I’ve found 22 cal molds need to be run VERY hot and about as fast as you can.
I’ve found 22 cal molds need to be run VERY hot and about as fast as you can.
8500' Wet Mountain Valley, Colorado
Them thar 22s are wrinkly.
Boolits get wrinkly when the mold isn't hot enough. This is a very common problem with 22 boolits, because that small amount of alloy doesn't transfer much heat to the mold. Are you preheating the mold? Mostly, you need to find a technique that works with your equipment, so you can cast at a faster pace, so the mold doesn't cool down between dumps.
I don't see any indication of a alloy problem in the photo of your boolits.
No need for a lazer thermometer, just cast until the boolits are frosty, then back off a bit. It can take lots of practice to develop a rhythm for each mold.
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“If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001
See "From Ingot to Target: A Cast Bullet Guide for Handgunners", Chapter 8, "Idle Musings of a Greybeard Caster….", paragraph "Heating the Sprue Plate." of this link: https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...or-Handgunners
Getting the sprue plate HOT before the alloy passes into the mold (and a little bit of tin) will preclude those wrinkles. I have cast THOUSANDS of 223 caliber boolits in 2-cavity Bator (aluminum) and 2-cavity RCBS (steel) molds. Getting the sprue plate HOT is the answer.
Last edited by Land Owner; 06-16-2022 at 06:26 AM.
If it was easy, anybody could do it.
Even with a PID, it’s a good idea to turn the heat up while casting until the boolits frost and compare your results at different temperatures.
Yep. I agree with the suggestion that you need to heat things up. Mold, sprue plate and pot. I use a hooded hot plate to heat the mold. Place the mold on the hot plate sprue plate down for 10 - 15 minutes at medium or above. Run the pot up around 775 - 800 if you have to. Then see what the results are and go from there. There is a happy spot in there somewhere!
Sam Sackett
It's not the alloy that makes a bad looking bullet. It's the quality of the mould or the way it's cast.
I have cast bullets using alloy's most wouldn't think of using. Aluminum, copper bearing babbitts, zinc as well as other no lead alloys.
They all will cast a good looking and uniform weight bullet. You just have to adjust your temperature and casting procedures.
Wolfdog91: I agree with the others that this is a temperature problem, not an alloy problem. The boolits are solidifying in the mold so fast that they aren't getting proper fill out. Even the "good" 30 caliber boolit in your photo has a wrinkle on it's nose. There's a balance between increasing the heat of the pot and getting a good fill out in the molds. At some point you might start getting the metal in the pot too hot and that can cause the tin to start oxidizing. In that case you'll have to flux more frequently to keep all the alloy ingredients in solution.
The molten alloy might not be keeping the mold blocks at a high enough temperature for good fill out. Heating the mold blocks and the sprue plate might give you a "run" of good casts, until the blocks cool down again and the boolits start wrinkling again. In that event you'll need to heat the blocks again. I'm wondering if you're using aluminum molds? Aluminum transfers heat much faster than steel or iron. This means that a set of aluminum blocks will both heat up and cool off faster than a set of iron molds.
I'm going to get a lot of stink eye looks and grumbling comments for this; but Lee molds have both smaller aluminum mold blocks, and thinner sprue plates than most of the other brands of molds. This means that they loose heat faster than molds by Lyman, Saeco, RCBS, as well as aluminum blocks by other manufacturers. I'm sure that a bunch of guys are going to educate me that they use Lee molds without issue, and I've had some pretty good success with that brand - but I've only used their 30 caliber or larger molds. Those little 22 caliber pills that your casting might not be able to keep that particular mold set hot enough. You could try some tricks to keep your molds up to temperature, but this might add a little more effort to your casting sessions. In my (very humble) opinion, I think you should try a set of iron molds in 22 caliber. I don't cast in less than 6.5mm, and I've only tried one set of brass molds so my experience with those is limited, but the bulk of my molds are Lyman and RCBS, with just a few Lee molds, so I'm far from an expert. What I have noticed though is that I've had much higher success rates, better fill out, and and able to produce higher quality boolits with less effort when using iron molds. As always: your mileage may vary.
I have a lot of Lee molds. Some do seem to give better results than others. If you want to step up a level in molds, have a look at: https://www.mp-molds.com/ they are known for their hollow points, but you don’t have to use the pin to make them hollow points. They seem to be one some of the best prices today.
Frosty bullets are happy bullets. Never had a problem with them for accuracy they just shoot great. Don't care if my bullets are shiny and pretty just how the shoot.
Your 22's were cold need more heat get them frosty and they will shoot.
I agree, it's the temp. Since you 're doing it by numbers with thermostats and thermometers, I just want to add that until I got a Pro20 bottom pour, I had no control over temperature except manually.
Used Lyman mini-mag 8# and a ladle. I simply let it get the alloy hot and poured quickly to heat up the mold ( discarded any wrinkly ones). To cool the mold, I'd slow down and wave the mold around while it was open. That way, I learned to cast with a watchful eye and rhythm.
You'll gain a lot of experience around these guys!
Good Luck,
Ron
In all, the .41 Magnum would be one of my top choices for an all-around handgun if I were allowed to have only one. - Bart Skelton
Get a cheap hot plate from one of the box stores. $8-10 bucks. I pre-heat my molds on "medium". I flip the mold over and get the sprue plate hot also. If the mold is too hot the sprue will be liquid for a long time. Slow your pace down until it takes the sprue 5-8 seconds to solidfy the sprue.
Either mold or alloy is too cold.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |