Cast my first Boolit today!

[Mike Langlois]

So I studied and studied, got through numerous articles, posts, 82 pages of "From Ingot to Target..." and annoyed my Better Half, before I could not stand it any longer and cast my first two boolits. I grabbed on of the many brand new moulds sitting there:



A small .356 Lee mould. My furnace was probably not hot enough, but the first bars I poured had a furnace that was excessively hot. I cleaned the mould and lubed the areas I believed correct (not the insides) and went on to pour away. My spout was clogged and after an attempt or two to clear it out, the now molten lead began to flow better. My results were not perfect, but they now exist and this is fun, so there will be more. I would appreciate any comments on the results. Here they are:



One is right side up and the other is up side down.
Yours,
Manic Mike

[Bad Ass Wallace]

That is a start, now you have to play catch-up!

[GregLaROCHE]

That’s a good start, but you can improve. Not many people can cast a perfect boolit with the first pour of the day. It takes a few a few to be put back in the pot until they start turning out right. Be very careful with how much and where you put lube. Make sure the cavities are 100% free of any oils. Also try to cast with the fastest flow rate possible.
How hot is your alloy? If you don’t have a thermometer, heat the alloy until the boolits start to frost and then turn the pot temperature down a bit. The more you practice the better you will get.

[chriskendziora]

Pre Heat the mold on a hot plate or in the pot. It always takes a few rejects to get the mold too temp and the alloy going. I use #2 alloy and run 2 molds cast a few .358 then 44's alternating between them. It takes a bit and getting rhythm going but it will come. I have a bottom pour Lee pot.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Welcome to the forum.
Congratulations on your first pour.
My first pours looked about like those. Practice makes perfect. Preheating the mold is essential.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

That is a start, now you have to play catch-up!

Mine are in various size "smaller" containers, so the shelf isn't as purty are yours.

Attachment 314814

[44MAG#1]

So I studied and studied, got through numerous articles, posts, 82 pages of "From Ingot to Target..." and annoyed my Better Half, before I could not stand it any longer and cast my first two boolits. I grabbed on of the many brand new moulds sitting there:



A small .356 Lee mould. My furnace was probably not hot enough, but the first bars I poured had a furnace that was excessively hot. I cleaned the mould and lubed the areas I believed correct (not the insides) and went on to pour away. My spout was clogged and after an attempt or two to clear it out, the now molten lead began to flow better. My results were not perfect, but they now exist and this is fun, so there will be more. I would appreciate any comments on the results. Here they are:



One is right side up and the other is up side down.
Yours,
Manic Mike

One of the first things one DOES NOT want to do is get information overload. It will cause the brain to start spinning at a tremendous RPM and one will be more confused than ever.
Start, think and try to problem solve as you go. Then if you have a problem you can't solve by yourself then ask.
Information is good but when it comes from different angles and at different rates of speed and from different individuals confusion sets in.
Try to avoid it. Casting good bullets isn't black magic no matter the alloy if it is any decent alloy.

[Rich/WIS]

Looks like either the mold or your alloy (or both) needs to be hotter, but have cast and shot some that looked like those. Don't get discouraged, casting is like any thing else, your skills will improve with practice. If you don't have one a solid surface hotplate is a good addition to your casting equipment to pre-heat your mold as well as ingots.

[Scrounge]

So I studied and studied, got through numerous articles, posts, 82 pages of "From Ingot to Target..." and annoyed my Better Half, before I could not stand it any longer and cast my first two boolits. I grabbed on of the many brand new moulds sitting there:



A small .356 Lee mould. My furnace was probably not hot enough, but the first bars I poured had a furnace that was excessively hot. I cleaned the mould and lubed the areas I believed correct (not the insides) and went on to pour away. My spout was clogged and after an attempt or two to clear it out, the now molten lead began to flow better. My results were not perfect, but they now exist and this is fun, so there will be more. I would appreciate any comments on the results. Here they are:



One is right side up and the other is up side down.
Yours,
Manic Mike

Now throw those back in the pot, or mount them to show where you started, as you prefer, heat up the pot with the mold sitting on top of it, or on a hot plate, as has been mentioned, and try again! Do NOT be in a hurry! Learn the motions you need to make to get the molds poured, the boolits out of the molds, and repeat as smoothly as you can. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast, and eventually you'll be getting not just good boolits, but excellent boolits! You'll learn how to judge the temperature of your pot, and the metal in it, what alloys you need for the kinds of boolits you want to make, and shoot, and what works best in the guns and with the powders you have and use. And you'll have some fun, meet some great people, and maybe even save a little bit of money!

Bill

[Bazoo]

Awesome. Thanks for sharing. Those wrinkles and lines looks like either oil contamination or very too cool of a mould. I'll guess a combination of both.

Fluxing with beeswax will help the melt to flow better, too. Compared to sawdust, or paraffin, beeswax is much better in the way the melt acts after fluxing.

If it's wheel weight alloy, I'd say you need to add tin. Some people get great results without it. I get great results with it, and mediocre results without tin.

You don't need a hot plate to get your mould up to temperature, but it will help. I use a rubber band around my mould handles, and I put the corner/edge of the mould in the lead for about 5 minutes. I dipper cast, so my dipper is there, and I rest the mould on the dipper's shaft so that it doesn't fall into the alloy. When I start, the mould is too hot and the bullets are frosty. It doesn't take much of a pause to bring the mould back down to suitable temperature. Its much easier to drop the temp of the mould than get it up the first time, is my experience.

As for contamination... don't listen to all those folks that swear that you can use 2-cycle oil. I never could get the hang of it. I asked Tom at Accurate moulds and he suggested graphite. I use a carpenters pencil (or a regular pencil for that matter) to color the underside of the sprue plate, the mould top, the sprue plate pivot, the alignment pins, the inside of the mould face, anywhere I feel it needs it. When I'm casting and I get a smear between the sprue cutter and the mould top, I wipe it with a rag, then re-color it with my pencil. The pencil also scrapes some.

As for oil contamination, I use lighter fuel. On a hot mould, generally not quite as hot as casting temperature, open the sprue cutter and fill the cavities with lighter fluid. It doesn't burst into flames like you'd think, instead if boils in the cavities, and this really scrubs out all the nooks and crannies. Drop the excess after 30 seconds, and go back to casting.

[gwpercle]

The best way to learn how to cast boolits .... is to cast boolits !

Congratulations here's to Casting Boolits ... keep on keeping on !

Gary

[Hossfly]

Those dont look too bad for first time, remember they can all be put back in the pot along with the spruces. When I started getting good boolits I didn’t have a plan in place to stop so ended up with about 60# of which had to all be inspected. Keep on doing what you’re doing and after some mistakes it will all come natural. Be careful and dont invite the tensile fairy, she aint no fun.

[metricmonkeywrench]

+1 on all the advice from above so I'll add these thoughts.

When getting started the inclination is to check each bullet as they drop. Your using an aluminum mould- Pour, cut, drop and repeat over and over till you run out of lead or get tired of doing it. Lee molds seem to like fast and furious to keep the temp up. Don't inspect but keep an eye on the drops if they go frosty you can finaly slow down a bit, however frosty shoots just as good as shiney.

Focus on getting good consistent pours into the mould. I have a piece of 1/4 plywood with a scrap of aluminum flashing on my Lee 10 lb pot or use the mould guides on the bigger pots to get the good drop distance into the mould from the nozzle. Most of mine seem to be happiest with about 1/4 to 3/8 drop. Basically enough to see the pour and build a good sprue puddle without touching the nozzle.

Culling out wrinkled, incomplete fill outs, not fully formed bands, drip slimes, caverned bases and all other types of undesirable bullet flaws will happen. All of this is to be discovered at the end of the casting session and don't be discouraged if the whole lot has to go back in the pot, it happens especially with an new or different mould.

Keep notes on the pot temp if you have a thermometer (you should) each mold can have its happy place for desired lead temp.

The Wallyworld single burner hotplate with an old circular saw blade on top is probably the second most helpful thing to have on hand for prewarming a mould.

Small stainless steel cups and low wall aluminum cake pans to catch drips and sprues, baking pans to catch cast bullets dross spoons and other useful tools can easily be sourced at goodwill and yard sales.

Most of all relax and enjoy the process and the fruits of your labor at the end once you get it figured out.

[Walter Laich]

welcome to the gang

keep up the good work

[fredj338]

I enjoy casting far more than reloading. IMO, mold &/or alloy isnt hot enough. You dont need extra expensive tin for clip ww alloy. Just get the temps up. The bullet nose looks odd, like you didnt have the mold closed all the way? So unlike reloading, your mistakes can be erased by just putting them back in the pot.

[dverna]

I am old school...really old school. Not a fan of participation trophies etc etc.

Those bullets are awful. You know it, and everyone here knows it. Why would you post something like that?

You may have "studied and studied" but have not learned much.

Information overload is not your problem. The need for instant gratification is your problem.

Go back and try again. Get your mold and alloy so hot that the bullets are frosted then dial temperature back to get perfect bullets. Frosted bullets are good to use so no need to toss them back into the pot. Wrinkled bullets and poor fill are junk.

This is not rocket surgery. Now, if you have contaminated alloy, that will give you a world of hurt. If you cannot get good bullets running hot, buy some decent alloy and try again. There is usually alloy in the S&S section of the forum or you can buy it here:

https://missouribullet.com/results.php?category=12

[Mike Langlois]

Okay, Don Verna said it best....Back to casting. Although the hint about drop distance from the pour spout did clear up a pertinent question. And, I won't post a picture for Bad Ass Wallace yet; I'll spend my time casting, not posting.
Manic Mike

[Bazoo]

I ladle cast, and I find that about 1" of freefall gives be best fill out. I also find I have issues with rounded corners on driving bands and bases if the sprue puddle runs in the adjacent cavity or off the side, unless, if this happens, I pour the rest of the ladle over that cavity. Then normally I can save that cast.

I remember being new... and having less than perfect casting sessions. Don't be afraid to keep asking questions.

[BJung]

I use a paperclip to clear my bottom pour nozzle. To clean my pot, I pour the remainder of my lead into an ingot mold and then tap the top of the pot upside down and all the crud falls out. As for wrinkles, I use to first throw the wrinkled bullets back into the pot. As you gain confidence, you'll find a better method. That's what I did.

[deces]

It takes money to save money. Welcome to the frustrating world of casting.