^^^
Some good thoughts and advice already, but I say SHOOTEM! I didn't see anything in your pics that I would not lube size lube & shoot. Of course seeing them in person may be different, but you have some boolits till ya figure it out.
^^^
Some good thoughts and advice already, but I say SHOOTEM! I didn't see anything in your pics that I would not lube size lube & shoot. Of course seeing them in person may be different, but you have some boolits till ya figure it out.
Is the mould a hollow base?
If not it looks like things are hot and you are not leaving enough lead in the sprue hole judging by the holes in the base.
What is the black on the nose of many of the boolits?
Also when looking for burs run a dry Q tip over all surfaces. Threads of cotton do not lie.
WE WON. WE BEAT THE MACHINE. WE HAVE CCW NOW.
Excellent suggestion Bill! I never would have thought of that and I am not the one having problems!
What type of handles are you using? I have better luck with lee handles. Lyman ones you have modified them so the mould are closed all the way.
I was having the same problem this weekend with a Lee 2 cavity mold. I dropped the temperature abit and the problem cleared up.
Are you by chance pressure casting (contacting the recess in the sprue plate with the nozzle of your pot or ladle)? It kind of looks like the pressure in the cavity is a touch high for this particular mold. This could also be the result of your mold wanting a slightly cooler temp with your particular alloy. Try Als recommendation on inspecting and adjusting the sprue plate first of course. Other than the base finning, your work looks really good.
make contact with swede. you will find none better to work with.
"The good sense of the people will always be found to be the best army.They may be led astray for a moment,but will soon correct themselves" - Thomas Jefferson
I wasn't Born in the south but I got there as soon as I could.
I like this site. MOSTLY good people. good ideas.
Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't!!
"Either this man is dead or my watch has stopped." — Groucho Marx
"We are born naked, wet, and hungry. Then things get worse"
Posted earlier with the same problem, here is what I have found. YMMV. Tried some casting tonight with the sprue plate from another mold. Also gently sanded with high grit paper the top of the mold and set the plate to where it dont swing free, but opens easily. The base is pretty clean now, not perfect, but much much better. I'm using a lee 20lb, bottom pour, mold 1/2in from spout, pure COWW. I think my original plate was out of spec a bit.
War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.”
― George Orwell, 1984
I just recently got a 314299 from NOE that did the same thing, mainly on the cavity farthest away from the sprue plate screw. If I held down the spue plate, it didn't happen. This was with dipper casting as that particular boolit has not bottom poured for me no matter what the brand.
Took sprue plate off, and if I pressed on the corner that the screw went through it would rock, raising the other end of the plate. Basically, that corner was radiused/bent, possible due to the drilling process.
I took the sprue plate, padded it in stiff cardboard, put it in the vise and gave the offending corner a good "pink" using a brass drift and a 3 pound hammer. Checked for rocking. Gone. I must have given it just the right amount of megareefs because it flattened the plate out perfectly. I checked to make sure the corner was not bent the other way, which would damage the top of the block. Mould casts great now with no base fins.
Hindsight being optically corrected, I guess I should have sent it back or called Swede to let him know there was a problem, but I guess I've just gotten used to doing things like Leementing, lapping and tweaking moulds over the years, I just fixed it myself. Figured it might have been a one off problem from using the end piece of a piece of sheared stock. Seems I didn't do Swede a favor by not letting him know, as a man won't fix what he doesn't know is broken. My apologies.
You have the right to force me to pay for the feeding, housing, clothing, education, and medical treatment of yourself and your children when I have THE RIGHT TO FORCE YOU TO PICK MY COTTON!
Section 1 13th Amendment to the Constitution:
"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
I use a plate of glass laying on a flat surface to check for flat. Almost all sprue plates are not perfect. LBT are surface ground flat and stay flat. I use wet/dry paper on the glass to work the plates flat. Sometimes the mold top needs a bit of work too. I cut a slight chamfer around pivot screw hole also. Plate should not be tight. Some run the very loose.
I have worked over many Lee 6 cavity molds that sucked. A little time with them and they are great.
"The .30-06 is never a mistake." Townsend Whelen
"THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."
Thomas Paine
creature
Got your mould in yesterday.
Had a little time this morning to work it over.
Disassembled and cleaned it.
Found a bad lead build up under the sprue plate at the pivot screw
Cleaned it from the sprue plate a trued up the block at the pivot screw hole.
Reassembled and preheated
Used dipper to fill cavities, spout about 3/4" from sprue plate with a fair size sprue
Cast 15 bullets, 1 had a very small rounded base and 1 had a very small flashing at the base
All very usable bullets
Size is as specced .358 plus
You shouldn't have to use any spray release at all and I didn't have to smoke the cavities ether
Will get it back in the mail to you ASAP
Swede Nelson
The expectation of evil is more bitter than the suffering -OR-
More people die from worrying about getting ate by a bear then get ate by a bear.
You can't gripe about service like that! Al stands behind his work.
I'm glad you got yer mold fixed up and ready to play.
I am really proud of my NOE molds and I hope they stay in business a long time.
fixit156
Hot plate is AROMA AHP-303
http://www.homedepot.com/p/AROMA-Sin...-303/100483354
I use a small fan too.
OPTIMUS F-4040
http://www.optimusent.com/_per_4040.html
Swede Nelson
The expectation of evil is more bitter than the suffering -OR-
More people die from worrying about getting ate by a bear then get ate by a bear.
VERY good customer service! Made a lifelong customer out of me. Thanks again Swede.
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 |