first attempt casting boolits

[joshmb1982]

failed miserably.

i got my lee 6 cavity mold from midway along with the handles for it. took some mineral spirits and cleaned out the cavities then not having any matches i lit a small piece of wood and held it to each cavity as the instructions said to. lube up the screw that holds the spru plate down.

ok. ive moved up from melting on the campfire. im now onto a small cast iron potbellie stove. melts the lead like a charm. theres a small round metal lid that i took off and i put my pot right in the hole on top of the stove. fits almost perfectly. the instructions said i need to heat up the mold. so i set it on top of the stove( the stove top itself isnt even hot enough to melt lead so i figure this is safe. ) and let it it sit there for a while. mind you it was probly in the low 40s today.

i can not for the life of me get a halfway decent bullet to come out of the mold. i let it sit on the stove for over an hour even poured the melted lead into the mold on top of the stove.i even put on a pair of welding gloves and held my cast iron ladle above the chimney so it got hot enough to keep the lead hot.

it seemd at first like the lead wasn't making it into the mold befor it firmed up. the sprue plate was as hot as it was gonna get and as soon as the lead touched it it firmed up. i eventually managed to get the lead to go down into the mold but the bullets have creases in them and it looks like the bullet formed in layers.

how do you guys properly heat up your molds? mine is already turning black with soot and one of the handles cracked from the heat of the stove and next time i try it im going to get out the oxygen/acetylene torch and heat the bugger up with that.

i filled that +/*-* mold up at least 20-30 times and didnt get 1 single usable bullet out of it. what gives?

[Bob Krack]

Josh,

I've been casting off and on for about 35 years. I love the LEE moulds but have always had problems timing the pour and drop from the LEE 6 cavity moulds.

I'm not positive you have enough heat to cast good boolits with your described setup.
One way to find out and gain some early experience is to only pour two or three cavities.
Repeat as fast as possible.

Let us know what happens.

Bob

[Bullshop]

I vote melt too cold. Get that stove roaring.

[lwknight]

If it was windy, I'd bet on the mold never getting hot enough.
Without a thermoneter you cant know that your lead wasn't just slightly over molten temp.
About a million variables and I'm leaning to temperature verification to start with.

[joshmb1982]

was not very windy at all only a slight breeze. i stuck a thermometer in the lead in my pot and it was over 650 degrees. fire was going so hot at times flames were coming 1 foot ouut of the chimney hole. sorry i didnt put the info on temp of the lead in my first post.

[HeavyMetal]

650 isn't hot enough!

Mold was probabley hot enough but the alloy isn't! You need at least 725 for a good pour in those conditions and maybe 750!

Pot bellied stove a good idea but you need the heat closer to the pot! I could make a bunch of suggestions but most likely none would work for you.

So my best thought would be to re think your heat source!

Merry Christmas!

[joshmb1982]

ok 650 isnt hot enough. hmm. mabye ill see if i can buy a couple bags of coal off me neighbor.

what temp is to hot for the lead? is it possible to damage the alloy?

[Recluse]

Six-banger moulds are probably the hardest moulds there are to learn how to cast with. Way too many variables that without experience to see/know what is happening and why, will have you feeling as frustrated as you are right now.

My suggestion?

Get yourself a $20 2-holer from Lee, preferably a medium caliber mould in something like .358, Lee-ment it per the sticky here, get yourself a small ten-pound furnace/pot and go to town. With this setup, you'll eliminate a host of variables while gaining hands-on, firsthand experience that will help you understand the challenges that come with a six-banger.

[chris in va]

Hate to say this, and I've only been casting a very short time, but you really should look at getting a Lee bottom pour pot. I tried the ladle/pot thing but never really got the hang of it. With this sucker I can crank out perfect boolits in no time. Plus you don't have to wait for new ingots to melt fully, just drop a couple in and keep on truckin'. The pot is hottest at the bottom.

I will say that the Lee molds come with some pretty good oil coating on them. A thorough scrub with Dawn and a sponge really takes it off, and I was casting very nicely after about three pours with my new 45acp.

[Tazman1602]

Josh --

What the other guys said, I'm almost sure you aren't hot enough with the lead and with the mold from what you describe. That six banger mold needs to heat up some. You don't need fancy bottom pour pots and the like to get started. I just got one and you have to learn to use it all over again. Once you get the ladle pour down you can move on.

Also let your ladle get heated by leaving it IN the molten lead instead of holding it above the chimney, that may help some but I still think you need more heat. If you've got access you can preheat the mold on your stove if you've got electric or just get a small hotplate which is around $10 at any big store. Whatever you do get some more heat on that lead pot.

Casting is as much an artform as anything else. Somedays I cast two or three hundred just to put them back in the pot so I don't forget what I"ve already learned. It's also one of the great things about casting, you never waste. What doesn't come out good you just put back in the pot..........

Art

[Echo]

Welcome, Josh.

You don't mention what your alloy is. If you are using pure lead, it has to be REALLY hot to get a good fill. Adding a touch of tin (in the form of lead-free solder - more than 3% is wasteful) will help lower the needed temperature and also aid in getting good fill on the mold.

But I will agree with most of the above, e.g., mold and lead/alloy not hot enough.

[longbow]

Here is another vote for not enough heat in the lead and possibly the mould too.

I have cast boolits for 40+ years using an old cast iron plumber's pot and ladle on a propane hot plate, and without a thermometer. I cast "by eye". I really don't know what temperature I cast at but have not had trouble I can remember with fill out if everything is "hot".

I melt the lead and heat until a wood stick smokes "quickly" when dunked into the lead, then flux and dross. After the surface of the lead is clean a light bronze coloured film will form on the lead if it is hot enough.

I pre-heat the mould on a steel plate over a hot plate so it sizzles like a hot frying pan if touched by a wet finger.

Usually after that a few pours and all is good. Once casting you need to keep up a rythm to keep the ladle and mould at the right temperature. You can't cast one round of boolits then put the mould and ladle down and examine the boolits then try again. Keep casting for at least 6 rounds or more then set the mould and ladle back on a hot surface and look at the boolits.

I also generally cast straight wheelweights so cast hot and frosty to get good fillout. A little tin or bar solder added can help fillout too.

Personally, I prefer ladle pouring. I have tried all sorts of electric pots, bottom pour, Lyman ladles and other but still use my grandfathers old cast iron pot (about 25 lbs. of lead) and large open ladle.

You can make what you have work just fine but may need a hotter fire or get a gas or electric hot plate.

Take a break and relax a bit then give it another go.

Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year too!

Longbow

[runfiverun]

you can cast at 650* lead your mold needs more heat to do it.
stick the bottom of the mold in the lead.
you can put some kitty litter on top of the lead,to help with dross and to help hold the heat in a bit better.
your mold will sit on top of the kitty litter also and heat up.
take your ladle and start with one or two holes and just go, add one hole at a time after about every 30-40 casts.

[HeavyMetal]

Alloy temps into the 875 range will not damage the alloy itself, although I think thats way to hot!

RFR is correct when you get a little more experience under your belt 650 my be doable with a smaller / steel mold.

You have picked one of the harder molds to learn on. The 6 bangers are nice but require a different approach than most other molds.

Your on the right track for a newbie: your ladle pouring! This is the best teacher because it's slow. Ladle pouring and a 6 banger just don't equate for me it's kinda like running fast, backwards!

At this point I will suggest you park the 6 banger and pick up the same mold in a two cavity. This will be easier to get up to temp, easier to keep at temp with the system your using and be a lot shorter on the learning curve.

If you reduce the amount of alloy in the pot you may be able to get it hotter. Then keep both the two banger mold and the ladle in the alloy as much as possible to keep the mold up to temp.

If you manage to get boolits that are frosty looking you got things where you want them.

This is one of those deals where practise makes you better. Be your own QC guy and be harsh on yourself! Don't settle for anything that isn't perfect because your not learning anything if you do!

You will have other questions, somebody here will have an answer! Good info abounds here!

Keep us posted.

[Willbird]

OK first things first, take that mold, tale the sprue plate off, and take an old toothbrush, and some dawn dish soap (other brands will probably work too) and scrub the heck out of it with the soap and hot water, and rinse it off good.

I have opined, and others have not violently disagreed here that there can be "something" in or on a LEE mold that solvents even brake clean will not remove, maybe surfactants from water soluble cutting solutions uses in mfg.

I have cleaned new molds with brake clean and laquer thinner and not good good fillout, then did a dish soap scrub and gotten perfect fillout after that.


Then put the mold all back together, and get an 8.95 hot plate from walmart, and lay a circular saw blade or other metal on top, and preheat that mold nice and even before you start to cast, and set it back down on there to keep it warm if you stop casting ...this will give you control over mold temp other than just your casting tempo. The hotplate will let a mold run that can be a real PITA even with a 20lb pot running wide open (molds such as the 6 cavity 30 caliber round noses weighing around 100 grains).

Also just my .02 but I only smoke a mold as a last resort, and if I DO smoke them I try smoking a HOT mold first with a butane grill lighter.......the last last resort is smoking a cold mold...but this will often make the bullet smaller.......I very rarely HAVE to smoke a properly cleaned mold.

Sometimes too I think a heating and cooling cycle might drive more "stuff" from some hidden crevices, so if the first scrub does not get good bullets, do another one.

Bill