Casting round ball

[pcrum]

I got my new rapine bullet mould saturday for my Jager. it's a .600 RB.
I tried using my lee bottom pour pot, but wasn't having a lot of luck. the balls seemed to be "swirly" looking, like the mould was too cold or something. At the same time, I was melting down some roofer's lead in a iron pot over a propane burner. When I used the lead from there and a ladle, it seemed to pour much better balls. Just to make sure the mould temperature wasn't the issue, I went back and forth between the two sources, but it was pretty consistent that the ones from the electric pot were bad. Would this indicate that the electric pot was too hot? I don't have any experiene with steel moulds, so any advise is welcome. Also, the lead seemed to stick to the mould, what would that indicate?

Thanks!
Pat

 

[rabbit03]

If you had your bottom pour mould pot turned all the way up then the thermostat may be bad or the heating element might be bad. I would get a thermometer and check for the proper temperature and if it was ok then I would say your mould block itself was too cold.

An indication of the mould and lead being all in the proper temperature range would be where the little blob of lead on top of the sprue cutter after the pour stays moulten for about 3-7 seconds before frosting over.

I prefer the pot and ladle method and have had much better balls produced.

The sticking issue would indicate you have not smoked or coated the entire mould with the release agent. Did you get any of the Rapine liquid release agent for the mould? If not I would highly recomend it and when you use it make certain you coat the entire steel part of the mould, inside and out. You can also use a match or anything to SMOKE up the metal on the mould, I have done both but prefer the liquid over the sooting method.

rabbit03

 

[RC]

lead's too hot...specially if mold is fine fer one and not the other... did you "smoke" the mold?to stop sticking? jus my thoughts... :thumbsup:

 

[boar]

I used the lead furance once, like the ladle to mould the best. I use a propane hotplate for heat. Dilly

 

[pcrum]

I had the heat seeing about 1/2 way on the electric pot.
I did smoke the inside of the mould, do I need to do this between each ball? I'll order some of the release agent.

Thanks Guys!
Pat

 

[Dalekg6]

Hi,

It sounds like your electric pot was not hot enough. I keep mine set on 7 or 8. The wrinkles are from the lead starting to solidify before filling the mold cavity. If it is too hot you will have a frosted or purplish tint. Too hot is better than too cold unless you get so hot that you start giving off more lead vapors. Keep increasing your heat until the balls are smooth. Make sure the mold is hot also. The first several balls will probabally be rejects until the mold warms up. Putting the mold on top of the lead pot helps it warm up.

 

[jtmattison]

I had the heat seeing about 1/2 way on the electric pot.
I did smoke the inside of the mould, do I need to do this between each ball? I'll order some of the release agent.

Thanks Guys!
Pat

Crank the pot up to high heat.
You don't have to smoke the mould between bullets. Once smoked it should stay that way for a long time.
Wrinkled balls are from several things, lead too cold, mold too cold, mold not clean, lead not clean...

HD

 

[Semisane]

I suspect it's a matter of pouring rate. The bottom pour spout doesn't run fast enough to fill out that the big mould quickly enough for a smooth finish. You're probably filling the mould faster with the ladle. Try pouring from the ladle at a slower rate and I'd bet you get the same results as the the bottom pour.

 

[mazo kid]

I suspect it's a matter of pouring rate. The bottom pour spout doesn't run fast enough to fill out that the big mould quickly enough for a smooth finish. You're probably filling the mould faster with the ladle. Try pouring from the ladle at a slower rate and I'd bet you get the same results as the the bottom pour.

That is definitely a possibility; that and the mould/lead not hot enough. I rest my mould on top of the pot while the lead is heating up and it will still take a few casts before the mould is at the right temp for good, smooth RBs (or bullets). I also start out with the Lee pot at 8, then once the RBs look good crank it down to maybe 7 or so.

 

[silverfox]

Lots of good advise already. I use a ladel and pot on everything from 54 on up for good results and smooth balls. I use either ladel or bottom pour on .50 down. I think bottom pour just doesn't move enough lead to fill moulds of .54 and over fast enough to produce good balls or minies.
Fox :thumbsup:

 

[jdstrang]

Lee pots ain't the greatest things since sliced hardtack, but they will pour a serviceable roundball and minie IF you do a couple things:

1. Run 'em as hot as you can get 'em. The spouts tend to run cooler than the pot, and do clog up. I used a heavy bent paper clip to rout it out about every 20 casts or so.

2. drill that spout out a tad. not a lot, but if large balls is all you cast, you can open it up to get more lead through more quickly.

I cast about 2500 various minies, .69's and Sharps Christmas trees each winter, and got tired of fiddling with the Lee pot. :cursing: Picked up a nice RCBS 20-pound furnace off ebay. Casting problems solved. :grin:

 

[Little Wattsy]

Hi,

It sounds like your electric pot was not hot enough. I keep mine set on 7 or 8. The wrinkles are from the lead starting to solidify before filling the mold cavity. If it is too hot you will have a frosted or purplish tint. Too hot is better than too cold unless you get so hot that you start giving off more lead vapors. Keep increasing your heat until the balls are smooth. Make sure the mold is hot also. The first several balls will probabally be rejects until the mold warms up. Putting the mold on top of the lead pot helps it warm up.

DITTO

 

[paulvallandigham]

Along with openning up the spout to a wider diameter, to allow more lead to pass out of the pot faster, remember to also drill out the hole in the mold's cut-off plate to allow more lead into the mold. The Faster you get the HOT lead in to the mold, the more likely the lead will remain hot enough to cast good bullets, or balls when it gets into the mold. :hmm: :thumbsup:

Its not uncommon for the Thermostats on Casting pots to get " Off ". Talk to the company that makes your pot, and see if they don't have a repair service for the termostat. A friend of mine, who has been casting professionally for more than 50 years, says he has to send in his thermostats every few years to be repaired, and re-calibrated. The Thermocouples that actually measure the heat of the molten metal break down, he says.

 

[Darkgael]

"I prefer the pot and ladle method and have had much better balls produced."
Yep. I have never been satisfied with the bottom pour spout.
I start at 8 and then turn down to 6-7. Nice and shiny do they drop.
Pete

 

[Many Klatch]

This weekend I was demonstrating lead casting at an F&I event. I melted the lead over charcoal and poured until the charcoal started to cool off. Then I added more charcoal and kept pouring once the lead heated up again. I must have poured about 15 pounds of lead this weekend.

It doesn't take any real sophisticated equipment. I never smoke my molds and I don't use flux. Just keep scraping the oxidized junk floating on the top of the lead and keep pouring.

By the way, for all those folks that were wondering, dental lead works great. I had 15 pounds of dental lead and it made some real great looking roundballs.

Many Klatch

 

[Grizzled Roberts]

I have wore out three Lee furnices over the many years I have been in this hobby. The first thing I do when I get a new lee mould is to take all of the bottom feed stuff off the furnice, and then take the base off. I then drill and tap the bottom hole to 8/32nds. I tighten a screw into this hole and go to the top to load. I can usually
get about 15 years out of a Lee like this. ( I cast a lot ) Using the good advice already mentioned such as placing the mould on the top edge of the furnice while the furnice is heating up, get me nice smooth shiney balls after four or five pours on the mould.

 

[pcrum]

Thanks Again everyone. This gives me a lot of info.

As a side note, I was given an old rapine .715 mould over the weekend. It's simply marked "Rapine .715." The new one Says "Rapine .600 PATRIOT" on it. Probably just capitalizing on the movie, but I thought it was noteworthy. It is a very nice mould. The people over at Log Cabin told me that he's retiring though, so if you want one it would be a good idea to get one soon.

 

[alc]

New to this and would like to know if there is a link on this site that will explain how to cast balls. Never done any casting before.

 

[Darkgael]

If you are going to start casting, do yourself a favor - in addition to reading the good advice that you'll find here - and buy a copy of Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook.
Pete

 

[Dalekg6]

For bullet casting info take a look at the cast boolets web site.

Cast boolets