Why are my balls saggy?

[Kentuckywindage]

I was out molding the other day. .490 and .530 and quite a bit were coming out of the mold with 4 or 5 saggy lines. Others came out great, I am just not sure what i could have done for those balls to come out like that.

I skim every 10 rounds, add wax at the beginning to help bring up all the manure out of the lead.

Any ideas?

Mold sizzles when i spit on the end of it. I did the candle trick and made it all black and sooty in the mold to help the balls come loose.

 

[jtmattison]

Check out this recent topic.

Casting

HD

 

[bingo1952]

Cause you're old. :rotf: :rotf: :rotf:

Seriously though either your mold, lead, or both are too cold.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Thanks for the link HD.

I had a lot more lead than i usually work with so that could explain it. Guess i will just let the lead heat up for a while and i'll take a break.

I use one of those Coleman gas stoves out on the deck. I'll test it out possibly tomorrow and see how it does.

 

[paulvallandigham]

My father built a " skirt " from some scrap stainless steel plate to wrap around the base of his lead pot when he was heating it on an electric hot plate drafted for that cause. It focused and concentrated the heat on the pot. Such an arrangement might help you better utilize the Coleman grill or stove.

I do agree that wrinkled balls means that the lead, mold, or pot is not hot enough. My father's ultimate solution was to break down any buy a Lyman casting pot. He later bought a larger pot with a bottom pour spout. Only later, with some large bullets, did he figure out he needed to open the hole in the sprue cutter on some molds to get the lead into the mold fast enough that it would still be hot to produce good bullets. The larger hole in the plate produces a larger sprue, but we didn't have any problems cutting the sprue with the plate.

 

[rabbit03]

Yes, each time you skim (after ten rounds) you break your have a break in your pattern of moulding after everything is heated up. What happens is that after you go back to moulding, perhaps the mould has cooled sufficiently that you see wrinkles for the first one or two balls.

There is no need to skim after you start moulding usually, so my advice is once you are moulding and everything is going right, don't stop.

rabbit03

 

[Bountyhunter]

I dont cast right now....I am knee deep in balls. When we were, if we stopped for any reason more than the time of a casting, we dipped the mould in the molten lead for a few seconds to bring it back up to temperature, then it didnt wrinkle the balls.

 

[Otter]

Could be because you go commando or wear boxers . . . try tighty whities. :blah: Sorry, couldn't resist . . .

Seriously - many good suggestions so far. Pre-heat your mold; make sure your melt is good and hot (I cast at about 750*F); don't add more lead to the pot unless you wait for it to heat up thoroughly and keep your mould hot while waiting; establish a consistant tempo and just keep at it; if your cast balls start "frosting" your melt is too hot.

If this doesn't solve the wrinkles, start all over again. Let the mould cool completely (very slowly - i.e. room temp - don't run cold water over it while it is hot). Completely and thoroughly clean and dry the mould and inspect again for potential problems. Re-smoke the mould and start the process again. Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason to what the moulds can do to you, just be patient and eventually it all works out . . .

BTW . . . HAPPY BIRTHDAY ! ! !

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Thank you otter.

I wont be able to do any casting due to the rain. Thats ok, it was a good day to spread out alfalfa and clover in the field. Now to see if it will grow is another story. Fist time planting.

 

[curator]

Kentuckywindage:

Coleman camp-stoves can be used for casting but they don't really give off enough heat especially if there is any wind. Forget about the Coleman propane stoves, they are the worst. Now one of those propane fired "Turkey friers" they sell at Home-despot will work great. You can't cast really good round balls without keeping the melted lead at least 700 degrees farenheit--750 is even better. Pure lead melts at around 625 degrees. I cast round balls at 750-800f and once the mould gets up to temperature they come out perfect every time. Proper casting temperature and mould temperature combined with good technique result in uniform weight and very few balls with hidden voids. Consider buying one of the electric melters with thermostatic controls and a lead thermometer. They are well worth the few bucks they cost in ease of use and quality castings.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Cause you're old. :rotf: :rotf: :rotf:

Great ... thanks! I thought the EXACT same thing as I went to view this topic, as I sit here in Southern England @ 10pm or so, I just spit out a full mouthful of a fine Australian Shiraz all over my keyboard! Now if I was older, I would have pee'd myself too ... :surrender: .

Thanks for the laugh :rotf: !

 

[ray gaither]

what type of mold? if its a Lee, clean the smoke off of it. Dont use a candle only use a match to resmoke it. The wax vapors can cause problems. This info. is right from Lee reloading/casting manual.