Cast lead bullet problems

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Ethan sherman

Ethan sherman

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IMG_20200407_201157.jpg Hello again I was playing with my new Lee 54 Cal mold this evening and can't seem to get the bullets to come out right I started using pure lead and switched to wheel weights (just to see if the problem stayed) most my bullets look like some degree of the ones pictured some look almost perfect but look frosted ime melting the lead with a hot pot 2 Wich will almost boil the lead pure lead turns blue I have a Lee production pot iv coming tomorrow and am wondering if it's the timp off or the lead thanks
 
With my old Lee I start with the pot on high, 10 on my dial, once the lead is melted and fluxed, the dross skimmed I turn the dial to 7. Most lead alloys will work good at 6 to 7 hundred degrees. Frosted bullets will shoot as good as unfrosted.
Your mold needs to be preheated also. That big aluminum mold will heat up fast. Just throw a few bullets and return them to the pot.
Pure lead in that large a bullet may not fill out the mold well. Tin allows the lead to fill better, antimony adds hardness.
 
Are you running a thermometer ?
- The closer to pure lead the higher the temp. (#2 - 700 degr / Pure Pb ~ 800 degr)

Are you preheating the mould?
- If so, how ?

Believe it or not, I'd also consider recommending contact pour w/ a dipper
- Lyman dipper and/or RCBS fine
 
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My guess is that your mold is too cold and you aren’t pouring the lead fast enough. I can see “layers” at the nose of the bullet which are created by both these issues. Also make sure your mold is clean. A greasy/oily mold will produce wrinkled bullets until the oil burns off. I just use Dawn dish soap and an old toothbrush to clean the mold.

You want to pour each bullet in one continuous pour. If for some reason you stop and restart, the bullet won’t fill out properly.
 
MEHavey said:
Are you running a thermometer ?
- The closer to pure lead the higher the temp. (#2 - 700 degr / Pure Pb ~ 800 degr)

Are you preheating the mould?
- If so, how ?

Believe it or not, I'd also consider recommending contact pour w/ a dipper
- Lyman dipper and/or RCBS fine
Click to expand...
No thermometer just a test I preheat the mold by dipping the corner in the lead till it doesn't stick
 
garandsrus said:
My guess is that your mold is too cold and you aren’t pouring the lead fast enough. I can see “layers” at the nose of the bullet which are created by both these issues. Also make sure your mold is clean. A greasy/oily mold will produce wrinkled bullets until the oil burns off. I just use Dawn dish soap and an old toothbrush to clean the mold.

You want to pour each bullet in one continuous pour. If for some reason you stop and restart, the bullet won’t fill out properly.
Click to expand...
Ya I try to pore consistent but the hot pot 2 is a glorified electric laddle so trying to pore it at a good rate with 5lbs of hot lead is not fun the new Lee pot should fix that
 
MEHavey said:
Please (to keep from getting frustrated) get a thermometer so you can control repeatability/predictability.

While the lead melts (if you have an electric range), put your mold block (just the block) on a burner at low/med and cover w/ a small pot

View attachment 906619
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info I will be getting a thermometer in the past all I cast was sinkers and 32 Cal balls so the crappy pot and winging it worked but need to do some improvement for Minni balls and others
 
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The OP is on the right track. A dedicated furnace and a thermometer will make this a lot easier.

I just finished up a run of 350 grain hollow-base Minie balls. Ran the pot between 800 and 850 degrees, preheated the mold by dipping the lower front edge into the molten lead for two minutes, smoked the cavity with a butane lighter, then ran off 100 perfect bullets and two rejections. With a difficult bullet like that, things don't always go so well, but it can be done!
 
A 20lb pot will make a huge difference compared to casting with a 5lb pot.

One suggestion is to put your sprue back into the pot as it is cut. It will let you cast a lot longer before refilling the pot. Preheating the mold is also critical.
 
By looking at the pictures of the bullets , it definitely looks like a temperature problem, to cold like garandsrus said,and cleaning it too. Also, smoking the mold will help, not only in release of the bullet, but also help to fill the cavity better. Some use a candle,a lighter, and some use a match. Just my thoughts. Stay safe everyone !
 
I get that a lot especially when I'm doing a .58" miné ball run or the 500gr + 45-70 projectiles.
The lead isn't hot enough, or it needs a smidgen of tin.

As noted above a there are "layers" present.

A 10-20lb pot run hot and a dedicated pouring ladle will almost certainly fix all those problems.
 
once the lead melts, give it another 15 minutes on high heat. Once that time is up, dip the corner of the mold into the lead. Steel molds I give them 45 seconds. Aluminum molds, 30-35 seconds. Then start casting.
 
You also have to clean the mold to degrease it (wash in dawn detergent and nylon tooth brush. then q-tip and acetone).
Then, you need to smoke the mold. Lee recommends matches. I use a butane lighter.

Then, you will get filled molds.
Aluminum molds are fickle.
 
You may be trying to be too neat. The sprue cutting plate that covers the cavities has to be hot as hell or you will be trying to pour hot lead through a cold spot and the lead will chill before it enters the mold. I use 6 cavity molds and a bottom pour RCBS pot. Put a cake pan under the spout to catch overflow. Open the valve and fill all cavities continuously without stopping the flow, and allow a lot of sprue to cover the top plate. You should be able to cut the sprue with thumb pressure only. Hide the damn mallet. My sprue is one big continuous glob that covers about 50% of the sprue plate. I do two to three pours per minute. Hot and fast gives the best results. Recycle the sprue and overflow from the cake pan immediately.
 
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Pure lead is hard to get a good fill out. Try..........
1. Lee pot at maximum temperature to start.
2. Pressure cast. The bottom pour pots spout is tight against the molds sprue hole. Watch out for squirting.
3. My Lee 10 lb pot needed the hole in the pour spout made larger. More lead flow.
4. Enlarge the sprue hole on the mold. Had to do this on a Seaco .358/158gr mold. Not common to do this.
5. Mold must be clean & free of all oil, wax , or lube.
 
The three bullets in the first picture are from a cold mold. If bullet number 12 doesn't fill the grooves and the ogive, your lead isn't hot enough. Tire weights are alloy and success requires some kind of temp. control. If bullets start coming 'frosty' you mix is too hot and you need to start over with a lower temp. setting. Frost usually means the mix has dewet and is no longer an alloy. My younger son gave me a Lee pot with a thermostat control for Christmas and saved my marriage this time around. Good luck -
 
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if you want to cast perfect bullets. get the lead to the right temp as well as the mold. then to the lead pot add a piece of 700 degree SILVER SOLDER. it is available from brownells. this trick goes back to the buffalo hunter days when they all cast their own bullets. they would throw a silver dime into each pot of lead, works every time.
 
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