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Old December 4, 2017, 02:26 PM   #26
Old 454
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No bullets fall out of the mold withjust a tap on the mold... there is no sticking to the mold
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Old December 4, 2017, 02:43 PM   #27
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From the pictures, to cold. And I believe it's the mold. When I used to cast I used to not stop until the first bullet came out frosted, then I let the mold cool. The mold needs to be pretty hot.

I would get a brush (not wire) spray the insides of the mold with brake cleaner and scrub with the brush. Then, just start casting without stopping for about 10 fills. That should get the mold good and hot. I'd bet somewhere in there you'll see the bullets taking shape.

Your alloy is fine, they're shiny.

The question is what is dropping the temp of the lead?


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Old December 4, 2017, 02:50 PM   #28
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From the appearance of the bullet on the left, it looks like you may be scraping the bottom of your pot with the ladle allowing debris in the mix.

And one more thing, don't tap on the mold itself...tap on the mold handle
pivot screw.
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Old December 4, 2017, 02:55 PM   #29
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I will send mold pics to Joed when i get home from work
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Old December 4, 2017, 02:58 PM   #30
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Ahhh yes.. when i flux i do scrap sides qnd bottom of pot to get debris
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Old December 4, 2017, 03:33 PM   #31
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Then you just stop that fella...stir gently if you must, also, your casting world
would change drastically with a bottom pour pot.
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Old December 5, 2017, 02:28 AM   #32
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Lolol... i do use a bottom pour. I have a Lyman Mag 25

One of rhe guys here was very good with advice on my garage electric as i was poping the circut breaker when i got my Lyman Mag 25... know you limitations and asking for advise from the more knowlageavle people is the thing to do lol

I have a couple casting books from Lyman ... one dated July 1958 by Lymqn gun sight corp. And the other Cast Bullet Handbook by Lyman.
I have been scouring these books for info on my casting problem.. all to no avail.

Thats why i come here... i have on several occasions and gotten very solid advice

Last edited by Old 454; December 5, 2017 at 02:36 AM.
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Old December 5, 2017, 08:43 AM   #33
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I just looked at the Lyman Mag 25, what a nice outfit. My only suggestion is to flush the
valve a few times before starting the casting process. From the posted pictures, I'm
convinced the problem is trash in the pot. Maybe start anew with an empty pot and clean
the inside and start over.
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Old December 5, 2017, 09:00 AM   #34
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Now I'm confused I thought you were using a pot and ladle. That's a very good casting outfit and it's a bottom pour.

You are skimming the dross off the top of the melt, right?
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Old December 5, 2017, 01:01 PM   #35
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Oh yes i skim dross after i flux.
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Old December 5, 2017, 01:03 PM   #36
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I have like.. oh maybe 27 lbs left of my current alloy... want to use that up before i make new alloy.

Thats what i think to ... crap in the alloy.
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Old December 5, 2017, 01:09 PM   #37
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Sent Joed a few pics of this old mold... Ideal 452374
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Old December 5, 2017, 01:19 PM   #38
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Lolol i also have 2 lyman model 61 10lb pots... i got them in my press horde.
I cleaned one of them up and man it cast like a champ and there was about 9 lbs of lead still in it
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Old December 5, 2017, 01:22 PM   #39
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I hope we found a solution.
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Old December 5, 2017, 01:33 PM   #40
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This alloy i currently have is 10 lbs lino to 30 lbs lead.

Lino i got from a friend.. its still in type form.
My lead i get from old water services.
I think maybe i didnt flux enough when i made my last alloy.
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Old December 5, 2017, 01:35 PM   #41
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I hope we do to.

But i must say i have really enjoyed the conversation here and gotten some good stuff for future casting
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Old December 5, 2017, 01:35 PM   #42
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Here's the mold.



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Old December 5, 2017, 01:42 PM   #43
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I'm wondering if it is the alloy although I doubt it. I'm also wondering about the mold. In one of the pictures it looks like the cavities are corroded but that could be lint. Also, the the small lines that run the length of the mold are what let the trapped air out of the cavity. Are they clean?
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Old December 5, 2017, 01:53 PM   #44
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Water pipe lead is loaded with calcium, rust, fluoride and anything else the
local water municipality puts in it (just ask Flint Michigan), it's okay to use, just
stir the hack out of it to get the crap to the top.
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Old December 5, 2017, 03:19 PM   #45
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Yes its lint from rag i wipe out the mold with
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Old December 5, 2017, 03:30 PM   #46
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I sharpen a chop stick and go over the vent lines to make sure there clear.

This mold i bought at estate sale. I got a lot of molds at this estate sale cheap.
Unfortunitly they were stored in a wooden box in a crawl space and most were not salvageable.
This one and a two cavity 44 mag 245 gr. Keith mold were good.
The 44 mag cast some unbelievable nice bullets.
There was also a couple 4 gang 429303 molds that i have heard called arrow points. But they were beat to hell.

The other molds were for 270 winchester and 30-06.
They were still in boxes and full of mold and rust.. a real shame.
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Old December 5, 2017, 11:40 PM   #47
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Your lead pipe etc, are you stuffing that straight in the cast pot or are you making clean ingots first, then putting them in the pot?

The later is the correct answer.
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Last edited by Chainsaw.; December 6, 2017 at 10:23 AM.
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Old December 6, 2017, 06:20 AM   #48
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Cover the entire top of the alloy with some type of dry media flux. I use walnut shell media because I have it on hand. Light it when it starts to smoke. Let it burn until it goes out. I then use an old wooden spoon to stir the alloy with. I push the spoon in until it scrapes the sides, and bottom as I stir. I then use a metal spoon to skim the dross. Then I add my ladle. Once it gets hot I flux it again. I get better results if I flux twice before I pour. As I go I flux about every 10 to 15 minutes. I heat my mold first on a stove burner as well.
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Old December 6, 2017, 12:11 PM   #49
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I'm pretty much clueless to this. But heat and zinc was mentioned. The hotest I ever cast is 750*. somewhere around 800* is where zinc melts, don't remember the temp exactly. All my lead right now is in ingot form, I make ingot's first to to clean the lead. I melt the lead for ingot's at about 600* I thinkit is, just over the melting point of lead. I throw everything in the pot and anything that doesn't belong there, zinc, floats to the top. I have an old metal serving spoon I drilled a bunch of small hole in that I use for picking out the zinc, don't get the spoon in to deep, it'll pick out the tin too. Once the zink is out I flux with whatever I have on hand to flux with, I like candle's best!Then scoup out the garbage on top and the lead is clean.
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Old December 6, 2017, 02:47 PM   #50
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Quote:
I drilled a bunch of small hole in that I use for picking out the zinc, don't get the spoon in to deep, it'll pick out the tin too.
Tin melts at about 449 degrees Fahrenheit, Lead melts at 621 degrees. If your alloy is melted, the Tin would be liquid...how then would dipping the spoon in too deep, remove any Tin? Ask'en for a friend.
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