To say I am discouraged is an understatement

[armoredman]

The sprue plate on this MOE looks to be pretty thick steel.

Edit to say, OK, I am going to turn the pot back on and see how it does now, quick run.

[Doby45]

I have been running at 750 since I started casting and I BET that is why I get the light frosting that I do on my Mihecs. I also pre-heat my molds so I am going to try about 700 next time I run them..

[geargnasher]

NO, wrong again, partly. Frosting is caused by mould cavity surface temperature. Drop 1000 degree alloy in a 200 degree mould and it will not frost. Drop 600 degree alloy in a 450 degree mould and it will frost lightly. If your boolits are frosting it is likely because you preheat properly and the alloy temp keeps the mould very hot.

Gear

[Doby45]

I prolly need to drop my temp on my melt slightly, and then cast just a tad slower, so the mold has time to drop just a bit. This is also VERY light frosting with my MiHec molds, both the 40 and the 45

[armoredman]

Melting slowly...dropped the temp to 7 on the Lee dial...whatever that means.

[geargnasher]

This is primarily for Doby, but is general as well: If you drop your temp to 600-650 you can cast about as fast as you want, your wait time on sprue freezing will diminish greatly.

Humor me, do this next time you cast: Get that mould HOT, and then back your pot temp down until either the spout freezes or you start getting poor fillout, whichever comes first. Just for your own satisfaction, check the lowest temp you can still cast at, you'll be surprised.

You still want to regulate mould temp with casting speed, so when you get to the point in lowering alloy temp that the sprue freezes in three seconds you might want to hustle some more.

Gear

[geargnasher]

Melting slowly...dropped the temp to 7 on the Lee dial...whatever that means.

Mine likes six to six and a half, but that means nothing since they are so different pot-to-pot.

Let it cook for a while and stir occasionally, it takes a while to get up to temp even though the thermostat starts cycling. Give it an extra 15 minutes after liquidus, stir it and then try. How are you preheating your mould?

Gear

[cbrick]

Many years ago I read an article (I think HandLoader but not sure) on mold cleaning that said the only readily available cleaning solvent that leaves NO residue upon drying is denatured alcohol. Break Cleaner does, naphtha and carb cleaner and the like can be as bad as the original oil your trying to get rid of. Been using denatured alcohol ever since and have no oily mold issues.

My last three new iron molds (2 Lyman and an RCBS) were cleaned in the Hornady sonic cleaner with citric acid, not the Hornady solution. They were then cleaned with alcohol and I was pre-heating them in 10 minutes.

Clean mold, clean alloy, a properly pre-heated mold, a sensible pot temp and a practiced casting pace. Pretty simple stuff.

Or we can keep passing on old wives tales and smoke the molds and crank up the heat. Don't forget to use beeswax in your molds, if you have any hair left you'll be pulling it out with that one.

Rick

[CJR]

This has been a lively and enjoyable thread to read! Everyone has a preferred way to clean moulds and most likely that way has produced clean moulds for them. So that way is THE WAY.

It has been my experience that the cutting fluids used to cut metals can be either simple or very complex chemically. The cutting fluids are basically coolants and lubricants and can range from simple water-based chemicals to highly complex synthetic compounds or mixtures of both. Some can be be very resistant to solvent cleanup. The scientific literature is full of studies on how to test the effectiveness of specific solvents to remove specific chemicals. Unfortunately, as mould users, we don't know what chemical residues remain in our new mould cavities from the cutting process. Likewise, we don't know how effective the mould manufacturer's cleaning was. So it would appear to me that a little experimentation with different solvents, hot water/soap cleaners, ultrasonic, etc. may be in order to get our moulds really clean. I personally don't see one way as the only way to clean moulds.

Best regards,

CJR

[armoredman]

It certainly did get interesting fast, didn't it? I was just out there, pot is liquid but sluggish, more like slush. Will recheck shortly.
I wish ther temperature settings WERE a little more uniform, would be nice!

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

What I got with my five cavity 314129 SP:

[atr]

I'm with 44 Man on this one...a two cavity mold is hard to bet

[Doby45]

This is primarily for Doby, but is general as well: If you drop your temp to 600-650 you can cast about as fast as you want, your wait time on sprue freezing will diminish greatly.

Humor me, do this next time you cast: Get that mould HOT, and then back your pot temp down until either the spout freezes or you start getting poor fillout, whichever comes first. Just for your own satisfaction, check the lowest temp you can still cast at, you'll be surprised.

You still want to regulate mould temp with casting speed, so when you get to the point in lowering alloy temp that the sprue freezes in three seconds you might want to hustle some more.

Gear

I will do that this weekend Nasher.. I have to say I cast well, I am not some lost sheep, BUT I do want to get it better and I think your advise will help me do exactly that. Thanks.

[armoredman]

Nope, zero improvement. Shut down for the rest of the day, going back frustrated is not the right frame of mind.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Nope, zero improvement. Shut down for the rest of the day, going back frustrated is not the right frame of mind.

Keep trying . . . it takes awhile to get that big mold up to temp by just dumping lead into it . . . Put the mold in your oven set at 400º let it get warmed all the way through . . . use gloves!

[armoredman]

Never thought of that...might try that next time - won't hurt the handles?

[cbrick]

Never thought of that...might try that next time - won't hurt the handles?

Yes, it will. Take the handles off first.

And as 123.DieselBenz says, use golves. And I might add, good leather gloves.

Rick

[armoredman]

That's what I thought - I have some welding gloves a guy gave me.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Don't bother heating the allen screws that hold the handles on, they are small, and much easier to handle when they are not 400 degrees!

[armoredman]

I can understand that one....