Thursday, April 4, 2013

Dipping the mold in the melt

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Arkansas Paul is offline Boolit Buddy Join DateFeb 2010LocationCentral ArkansasPosts60

I've been doing this about a year or so, and still have much to learn.
Before I started casting, I watched all of the Youtube videos associated with it, and in several of them, people using Lee aluminum molds would dip the mold into the melt to bring it up to temp, saying when it came out with no lead stuck to it, it was hot enough. Is this a bad idea? If so, why?

I ask this because 1) I want to know and 2) with the amount of new people beginning to cast because of the ammo shortage, they should know the correct way to go about things as well. I know many of them are watching the videos like I did.

Thanks.

Life is a series of bullseyes and backstraps - Ted Nugent
that is how lee recommends you heat them up.
some here use a hot plate or build a little cover for the mold to sit in on that hotplate.
I just sit the mold on the edge of the pot and let it come up to temp with the alloy.
a little corner of the mold in the alloy does get it hotter.
for my lee pot I use a covering of kitty litter, this helps buoy the corner of the mold and keeps the mold out of direct contact with the alloy itself.
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.

I heat mine on a hot plate, THEN put the end in the hot lead for about 30-45 seconds. It is ready to cast when I pull the mould out and the lead that sticks to the mould is easily wiped off with a rag. Been doing that for years
I use a hot plate oven to preheat mine. The oven is a metal coffee can cut in half. By the time the lead is ready the mold is either ready or will be in a few casts. I use brass molds and don't want to warp them so I don't stick them in the lead. This is me just being paranoid. When I was using Lee molds I did the same thing. If you don't use a hot plate there is nothing wrong with sticking them in the lead to get them up to temp.
I set the mold on top of the pot to get it warmed up a little while the melt comes up to temperature, but that only gets it up to mabe 150 degrees. I don't like to just jab a cold mold in the melt, although I have in the past. I'm just afraid of shocking the mold. I don't know if there is any value to that process, but it is easier on the mold.
As far as whether or not to do it? Your only other option is to cast 50-100 boolits in the cold mold, and while that will heat up the blocks real easy and gentil, it's going to be really hard on that hinge bolt (actually the threads in the soft metal that the mold is made of.) so it really does no good at all. I have a couple molds that I ruined by practicing bad casting teqniques, and believe me, when I say a mold is on the edge of death, you can take that to the bank and cash it.
I bought a infrared thermometer, and I don't shoot lead into that mold until its cooking at 400 degrees at least. That way, I know I can cut the sprue with a nudge from a gloved palm. Dipping in the melt is the best way to get to this point.
Tim Malcolm

Mat 10:34 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."

"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Thomas Edward Lawrence

plainsman456 is offline Boolit Master Join DateFeb 2011Posts415
I put the mold on top of the pot with 2 lead ingots.
By the time the melt heats up the mold only takes 2 or 3 casts to be up to speed.

Works for me.

One thing to note. Dipping the mold in the melt does not mean submerging the mold in the melt. Resting the bottom of the mold on top of the melt and possibly sinking about 1/4 of an inch into the mold is sufficient. When the molten lead doesn't freeze to the bottom, the mold is ready to begin. It may take a few final casts to get it fully up to temp.

Another thing to note is that molds with smaller boolits can be difficult to keep up to temp and molds with larger boolits can overheat pretty easily. You will have to adjust your casting speed to each caliber and mold. Part of the fun is the learning process for each mold.

I rest the base of my molds in the melt prior to casting. It only takes two to three casts before I start to get perfect boolits.
If God didn't want man to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them out of MEAT!

The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.

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Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"


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