My first time casting, what did I do wrong?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
X

X-Wrestler

Member
Feb 26, 2022
33
0
Colorado (USA), United States
Hey guy, Im not sure what I'm doing wrong. 2/3 of my batch are almost perfect, but that other 1/3 looks like crap.

Same session, mold, lead I'm assuming same temps because I didn't change anything.

I was casting in my garage with the door wide open and it's pretty cool out, just started snowing. Not sure if that matters.

I'm using the Lee. 457 @ 340gr mold.

Any help would be appreciated. 



Thanks 
20220413_120847.1649875637.jpg
20220413_120847.1649875643.jpg
20220413_120832.1649875676.jpg

 
It looks like your mold didn't warm up enough. You can cast a few and throw them back into the pot to preheat the mold and do this until it does. The aluminum mold will heat up quickly. I usually put the bottom of the mold in the molten lead to hear it up. Make sure your lead isn't too cold. If the lead get's too hot, you will see a frosted look to your boolits. Are you using pure lead? That can keep your mold from filling the cavity all the way.
 
Upvote 0
Generally speaking could be one or both of these:



#1 lead or mold too cold

#2 oil or other contaminant in the mold cavity.

Possible help, use a candle or lighter to smoke the inside of the mold cavities, this often helps. I would recommend a lead thermometer, I bought the $30 Lyman digital that I use in both my casting pot and my powder coat oven (drilled a hole in the side of the oven). I've also recently starting using a hotplate set to around 400-450 degrees F to heat the mold while I am melting the lead, this has increased the number of good results to the very first pour. Also do not put your sprues or rejects back into the lead pot, this take a huge amount of energy right out of the pot. I didn't think this would be an issue until I got my thermometer and saw the results. The faster you cast, that more the temperature drops. This again increased my keepers. And finally, turn the pot temperature up a little if none of the above helps.
 
Upvote 0
I agree with the 2 previous posters, however another potential problem is that the mold is cooling off as you cast from the cold temps. The small lee alum. molds warm quickly but also cool off very quickly in cold temps. Take it inside in the cold weather and use a fan to vent fumes, cast hot and cast fast, once your bullets show frosting you can slow your cadence down a bit.
 
Upvote 0
Even pure lead can have a little impurity in it. I put a tiny bit of paraffin wax into the molten lead and take a spoon and scoop up the drops that floats to the top. Also I agree with the people above. It's likely that the temp needs to be dialed in either from the pot or heating up the dies. That candle trick is something that I do every single time. It's really increased how many work out. I have been casting for ten years and I still get several bullets that need to go back in the pot. 1/3 is definitely not acceptable tho. Do yourself a favor and buy that lyman thermometer man that alone will probably fix your issue. Gluck to you
 
Upvote 0
Get a hot plate to keep the mold warm . And a thermometer.
Click to expand...

+1 Cold mold.

Even pure lead can have a little impurity in it. I put a tiny bit of paraffin wax into the molten lead and take a spoon and scoop up the drops that floats to the top. Also I agree with the people above. It's likely that the temp needs to be dialed in either from the pot or heating up the dies. That candle trick is something that I do every single time. It's really increased how many work out. I have been casting for ten years and I still get several bullets that need to go back in the pot. 1/3 is definitely not acceptable tho. Do yourself a favor and buy that lyman thermometer man that alone will probably fix your issue. Gluck to you
Click to expand...

+1 always flux your melt before you start casting.
 
Upvote 0
This is great info guys, thanks.

I'm using a hot plate to heat and keep the mold warm already and a digital thermometer. 

I I know there were times when I would put large amounts of the run off and sprues back into the pot and then poured as soon as I saw it melt. 

That could be the problem. 

Is there a way to tell if I'm pouring to fast or slow? Could that cause these deformities? 



Thanks again.
 
Upvote 0
You can also flux with dry untreated sawdust. I have also used a little borax to flux out the impurities ,1/4 teaspoonor about 2-3 pinches . Us old casters call that dross. Skim off the dross . I put mine in a metal coffee can. Use lots of ventilation when fluxing . Start with good lead and add about 5% -10% tin ,helps the lead fill out better. Make sure not to get any zinc in the lead if using wheel weights. Smoke the molds with a candle as others have said. Good luck . It takes a lot of practice to get good boolits or slugs.
 
Upvote 0
Few questions. What % of tin are you casting with? Recycled lead? How much tin? Bottom pour or ladle? 
i agree, from my limited experience it looks like a temp issue i ran into before. id say try to keep your mold heated up and keep up your cadence. I know if I get off rhythm they start to go sideways for me. Besides all that, how do the kept cast ones shoot??
 
Upvote 0
I'm using a ladle. My lead is new, soft and fluxed.

I'm pretty sure I wasn't waiting long enough after dumping in the sprues combined with possibly pouring too slow. 

I'm already using or doing most of these suggestions, so maybe it's just getting into a rhythm and letting my lead get back up to temp.

Thanks for all the answers, really appreciate the help! 
 
Upvote 0
My sprues and rejects go into a pan, when I get a pound or two of these extras, it is time for a short break and I dump the extras back in the pot and relax for a bit. This is especially needed when using a big 4 cavity (or more) steel or brass mold, those get heavy.



You can also pressure pour depending in which ladle you bought, it will help fill those lines in and might let you run the lead at a colder temperature. The process is described in this page, and I suggest going back to the index and downloading the entire PDF of this book. http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chapter_2_Casting101.htm

Here is a video https://youtu.be/0GhOVDGmdRQ



Note that it depends on the ladle having a spout not just a spot to help concentrate the stream.



Book referenced above http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_textonly2.pdf


 
Upvote 0
Greg I've seen that video befroe lol I only use pure lead for all my airguns, as a matter of fact my most recent castings were slugs for my AEA HP Max.

I cast a little over a hundred for the first run on NOE 458-244-FN BBT's out of my first 115 cast I only had 6 rejects. I did it exactly like I show in my short pressure pour video that Greg posted.



These slugs shoot excellent out of my AEA HP Max 457


 
Upvote 0
That's why I posted it and also why I linked to the LASC book on casting, both are very good resources.



Just the hot plate and not putting the sprues back in my pot has made a big difference, but I need to try smaller stuff again. The 25 round nose 27 grain is harder for me, you don't have the large mass of lead on the sprue plate to help force things to fill out. And if I pressure pour from my bottom pour pot I often get little wings on the sides from the high pressure. I may need to get a ladle like the one Wayne shows in his video for the smaller sizes.



I may test the 25 again this weekend, need to cast some of that and some of the NOE 88 to 84 grain 357. And maybe some Lyman Devastators in 357 now that I have my Bulldog working the way I want (or close enough for now).



Does Accurate make sprue plates for NOE molds? The plate on the one Accurate I have is massive, and I think this helps it to hold heat and create a large sprue to fill in as the lead cools. It also cuts nicer than some of my others, so I may need to look into replacements for other molds.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu