Casting fisheyes

[PA Prof]

Hi everyone,

Hope yall are well. I am an apprentice smokepoler and in anticipation of the 54 cal Early Lancaster I ordered earlier last year from TVM, I've recently gotten into casting my own lead pumpkins. I've got one of those Lee production pots and a Lee mold.

Seriously though, I found that turning up the temp fixed that. Then I started getting another problem. My products started looking like fisheyes, which a distinctive blueish coloration surrounded by yellow or red. The color is good otherwise and the wrinkles are gone, but every ball I cast has a huge watery fisheye looking at me. They look positively ichthyological.

I figure it's one of two things: either the temp is too high, or I'm not getting all the impurities out. I've tried reducing the temp to about 600, but then the wrinkles start coming back. I thought I was pretty good about fluxing and skimming, but it appears something is going wrong somewhere.

Any ideas? Do you think the ones I've made are safe to use?

 

[blacksmithman64]

I'm not real experienced in casting, I've done a few hundred on my forge. Sounds like theres some impurities in your lead, shouldn't be a problem though for plinkin'

 

[R.M.]

Not to worry. Your temp might be a whisker high, but the color is a sign of pure lead. Don't know what causes it, but when you see those pretty colors, you know your lead is close to pure. If your balls get a frosted look, it's from slightly too much heat with an alloy, not pure. It doesn't harm anything, other than appearance.

 

[Golfswithwolves]

This will help the bullets see their way to their targets :v .

 

[BrownBear]

I've noticed that with time the blue fades away. I just double checked a bunch of .562's that were blue when I cast them last summer, and they're not blue any more. I've never worried about it, but I'm guessing it's from extra heat. I notice it more late in a pot of lead when things have been hot for quite a long while. I use it as a sign I can turn the heat down a bit without problems. Works for me.

 

[necchi]

All good advise above,,pure lead and hot,,hot is better than wrinkles,,they shoot just fine. You'll even see a "skin" come over pure lead when it's already been drossed and skimmed,,just stir it back in when ya make a dip and they come out fine :thumbsup: