new at casting bullets with a question

joecad · January 8, 2006, 10:39 PM

i got basically everything i need to reload for Christmas.....press,dies, scale, powder measure, mold, and furnace. i gave casting 45acp 230 grain round nose bullets for a bit this afternoon, just to play and get familiar with the equipment.
one thing i noticed is that almost all of the cast bullets at the nose showed a "layer" effect. by that i mean part of the nose would look kind of like an orange with a chunk of the peel missing like the lead had layered.it seemd like the first lead in the mold froze and the the lead behind it filled in the rest of the mold. could too low heat cause this? if so ...what is the proper temperature for casting?

gm110656 · January 8, 2006, 10:53 PM

Yes, low metal or mould temperature or actually both. I melt my alloy at around 700 degrees but it varies with different compositions. If you cast a bullet and let it set in the mould a minute, you'll have wrinkle free bullets after about 6 or 8 attempts. Warm your mould above the pot while you're melting down your alloy and you should be fine.

cracked butt · January 9, 2006, 02:08 AM

That can be caused by a fine layer of oil in a new mould. Try scrubbing your mould out with hot soapy water and a toothbrush, allowing it to dry thoroughly and also run you melt hotter.

Leftoverdj · January 9, 2006, 02:35 AM

As Cracked said, that's almost certainly caused by preservative on the mould. Cleaning with toothbrush and solvent can be very frustrating. I boil new moulds in soapy water for a half hour or more. If the mould is iron, store it in a milsurp ammo box with some rust preservative tabs or paper between uses.

HSMITH · January 9, 2006, 10:26 AM

Chlorinated brake cleaner will clean a mold out in seconds, saves the boiling time.

What you describe sounds like oil in the mold AND low temps to be. The low temp part could be the melt, the mold or both.

I cast hot and fast, 725-750* or so in the pot, and keep the bullets coming from the mold just a tad 'frosted'.

Get your pot temp up if needed, then pour and dump the bullets FAST, as soon as the sprue hardens dump and refill. Keep doing that until the bullets look like they have a layer of frost on them or a slightly dull look. You have now gone too fast and gotten the mold too hot, slow down some now. Cast and dump just fast enough to stay on the edge of frosty bullets. A mold that is a little on the hot side casts better than one that is a little on the cold side.

Ruger4570 · January 9, 2006, 11:06 AM

I would also suggest "smoking" the mold with a match or butane lighter. It is recommended for Lee molds, but I have done this for years with all my molds.Seems to help with the casting and release of the slugs.

joecad · January 9, 2006, 07:14 PM

thanks to all for the advice...i will certainly take all of it.....and i will let you know what i found...probably on the week end....during the week it is too crazy to get anything done.
once again thanks to all of you.

January 8, 2006, 10:39 PM	#1
joecad Senior Member Join Date: April 19, 2005 Location: nky Posts: 263	new at casting bullets with a question i got basically everything i need to reload for Christmas.....press,dies, scale, powder measure, mold, and furnace. i gave casting 45acp 230 grain round nose bullets for a bit this afternoon, just to play and get familiar with the equipment. one thing i noticed is that almost all of the cast bullets at the nose showed a "layer" effect. by that i mean part of the nose would look kind of like an orange with a chunk of the peel missing like the lead had layered.it seemd like the first lead in the mold froze and the the lead behind it filled in the rest of the mold. could too low heat cause this? if so ...what is the proper temperature for casting? __________________ I'ld rather die standing than live kneeling

January 9, 2006, 07:14 PM	#7
joecad Senior Member Join Date: April 19, 2005 Location: nky Posts: 263	thanks to all for the advice thanks to all for the advice...i will certainly take all of it.....and i will let you know what i found...probably on the week end....during the week it is too crazy to get anything done. once again thanks to all of you. __________________ I'ld rather die standing than live kneeling

January 8, 2006, 10:53 PM	#2
gm110656 Member Join Date: December 21, 2005 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 16	Yes, low metal or mould temperature or actually both. I melt my alloy at around 700 degrees but it varies with different compositions. If you cast a bullet and let it set in the mould a minute, you'll have wrinkle free bullets after about 6 or 8 attempts. Warm your mould above the pot while you're melting down your alloy and you should be fine.

January 9, 2006, 02:08 AM	#3
cracked butt Senior Member Join Date: December 22, 2001 Location: southeastern wisconsin Posts: 537	That can be caused by a fine layer of oil in a new mould. Try scrubbing your mould out with hot soapy water and a toothbrush, allowing it to dry thoroughly and also run you melt hotter.

January 9, 2006, 02:35 AM	#4
Leftoverdj Senior Member Join Date: October 15, 2004 Posts: 934	As Cracked said, that's almost certainly caused by preservative on the mould. Cleaning with toothbrush and solvent can be very frustrating. I boil new moulds in soapy water for a half hour or more. If the mould is iron, store it in a milsurp ammo box with some rust preservative tabs or paper between uses.

January 9, 2006, 10:26 AM	#5
HSMITH Senior Member Join Date: June 22, 2002 Posts: 2,019	Chlorinated brake cleaner will clean a mold out in seconds, saves the boiling time. What you describe sounds like oil in the mold AND low temps to be. The low temp part could be the melt, the mold or both. I cast hot and fast, 725-750* or so in the pot, and keep the bullets coming from the mold just a tad 'frosted'. Get your pot temp up if needed, then pour and dump the bullets FAST, as soon as the sprue hardens dump and refill. Keep doing that until the bullets look like they have a layer of frost on them or a slightly dull look. You have now gone too fast and gotten the mold too hot, slow down some now. Cast and dump just fast enough to stay on the edge of frosty bullets. A mold that is a little on the hot side casts better than one that is a little on the cold side.

January 9, 2006, 11:06 AM	#6
Ruger4570 Senior Member Join Date: April 3, 2005 Location: Rochester, New York Posts: 2,136	I would also suggest "smoking" the mold with a match or butane lighter. It is recommended for Lee molds, but I have done this for years with all my molds.Seems to help with the casting and release of the slugs.