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Thread: How do you measure mold temp?

  1. #21
    Boolit Master

    Mike W1's Avatar
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    Amazing! 19 replies so far and about 3 of them said something pertaining to the original post.
    Mike

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  2. #22
    Boolit Grand Master OS OK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hornetguy View Post
    I was also wondering how many 12V power pacs it took to run the hot plate..... sorry... couldn't help it...

    Serious question.... I never thought about covering the hotplate with an enclosure... do you find that it heats up the sprue plates as well?
    Even if I heat my mold, I have to mallet the plate open for the first 8 or so casts, until it gets hot enough to push open by hand... That would be a good thing if the can enclosure eliminated that...

    edit: and I agree, more is always better.... except for traffic... more is not better with traffic...
    Yes, it does. You can't see it but there is a box fan on the floor on the other side of the casting bench blowing across the garage towards the double door opening...it makes a draft that pulls the fresh air from behind me across the hot plate and lead pots, pulling any vapors or smoke out of the shop so I don't inhale it.
    Without the oven (tin can), there's a draft there on top of the moulds they don't heat evenly top to bottom...having them inside the tin can the draft can't affect them. I know it looks awkward but it works well...it beats the hell out of casting mould after mould full untill the mould cast properly. To me that approach is a waste of time.
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  3. #23
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike W1 View Post
    Amazing! 19 replies so far and about 3 of them said something pertaining to the original post.
    That usually happens. I haven’t drilled any holes but have started to use a bead probe in one of the cavities through the sprue plate hole. Probably not as accurate as a probe in a snug hole but works for now.

  4. #24
    Boolit Grand Master

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    You’ve been on the board since 2008 and you are amazed?
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  5. #25
    Boolit Master

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    That's right, some folks also "smelt" on here.
    Mike

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  6. #26
    Boolit Master gc45's Avatar
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    Sorry I can't help, but do agree with Porthos as I cast the same as he does. good luck with the project.

  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike W1 View Post
    Amazing! 19 replies so far and about 3 of them said something pertaining to the original post.
    You're Hilarious

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike W1 View Post
    That's right, some folks also "smelt" on here.
    I use to use that term, but recently in a discussion about it, someone used the term Schmelt...and I glaumed onto it and use it whenever I can
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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  8. #28
    Boolit Master

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    Well, if you schmelt it, what did it smell like? Everyone knows that schmelt is the past tense of smell.
    Spell check doesn't work in Chrome, so if something is spelled wrong, it's just a typo that I missed.

  9. #29
    Boolit Grand Master Outpost75's Avatar
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    I pre-heat mold blocks on a Proctor-Silex hot plate having a 6" square of ceramic tile placed over the Calrod to distribute the heat evenly. I use a 400°F Tempilstik crayon to mark the sprueplate and once up to temp I alternate between a pair of 4-cavity gang molds to.establish a cadence. I use two 10kg Ohio Thermal bottom-pour pots, casting from one while the other comes up to casting temp, checking with a Keithley digital thermocouple thermometer. I run a pot down to about an inch from the bottom before adding sprue and culled bullets back to the pot. After the scrap has remelted I top off the pot with fresh alloy, flux with Vitaflux, skim and pour crushed clay over the melt and change off to the other pot which is up to temp and waiting.
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  10. #30
    Boolit Grand Master OS OK's Avatar
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    a m e r i c a n p r a v d a

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  11. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by ulav8r View Post
    Well, if you schmelt it, what did it smell like? Everyone knows that schmelt is the past tense of smell.
    well ya, you don't want to be down wind
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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  12. #32
    Boolit Master

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    Molds preheated on a $4 electric hotplate from a yard sale and temp measured with my trusty(?) HF Infrared Thermometer. Works for me.

    Bill
    "I'm not often right but I've never been wrong."

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    "Scarlet Begonias"

  13. #33
    Boolit Master

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    I can' take it anymore...

    ...put your Index finger in your mouth. Get it wet. Stick it on the mold body.

    If you hear it go "tsss..." remove your finger PRONTO. It's hot enough.
    If it was easy, anybody could do it.

  14. #34
    Boolit Master
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    I stick the end of the thermocouple through the sprue hole into the cavity to check the temp while on the hot plate. I start casting when the temp is between 375-400. The sprue cut tells me when the temp is right during the casting run.

  15. #35
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shanghai Jack View Post
    Never worry about measuring - if the bullet's lumpy the mold is too cold, if it's frosty its too hot. If neither, its just right. Perfect goldilocks casting.
    Yes, and when your boolits start sticking, the mold is too hot.
    "If everyone is thinking the same thing it means someone is not thinking"

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