My results...

[Paulinski]

I have been casting for few months. Each session is a learning experience..

I'm using here Miha 700gr brass mould one thing it take forever to heat those oversize blocks...

I also started to flux using a pain stirring stick....but I think I still have impurities in my alloy.

The alloy I use is 20-1 mix that I purchase from a local commercial casting place...

Anyways here are the pics...

Critique / comments welcome...





Ladle pour using Lee 20 pot - alloy temp about 750...

Pauli

[Jailer]

Are you pre heating your mold on a hot plate? Looks like your mold could use a little more heat.

[Paulinski]

No i don"t have a hot plate.

Dip the mould and spruce plate in the alloy...

[462]

That is one big boolit! Are you tank hunting?

I agree that a hotter mould will result in better fill out.

[Doby45]

Those are shooters, keep going as the more you cast the better you get. Casting is not as much A + B = C as it is A + B + U = Great boolits. It is an art and you made some nice pieces.

[Southern Son]

700grs????? Holy snapping duck bills, that's only 10 per pound. By the looks of that hollow point you could make SIGNIFICANT lead saving by simply using the hollow point pin. I think that Jailer and 462 are right, little more heat in the mold might fill them out a bit better. Doby is also right, you will be able to shoot them, maybe not in a world championship, but they will still shoot good enough for practice. Practice will improve them and as you get better you will probably get more fussy about what goes down range and what goes back in the pot.

[harvester]

Regarding posts about using a hot plate to preheat molds. I have been reloading for 25 years and casting only 3. Recently I got my hot plate with a piece of steel on top for a heat diffuser. I started preheating the molds and I cannot believe how much of a difference it makes. Lee molds that used to be a little sticky drop boolits when opened. It is amazing to me how much it helps. I set hot plate on just above medium and and put molds on when I start pot to heating. Don't hesitate to give it a try it really makes a difference when mold is right temp and alloy can be turned down too...

[Markbo]

I just got a hot plate for this use... what exactly do you mean using a piece of steel as a diffuser? Just a square piece of steel on top of the burner??

[Jailer]

I just got a hot plate for this use... what exactly do you mean using a piece of steel as a diffuser? Just a square piece of steel on top of the burner??

I use an old circular saw blade as recommended by another member here and it works great.

[Doby45]

That was me.. Works great..



And my completed "oven".

[geargnasher]

MORE HEAT!!! (kinda like "More cowbell", in the same Chris Walken voice). "I got a feevah and tha only cure is a hottah mould!!"

Be careful not to overheat your 20:1 alloy or the surface will start drossing like crazy, it should cast fine just above the point that it's fully molten. If you overheat it and keep skimming the dross on top pretty soon you won't have 20:1 any more, it will be more like 50:1, and tin ain't cheap.

Get a hotplate next time you leave the house, and put a piece of steel on it as a diffuser as has been said. I made an oven to sit on my hotplate out of a steel electical box with blank cover and a door for the mould cut in the side. Mounted a grill thermometer on top to check the air temp in the "oven", I can't cast at all with a brass mould without preheating it unless I'm using straight wheel weights or wheel weights cut 50/50 with roofing lead and turning the pot temperature up to nearly 750, even then I have to cast really fast and make large sprue puddles to keep the mould up to good temp.

I see you have some roundness on the bases and on a few of the bands, that's from the mould and sprue plate being too cool. Cast faster, DON'T crank the heat of your alloy up, and you'll get the hang of it.

Gear

[462]

A 5" electrical box, cover and a scrounged knob.

[geargnasher]

That's the one!!! Exactly what I did, except I leave the blank cover screwed on tight, the opening is the same size as yours and clears even the big AccurateMold moulds without taking the top off. I left a little lip on the bottom at the height to support the Lee handles yet keep the mould bottom flat on the bottom of the box.

The top is great for preheating ingots, too. I leave mine going during a session, kept at mould temp which won't melt the ingots, but allows me to park the mould in there for a minute without losing any temperature.

Gear

[462]

Gear,
Thanks for the lip idea. I didn't consider the weight of Lee's 6-cavity handles versus that of their 6-cavity mould, but a strategicly positioned ingot puts it all right.

If ever the Mark II is need, it will incorporate a lip.

[williamwaco]

Been casting for longer than I am going to admit.

I have never used a device like this hot plate. For years I tried preheating the mold by setting it on top of the electric pot. I found this to be better than no preheating at all but not particularly effective.

Now I preheat by starting with a cold mold. Filling it as fast as safely possible and pouring excessively large sprues spilling lead all over the top of the sprue plate. I cast like this as fast as possible without even looking at the bullets. I continue this until the bullets come out frosty or untill they begin to stick in the mold. Either indicates everything is too hot. Depending on the size of the bullet, this usually takes ten to twenty fillings.

At this point, I set the empty mold aside with the blocks open. I gather up all the sprues and bullets I have dumped and remelt them, then re-flux. this usually takes four to five minutes. At this point I pick up the mold and start casting at a normal pace. ( Normal pace may vary from mold to mold but I record the amount of cooling time for each mold so I don't need to experiment each time. Wait time is usually a slow three to a slow five count.) I don't have a thermometer but I set my Lee pot to about 5.5.

After this preheating treatment, I get perfect bullets about 98% - 2% rejects.

Question ?

Do I need to try a hot plate ?

[geargnasher]

Hey Doby, I missed that second pic, I made one of those, too a while back using your idea. I switched to the electrical box after I saw Montana Charlie's.

Gear

[Doby45]

I think I am gonna have to make me an uber sexy electrical box mold oven also. The can works great but I would much rather be able to just slide the mold in and out without having to lift the "lid". I also put ingots on top and it helps greatly when restocking the pot..

462, I have the exact same hotplate.

[462]

Williamwaco,
Try it, you'll like it.

Doby,
Got it at the local 99-cent store. I use it to mix and re-melt lubes and boil lube out of the lubrisizers, keeping it all out of the kitchen and my wife happy.

[Fire_stick]

Looks like I have some tinkering to do this weekend!

I am always learning something new. Thanks!

[Paulinski]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I will probably cast some more tomorrow - I'm going to try casting at 650 or so as opposed to 750 and add more head to the mould.

Hot plate is on a to get list...