Cleaning Mold

[rodwha]

I've read of people cleaning their mold. As mine is dropping less than stellar bullets I'd like to see if it helps.

What exactly are people cleaning off of it?

What is needed in cleaning it?

Is using a butane torch BBQ lighter good enough for smoking the mold?

Is Ballistol a good enough lube for the plate?

 

[Don McDowell]

I use spray brake/clutch cleaner to clean my moulds.
Have also washed in strong detergent, and rubbed the cavities clean with rubbing alcohol.
If you're using Ballistol for to lubricate the plate, that may explain some of the mold problems. The cavity could be contaminated with the stuff.
I use a wood kitchen match to smoke the cavities.
Also keep a can of the frankford arsenal spray on mould lube. Basically just graphite in a spray can, but it can make a difficult mold start casting half decent bullets. I also use it under the sprue plate, and the sprue hole to help release the sprue.
Bullshops lubriplate works very well as a spure plate lube, but you have to be careful not to use to much or ,,:banghead: you'll be cleaning the cavities again.

 

[StrawHat]

Why are you adding anything to the cavity of the mold? Anything in the cavity reduces the diameter of the casting.

There are a lot of reasons a mold will drop less than great bullets. Alloy, temperature, operator failure, mold failure, bullet design, lots of reasons.

For every mold I purchase I first cast a couple of bullets. I them carefully drill a hole in them so I can use a hex key to spin them in the cavity. I make a slurry of cleanser (Bon Ami or Bartenders Freind) and rotate the coated bullet in the cavity a dozen or so times. Now, I use a toothbrush to clean the cavity and the mold blocks. There are other ways to accomplish this. I also inspect and freshen the vent lines. Air trapped in the cavity keeps the lead from going there.

Make sure the sprue plate is flat, no burrs. I adjust the sprue plate screw so it just barely holds the plate in the closed position. I also use a lube on the plate. When casting, I use a gloved hand to open the sprue.

Your alloy and the temperature can also be problematic.

It is best to adjust one thing at a time and see how that effects the outcome.

Good luck!

 

[J-Bar]

Rubbing alcohol on a Q-Tip for a small trouble spot, soft toothbrush and warm water with dishwashing detergent for bigger areas, followed by an alcohol rinse.

If you are going to use the mold immediately after cleaning, Use a blowdryer to make sure ALL moisture is gone. You do not want molten lead contacting water anywhere!

Re- lube the mold according to factory instructions after cleaning it, too.

 

[whughett]

Well no one as yet has asked what "less' "than stellar bullets means. Wrinkled, pitted, not filled out, frosty look, flash on bottom, driving bands not sharp???. Is the mold iron or alloy. An alloy with more tin will fill out better than pure lead when poured into the mold. Antimony makes the alloy harder.

If a visual check of the cavity shows no rust, surface discoloration, pits ect ect, then your alloy or heat or both are wrong. One mistake some make is to take a brand new mold and start using it with out reading the makers insrtructions. Most I have warned about not degreasing the mold before use.

A Lyman, RCBS or Saeco are going to cast a lot better bullet than a Lee, one gets what one pays for in most cases.

.

And of course there is the operators own standards. pretty bullets are not necessarly better than less than pretty ones, frosted bullets shoot as well as unfrosted ones, dull as well as shiny and even a few wrinkles dosen't make much difference to a bullet being forced down a barrel at high speed. Weight does however so IMO that is the goal. Bullets that weigh a few grains + - of each other. Some people even seperate them by weight. But that's for the expert shooters, average Joe isn't goin to know the difference, if one weighs 150 or 148
Bullets for hunting should be more perfect than bullets for punching paper.

Guess where I am coming is if the bullet is up to par with ones own ability to place it whay worry about looks.

So the thread was on cleaning. I use stright acetone before every session as I end each session with a drenching spray of Rem Oil to protect from rust during storage. This for both the iron and alloy molds.

 

[Schwing]

I clean my molds when they come new out of the box with alcohol and a brush. Thereafter, I re-carbonize them between each casting session.

A Lyman, RCBS or Saeco are going to cast a lot better bullet than a Lee, one gets what one pays for in most cases.

As someone who used to manufacture molds, I can state this is absolutely false. Bullet size and shape are what determine accuracy, not the mold manufacturer. As long as the bullets are dropping at least .001 oversize and are concentric, it doesn't matter if it is a $20 or a $200 mold. As far as longevity of the mold, that could be a valid argument for not using lee molds but, if properly lubed and with a little tlc, the lee molds will last a lifetime.

 

[jgh4445]

I used to smoke my molds so the bullets would drop out easily. I had an issue with diameter falling off as much as .005 inches. Now, I clean them with hot soapy water and a brush. Then, I spray them out with carb cleaner or acetone. wipe them dry and cast. The bullets fall out of a clean mold very easily and they cast the correct size every time. No more smoking for me. I do use bullplate lube for the sprue plate and I open the mold with my hand wearing a welding glove.

 

[rodwha]

My mold is from Accurate Molds and is aluminum. There were no directions as it was a custom mold. Everyone that had dealt with Tom state his molds are excellent, and so I doubt there's a defect in it.

I've only cast a few times, and it is now leaving a strange look on one side where you can see it's the spot the mold halves meet, and runs nearly the length. It seems more than a look, but doesn't have much of a feel to it when I run my fingernail along it.

I'm also having a hard time getting the bases to completely fill.

One whole attempt dropped mostly wrinkled bullets, and upon asking, found it was likely due to heat, which I had turned down a bit as it has warmed up down here considerably, and I had heard too hot wasn't good. After turning it back up (Lee 4 lb pot) to it's highest setting I, after MANY throws, got rid of the wrinkles. It obviously takes this mold some time to heat up (it's thick).

My lead is old recycled piping. And I've been using paraffin wax as I have a bunch of it.

Though under the stated weights, the better bullets are generally within 2.5 grns of each other after I toss the culls to the side.

 

[Don McDowell]

Ok, you may have to smoke the side of the mould that is giving you trouble. One of my moulds from Accurate does this to me.
But the bases not filling out could be a multitude of problems starting with the melt or the sprue plate not being hot enough.
Your alloy could be the problem along with you could possibly have to much residual from the paraffin in the melt. That's one of the reasons I quit using paraffin to flux with.
Wrinkled bullets indicate the alloy/mould to cold, or oil in the mould.
A casting thermometer helps cure many evils, a temperature of 750 or there abouts works well with most alloys and blocks.

 

[rodwha]

Forgot to mention bullets sticking too. They used to drop easily.

 

[rodwha]

I'm not even sure how much or how often I should drop some chunks of paraffin in.

I've been using a screwdriver to shave off small pieces from the block, and dropping maybe a little less than an 1/8 of a teaspoon each time I refill the pot.

I doubt it could be the sprue plate not being hot enough as I've dropped maybe 15+ times plus sat the mold on the edge to begin with, and after all of that it's still not always filling.

What I've been doing is shaking it in a circular motion (horizontally) while it's still molten, and it usually seems to help.

I had wondered if it was air trapped inside or something.

 

[Schwing]

how fast are your pouring? If you are pouring too quickly the lead tends to splash around some and this can lead to incomplete fill-out. I use a bottom pour pot and have to keep the drip adjusted so it isn't flowing too quickly.

 

[Don McDowell]

Might try loosening the sprue plate up to get the base fill out.

 

[rodwha]

I'm not sure how fast you'd call it. Certainly not slow.

 

[fdf]

What I've been doing is shaking it in a circular motion (horizontally) while it's still molten, and it usually seems to help.

What are you shaking in a circular motion?

Get a copy of Lyman Black Powder Handbook and read about casting, you have a lot to learn.

Look in the San Antonio phone book for John L Hinnant and he will teach you if you ask.

Join you local club, you need some help.

If you cannot find his number, let me know.

Casting is simple, you are making this much larger than it is.

 

[BCRider]

A lot of oils will form a varnish film when overheated. And that film could easily end up holding the bullets in the mold as well as becoming thick enough that it affects the bullet diameter. It could also cause the lead not to form up neatly to the wall and give you crusty looking surfaces.

I would not use any oils of any sort on any mold blocks or the sprue plate just because the oil will migrate. Clean and dry is the best way.

My casting experience is limited so far to making round balls with Lee molds. Clean and dry with no prep other than sitting the block into the melted lead pot to heat it up before the first cast is my only prep. The balls sometimes take a light rap from my knocking stick but they come out easily enough. No smoking the blocks or anything else.

 

[Mike 56]

Everyone has there own way of doing things. When i get a new mold mine are all Lee. I remove the spure plate. I then spray the top of with W-D40 and stone the hi spots off the mold with a new small sharping stone. Just the hi spots it does take much to do this the hi spots are mostly on the edges. Re oil and polish the top of the mold with #0000 steel wool. Do the same thing with the bottom of the spure plate. Polishing these areas will make spure plate work very smooth and you will little to no galling on the top of the mold. Clean the mold with soap and water using a tooth brush except for the mold cavities i use cotton balls for them. A brush can put fine scratches in the mold. The smoother the mold cavities are the better your bullets will drop from your mold. I don't smoke molds anymore if you do do not use a candle their is wax in the smoke that will keep your mold from filling out. Modern stick matches can pit aluminum molds. A Bic lighter is your best bet. When you put your mold back together put a little anti-seize from the auto parts store on the threads of the screw. Warm your mold on the top of your pot when it is warmed up start casting. After casting about 12 bullets with the bullets still in the mold put a very small amount of anti-seize on a q-tip and lube the bottom of the spure plate and open and close it a few times. open the mold and lube the alinement pins. Your mold should be good for a long time. Just start casting a lot if your balls are wrinkled or not perfect you can still shoot them. The more you cast the better you will get. If your lead is to hot you will get wrinkled balls. If your mold is not filling out well your lead or mold might not be hot enough or you are pouring to fast or to slow. After casting for a while you will get it all sorted out. Just have fun doing it!

 

[Zeke/PA]

I cast with several different molds, some commercial and some that I made and I don't have any real problems.
Aluminum molds IMHO are basically problem free as far as cleaning/smoking etc. and neither is necessary.
Attention to mold/alloy temps will improve your bullet production greatly.
Are you using a bottom pour furnace with some sort of temp monitor?
Are you fluxing the alloy?

 

[Foto Joe]

It sounds like your alloy is pretty much pure lead (recycled pipe?) If that's the case then it's no surprise that your boolits are less than perfect. Pure lead doesn't pour/fill out well, that's why we add tin. You can obtain tin in small amounts at your local hardware store simply by purchasing lead free solder such as 97/3 (tin/antimony) or even 50/50. Be careful NOT to get solder than contains silver and preferably not copper.

If using 97/3 solder for example start by adding 2% tin by weight and just call the 97/3 pure tin for our purposes. Given that lead pipe is not poured but (I believe) extruded then it will have little if any tin already in it. You may need to add up to 5% tin to get it to pour decently but more than likely you won't have to go that far with expensive tin. The tin that you are adding will have little effect on the hardness of your boolits but will definitely make casting easier.

As far as smoking molds, this is just my opinion but here it is anyway: If you have to smoke a mold to get it to release then A: The mold is bad or B: You are doing something wrong regarding your alloy. Personally I've never gotten a bad mold either in aluminum (Lee) or iron (Lyman) but I've had a couple that have personality. Each mold is going to have it's "Sweet Spot".

I will give you a trick for getting your aluminum mold up to temp quick. Simply dip a corner of the mold blocks into the melt and hold it there. When you can pull the mold up out of the melt and the lead doesn't stick then you're good to go, don't do this with iron molds.

If you wouldn't mind, posting a few pics of your not so great boolits might help with diagnosing a problem.

 

[rodwha]

I think I'll try loosening up the sprue plate as it's marring the top of my aluminum mold.

This mold is from Accurate Molds, and so I figure it to be of high quality. It certainly wasn't cheap.

I've used one of those torch-like BBQ lighters for smoking the mold.

I've read that wrinkled bullets are too cool (mold/lead). No? I got rid of the majority of wrinkles when I turned the pot all the way up (4 lb Lee).

I've tried to photo the marred bullets, but it just doesn't show up clearly. It's as though there's a vertical obstruction. Running a finger nail across it doesn't even register, though you can certainly feel the raised part where the mold halves came together. What I find odd is that it seems to do this to each of the 5 cavities, but didn't the first time.

I've been using Gulf Wax (paraffin) as my flux since I bought a bunch for making Gatofeo's #1 lube.

I do not have a lead thermometer. I just (now) turn it all the way up, which I didn't quite do when it was cold out in the garage.

I'm not sure about trying to add tin. I'm not sure I could be very consistent, nor accurate with the %.

My mold used to drop the bullets freely. Not it usually takes a few taps. I've only cast with it maybe 5 or 6 times now.

What I've been doing is setting the mold on top of the pot while it's melting the lead, and then just cast a bunch until it appears as though it's dropping nice projectiles, at which point I quit putting the cast stuff back into the pot.

Sure do wish I could get a quality pic. I'll keep trying.

 

[Don McDowell]

If you're marring up the top of the mould block, you're busting the sprue to fast. Wait just a few more seconds. The bullets not dropping out could be because of the opening the sprue plate to quick and smearing the base just over the edge of the blocks.
Would probably be a good idea to contact Tom and see about sending the blocks back to get "repaired".

 

[Foto Joe]

It sounds like you might have a slightly misaligned set of mold blocks. I've had this happen with a new Lee 2 cavity mold in the recent past. The problem turned out to be that the alignment pins weren't seated far enough out causing the blocks to fail to align properly. Check to make sure that the alignment pins are protruding out far enough to engage the female counterpart on the opposite block. I'm not familiar with NOE blocks but it might be possible to drive the pins in further to rectify the problem.

I will also suggest that you check out the Cast Boolits forum at: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?8-Cast-Boolits

 

[hartcreek]

You did not state what kind of Lee pot you are using....just a four pounder. Lee also makes a four pound pot that you have to use a dipper in. If the dipper is not hot enough and you have not cleaned the surface crud off well enough you will have problems too.

I too am thinking that your mold is not closing completly. You could have a small piece of grit stopping the mating of the halves from being complete.

Crud from a bad dipping and a not full closed mold and not enough heat and also pure lead........we need photos. THe only thing that we really know for sure is that were not running too hot as you are not saying that the bullets were frosted.

 

[rodwha]

It is the type of pot where you use a dipper. I read the bottom pour pots may leak, which didn't sound very good to me.

I tried sending pics to my email so that I could download it, but there's a problem with Yahoo. I'm guessing it may have something to do with that Heartbleed problem.

I took a photo of 3 bullets at different angles in hopes the flaw can be seen. It really just doesn't come through as it appears like a shading or something.

I tried to send that pic again with no luck...

 

[Mike 56]

What setting are you using on your lee pot?