Bullets Not filling out the mold

[rks1949]

I'm new to this forum,and have a little casting experence,but not much. I'm using a 50/50 mix of wheel weights,and pure lead. These bullets are for shooting in a muzzeloader,with a sabot. I can't seem to get the mold to fill out,the bullets come out undersized. I need them to fill out the bullet so it can be sized to .430. The mold made perfect bullets with a Lyman #2 mixture,but now it won'twith this mixture. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks Ron

[sgtt]

You might try a little hotter melt.  If I remember correctly, ther more pure the lead the higher the melting temp.

[stuffit]

Add a little tin.  Additional heat and a bit of tin will resolve most "fill out" difficulties.
s.

[Castaway]

I noticed you're from Illonois, by chance were you casting outside in cold weather?

[quickdtoo]

I've only casted pure lead, but it sounds more like the mould is too cold to me.

Tim

[rks1949]

I'm casting in the garage,the mold was run through 15 cycles to warm it up. Then I cast around 100 bullets(two cavity mold). I think I need to add alittle tin to the mix,as mentioned above. This mold makes beautiful bullets with the Lyman recipe #2,but I can't seem to get it right with the soft lead. I'll try all the above things and see what happens. Thanks Guy's!

[Woodtroll]

Hi, Ron.

Don't forget that the more pure lead in your alloy, the more the bullet shrinks as it cools, and the smaller the resulting bullet will be (in diameter, although it will actually weigh more). It is not unusual for the bigger bullets to vary a thousandth or two in diameter across the range from pure lead to Linotype. It may be that you need to move towards a more tin/ antimony rich alloy to maintain the size you want; i.e., cut down on the pure lead you're adding.

Hope this helps. Good luck, Regan

[stuffit]

Get yourself a 9.95 hot plate at Wally World to preheat your mould blocks.   And you can sit the blocks on it if you want to inspect a few bullets or pause for a break.  Much easier and less awkward  than the  "dip in the melted alloy" or "sit on the edge of the pot"  methods. 
s.