Casting questions

[Doc Killpatient]

I have been casting for a while now with moderate to fair success.  I am not casting for serious accuracy, just simple plinking bullets for 9mm and 45 ACP and 45 Long Colt.  For my 45's I am using the Lee Tumble Lube design in 230 gr TC.  It seems the hotter my mold is the better my bullets turn out, My frosty bullets are perfect in shape and no wrinkles.  My "silver" color bullets always have small wrinkles somewhere on the bullet.  Some of these I keep and some I remelt.  I am casting from wheel weights since I have nine 5 gal buckets full that I got for free.  Should I just cull all my silver ones and just use my frosty ones or am I doing something wrong?

Lee bottom pour pot
Parifin wax flux
Lee 230 gr tumble lube 6 cavity mold
smoke the mold with wood matches every now and then
no idea about lead temp(could be the problem)
Pre made ingots from wheel weights (nothing added)

I tried to give you guys all the details for ease of help.

[Forest T]

Dockillpatient if you go down to the hardware store and get some role solder and add it to your lead you won't have as much of a problem with wrinkled bullets and I would also advise you to get a lead thermometer will help in keeping the lead at the right temp also when you start your pot of lead up put your mold on top of it to warm it up this will help also if you can get a piece of auluminun 1x5x6 should be big enough big enough to put your molds on this will act as a heat sink and keep your molds from getting to hot and frosting your bullets if you need any more help pm me here and I will do what I can to help you

[haroldclark]

Hey Doc,

I have been casting bullets for a very long time and I have tried so many different combinations of metals and metal temperatures and etc.  Then I have tested the products in many various guns.

Your problem with wrinkling is one of two things.  One is the mould is not up to temperature.  The other is a lubricant place on the mould when it was in the factory.  Let me tell you a story that I experienced this past Saturday with a new mould.

I bought a new Lyman 2 cavity steel mould.  Now mind you, I own no less than 25 moulds from 10 Cavity Hensley and Gibbs to the Lyman, so I have had a bit of experience with new moulds.  The Lyman instructions declared that if I used Denatured Alcohol to wipe off the protective coating on the mould, it would be ready in minutes.  Or, I could use a spray parts cleaner, like brake cleaner that is readily available.  After trying both of the prescribed methods the results were awful wrinkled bullets.

Totally frustrated, I resorted to the best way to clean a mould.  I mix a 50-50 mix of TSP & Spic n Span and put one tablespoon of the mix in a pan tall enough to keep the mould under water and then boil the water with the mould for about 15 minutes.  Remove the mould, rince it off with clear water, dry and set aside until completely dry.  I put my mould pieces on the stove with a flame under them and the dried in a hury.

Now the mould is ready for some serious casting.  In order to get you mould up to temperature quickly, pre-heat the mould on the stove, preferably on an electric stove.   I have a small electric hot plate for this.
Now, you first few casts will not be up to standards, but they will start filling out without wrinkles very quickly.  Frosted bullets work just fine and they are usually the best filled out of all.

My new Lyman mould gave me fits until I boiled it.  I have boiled all my moulds for 20 years and it works.

However, the only aluminum mould I have is an LBT (Lead Bulet Technology) 4 cavity and  I find that aluminum big block moulds are harder to keep up to temperature.  If it is not kept in action at a steady pace, it will start to wrinkle from being too cold.

When I cast, I always use 3 moulds at the same time.  When using the aluminum mould, I can only use two moulds so that I can keep the aluminum up to temperature.

I have used wheelweights as my base metal for many years.  Adding 2 or 3% tin, which can be purchased as pure tin, and the bullets fill out much better at lower temperatures.

I have used lead shot, recovered bullet lead, sheets of lead and I mix it with Tin and sometimes linotype.  

Currently, I have been using wheelweights with 2% tin.  I also, have been using 3 pounds of wheelweights to 1 pound of linotype.  I think the ww+2% metal shoots better in my rifles and TC Encore handguns.

[Lead pot]

I boil my moulds when I bring them out of retirement in distilled water. My water is very hard and it leaves a coating on the mould, so I use distilled water.
I don't use the aluminium moulds because of the fluxuation while casting.
If you want to smoke the mould I would use a butane torch or a bick lighter or a carbide sight black lighter. don't use a match because some have wax on the wood stick and that wax will stick on the mould and here comes your wrinkles again.

Kurt

[Doc Killpatient]

So many little things and so little time.  Thanks for the help guys, First I think I will boil my molds and clean them real good.  Next I will quit using matches to smoke the mold.  I also picked up some solder and will be adding a little at a time for some trial and error.  

It seems the hotter my mold is the better, to a point.  My frosty bullets come out perfect and on a scale, they all weigh within 2 grains of each other.  Maybe this will help me get shiny bullets.  

Thanks again

Doc

As far as smoking the molds.  Do I need to even do this or is there another trick i don't know about for keeping bullets from sticking to the mold?

[Leftoverdj]

Well broken in moulds don't stick. Smoking or spray graphite reduces bullet size so I avoid them.

Aluminum moulds work just fine and I prefer them. They do take a slightly different rhymn that takes some getting used to. Treat them like an iron mould and you will have a devil of a time. You also will not get shiny bullets from one. The ideal from aluminum moulds is a light gray without visible crystals. I strongly favor the Lee six cavities when I can get them. You can't readily start and stop, but you can pour out a pile of bullets when you get the rhythm. When I need a really BIG pile, I run two pots, and switch from one to the other without missing more than one cast. Got one coming to heat while I'm emptying the other and I can cast a thousand an hour.

[Doc Killpatient]

Ok, so I boiled my molds,  did not smoke them with anything, and added a little solder and WOW what a difference.  Most of the wrinkles are gone, 2 pours into it and they are all gone.  Thanks for the help.  This site is great.  Now I just need another pot, another mold, and another set of handles and I might get ahead.  I doubt I ever reach 1000 per hour though.  Thats a lot of booolets!!! :-D

Doc

[haroldclark]

I have never been able to hand cast 1,000 bullets an hour and I don't know how it would be possible.  I have one 10 Cavity H&G, several 6 cavity H&G moulds.  Running 3 of those moulds at one time will not produce 1,000 an hour.  

You should run for quality and not exceed the speed that causes the quality to wane.

In a 3 hours session with 3 - 4 cavity moulds, I'm happy to have 6 to 700 keepers.  I cull out about 7% and remelt them.  I'm way to finicky about quality, but I'd rather run it through again than waste the powder, primer and gas check.

I have taken some bullets that I culled and shot them at 200 meter Rams for off hand practice and they worked just fine.  I still run them back to the pot most of the time.  I either have good bullets or I have to cast more.

Casting is a blast.  

About the match.  I never used a match to blacken a mould.  I remember that I tried blackening a mould upon someones advise once.  I too, find that a clean mould doesn't need any help.

Harold Clark

[Lead pot]

It takes me from 1 to 1-1/2 hours to cast 100 685gr hp bullets after everything comes up to temp, and I think I'm doing good :grin:

Kurt

[haroldclark]

Hey Lead Pot,

I have a buddy that shoots those melted down Volkswagon bullets too.  He spends 2 to 3 hours to get 100 or more bullets.  It just takes time to do a good job.  But, the cannon fodder will shoot out to 1,000 yards.

Your mould is probably a single cavity.

I have read on this site where someone declares they cast 1,000 per hour.  I don't know how, but I take my hat off to them.

Harold

[hammerhead357]

Very good info. I have been able to cast up to 2000 bullets per hour with the proper set up and using 2 matched 10 cavity moulds from H & G. How ever you can't stop to add lead to the pots nor anything else you have to have a helper or really have your ducks ins a row so to speak. These are no longer available from the manufacture but one can pick them up once in a while from other sources. I do have several sets of matched pairs of H & G moulds and they are a joy to work with.

But HC is correct don't dwell on the amount cast, but the quality of the bullets produced. This is what is important however if you are a commercial caster then you have to worry about both aspects.....Wes

[Possum]

Hey Doc, I am probably the newest guy on the block that is responding in respect to bullet casting.  I had the same problem you are having.  Last batch I put in some solder - like was recommended above.  After casting about 150 with that mixture, I kind of wanted to throw all the previous bullets back in the pot.  These from the new mix filled out perfectly with a nice shiny silver sheen.  The tin does do the trick.  I was using a mixture of range lead, linotype, and tin.  

I have come to the conclusion, when casting with an aluminum mold, if I get in a groove I should keep pouring as long as I can.  Seems like the aluminum is a little finicky about keeping the temp up.  Of course, I was casting outside in 29 deg weather at the time :lol:   That might have had something to do with it.