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Thread: Cast my first Boolit today!

  1. #41
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Las Cruces, NM
    Posts
    4,550
    Am glad you are persistent. That's kinda what it takes to run with cast bullets.

    Your mold should be doing well at this point. Most of my new aluminum molds took 50 to 100 bullets before they 'settled down'.

    It does look like either your alloy is off or not fluxed well, still too low a temp, or cold mold. I became addicted to using a hot plate for my molds. Once I found the correct temp to set it at, the first bullets out of the mold are good.

    Temp can be different for different bullets. I have some that do best running hot (frosted bullets). Others are better at lower temps (no frosting at all). Each of my molds takes a slightly different tempo to keep getting good bullets. FWIW, this is where iron molds are better. Like Verna I learned with an iron mold. Easy peasy. They do not lose heat like Aluminum molds so the tempo is not as important. FYI, the 1 and 2 cavity Lee molds are even more difficult to keep at a consistent temp due to the small block sizes. They also seem to take longer to 'break in'.

    I flux with beeswax, just because I have a lot of it, but I also put a layer of sawdust over the top of the melt. Don't know if it helps or not but it makes me feel better

    Last, if you haven't done it yet, clean the molds well with something like acetone. I am one who does not do anything to the mold cavities. No smoking, no mold release. I do lube the hinge point of the sprue plate with 2 stroke oil. Just a TINY amount. If you use too much it will wick into the cavities.

  2. #42
    Boolit Grand Master popper's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    10,581
    Mold is too hot. That is not frosty, it's cooked.
    Whatever!

  3. #43
    Boolit Grand Master

    imashooter2's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    PA
    Posts
    7,919
    Congratulations on your start! Casting is as much art as science. Throw those back in the pot and practice your art!
    ”We know they are lying, they know they are lying, they know we know they are lying, we know they know we know they are lying, yet they are still lying.” –Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn

    My Straight Shooters thread:
    http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...raight-shooter

    The Pewter Pictures and Hallmarks thread:
    http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-and-hallmarks

  4. #44
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Las Cruces, NM
    Posts
    4,550
    Heck, I'd take some of the better ones and shoot them.

  5. #45
    Boolit Master bruce381's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    823
    my covid response at local grocery when they said i need a mask I went over board

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

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