Trouble filling mold

Google mold release agent. There are a couple of manufacturers out there that make a very decent product that comes in an easy to use spray can.

Another thing that works well for me is Graphkote. It also comes in a spray can but is a bit messier.
 
yomomma said:
Well with a hardness tester you can tell a lot.....even with wheel weight you only get a rough idea of what you have. Every manufacture uses a different alloy. Taking your advice one should only start with pure elemental metals and mix accordingly.

By eliminating cold molds and temp you are generally left with tin for fill out. Hardness in general is set by antimony.

So. If you flux well and get as much of the contaminates out as possible and adjust hardness with antimony rich alloy( or cut with pure) all what is left to do is adjust tin content for fill out.

One needs the proper tools and knowledge
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Ya guys that do custom molds specify different materials like
wheel weights
wheel weights W 2% tin
linotype
etc
They do this because those are totally helter skelter. Right. Dude, they list those because they will dictate the composition. Tell me if You've ever seen "Range scrap" listed as an option on a custom mold sight? You haven't cause the dumbies that make the molds aren't even as bright as You
 
ChiliDawg said:
You may have hit on the problem. I compared my Seaco mold with another one that I have and there are no grooves on one side of the mold. It looks like someone sanded the surface down, removing the grooves.

After looking up this mold on yahoo, it definetly should have grooves on both sides.
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Good stuff!
As any fluid flowing into a cavity, it has to have a vent hole/holes/grooves to flow smoothly.
Occasionally I will double check my mould grooves if the bullets fail to fill out sharply.
Other than that, I adjust the temp of my pot as I cast to maintain the temp of an increasingly empty pot.

If my bullets start to frost, I just dump a few pieces of freshly cut sprue, and that cools the alloy quickly, and you do t need to worry about the alloy being changed.
 
Lee's website has a video on setting up your mold. Your's isn't a Lee but generally, cleaning with brake cleaner, lubing the sprue plate and alignment pins, then smoking the mold is what I do. I find the biggest problem I have is when the mold gets contaminated by over aggressive lubing of the plate or pins and it weeps into the mold cavity. I run my Lee pot at 3 on the scale, I heat my mold up first like Lee instructions say by putting one corner in the molten lead. I also make sure the small micro grooves are scrubbed clean from any production lube when I'm hosing them down with brake cleaner and scrubbing with my wife's toothbrush.
 
ChiliDawg said:
I have a Seaco mold 323 (.32 Wadcutter) that just doesn't want to fill out. At least 10% of my production is scrap. I have tried Wheel Weights to range lead. It's a little hard to see in the pic but the tops of the bullet have not formed properly.

Any ideas?

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You're in the same province, but a bit far away. Not trying to be insultive , but . If You ever got up this way I would just walk You through a casting session. From mold prep to flying projectile. You'd come away good to go, no loose ends. So does you ever get up this way? Don't worry bout the time of year. I'm all indoors. Focus is a bit wonky, but some of those do require some extra care to mold fill. 22 long,405 WCF,45 cal 525 gr for friend, 50 Alaskan, 45 cal 420 gr saeco
bullets_zpsc9d44a47.jpg
 
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I'm going to try casting again this weekend. Going to try a hotter mold and pouring from a ladle instead of the Lee bottom pour pot.

I think I'm pouring to slow from the Lee pot and the lead is cooling before filling out the mold. I have ten molds and this is the only one that gives me trouble.
 
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ChiliDawg said:
I'm going to try casting again this weekend. Going to try a hotter mold and pouring from a ladle instead of the Lee bottom pour pot.

I think I'm pouring to slow from the Lee pot and the lead is cooling before filling out the mold. I have ten molds and this is the only one that gives me trouble.
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I'm filling up to and including 600 grainers from a lee BP
 
Like I said this 32 wadcutter mold is the only one that causes me grief. I start the pour slowly or else the lead goes everywhere but the mold. Sometimes it freezes on the first cavity but fills the rest.
 
is the mold made of steel? what are your other molds made of?

i've read that steel molds have a different learning curve to how they heat up and how quickly you can use them. i've only used aluminum and brass.
 
ChiliDawg said:
Like I said this 32 wadcutter mold is the only one that causes me grief. I start the pour slowly or else the lead goes everywhere but the mold. Sometimes it freezes on the first cavity but fills the rest.
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You have got to be doing something really screwy to get that to happen. Sounds like way too cold a pot, as well as way too cold a mold. Or fiddling around between pours.

I did my .22 cal casting with a Saeco bottom pour, and it took some practice and no small amount of dicking around to get the right position, timing on the valve, and temperatures organized. Once I got it sussed, it was fast!

Is it safe to bet that all the other molds are larger bullets than the .32? Big bullets hold more energy in the volume of lead, and don't bleed it off to the air as fast.

Are you using a guide to locate your mold under the spout or not? Have you tried a contact pour, where the nozzle is in direct contact with the sprue plate?

Cheers
Trev
 
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