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Casting Bullets - wrinkles in cast bullets
- Thread starter Pilgrim64
- Start date
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More heat in the mold, and a hotter lead temp.
An oil contaminated cavity will also give you wrinkles. Clean it real good with something like brake cleaner, then clean it again.
Filling too slow can cause them too. For large cavities, you need to fill fairly quickly.
Give this a try and see if it doesn't help.
An oil contaminated cavity will also give you wrinkles. Clean it real good with something like brake cleaner, then clean it again.
Filling too slow can cause them too. For large cavities, you need to fill fairly quickly.
Give this a try and see if it doesn't help.
You need to preheat the mould. Cold moulds will definately wrinkle your bullets.Your lead temp may be OK. You do not want your lead too hot, just hot enough to be melted. Too high lead temps put off dangerous fumes. Do you use a production pot?
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All good advice. Be sure and smoke the mold cavity real well after removing any oils.
One thing I've learned with the REAL, too, is pour technique. I find it easier to do with a bottom pour furnace than a ladle, specifically due to the thin stream of lead, even if it pours slower than a ladle.
If you'll move the stream right over to the edge of the sprue hole, all those little grooves and ridges in the REAL just seem to fill better. I've heard it explained that the off-center pour causes a "swirl" in the lead inside the mould, but I can't confirm or refute that account. All I can say is I get more keepers with the bottom pour furnace and off-center pouring than I do with a quick pour from a ladle. All dependent on a good hot mold and lead, of course.
Another point, I usually drop the first dozen or so REAL's right back into the pot until the mold is good and hot.
One thing I've learned with the REAL, too, is pour technique. I find it easier to do with a bottom pour furnace than a ladle, specifically due to the thin stream of lead, even if it pours slower than a ladle.
If you'll move the stream right over to the edge of the sprue hole, all those little grooves and ridges in the REAL just seem to fill better. I've heard it explained that the off-center pour causes a "swirl" in the lead inside the mould, but I can't confirm or refute that account. All I can say is I get more keepers with the bottom pour furnace and off-center pouring than I do with a quick pour from a ladle. All dependent on a good hot mold and lead, of course.
Another point, I usually drop the first dozen or so REAL's right back into the pot until the mold is good and hot.
paulvallandigham
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You want both the MOLD and the Molten lead to be hot enough to cast balls, particularly large ones. Wrinkles are always an indication that one or both are not hot enough. Remember that Lee molds are made from an aluminum alloy, and both take on heat, and LOSE HEAT quickly. You need to make sure the mold stays hot. Put the thing on the top of your pot between castings.
I would not worry too much about over heating. If the mold and lead are too hot, you get frosted balls or bullets from the mold. Nothing wrong with them. They are just frosted. You have to get the molten lead temperature way above 800 Degrees F. before it begins to give off lead fumes. Lead melts down in the 650 degree range, FYI. If this is a concern for you, then buy a thermometer made for measuring the temperature of molten lead.
All casting should be done in a well ventilated place, and you want the fumes moving away from your nose, not towards it! I don't know anyone who puts their face over a lead pot very close more than once. The heat will teach you not to do that again pretty quickly! :idunno: :shocked2:
Put those wrinkled balls back in the pot and melt them down again. Then re-cast the balls again. This is a normal part of the learning curve, so don't get angry at yourself. These are the kinds of lessons you learn and never forget. BTDT! :hatsoff: Welcome to the club! :thumbsup:
I would not worry too much about over heating. If the mold and lead are too hot, you get frosted balls or bullets from the mold. Nothing wrong with them. They are just frosted. You have to get the molten lead temperature way above 800 Degrees F. before it begins to give off lead fumes. Lead melts down in the 650 degree range, FYI. If this is a concern for you, then buy a thermometer made for measuring the temperature of molten lead.
All casting should be done in a well ventilated place, and you want the fumes moving away from your nose, not towards it! I don't know anyone who puts their face over a lead pot very close more than once. The heat will teach you not to do that again pretty quickly! :idunno: :shocked2:
Put those wrinkled balls back in the pot and melt them down again. Then re-cast the balls again. This is a normal part of the learning curve, so don't get angry at yourself. These are the kinds of lessons you learn and never forget. BTDT! :hatsoff: Welcome to the club! :thumbsup:
buttonbuck
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don't forget to flux after about every 15 or 20 minutes or when you add more lead to the pot. The last TIme I cast was in very cold weather and the lead still worked well enough to keep about 60 percent of what I cast.
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Pilgrim64 said:
Don't put too much faith in the numbered dial on the Production Pot. They don't have much to do with temp, when compared against a good lead thermometer. One I used had to be cranked all the way over to cast RBs, and another did fine at 5.
My approach is to crank it all the way up to melt the lead, and give it about 15 minutes after all the lead is melted before I start casting. If the mold is doing fine after a dozen or so fills, then I start to back the dial off a little, kinda seeing how low it can go and still turn out good results. I've taken the dial down surprisingly far when casting ball with the one I currently own, but never got below about 8 with conicals.
But when I add a new batch of lead, I always crank it back up to high for awhile, then straight back down to the lower setting. Each individual pot seems to have its own rules.
longcruise
70 Cal.
As was suggested, you need to clean that mould thoroughly with brake or carb cleaner and then smoke it. Nex, if you are following instructions for the mould you need to lube the alignment pins and the sprue cutter. If you overlube, you are right back where you started with a greasy mold. The lubing of the mold must be very sparing!
Kentuckywindage
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did u wash the mold out first and then smoke it? i use a birthday candle to lube the insides of the mold cavity. Also sounds like the lead isnt hot enough.
I cleaned the mold, used a candle on it and let my lead sit for another 15mins after it was melted. The I preheated the mold, the first 5 I cast I put back in the pot to get my mold hot. All minnies cast after this were perfect.
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Yer rollin now.
paulvallandigham
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The thermal couples even on "Production " pots will begin to corrode and loose their temperature readings after awhile. How humid the storage area is for your casting pot will determine how fast the couple corrodes.
This is why I suggest saving up the money to buy a good thermometer to check the temperature of your molten lead. My father's first pot got so bad, you had to set the dial on 800 degrees + in order to barely get it to melt lead. He called Lyman about sending it in for adjustment and cleaning, and it was going to cost him more than if he just bought a new pot. So, he bought a new pot. Now, his was a small pot- and they didn't cost a lot of money back then. However, the cost of production pots can be rather high, and having the internals cleaned or replaced at the factory may now be the right course of action. The separate thermometer is the way to check your dial indicators, and it will tell when they go bad. :thumbsup:
This is why I suggest saving up the money to buy a good thermometer to check the temperature of your molten lead. My father's first pot got so bad, you had to set the dial on 800 degrees + in order to barely get it to melt lead. He called Lyman about sending it in for adjustment and cleaning, and it was going to cost him more than if he just bought a new pot. So, he bought a new pot. Now, his was a small pot- and they didn't cost a lot of money back then. However, the cost of production pots can be rather high, and having the internals cleaned or replaced at the factory may now be the right course of action. The separate thermometer is the way to check your dial indicators, and it will tell when they go bad. :thumbsup:
