So I went this evening to do some casting. Set everything up, filled the pot with lead and turned it up to melt.
I got s new RCBS mold, so I thought I'd try it out. Wiped it down, cleaned it thoroughly, and put it on the edge of the pot to warm up.
When it got hot, I set it aside to cool so I could heat cycle it again, and I got out my bull plate lube. When it's hot, I fill it a couple times, lube the bolt and plate, and start casting.
I just can't get good bullets. I cast a couple hunred or so, hoping it would even out, I'd find the right temp and cadence, but no. Just nothing good happening. On top of that, I'm having stupid problems. The mold didn't come with a wave washer, so the sprue plate keeps coming loose. I don't really like to overtighten the sprue plate, so I snug it up and 3-4 fills later I have to snug it up again.
So I switch to a known mold, an MP .45 HP mold. I've cast with this mold before, with great results. Get it up to temp and start casting. I'm getting crap. Somehow I got lead on the face, so I start getting finning. I stop to clean the faces with a dowel, get it back up to temp, and now I'm getting finning around the pins. And now I'm noticing a bump on one side, like it's getting bent coming out if the mold. I cast about a couple hundred of those before I got frustrated and stopped.
Went back through everything I didn't throw back in the pot, and they were terrible. Far worst than my very first attempt at casting. I threw all the ugly ones back into my lead bucket, and this is what I'm left with, after 4 hours of struggle...
I put it all up and had a scotch on the couch instead.