Casting Round Balls

[gunn]

Just tried to cast up about 300 round balls. Out of that many maybe 100 were good. I seem to have a lot of round balls that have a mark that resembles a "C", it is a fold or flap looking mark. If anyone can tell me what I am doing wrong I would greatly appreciate it. Gunn
AUT PAX AUT BELLUM

 

[boar]

Sounds like a cold wrinkle. Dilly

 

[gunn]

OK so that means my mold is not hot enough? Because, the mold seems to take forever to solidify.
GUNN
AUT PAX AUT BELLUM

 

[gacitizen]

If you have a pot big enough, put your mould into the lead and heat it up. If not, use a propane torch. This will get you started throwing good balls in short order.

Keep a wet rag nearby to cool off the mould when it gets too hot. Also, I drop my balls onto a piece of denim folded a few times.

Hope this helps you some.

 

[reddog]

You either have some oil in the mold or it is too cold.

 

[Many Klatch]

Sounds like your lead or your mold may have been too cold. Apparently you are casting a fairly large ball maybe .50 or larger. My .715 mold for a Bess needs to throw about 20 or 30 balls before the mold is hot enough for the balls to quit wrinkling. I just keep throwing the fresh cast ball back in the pot until they look right.

BTW, did you check to see if you have a cavity in the sprue? If this is a bigger caliber ball, you need to puddle the hot lead on top of the mold until the lead in the mold sets. What happens is that as the lead cools it shrinks. The shrinking lead actually opens up the inside of the ball and can leave a cavity unless you have a puddle of hot lead on top of the mold to fill the cavity.

Check the sprues on the balls that you kept. If there is a black speck in the middle of the sprue, cut a couple open, you may find a cavity.

Many Klatch

 

[Jarikeen]

Other than the lead or the mould not being hot enough, also try pouring the lead right at the spruce.

 

[fw707]

gunn, it sounds to me like your lead isn't hot enough in the pot. It should trickle into the mold like water when the temperature is right.
The only other thing I can think of is that maybe your mold cavity is greasy. Clean the cavity with mineral spirits on a Q-tip when the mold is cold, and then smoke the cavity with a candle. When the lead is hot enough you should have no more than 10 wrinkly balls and then you should start getting a good ball every time.
I have never heated the mold blocks separately because the lead heats them up.

 

[xxgrampa]

gunn.
sounds like a dirty mold.. if the sprue takes a looog time to harden. then the lead is hot enuff. if the lead is hot enuff, it shouldn't take a couple hundred balls and still not come to temp..

you got some good recommendations about cleaning a mold. be carefull about using a candle to smoke the mold. some molds react poorly to the oil in candle wax smoke. some react great... go figure..

would this by any chance be a lee or an aluminum mold??

..ttfn..grampa..

 

[hobbles]

Mornin gunn

In stead of usin a candle, use a wood match to smoke the cavity.
Also, stop by here,,,[url] http://castboolits.gunloads.com/index.php[/url]

 

[Stubert]

I cast .610 balls and if I do not clean the mold it never throws a good ball. I clean with spray carb cleaner and after it dries I spray it again with starting fluid. Then I smoke it with a bic lighter. I am using a very old Lyman mold and I usually get keepers after 10 - 15 casts.I lube the sprue plate with stick bullet lube.

 

[reddog]

Ik the mold is hot and CLEAN, there may be a venting problem. You might try cleaning the vent lines with a soft brass brush (if the mold is iron, dont do that to an alum mold) :nono:

 

[gunn]

Thank You All. I tried again this morning. I raised the temp of the lead. It worked great. I really appreciate all the help. Gunn
AUT PAX AUT BELLUM

 

[Headhunter]

Been there, dun that. Here is what I did to keep it from happening.

1. Cast at 750 Degrees.

2. Pour from the dipper into the Spure hole WITHOUT letting the dipper touch the sprure hole.

Went from Pissed to happy in less than 10 seconds.

The wrinkled ones will shoot just fine, they are just unsightly. 850 degrees was just too hot for me. I use a TC mould. 50 Cal

Headhunter