Mike is right. Probably the single biggest frustration to casting good balls is not having the mold hot enough. Then next would be not having the inside surfaces clean of all oils, or grease, or whatever. Smoking the inside of the mold with soot from a candle does often help get rid of the rinkles once the mold is hot enough. The reason I wait a second or two after the sprue hardens is to allow the much larger ball or bullet in the mold to complete harden, while heating the mold blocks up just a little longer. You will need to develope a rhythm in your casting, which happens after many hours of repeating the procedure- and not much by doing anything else -to get consistent round balls from your mold. YOu have to maintain the core temperature of the molten lead in the pot, so you want to add more lead to the pot when it gets about 1/3 empty, not more, as it would otherwise take much longer to melt the new lead and bring the core temperature back up to standard. While that is going on you want to at least place the mold(s) on the top edge of the pot, so they continue to stay warm. However, You will have to pur several balls and reject them before the mold temperature comes up to required temp. Some casters actually put their molds in the pot on top of the molten lead with the idea that the greater surface area in contact with the hot lead will heat the mold more evenly, and completely. This depends to vary on the size of pot, and the temperature setting you use for the lead you are casting. Alloys use a different temperature for casting than pure lead, usually hotter by a 100 dgrees or more. The scales on the electric pots can not be relied upon, and you will need to purchase a separate thermometer to have any idea what the molten temperature is after the first year of use, or so. This is not a criticism of the manufacturers. All these use a thermocouple, and those T/C's heat up and corrode. As corrosion builds, the readings begin to change. It happens with all melting pots, regardless of brand. Years ago, when I was doing the casting for my father, the electric pot I was using got so bad I had the dial on it set for a temperature that was 300 degrees higher than the recommended setting for lead! If I left the dial indicator at the suggested setting, lead would not even melt! I don't think Dad even thought about contacting the company that made the pot, about installing a new thermocouple, and dial, and he just threw the thing out and bought a new one. Many years later, I learned from a friend who does lots of casting that he routinely sends his pots back to the companies for replacement parts every couple of years,and more often if something gets out of wack sooner. In fact, before you buy a casting pot, you should contact the company and ask what their policy is about fixing these things. You might save a lot of money over the long term.
