from what I been told, but what I found with them before I found out my tempo was too fast and getting frosty ones,,,was they also shrunk more. More than I cared to see.
In my mind, if they aren't too small for your liking, then no harm is done.
My only thoughts are, is to shoot either all frosty or slow down and shoot all shiney boolits. I have to think that mixing the two has to have a play in accuracy. The difference in diameter's , albeit a small difference has to have an effect on pressure's and in turn accuracy. I might be wrong there, but I have always been a stickler for consistancy in every aspect of reloading.
Each or every mold has it's own likes and dislikes from what I understand, you just have to find out the timing or tempo it likes for the results you want.

[qajaq59]

If you're getting a mix of frosty and shiny your rhythm is changing. Try to let the mold cool the same amount of time on every cast.

[jtwodogs]

Here is a pic, Photobucket finally cooperated.

http://i438.photobucket.com/albums/qq103/jtwodogs/HPIM0174.jpg

[onesonek]

Yep, your mold temp is getting beyond the shiney to frosty,,,,, be it right or wrong, I give my mold a count to 5 after the sprue freezes. then count another 5 before dropping the boolit. then count to where the boolit are just showing a hint of frost. Time will vary for you as mine is a brass mold, not to mention your alloy pouring temp. Once I get a tempo going with the pot temp, I don't have to count, the time just "feels" right,,,,a few seconds one way or the other don't seem to have a major affect with this mold, but if too fast I can see the difference right quick. I can't say for sure, but I think brass or iron may be a tad more forgiving tempo wise, but then aluminum is a tad faster as it disapates heat faster.

[Echo]

Back to the casting - do you use a ladle, from the skillet? If so, that may be part of the problem of varying tempo. Must be - I can't see you pouring out of the skillet! Can I?

And both of those boolits will probably shoot nicely, given same size.

[AZ-Stew]

The one on the right looks good. The one on the left will shoot OK, but it shows you're getting the mould too hot, or your pot temp is too high, meaning you're wasting heat.

As long as the base corner (edge) and your driving bands are filled out, you don't have any base voids and your boolits weigh within a couple of grains of each other, they're good.

If you want REALLY shiny booltis cast them from linotype or other high-tin alloy (expensive) or pure lead (may be too soft). I'm not sure you can cast frosty with either. I don't think you can get the mould or alloy hot enough without getting near the vapor point of the metal (BAD! due to fumes).

I think you'll get satisfactory results with either of your castings. I prefer mine to look more like what you see on the right. If you read the instructions that came with your mould, you'll see that's what the manufacturer suggests. But others on this board prefer what's on the left side of your photo.

Regards,

Stew

[chris in va]

I personally could care less if my boolits are shiny or frosted. They all get tumble lubed anyway and shoot just fine. If they get frosted I'll open the mold and let it sit for a minute, but doesn't really matter either way. All I care about is mold fill-out and wrinkles.

[mooman76]

A small fan or damp sponge will help cool the mould off faster. If you cn turn the heat down a little on your lead after you get going, that will help too. As long as the boolits are fillet out good, that is the important thing.

[lwknight]

I'm a production kind of guy . If I'm casting a shiney boolit I figure that I'm burning daylight. Once I get a nice satin finish , I think I'm getting it done. If I get some ugly frosties , I will slow it down a little.

[HeavyMetal]

As I read the posts it looks like you are casting over an open flame with a shallow frying pan?

Because the iron RCBS mold will hold the heat about 10 times longer than a Lee aluminum mold your finding it much easier to keep the RCBS mold at temp or a little hotter.

You may also be finding that you have hot spots in the alloy from the pan being so shallow

This may cause uneven weights.

Suggest you find a slightly deeper cast iron pan to work out of!

[fryboy]

both look good but .... if i was going to water quench i'd run them about the speed on the left , for air cooled - the one on the right , the guys pretty much covered it all in the above comments , frosted light isnt too bad heavy frosting is where u really run into trouble and then the surface isnt smooth at all , a lil frosting ( from what u have now to a soft satin ) will actually help ur boolit hold the tumble lube a bit better , seems for me that most of my shiniest boolits are always the softest alloys , weird because tin helps make a alloy stay shiny longer lolz

[R.M.]

Running them through the sizing die will get rid of the frosting in the barrel contact area, other than that, what difference does it make????????

[onesonek]

Running them through the sizing die will get rid of the frosting in the barrel contact area, other than that, what difference does it make????????

In some situations, it may not make any difference at all, and then again it might in others. It to me, would depend entirely up to what dia. they are casting at in relationship to his groove dia.. It's a possibility that he may or may not want the the boolit sized down at all, We just don't have information needed to make any hard fast calls on that.
In my case, these are from my first casting session, in which my tempo got past good fill out mold temp, into just alil too fast. Now granted the center ones are maybe a bit more frosty than the "satin" effect, but,,,,,,,,,,,, there is also an avg. of .0014" difference in diameter. With the frosty's being the smaller. Now if one is sizing down to a smaller dia.,, likely no harm no foul. But in my case,,rather slugged bore, the smaller dia. was too close and with some under slug dia.. Alloy temp could play in that as well I'm guess'n, but smaller regardless.
I don't see anything wrong with shooting lightly frosted boolits,,,,just that every firearm/mold has it's own set of rules imho, and from what I have gathered here at CB. Without more information, we can only answer the question at hand,,,,,Whats causing the frosty boolits. Too me it's all about consistancy, moreso than perfection.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v629/onesonek/100_4139.jpg

[jtwodogs]

Thanks for your help guys. I now realize that steel molds are much more finicky then my LEE alum. molds. They may last longer, but I think if I could get the type of bullet I wanted from a LEE mold, I would just as soon have them.
I cast 2 great bullets with the LEE molds one is a Ranch Dog mold for my .450 Marlin, the other for my .45 Ruger Bisley, both are gas checked. I can whip up a batch of those in half the time it takes for this RCBS. My Marlin will shoot MOA, if I do my part. My Bisley with a 4 5/8 inch barrel will shoot a cylinder into one ragged hole at 50 yds. off a bench.
So I know that those molds are doing something right. Just sayin.
Thanks guys for your help.

[runfiverun]

well the best way round the whole thing is to turn down the alloy heat for the steel molds.
once you get it down to 675-700 or so you should be able to go as fast as your lee molds.
i have had my alloy temp down to 620 with steel molds, using a ladle, and going as fast as i could.
i usually keep my boolits in the grey zone somewheres between the frosted and shiney color.
if the boolits pop out frosty in any way, a quick wipe down with a damp rag will usually bring the mold temp right back down where i need it.

[lwknight]

i usually keep my boolits in the grey zone somewheres between the frosted and shiney color.
That's what I have been calling " a satin finish"

[jtwodogs]

The real shiney ones seemed to sometimes not fill out the mold completely.
If I turn the heat down on the lead it does not fill the mold out.
I set up a small fan, so that after I pour while the lead is in the mold I hold it in front of it for a count of ten, that seems to keep things flowing. I am getting not frosted but a satin finish, which seems to keep all the driving bands with good sharp edges. I also noted that if I pour of the edge of the hole instead of just dumping the lead in it, (Pour fast, but do not dump). The mold fills out better. AAhhh, it seems to be all about the little things.
Thanks guys for your help.

[onesonek]

That's what I have been calling " a satin finish"

That's what I'm striving for, per your and CBRick;s earlier advice. Just have to get my timming and technique down alil more refined. The one's I have gotten measure up good at .0012-3" over slug in my mold. And then I know I'm getting about the best production rate from my mold.

[mpmarty]

With my LEE six banger molds I run the pot between 700 and 750 F and use a shallow pie pan with a folded towel in it and about half an inch of water. I rest the mold on the damp towel between each third pour. Only rest mold on damp rag while boolits still in it to prevent water in the mold. (I know silly of me to worry about that).