Still learning.

Hunter Customs · April 1, 2015, 08:30 AM

I started casting the other day and was getting some nasty looking bullets.
They were not what I would call frosted they looked like they were bead blasted using coarse sand as a blasting media.
Being a newbie at casting I was not sure what was going on.

I tried playing with the lead temperature and mold temperature, nothing seemed to help.
I did notice the stream coming out of my bottom pour pot was erratic in size small to smaller.

This being a used pot that a friend gave me along with a lot of other equipment he had when he was casting, I got to thinking the pot may need a good cleaning.
I might add they he had not used his equipment for several years.

I will not bore you with all the details of what took place but it seemed to be turning in to quite a circus for a while.
The end result was I got the stream flowing full bore again and once again pretty bullets started dropping from my mold.

The moral of the story is there's a lot to learn about bullet casting and it seems I learn a little something every time I cast.

A big thanks to everyone on this forum that's helped me along my path with this new hobby.

Beagle333 · April 1, 2015, 11:40 AM

I still learn a little something nearly every time I cast.

Sometimes it's about temps, sometimes it's about mold prep, sometimes it's about alloys, sometimes it's about safety (those, I remember better.)

skizzums · April 1, 2015, 11:03 PM

you going to have to make the investment in a thermometer first thing. and hopefully you find you are having a pretty consistent pot temp. if you find your pot is making wild swing in temps, then you'll have to talk to beagle up there about making a PID controller or buying new heater for your pot. what kind of pot? if your using a lee pot, I usually start high on he temp, around 7 1/2, and after a few minutes i'll get settled in at less than 5 power.

sounds like you got t worked out though, but if it's re-occurring, the therm and possibly PID re small investments that can let you scratch a couple possibilities off your list.

my mold got so hot the other day, th tops of bullets were literally burnt, brown and full of itty bitty bubbles

Mike / Tx · April 2, 2015, 05:26 AM

Yea if you go with Beagle, the great thing about his, once you receive it, after you open up the box, you cut out spots you desire on the sides, insert the components and your in business.

Sorry couldn't help it...

I hear ya on the learning tidbits here and there. I keep a torch tip cleaner sitting around the bench for just such little task. If you have a full pot of hot lead, I have used one of those little paneling type ring shank nails held with a pair of long needle nosed pliers to clean it on the go. Just hold the nail at an angle and run it up into the spout a couple of times real quick and go on.

It's usually best to do the cleaning while the pot is empty, but sometimes you don't get that option when you have just filled it up.

hartcreek · April 2, 2015, 07:41 AM

Stop at a thrift store and buy a long handled stainless steel spoon. What you have is crud build up on the inside of your pot and it is getting into the valve. With your pot heated up and the lead melted use the spoon to scrape the insides of the pot and lift the spoon toward the surface of the melt. Scrape all the insides of the pot includeing the vaalve area. Onec you have most of the crud loose and floating on top of the melt spoon the crud off the melt into a tin can.

You can now spoon the melt into some kinda of mold. You aneed to empty the pot to get to the valve.

Once you get the pot empty unplug it and remove the valve. If you can do this when the pot is hot it will work better. Take a stiff wire a foot long and scrape the crud from the valve area and run a wire through the drain port.

I had a pot that was so crudded up I had to drill the crud out with a drill bit.
The pot never did seal right after that so I drilled it out more and tapped threads into it for a 1/8 inch brass valve. I used it for many years with a pair of bullet extractors to work the valve. I now use that pot as my fiirst melt pot wne processing scrap lead to keep my casting pot clean.

Sure Shot Mc Gee · April 4, 2015, 07:00 AM

Check this fellow out.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...ple-of-my-work

No complaints have I ever heard about DeputyDog25's work. He'll clean and set your pot up as good or better than new at a very reasonable cost.

Frankly: As we all have experienced one time or another. "Sometimes its better to have a pro do the work than tinker with something were not familiar with." I've done that myself> on more than one occasion.

__

April 1, 2015, 08:30 AM	#1
Hunter Customs Senior Member Join Date: March 26, 2005 Location: Osborn, Missouri Posts: 2,697	Still learning. I started casting the other day and was getting some nasty looking bullets. They were not what I would call frosted they looked like they were bead blasted using coarse sand as a blasting media. Being a newbie at casting I was not sure what was going on. I tried playing with the lead temperature and mold temperature, nothing seemed to help. I did notice the stream coming out of my bottom pour pot was erratic in size small to smaller. This being a used pot that a friend gave me along with a lot of other equipment he had when he was casting, I got to thinking the pot may need a good cleaning. I might add they he had not used his equipment for several years. I will not bore you with all the details of what took place but it seemed to be turning in to quite a circus for a while. The end result was I got the stream flowing full bore again and once again pretty bullets started dropping from my mold. The moral of the story is there's a lot to learn about bullet casting and it seems I learn a little something every time I cast. A big thanks to everyone on this forum that's helped me along my path with this new hobby.

April 1, 2015, 11:40 AM	#2
Beagle333 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2012 Location: Auburn, AL. Posts: 2,332	I still learn a little something nearly every time I cast. Sometimes it's about temps, sometimes it's about mold prep, sometimes it's about alloys, sometimes it's about safety (those, I remember better.) __________________ . . . Have a Colt and a smile.

April 1, 2015, 11:03 PM	#3
skizzums Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2013 Location: Douglasville, Ga Posts: 4,615	you going to have to make the investment in a thermometer first thing. and hopefully you find you are having a pretty consistent pot temp. if you find your pot is making wild swing in temps, then you'll have to talk to beagle up there about making a PID controller or buying new heater for your pot. what kind of pot? if your using a lee pot, I usually start high on he temp, around 7 1/2, and after a few minutes i'll get settled in at less than 5 power. sounds like you got t worked out though, but if it's re-occurring, the therm and possibly PID re small investments that can let you scratch a couple possibilities off your list. my mold got so hot the other day, th tops of bullets were literally burnt, brown and full of itty bitty bubbles __________________ My head is bloody, but unbowed

April 2, 2015, 05:26 AM	#4
Mike / Tx Senior Member Join Date: April 8, 2000 Posts: 2,101	Yea if you go with Beagle, the great thing about his, once you receive it, after you open up the box, you cut out spots you desire on the sides, insert the components and your in business. Sorry couldn't help it... I hear ya on the learning tidbits here and there. I keep a torch tip cleaner sitting around the bench for just such little task. If you have a full pot of hot lead, I have used one of those little paneling type ring shank nails held with a pair of long needle nosed pliers to clean it on the go. Just hold the nail at an angle and run it up into the spout a couple of times real quick and go on. It's usually best to do the cleaning while the pot is empty, but sometimes you don't get that option when you have just filled it up. __________________ LAter, Mike / TX

April 4, 2015, 07:00 AM	#6
Sure Shot Mc Gee Senior Member Join Date: January 2, 2012 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,876	Check this fellow out. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...ple-of-my-work No complaints have I ever heard about DeputyDog25's work. He'll clean and set your pot up as good or better than new at a very reasonable cost. Frankly: As we all have experienced one time or another. "Sometimes its better to have a pro do the work than tinker with something were not familiar with." I've done that myself> on more than one occasion.__

April 2, 2015, 07:41 AM	#5
hartcreek Junior member Join Date: April 22, 2014 Location: Washington Posts: 1,549	Stop at a thrift store and buy a long handled stainless steel spoon. What you have is crud build up on the inside of your pot and it is getting into the valve. With your pot heated up and the lead melted use the spoon to scrape the insides of the pot and lift the spoon toward the surface of the melt. Scrape all the insides of the pot includeing the vaalve area. Onec you have most of the crud loose and floating on top of the melt spoon the crud off the melt into a tin can. You can now spoon the melt into some kinda of mold. You aneed to empty the pot to get to the valve. Once you get the pot empty unplug it and remove the valve. If you can do this when the pot is hot it will work better. Take a stiff wire a foot long and scrape the crud from the valve area and run a wire through the drain port. I had a pot that was so crudded up I had to drill the crud out with a drill bit. The pot never did seal right after that so I drilled it out more and tapped threads into it for a 1/8 inch brass valve. I used it for many years with a pair of bullet extractors to work the valve. I now use that pot as my fiirst melt pot wne processing scrap lead to keep my casting pot clean.