Mold problems

Old 454 · April 23, 2017, 10:33 PM

I have a NOE mold 360 158 double cavity hollw point aluminium ... one side of the dropped bullets the lube rings dont fill out and are rounded tge other are sharp.

I have scrubed and cleaned this mold repeatedly and cleaned the vent mines with a razor blade.

Still same problems
I have ajusted sprue plate made sure pins are squarly alined so that there not crooked.

Still same problem

I have fluxed my lead numerous times but when i stir it vigerously i still get stuff that is light grey in color and i skim tgat off.

Any suggestions ?

HiBC · April 24, 2017, 12:59 AM

I'm sure NOT an authority on casting.
Any chance you are resting one side of the mold on something that is sucking the heat out of it?
I think the sharp fill on one side tells you a certain number of things are OK.
Maybe a touch more heat?
Is the mold level(side to side) when you cast?The low side can vent well to parting line,but the air on the high side of the mold has to dive down to get to the parting line. It won't.
I don't know your alloy,but I've been told continually skimming dross CAN clean a beneficial metal like tin or antimony out of your lead.
I'd guess that particularly true if you are casting on the cool side.

Chainsaw. · April 24, 2017, 09:33 AM

Like HIBC said, dont skim to much, flux once, stir well, skim it once then leave it alone. I have a steel spoon that I scrape the sides of the bowl with once the lead is melted up good, any crud floats up, then I flux with saw dust, clean off once and done. To much fluxing/cleaning can remove tin and antimony from tge mix which you dont want to do.

Next question, what is your lead mix? You need a bit of tin to lower the surface tension of the lead, this will allow the lead to get into those lube groves etc. I use old lead/tin solder Ive found laying around.

What is your lead temp? I use a lee 4-20 pot and usually run it about 2.5-3, has worked for 90% of my pours.

How many pours into the mold have you done before the frustration sets in?

Perhaps you know all this, I cant recall if you are new to casting or not?

EDIT: Thats rigt you got the nice lyman furnace. So either your mold isnt up to temp or you need some tin.

HiBC · April 24, 2017, 02:47 PM

I'm going to touch on the level mold thing again. If the mold is rolled to the right or left as you hold the handles,the higher half of the mold is not vented in the lube groove area. If we call the parting line 12 and 6 oclock,your incomplete fill will be at 3 or 9oclock,whichever has the higher elevation.

reddog81 · April 24, 2017, 03:31 PM

I'd try more heat or a faster casting temp or more tin. Or a combination of these three.

I clean a mold when it's new and rarely after that. Once a mold is conditioned it shouldn't really need to be cleaned unless it gets dirty somehow.

If the alignment pins or sprue plate is out of whack it won't effect fill out. You will get out of round bullets or bullets with a fin on the bottom. If you can see light through the mold blocks or mold and sprue plate there is a problem otherwise you should be good to go.

Fluxing the lead too much will remove tin and antimony which is bad. I don't really skim junk off the top from my casting pot. I have a layer of crud up there and it doesn't hurt anything.

dahermit · April 24, 2017, 05:53 PM

Are you holding the mold with the fill hole tight against the pour spout? Some molds need more "pressure" from the pot to fill out. The same with a ladle...some molds need a nearly full ladle of lead to fill out.

Dufus · April 25, 2017, 03:44 PM

I flux with saw dust as well, but I leave a layer on top of the alloy and it seems to prevent oxidation since the air can't get to it. I will stir occasionally to keep the alloy mixed.

Sometimes a faster fill and a little more heat will fill a mold as mentioned by a previous poster.

Old 454 · May 6, 2017, 10:42 PM

My alloy is 3 to 1 lead to lino.. i also added 1 bar of 65/35 bar soldier (1lb) bar. The run was 30 lbs lead 10 lb lino and 1 lb bar soldier

Its possible that there is a tilt on th mold due to the lyman 25 mag mold guide does not fit the mold.
Casting temp is 720 deg. I have bumped this up to 740 but still same results.
I am going to clean the vent lines with a razor blade and see if that helps.
My tin content should be ok. I flux with bees wax.
Bottom of the bullets come out real nice edges nice and sharp its the lube rings on one side thats not filling out.
Also this is a semi wad cutter hollow point.
For some readson i cant post pics

Anything else please met me know

armoredman · May 7, 2017, 05:08 AM

Are ya holdin' yer mouth right? Sorry, couldn't help it.

Try what's mentioned above, might do the trick.

Chainsaw. · May 7, 2017, 11:18 AM

How many pours per setting? Only ask cause Im wondering if your mold is up to temp.

When I cast I get the mold ready anx plug the pot in, I set the mold on top of thr pot while the lead melts, that way the mold only needs a few pours tp be hot enough to fill out good.

If your mold is good and hot then add more tin, cant hurt.

Old 454 · May 8, 2017, 06:15 PM

Yes put the mold on a hot plate while my pots heating to temp

April 23, 2017, 10:33 PM	#1
Old 454 Senior Member Join Date: August 15, 2011 Location: Chesterton Ind. Posts: 822	Mold problems I have a NOE mold 360 158 double cavity hollw point aluminium ... one side of the dropped bullets the lube rings dont fill out and are rounded tge other are sharp. I have scrubed and cleaned this mold repeatedly and cleaned the vent mines with a razor blade. Still same problems I have ajusted sprue plate made sure pins are squarly alined so that there not crooked. Still same problem I have fluxed my lead numerous times but when i stir it vigerously i still get stuff that is light grey in color and i skim tgat off. Any suggestions ?

April 24, 2017, 09:33 AM	#3
Chainsaw. Senior Member Join Date: September 12, 2015 Location: Issaquah WA. Its a dry rain. Posts: 1,774	Like HIBC said, dont skim to much, flux once, stir well, skim it once then leave it alone. I have a steel spoon that I scrape the sides of the bowl with once the lead is melted up good, any crud floats up, then I flux with saw dust, clean off once and done. To much fluxing/cleaning can remove tin and antimony from tge mix which you dont want to do. Next question, what is your lead mix? You need a bit of tin to lower the surface tension of the lead, this will allow the lead to get into those lube groves etc. I use old lead/tin solder Ive found laying around. What is your lead temp? I use a lee 4-20 pot and usually run it about 2.5-3, has worked for 90% of my pours. How many pours into the mold have you done before the frustration sets in? Perhaps you know all this, I cant recall if you are new to casting or not? EDIT: Thats rigt you got the nice lyman furnace. So either your mold isnt up to temp or you need some tin. __________________ Just shoot the damn thing. Last edited by Chainsaw.; April 24, 2017 at 10:34 AM.

May 6, 2017, 10:42 PM	#8
Old 454 Senior Member Join Date: August 15, 2011 Location: Chesterton Ind. Posts: 822	My alloy is 3 to 1 lead to lino.. i also added 1 bar of 65/35 bar soldier (1lb) bar. The run was 30 lbs lead 10 lb lino and 1 lb bar soldier Its possible that there is a tilt on th mold due to the lyman 25 mag mold guide does not fit the mold. Casting temp is 720 deg. I have bumped this up to 740 but still same results. I am going to clean the vent lines with a razor blade and see if that helps. My tin content should be ok. I flux with bees wax. Bottom of the bullets come out real nice edges nice and sharp its the lube rings on one side thats not filling out. Also this is a semi wad cutter hollow point. For some readson i cant post pics Anything else please met me know Last edited by Old 454; May 6, 2017 at 10:48 PM.

May 7, 2017, 11:18 AM	#10
Chainsaw. Senior Member Join Date: September 12, 2015 Location: Issaquah WA. Its a dry rain. Posts: 1,774	How many pours per setting? Only ask cause Im wondering if your mold is up to temp. When I cast I get the mold ready anx plug the pot in, I set the mold on top of thr pot while the lead melts, that way the mold only needs a few pours tp be hot enough to fill out good. If your mold is good and hot then add more tin, cant hurt. __________________ Just shoot the damn thing.

April 24, 2017, 12:59 AM	#2
HiBC Senior Member Join Date: November 13, 2006 Posts: 8,286	I'm sure NOT an authority on casting. Any chance you are resting one side of the mold on something that is sucking the heat out of it? I think the sharp fill on one side tells you a certain number of things are OK. Maybe a touch more heat? Is the mold level(side to side) when you cast?The low side can vent well to parting line,but the air on the high side of the mold has to dive down to get to the parting line. It won't. I don't know your alloy,but I've been told continually skimming dross CAN clean a beneficial metal like tin or antimony out of your lead. I'd guess that particularly true if you are casting on the cool side.

April 24, 2017, 02:47 PM	#4
HiBC Senior Member Join Date: November 13, 2006 Posts: 8,286	I'm going to touch on the level mold thing again. If the mold is rolled to the right or left as you hold the handles,the higher half of the mold is not vented in the lube groove area. If we call the parting line 12 and 6 oclock,your incomplete fill will be at 3 or 9oclock,whichever has the higher elevation.

April 24, 2017, 03:31 PM	#5
reddog81 Senior Member Join Date: October 16, 2014 Location: Iowa Posts: 1,634	I'd try more heat or a faster casting temp or more tin. Or a combination of these three. I clean a mold when it's new and rarely after that. Once a mold is conditioned it shouldn't really need to be cleaned unless it gets dirty somehow. If the alignment pins or sprue plate is out of whack it won't effect fill out. You will get out of round bullets or bullets with a fin on the bottom. If you can see light through the mold blocks or mold and sprue plate there is a problem otherwise you should be good to go. Fluxing the lead too much will remove tin and antimony which is bad. I don't really skim junk off the top from my casting pot. I have a layer of crud up there and it doesn't hurt anything.

April 24, 2017, 05:53 PM	#6
dahermit Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2006 Location: South Central Michigan...near Posts: 6,501	Are you holding the mold with the fill hole tight against the pour spout? Some molds need more "pressure" from the pot to fill out. The same with a ladle...some molds need a nearly full ladle of lead to fill out.

April 25, 2017, 03:44 PM	#7
Dufus Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 2014 Posts: 1,965	I flux with saw dust as well, but I leave a layer on top of the alloy and it seems to prevent oxidation since the air can't get to it. I will stir occasionally to keep the alloy mixed. Sometimes a faster fill and a little more heat will fill a mold as mentioned by a previous poster.

May 7, 2017, 05:08 AM	#9
armoredman Senior Member Join Date: May 22, 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 5,299	Are ya holdin' yer mouth right? Sorry, couldn't help it. Try what's mentioned above, might do the trick.

May 8, 2017, 06:15 PM	#11
Old 454 Senior Member Join Date: August 15, 2011 Location: Chesterton Ind. Posts: 822	Yes put the mold on a hot plate while my pots heating to temp