Need Help Casting Round Balls

jboyer · 01-21-2007, 06:22 PM

I need some help casting round balls. I'm usinga Lee pot and Lee double .490 mold. I always get ripples or wrinkles in the balls. I've tried the pot at different heat settings and also tried laying the mold on top of the pot to get it hot. I'm wondering if I need to get the mold hotter??? Could the lead be trying to set up before the mold cavity is completely filled??? Help.

cayugad · 01-21-2007, 06:28 PM

After you get your lead very hot and you have it all cleaned, take the mold and dip the corner of the mold (not the entire mold mind you) into the lead in the pot. If the lead is hot it will not stick to the mold. Hold the mold in the lead for 30 seconds. That will heat the mold. It is important that once you start casting you stay casting and do not let the mold cool or you will get wrinkles and actually spots on the ball. If as you are casting and the balls start getting hard to come out of the mold, it might have cooled down. Just re-dip it and start all over.

Be sure and smoke the mold good before you start casting and you should be fine. I just use a old Lee melter pot over a gas fire and it has worked for me.

jboyer · 01-22-2007, 05:32 PM

Cayugad

Thanks for helping me cast some roundballs. I did what you said and dipped the mold in the pot and got it hot and then the roundballs came out smooth. I was able to cast several in a short amount of time. Again, thanks for the help.

Jeff

cayugad · 01-22-2007, 05:57 PM

glad they came out the way you like... did you do what I always do and not wait until they cool enough before inspecting them, and end up burning my fingers???

lemoyne · 01-22-2007, 07:20 PM

jboyer, are you fulxing the lead ? That also make some differance. Lee

jboyer · 01-23-2007, 05:14 AM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: cayugad

glad they came out the way you like... did you do what I always do and not wait until they cool enough before inspecting them, and end up burning my fingers???

I had the same problem. I was dropping them on a small hand towel and sometimes one would roll off and go across the bench and I made the mistake of trying to stop it. Ouch.

jboyer · 01-23-2007, 05:17 AM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: lemoyne

jboyer, are you fulxing the lead ? That also make some differance. Lee

My fluxing consists of melting the lead in the pot, stirring it good, and scraping the dirt and scum off the top with a spoon I borrowed from the kitchen (I even got my wife's permission). Then I dropped a piece of candle wax in the pot and of course it smoked and then flamed. After that I scraped more residue and scum off the top of the lead. I always ended up with a thin layer of tarnished scum on the top that I couldn't get rid of. The roundballs were nice and shiny. That is what I was doing. The question is what should I be doing???

Jeff

lemoyne · 01-23-2007, 09:33 AM

That should work with most lead. You said pot so I am assuming you do not have a furnace to pour with, some times it is helpful to use the ball shaped laddle that allows you to set the molds on the spout upside down and turn it over to pour .I know I pour to slow with a regular laddle and get marks and irregular sizes. Lyman makes them.Lee

eldeguello · 01-23-2007, 12:26 PM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: jboyer

I need some help casting round balls. I'm usinga Lee pot and Lee double .490 mold. I always get ripples or wrinkles in the balls. I've tried the pot at different heat settings and also tried laying the mold on top of the pot to get it hot. I'm wondering if I need to get the mold hotter??? Could the lead be trying to set up before the mold cavity is completely filled??? Help.

I am assuming you are using pure lead for your round balls.And pure lead requires the most heat of any bullet alloy. If your bullets are not filling out completely, and have alot of wrinkles, etc., the lead and/or the mould is too cold. Heat the mould up with a propane torch if you need to, to get the bullets to fill out. then cast fast enough to keep the mould hot. They say "if your bullets have a frosty look, the mould is too hot." maybe so, BUT when the bullets appear frosty, they are at least formed correctly. I'll takea well-filled out frosty bullet over a wrinkled, shinyone every time!

I use a Lee pot for my casting, and with pure lead, I leave it at the hottest setting. With a Lee mould, you can put a corner of the mould in the molten lead and let the mould heat up. The lead won't stick to the aluminum. If you are using a double-cavity Lee mould, it may not have enough mass to stay hot from one filling to the next unless you waste no time emptying out the castings and refilling it with hot lead .

If you get the mould hot as it should be, it will take two or threeseconds after you remove the pouring nozzle from the sprue cutter hole for the metal to solidify in the hole. When it is working like this, it should be hot enough.

(This whole time, I have beenassuming your mould has absolutely NO OIL or other such crap in it. You could also paint the mould cavities with the Mould Prep stuff sold by RAPINE Mould Co. It helps you make good bullets.)

cayugad · 01-23-2007, 12:52 PM

I flux with bees wax and have for years. Works just fine. I put that in the lead, and then hit it with a long nose lighter and let it burn. After I scrap the top with a piece of steel I shaped just for this, there will sometimes appear an almost colored oil slick (for better words to describe it). It has lots of blues and even some green as I remember. Once you start casting that disappears and it does not harm the final product.

I built small drop box. The drop box is nothing more then a 1'X1' square piece of pine with 1/2 inch sides around it. I then put wedges under the two sides, and squared the back side. So the drop box sits ata very slight angle. I lined it with an old leather boot I cut up. That leather will not burn, the ball will hit it the leather and not deform, and slowly roll down into the pack of casted projectiles. Wool is another good material to line the drop box with. Saves on the fingers and the bad language...