[Mike / Tx]

Sounds like your off to a decent start.

One thing to watch with those long 6 cavity molds is picking up a drop of lead somewhere along the inside of the blocks but outside the cavities. This will give you some finning for sure. Another cause, until you get good and acquainted with using them, is simply not holding the grips together tight enough. It also helps if when your closing the molds to set them on a flat surface so they align better. Just helps to keep the wear and tear on the alignment pins to a minimum. I have found that mine cast the best, when using WW alloy, if I keep the pot temp in the 675-700 range. I use one of the clip on thermometers that Swede Nelson sells. Just remember as you pot level drops your alloy temp will creep up pretty quick on you, and the level will drop pretty quick once you get into a good rhythm with a 6 banger.

I usually give my bullets a minimum two week cure, and have found that even this is sometimes a bit short depending on what the caliber is. The larger bullets seem to grow a bit more than the smaller ones which might be expected due to being more there to stabilize. I usually pour up a couple hundred of the ones I shot the most, and box them up for when they are needed. When I get down to around a hundred or so I will pour up another box full.

The ones I have a hard time with are when I pick up a new mold and am itching to try it out. Sometimes that two week wait is a bit much, and I might slip after a week and try a few out. It doesn't hurt much to do so or even cast, load, and shoot the same weekend, as long as your not working with top end loads that might not all get shot up. The extra growth can give you a bit of raised pressure.

One thing I can recommend doing which has helped me a LOT, when you make up your batch of alloy, pour a half dozen or so bullets right then and there while your making ingots. Stick them in a baggie with the alloy, date poured, and such, noted on the side. Then you can randomly test an actual bullet at later dates to see how the hardness might be on your bullets. This is also helpful when you pour up a batch, simply keep a few of the culls set aside and labeled with pour temp, and alloy type so you can use them instead of one of your good bullets.

If your only using straight wheel weights the extra bullets might not be really worth it after you figure out the cure times, but once you start to blend in some other metal with it, or are blending new alloys it really does help IMO.