^^^ This ^^^Originally Posted by goodsteel
I highly recommend using a hotplate and preheating your mould on it while your pot is heating up. I suspect your mould has not been properly preheated and that is why you've had to run your melt temperature so high.
As Goodsteel said, around 450 degrees on your mould and around 700 degrees on your melt should be good starting points and should be pretty close to where you want to be.
Hope this helps.
+1 for what Hogtamer said. Do not polish the **** out of anything! Quick way to ruin a mould.
The Leementing article says to lightly polish the mould not polish the **** out of it and yes, it is easy to remove aluminum even with Comet.
If the slug is sticking to the core pin check for burrs. Mine had burrs I had to removed them with fine emery cloth and just a few light strokes.
I second not drilling right through your mould blocks too. If the threads are stripped then either get a Heli-Coil kit and install or use the nearest tap drill to open the hole up for the next size tap then drill and tap through the side so you can install a set screw to keep the sprue plate screw from moving.
When I pre-heat my moulds I keep them on a hot plate until the sprue plate lube just starts to smoke. That is actually a wee bit hot and the first few casts take a few seconds for the sprue puddle to harden. It does ensure that the mould is well pre-heated though. And don't use a lot of sprue plate lube... just a light wipe and keep it out of the cavity.
Treat the mould gently and it will last many years of casting. It is a precision tool.
Longbow
I really don't think the mold being too cool was an issue.
Lee suggests dipping a corner of tge mold into the lead for 30 seconds. But my lead was at maximum temperature and I would leave the mold dipped for well over 30 seconds. Probably a minute in fact.
In fact I am wondering if heating the mold too much might have been the real problem.
In some cases I had to slow down to let the lead in the mold set or I'd be opening the mold and the slug would fall out easily but be deformed due to not being hard yet.
Once everything is set up, lubed, and heated up correctly, you should be able to open the sprue with a gloved hand after it solidifies and the slug should fall out. I quit using a Billy club years ago. If you have to hit it, never hit the mold body.
Ok, 1 new Lee mold broken, could be mold issue, 2 new lee molds broken you should examine your technique but it still could be a QC issue. 3 new Lee molds broken, probably isn't the mold at this point. You asked, you should take the advice offered, these guys have have thousands of years of experience combined when it comes to casting. I've been using my 1oz Lee slug mold for years with no issues, get it up to temp (hp and hb molds take more heat and will give you fits if too cool) and cast away.
I borrowed a 1 oz. LEE slug mold from a friend once. I de-burred it and polished the bottom pin plug. I lightly lubed areas I knew needed it. I cast close to 100 slugs before quitting. I later cleaned the mold and returned it to my friend. About 2 months later I get an irate phone call from my friend about how I ruined the mold. To keep our friendship I bought him a new mold and asked if I might have the old mold. That mold looked like a street gang had waylaid it and beat it up to boot. Turns out he "normally" used an 8 oz claw hammer to both open the mold and induce the boolet to come out. He didn`t believe molds needed any kind of lubing either. He won`t take any advice on mold treatment from me so I just let him do it his own way.Robert
So what are your enemies like?
Precision in the wrong place is only a placebo.
Agreed.
Why do I sense you are irritated?You asked, you should take the advice offered, these guys have have thousands of years of experience combined when it comes to casting.
Have I written something offensive?
[QUORE]I've been using my 1oz Lee slug mold for years with no issues, get it up to temp (hp and hb molds take more heat and will give you fits if too cool) and cast away.[/QUOTE]
I think tge single cavity HB Lee molds might be a bit more finicky than others. And I also think tgere is likely something wrong with my technique.
For starters, I am pretty sure there is a better lubricant than a ton of candle wax. Which is why I bought some 2 stroke synthetic oil. And some Q-tip.
And I've ordered a thermometer as well.
I also bought a polishing kit for my dremel. I think it would be very difficult to remove even .0001 inch from the cavity with the very light polishing compound I bought. If anything, the polishing will allow any flaws to stand out.
And beating up the mold with big stick wacks was probably not a good idea either.
I read up a thread on Lee-mending and the guy claims we wouldn't even need to smoke the mold if properly polished and prepped. So I am also looking into enlarging the venting lines in the mold if need be.
Don't get your panties in a bunch if I don't follow what everyone is telling me. Some advises are actually conflicting.
I was the only one present during my casting sessions. I can pretty much assure you that either the lead or tge mold being too cold was very likely not an issue.
My pot was at maximum temperature. So if the lead was too cold, there is nothing I can do short of buying a new pot. But I really don't think that was the problem. In low light, the lead poured would actually come out with an orznfe glow to it.
And Lee recommends dipping the corner of the mold into the lead for 20 seconds to warm it up. I was dipping it twice as long, twice as much, and dipping it in a pot running at maximum temperature.
I'd say if there was a temperature issue, it probably was either the mold or the lead running too hot.
Please describe your technique and preparation.
Do you use the 10 lbs Lee pot? What setting do you keep it at?
I'll go with mould temperature being at least part of the problem. I pre-heat until the sprue plate lube JUST starts to smoke. That puts the mould at very near the melting temperature for lead which is actually a bit hot but it settles in after just a few pours.
If you have stickers and take time beating them out then your mould is cooling between pours so even if pre-heated has likely cooled down before the next pour. Very hot lead poured into a cold mould does not work as well as lead of the right temperature poured into a mould of the right temperature.
Burrs are likely your next issue but again, I warn against using a Dremel and polishing compound. You will round edges!
My advice:
- use a Q-Tip and rub it lightly around the edges of the cavity ~ any burrs will grab fibers so are obvious
- or use a good magnifying glass to find burrs or at least look for burrs (I bet they are there)
- then use an Exacto knife or similar and extremely carefully shave off the burrs only ~ do not round or bevel edges of the cavities
- some recommend using an ink eraser with a bit of grit in it and that might be safer if you do not have "surgeon's hands" to remove burrs with an Exacto knife
- then look at your hollow cavity pin slot or "key" to inspect for burrs (you didn't say whether the slug was hanging up in the cavity or on the HB pin)
- CAREFULLY remove burrs with an Exacto knife, ink eraser or fine emery cloth
Then use a little bit of sprue plate lube on a Q-Tip and wipe the bottom of the sprue plate and top of mould, around the ring on the HB pin and on the Vee alignment features of the mould blocks (or pins if new style mould blocks). Do not get excess sprue plate lube into the cavity. "... a ton of candle wax..." might have added to your casting issues.
If that doesn't do it I don't know what will.
Longbow
I just took one of my old core pins with the ruined threads on it.
I polished it just to see what it would do to it with a very very fine polishing paste.
It got to become very very shiny. And the edges did not get rounded off. Even after trying to apply excess polishing.
Thanx Longbow. I think I will try virtually every trick you suggested, spare the no polishing one. If that doesn't work, I'll just buy an other one....a fourth one....lol.
I think tge single cavity HB Lee molds might be a bit more finicky than others. And I also think tgere is likely something wrong with my technique.
For starters, I am pretty sure there is a better lubricant than a ton of candle wax. Which is why I bought some 2 stroke synthetic oil. And some Q-tip.
And I've ordered a thermometer as well.
I also bought a polishing kit for my dremel. I think it would be very difficult to remove even .0001 inch from the cavity with the very light polishing compound I bought. If anything, the polishing will allow any flaws to stand out.
And beating up the mold with big stick wacks was probably not a good idea either.
I read up a thread on Lee-mending and the guy claims we wouldn't even need to smoke the mold if properly polished and prepped. So I am also looking into enlarging the venting lines in the mold if need be.
Don't get your panties in a bunch if I don't follow what everyone is telling me. Some advises are actually conflicting.
I was the only one present during my casting sessions. I can pretty much assure you that either the lead or tge mold being too cold was very likely not an issue.
My pot was at maximum temperature. So if the lead was too cold, there is nothing I can do short of buying a new pot. But I really don't think that was the problem. In low light, the lead poured would actually come out with an orznfe glow to it.
And Lee recommends dipping the corner of the mold into the lead for 20 seconds to warm it up. I was dipping it twice as long, twice as much, and dipping it in a pot running at maximum temperature.
I'd say if there was a temperature issue, it probably was either the mold or the lead running too hot.[/QUOTE]
You are taking what I said the wrong way, I'm not irritated at all. I'm honestly just trying to help.
Well I think I found out what might have gone wrong. Or at least one major cause.
For my first two molds I made a visual inspection of the cavity and I tried feeling as best I could with my pinky.
Both molds passed my inspection so I didn't bother to open them up.
But on this third one, I opened it up to polish it last night.
And I found burrs all over the mold. Burrs I could not see or feel with the mold put together.
So I removed all the burrs and gave it a nice polishing job. I think this time the mold and the operator will work out just fine.
The burrs have been removed. The cavity is as smooth as a baby's ***. And I got my 2 stroke synthetic oil. What's missing is the thermometer which would need to be ordered online. So I'm going to give it a try again.
[Fingers crossed]
Okay.
Here is how I proceeded for my latest casting session.
The Lee 10lbs pot was turned up to 7. It goes up to 9, not 7 as previously stated.
I forgot about it so it was allowed to heat up good for about an hour before I started to cast from it.
I dipped the corner of the mold in the pot for about 20-30 seconds. Smoke was starting to form as I took it out. Not trying to disrespect those who advised me to use a hot plate. I just don't have a hot plate to take to my casting station at the door of the garage.
I think the mold was a bit too hot as it took a good 10 seconds for my first two boolit sprues to cool to solid.
Sprue plate was pushed with the rubber handle of my little 14 oz hammer. I didn't snap it off the mold, just pushed it off. Mold opens easily. Sometimes the boolit stays stuck to one of the sides. A little gentle tap on the nut frees it.
Boolit wasn't falling off the core pins as easily as I would have wished. So I smoked the mold with my butane lighter.
Still the boolit was not falling off as easily as I would hope.
I would prefer to have to hit the nut a little less hard.
Any advise on what I should do to help the boolit fall off the core pins easier?
I made about 60 boolits. Small session. Of those 60, about 10 were no good - either not filled up properly or a bit distorted. I'm happy with the quality of most of the boolits.
I might just take the mold apart again and see if I didn't miss a burr on the core pins.
Be careful not to get the mold too hot! I had quite a few slugs sticking in my brenneke mold before I learned the lesson. Since this is a closed mold it depends on an ejector pin to eject the slug. When the mold got hotter the slugs would become harder to eject - right to the point where the ejector pin would punch through the slug. The mold is made from stainless steel which has a very poor thermal conductivity and heat up fast. The core in hollow base molds exacerbate the sticking tendency as it keeps the boolit/slug from radially shrinking as it normally would.
I now plunge the mold in water after every four or five cast (before opening, to avoid water in the cavity) I found that as long as the lead is hot enough, you can get good fill-out even when the mold isn't quite up to casting temp yet.
Cap'n Morgan
Okay, FWIW, I'll throw my .02 worth in. All the Lee slug molds need to run hot; scrub them well first, then heat them up well, then I smoke the cavity and the split pin really heavy. Open your lead spout to allow a heavy lead flow into the cavity. This works for me; near perfect, every time.
HV
Life's biggest tragedy is we get old too soon, and wise too late.
Well here is what I found out what works best for me so far.
I removed the burrs inside the mold and polished the cavity as best I could with a dremel and polishing wheels.
Lube sprue plate and alignment grooves with 2 stroke synthetic oil, lightly with a q-tip.
I heat up the mold by dipping a corner into the pot for about 30 seconds.
I turn up the heat all the way up to 9 until the Lee ladle comes out clean. At that point, I turn the heat back down to 5.
Smoke the core pin with a butane lighter.
The first 2-3 boolits are usually too hot. But that settles down to normal after a while.
Many have told me to turn the heat up. But I find the boolit falls off the pin a lot easier when running the cooler pot. So I turn it down until it no longer provides a good fill in. I found that at setting 4, it starts not filling in properly so 5 works best for me and my Lee 10lbs pot.
Boolits are coming out shiny and filled up. Less than 2 out of 50 are not good.
The boolits are dropped onto a cotton towel laying in a bucket with just enough water to make the towel float. This way the boolits drop onto a cushion, are water drenched, and the water doesn't splash back into the mold.
To release the boolit from the core pin, I tap the handke bolt lightly. But I do not tap the top of it. I tap the underside of the bolt. I find the boolit drops a lot easier this way.
Boolits are coming out beautiful, shiny, and sexy. My only worry right now is that the sprue plate screw is getting looser and looser. I don't know why as I treat it very gently. So I am afraid it might be losing it's threads over time. I'll look into heat resistent thread lock if it exists.
And I'm also going to look into getting a hot plate I can bring into the casting area.
And btw, I do not flux during my casting session. I only flux when casting scrap into ingots.
The arguement is that fluxing mixes the alloys back into the lead. Why would I want to mix the alloys back when I am looking for pure lead boolits? The other arguement is that fluxing removes the impurities. But I already did remove the impurities when casting my ingots. The ingots are clean pure lead, no impurities.
I found not fluxing for boolit casting works just the same. And it doesn't freak out the neighbors with the smell and smoke.
Thanx all for your help. Much appreciated. And please don't feel offended if I didn't follow your advise. Some advises are conflicting. And what I am doing just turns out to work best FOR ME. YMMV
Cheers,
Pepe
Last edited by PepeLapiu; 06-19-2015 at 12:35 PM.
"Fluxing" is meant to remove the impurities from the alloy, but depending on what you use, it can also reduce the oxides back into elemental metal. For the typical rifle and pistol caster, it is the tin oxide that gets reduced to valuable elemental tin. For you, lead oxide can be reduced back to pure lead. If you have a dull gray film on the top of your melt, then a reducing agent (wax, sawdust) will turn that back into elemental lead.
For me, when I smoke the mold with a butane lighter, I do it when the mold is cold, then I wipe the cavity with a Q-tip. It seems to fill in any micro voids. If I leave the soot in the cavities, the bullets drop out super easy but look pseudo-frosty. They shoot fine. With my 12 gauge 1 oz mold, I soot the heck out of the center pin because I don't care what that looks like so long as the lead fills out around it.
Here's a picture of the smoked mold.
While I don't usually do this, I simply heated the mold and started casting straight off and left the soot as-is. It seemed to work just fine today (6/20)
Last edited by rsrocket1; 06-20-2015 at 11:00 PM. Reason: added pictures from Saturday's casting
I think I have the Spinal Tap Special Edition---it goes to 11! Seriously, it's labeled to 10, but goes slightly past that. Once I get going it only needs the heat a bit past half way. Mine is the smaller 10 pound pot.
stop beating your mold with a club! If your timing is right, the sprue will cut easily with a glooved hand; generally just after the puddle gets dull. No clubing needed.
try closing your mold GENTLY with your right (glooved) hand. Look for burrs on bullits. Try casting a few with cerisafe if you have any. It will help you find the burrs.
I use NEI mold release, lube. I have tried several others and always come back to that. Put it every where on the mold. Don't use wax candle smoke.
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