Cast my first boolits. Need some advice. With pictures.

Boolit Mold Join DateFeb 2013Posts4

Ok, i've done a bunch of reading here, and finally starting casting tonight.
I used a lee pro 4-20 pot and lee 356-125-2R 6 cavity mold.
Fluxed with sawdust, i'm not sure what kind of wood it was.
cleaned the mold with acetone, and lubed with copper anti-seize (pretty sure i didn't get any into the cavities)
I want to use it in my 9mm's.

The lead i used was bought from ebay and was reclaimed range lead (im guessing indoors becuase i think it measures around 10 bhn on a lee hardness tester)

The lead is easily scratched with a finger nail after casting.

It seems like there is quite a bit "river like" shallow lines, how do i fix this? I was also getting voids on the base of the boolit, but i think i got that figured out (break the sprue sooner)

Any and all advice is appreciated!

Thanks

you need to do two things.

FIRST, clean the mould.

SECOND, use MORE HEAT, not on the lead but on the mould, get the mould hotter.

break the sprue LATER, let it cool more before you do. Your bases are showing signs of ripping, it's still too hot. Let them cool more then they will cut.

add some WW's to your lead to make it harder, or some magnum shot.

For 9mm, really soft lead may not be good.

With 6 cav molds you need the mold good and hot, The voids and lines in the bullets are from a mold being too cold. You can pre heat the mold on the eye of your stove to help get started. Start the casting on the far end of the mold, Fill 2 cavities until you get good bullets then fill #3 and so on until the mold gets up to temp.Make sure your alloy is hot enough too. I water quench all my auto bullets, I usually use a 5 gallon bucket filled about 5 inches from the top and add ice, The quench helps harden the bullets. Clean the mold with comet and warm water using a stiff bristle toothbrush.

do you smoke your mold, good pic's

Boolit Mold Join DateFeb 2013Posts4

Thanks for the advice. So you don't think its an issue with the alloy, and it's more of a mold heat problem?

I did not smoke the mold, or do anything to the cavities other than clean them.

Pics are from my samsung galaxy sIII phone. Trick is to use a separate fluorescent lamp, and turn off the phones internal flash. Then upload to photobucket, and use the img link.

yessir heat the mold up more.
pour each cavity in one motion and pour a good sized sprue puddle on top of the plate.
the trick is to get the mold heated up before you start,then cast fast enough to keep it heated up.
you wanna be doing 4 maybe 5 pours a minute. [12-15 seconds for a fill and empty] including a 5 second wait on the sprue.

it's all an educated guess,,,, till the trigger is pulled.

the more i find out about shootin boolits, the more it contradicts everything i ever learned about shooting jaxketed.

Yep, mold is too cold. Follow advice above. Get her hotter and DO NOT admire your bullets very long as you cast them. That is a newbie mistake and the mold cools off. You need a hotter mold but you need to cool the melt puddle on the sprue plate.

The melt on the sprue plate will turn from shiny to dull. Do not cut the sprues off until that occurs. If in doubt, wait a few seconds after the melt turns dull.

I have used a damp cloth and put the sprue plate on it for a couple of seconds to chill it before cutting off the sprues.

Don

Std newbie question #1 answer:

Because the mold is dirty and too cold.

Like everyone else said. Near 100% of new casters have this problem, don't
be discouraged. Cast faster, this heats the mold. DO NOT admire your work,
cut the sprue, dump, pour, cut, dump, pour, as fast as you can. Once the mold
is up to temp, you will be good. Scrub the cavity with a toothbrush and comet,
it will not hurt it and will get it very clean.

Slow the casting rate and/or rest the mold on a wet sponge for a second to cool
it down if you get too hot.

Bill

If it was easy, anybody could do it.

Boolit Buddy Join DateOct 2010Posts73

Lots of good advice coming your way. Main thing is you have done it, made some boolits and with practice and good advice your next try will be perfect. I preheat molds on a hot plate until the first lead in the mold takes a bit to freeze up, it will cool down and you will get perfect projectiles everytime. have fun and be safe, gloves, safety glasses etc.

Boolit Mold Join DateFeb 2013Posts4

I wonder if it was a combination of being dirty, as well as not being heated. I actually casted quite a few bullets, and towards they end i have the believe the mold was hot. Either way, I ordered a hot plate from amazon to heat up the molds, as well as a thermometer for the lead. I'm sure its been answered a million times, but whats the proper temp for the lead?

Thanks guys.

go with around 700-725.
i generally start there,i usually end up at 675.
once the mold is up and going i turn down the heat and maintian mold temp through speed.
if i have to stop for a bit i put the mold down to keep warm and bring the alloy temp up just a bit to start over.

it really is all about maintaining a consistent mold temperature.

it's all an educated guess,,,, till the trigger is pulled.

the more i find out about shootin boolits, the more it contradicts everything i ever learned about shooting jaxketed.

Boolit Mold Join DateJul 2012Posts4

As a newbie myself I had the same problem and like they said let the mold get hot and smoking the mold helps at least it did with me

And don't pick up the bullet with your bare hands after dropping it out of your mold.

Or am I too late?

Unless your finger prints are on file and you need to change them.

Boolit Mold Join DateFeb 2013Posts4

I do plenty of welding. Every set of prints I've ever given has been different!

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Abbreviations used in Reloading
Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"

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