RB casting question(s)

I have a friends melter and several lbs of lead so Im going to be/have been doing quite a bit of casting, i am pretty green so am probly going to have quite a few more questions, but 4 now, is it the normal thing to have to tap the ball out of the mold? and also, does anybody turn the sprue cutter while the lead is still soft enough to turn by hand eliminating the need for a tapping stick? Am asking cuz this is what i was doing. Thanks Scott

It is normal for a mold to need some tapping for the ball to fall out. However, don't tap the mold; tap the HANDLE HINGE. Tapping the mold blocks can damage them.

Wait until the lead has hardened in the mold before you TAP the plate open. If the lead is soft you'll get a buildup of lead on the underside of the plate which will cause casting problems. I keep a wet sponge beside the ball drop towel to keep the mold plate cooled off a bit when it starts to take too long for the lead to harden. Use a plastic mallet or a hammer handle or something similar.

Depending on the mold and size of ball, yeah, it's pretty normal to have to tap. But don't tap on the mold blocks themselves! Tap on the hinge of the handles, to avoid damage to the blocks.

Moving the sprue plate before the lead hardens is bad juju. It will smear lead on the bottom of the plate and top of the mold blocks and that's just the effect on your tools. It also results in really inconsistent ball weights. Ask me how I know! :redface:

Even preheating the mold blocks (I let them rest on the top of the smelter as the lead melts), you can expect to have a few dink balls at first until the mold is really heated up. Just go with it and drop them carefully back into the pot.

Make sure to leave a little puddle of lead on top of the sprue plate each time you pour, then watch it until it hardens before you swing the plate. You should see a little dimple form right over the sprue in the last miliseconds before the puddle hardens. That dimple shouldn't go so deep that it extends down into the ball. If you see that happening, dump the ball and make the next puddle a bit larger.

Dang, you're quick Hanshi! :rotf:

I usually use a high temp. glove and when the lead "frosts", push the sprue cutter, it's quicker than with a stick. Recently broke a sprue bolt flush with the mold block using a stick.

Yup what those guy's said,
And I did wreck my first Lee mold by tapping the block and not the handle,, the aluminum got beat up pretty easily. I actually have a spindle off an old chair someone tossed but a broom stick size or 1" dowel is about right 10-12" long.
A good stick and a sharp rap,,

+1 to the puddle on top, and waiting for it to solidify,,then swing the gate.

It's all about finding a rythm. And yeah, your hands get tired/sore. You'll hear about guys casting fast as they have become "pro" at the task, but in reality if you can get 2-3 ball per minute as you learn your doing fine.
Take your time to learn it, then faster will come as you have a few more sessions in.

From start to finish, from cold lead ingots to finished ball and clean up,, it's an 1 1/2-2hr job for me to get 100.
That's why I'll set an cast for 3-4hr session with a break or two.

Truth is it's not;
"Alright, they're going fast!"
It's more like;
"Damn, they're commin out fast!!"
:haha:

I quit smacking molds years ago. Now I use welding gloves to turn the sprue cutter. Then again, I use pure lead, and maybe that's why the sprues cut so easily. If I were to use harder lead though, I would use some some kind of cheater to add leverage to the sprue cutter, if needed, rather than smack it with a stick.

If you baby those molds, they will last forever. Bill

I never used any metal hammer to hit the mold blocks. Always s wood stick, and later, and leather headed mallet you can buy at any hardware store. The leater won't mar the castings. Some wood will.

I was casting bullets long before Lee Precision began making its Alum. alloy molds. Mine were Lyman steel molds. With the Lee molds, I would only use my leather headed mallet( hammer), or perhaps a soft, rubber headed mallet to knock the castings loose from the mold. Put old towels in a cardboard box to drop the balls or bullets into. Take care where you drop a casting, so it doesn't fall on other castings.

This means you occasionally have to take the time to move the cooled castings to one side of the box. I do this while waiting for my pot to come back to heat when I have added more lead ingots to the pot. [There is a method to this madness, too!] :grin:

I have never needed a stick or mallet to cut the sprue in my lee molds. I have run thousands of lead balls from .440 to .60. Even if I let the mold sit for several minutes all it takes is a good leather(not synthetic)glove to push the sprue cutter and cut off the sprue. You may want to try it. If it doesn't work you can always go back to tapping it.
After the puddle has cooled I turn the mold up-side-down with my left hand. Cup the mold with my right hand and twist the sprue cutter which lets the sprue fall in my hand so I can dump it back in the pot. This has to be done fairly quickly or it gets a bit hot through the glove.
Usually a SLIGHT tap on the concrete floor on the wood handles is usually enough to make the ball drop out of the mold for me.

H.Hale

Lot of good responses even though techniques vary. I use a wood stick of some kind to tap the sprue cutter. Over the years I used old tomahawk handles or similar. Current one I turned just for the job from Osage Orange.
Do wait until the puddle hardens. Because as the lead for the ball hardens it shrinks and draws lead from the puddle. Cutting too soon will surely cause you to have balls with voids in them.
Tapping the hinge nut to drop the ball is no unusual.

I'm the fastest mouth in the South. The Mouth of the South; that's me. :rotf: