Casting Temerature??

[tomzuki]

OK.  I'm sorry that this is so complicated, but bare with me and please comment if you have direct experience with anything like this:

1) I'm new to casting.  I didn't know if I would enjoy it until I tried it so I bought a cast iron pot, a dipper and a couple of round ball molds to start.  I used the fireplace for a heat source and used/reclaimed bullits for lead. The rounds were for my .50 cal. muzzy and .44  Model 58 Remingtons.

2) They came out so good that I bought a couple of bullit molds, but they were not so good.  They had folds and lines in them , and very un-defined edges.  I thought at the time that the temperature was probably hard to control using a lead pot on top of coals.

3) I purchased a Lee Production Pot, a thermometer and tried again with similar poor results.  I really wanted a perfect bullit like I'm used to buying in bulk.

4) I cant seem to get the Pot above 600 degrees F but what little I know, this seems acceptable to cast from.

5) I'm using reclaimed lead from range bullits so I think that the alloy is fine but do I need to add more tin??

6) Do you know of any other solutions to this problem??

         A)  Add additional tin to the alloy,even though the alloy was originally acceptable to cast from.
         B)  Increase the temp. up from 600 degrees F, by reducing the lead alloy in the pot.
         C) Lube the mold and warm them up before casting.
         D) Some as yet unknown that experience will teach me.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Tomzuki

[Lloyd Smale]

your going to need more heat then 600 degrees for most casting especially with the alloy your using. The lee pot should be getting hotter then that. You need to heat your mold up before hand and cast fast enough to keep it hot without overheating it. You will have it right when your bullets have a slight frosted apperance to them and if you get the mold to hot you will notice melted lead smearing on the spruce plate. Its hard to explain and its more of a matter of feel. Cast a few hundred bullets and you will start to get a feel for it. After a couple thousand you will be fine.

[dubber123]

I am far from a casting master, but I have always gotten good bullets, with some astounding accuracy, so here goes, and If I am incorrect, someone will surely correct me.  I always cast very hot, as hot as my Lyman pot will allow, probably 800+ degrees.  Pre heating your mold is very important.  If the mold is too much cooler than your alloy, it will harden before filling out.  I believe a cold mold causes 90% of all problems with fill-out.  Lubing the mold is good, but don't over-do it, any lube in or around the cavities will cause pits and wrinkles.  Over-lubing can leave burnt deposits in the venting grooves, which can cause problems, keep the vent lines clear.  Unless the lead you are using is pure soft lead, you probably won't need to add tin to make good bullets.  For muzzleloaders, soft lead is usually the best, (just to confuse matters).  For most other bullets, car wheelweights can be used with good results.  Basically, get some more heat out of your pot, get the mold clean, and get it hotter.  Casting is fun, and very rewarding once you get the hang of it.  Hope this helps.

[dubber123]

You beat me to it by a few minutes Lloyd!

[calvon]

I would add one suggestion to the above.........get a good manual on casting and read it. I recommend Veral Smith's "Jacketed Performance With Cast Bullets". It contains a world of information about casting.

The advice to hot things up is good. Casting at 750 degrees F is usually successful. I do my casting, using wheelweight metal, at between 750 and 850 F. Too much mold lube is probably worse than none at all. It gunks things up and if you get any in the cavities it has to be completely burned out before you can start to get good bullets. A tiny dab on the handle hinges, and anywhere you see rub marks where the sprue plate meets the mold blocks. Another tiny dab on the alignment pins. I usually do my lubing at the end of a casting session before I put the mold away while the mold is still hot. Very lightly touch the lube stick to the spots needing it. A little goes a long way. I use the mold lube sticks that LBT sells. They are made of graphite and beeswax.

Preheat your molds by dipping a corner in the melt for about ten seconds. Then out for another ten. Repeat this cycle a couple of times and then start casting. Some people will call this heresy, but Veral Smith recommends it for his LBT molds. I have so heated every mold I own for years and have never warped one yet.

[Lloyd Smale]

good advice given on doing some reading on the subject Verals book is excellent as is the lyman casting book there both must reads for beginners and experts alike.

[Dusty Miller]

My RCBS thermometer tells me I'm casting at just about 710 deg. F and with a #2 alloy that seems to be working just fine.  Yeah, it takes awhile for the mold to warm up but once it does everything is honkydory. 

[454PB]

I use several Lee bottom pour pots, and they all seem to cast best with a thermostat setting between "7" and "7.5". If your pot won't get over 600 degrees, the thermostat needs to be adjusted. You could do it yourself, or you can send it back to Lee for repair.

[HL]

I'm not sure if I totally understood the type of lead you are using. I would not recommend picking up spent lead, unless you know for sure it it pure lead. YOu may be picking up WW metal and even Linotype, which are not really recommended for black powder. This may be why the mould was filling out well when you first started.

Pure lead, in my experience, takes more care to get a properly filled mould than it does with WW or Linotype. The tin present in these two help fill out in the moulds.

The right lead for the right application will help resolve any problems you may be having along with the above suggestions to read all the information you can about casting.

Good LUck and have fun,

HL