casting

[mg65jerry]

I recently after a long time of not doing it started casting  RB's for my flintlock

many of the new balls looked layered as you look at  them ( round but not smooth)
not sure of what I am doing wrong

any idea's?

Jerry

[amm1851]

I am no expert, but I have been doing a fair amount of casting myself the past few months. I would guess that either your lead or your mold are not hot enough, or perhaps both. What sort of mold are you using? I have the Lee aluminum molds and they get hot fairly fast but often I have to dump the first few balls back in the furnace.

[mg65jerry]

Lee molds
my first thought was that also will ty again tomorrow
Thank you

[amm1851]

You're welcome. Hopefully some of the more experienced hands at casting, like Uncle Russ or Rob D, will weigh in as well.

[greyhunter]

The best is to get a thermometer to  keep an eye on the heat. I don't have one, but set the mold on top of the lee pot I have to heat it up. Your lead/mold is too cool. Throw the wrinkled ones back in the pot and get the lead temp up. Cast until you get smooth solid cast ball. I drop mine in an old bread pan with gasket material in the bottom. You can get the lead too hot also and the lead will lose its shine, you don't want that either, practice will get you there.

[mg65jerry]

I use a bread pan also  I knew you guys would point out something I am missing

I believe now the molds were too cool

thanks again

[RobD]

definitely too cool, particularly with lee aluminum moulds.

i have 3 lee 20# pots for various lead alloy casting but i run with a lyman 10#pot for pure lead balls and always keep it full, set it full blast, prop the cleaned mould (w/brake cleaner) on its rim to pre-heat in 20-30 minutes it's ready for casting and the balls come out shiny and devoid of "creases".  i always ladle cast, never bottom pour.

an important step for me is to dump the entire contents of the lyman ladle into/onto the sprue hole of one of the two cavities, then do the same with the other cavity - ladle snout into the sprue hole at about a 45* tilt, come up to near 90*, pull out the ladle snout to see it as it dumps the rest of the lead onto the spure hole.  this ensures that as the lead is cooling as it goes into the mould, the ladle dump keeps the mould heat up and hugely helps from forming air voids and craters near the sprue cut off.

i also double wrap a #64 rubber band over the ends of the mould handles in order to keep constant pressure on the mould halves.

a laboriously long video, but inside of a few minutes you'll get the gist of how i cast balls (though i usually cast with two moulds at a time as it's faster yet).  next time i'll get the camera lots closer.  it's in HD, watch it full screen ...

 

[mg65jerry]

cool thanks everyone

[Uncle Russ]

I would also say that the melt and the mold are not hot enough.

Jerry, FWIW; I have found over the years that running the melt and the mold real HOT is a definite plus, maintaining that proper heat is a matter of cadence, or timing, that's easily learned through repetition....your temperature, your mold, and your alloy will set that pace for you, you just have to determine how fast, how slow, that pace is when things look their very best

Always make a small puddle on the pour hole with your lead, when it's time to cut the sprue, using the sprue plate, a small dimple or indent will appear on the top of that pour, that tells you the air bubble/bubbles are gone from the ball, making your throws more consistent in weight

I have also discovered that dropping a hot ball on a heavy, damp, soft towel will keep the ball true.

When I'm running a lot of ball, say 100 plus, I will change out the towel with a fresh one about half way through, at that time you can actually pick up the ball with your fingers.

Uncle Russ...

[freddy]

I'd start with an electric pot made for bullet casting. Widely available both new and sometimes used. Bottom pour pots are more convenient than a ladle.

As others (above) say: be sure the mold and lead are hot. Cold lead/mold yield surface wrinkles, too hot produce a frosted surface. Wear gloves, cast outdoors or garage with doors open, use eye protection. For most ML purposes, use a very soft alloy. Wheel weights, etc are too hard. Old lead plumbing is a good source. Flux often and stir molten lead to get rid of impurities, skim off dross periodically especially if using a ladle.

Lee molds are aluminum, work fine but heat up quickly. I use several different Lee's when casting, letting one cool off while switching to another. Lyman molds are steel, more expensive, much slower to heat up, and available in many shapes in addition to RB.

[Hanshi]

I started casting ball back in the mid 1960s and pistol bullets in the early 1970s.  I still cast everything I shoot in muzzleloaders.  The advice above is correct; the mold AND likely the lead are not hot enough.  I use Lee molds almost exclusively, except for a couple of Saeco, RCBS and Lyman molds.  Aluminum cools quickly and must be kept at proper temperature.  I like my lead to be as hot as I can get it - which is sometimes difficult.  I do not mind if the ball is sometimes "frosted"; doesn't hurt a thing and guarantees it's hot enough.

[mg65jerry]

great !  thanks for the info everyone
I have to get back in the groove these tips are jogging my memory well