ORIGINAL: Blown Smoke
I've got a few Lee Molds and wanted to try my luck at casting my own
projectiles in a few days. Lee recommends using one of their lubes with
their molds. Is there something that I could substitute for lubing the mold
that I may alreadyhave on hand?
Also I plan to pour any remainingleft over ledinto a tin muffin pan.
Will the led stick to the pan, or will I need to lube it with something
to prevent itfrom sticking?
Appreciate any help.
You don't LUBRICATE a bullet mould before casting! Any oil or grease in the mould will prevent it from making a full, completely filled-out bullet! You might lubricate the handle pivot pin/bolt so it opens and closes easily, but that's all.
The Rapine stuff cayugad mentionedis a paint-on "mould prep" that coats the cavity and then dries, leaving an internal surface to which the bullets won't stick, and helps themdrop out of the mouild easily! It is good stuff, but you can achieve much the same effect by "smoking" the mould cavity surface with carbon black from a match or a candle.
Withthe aluminum Lee moulds, you can pre-heat the mould to casting temperature by holding a corner of the mould block in the molten lead for several minutes before filling it the first time. Anothermethod of heating up the mould to casting tmperature is by merely casting a number of bullets quickly, until they start coming out properly formed.
Aluminum heats up fast, so this does not take long. However, it also cools fast, so when casting, drop the bullet then refill the mould with molten lead without too much delay, or the mould will get too cold to make a good bullet. The mould and the lead must be kept quite hot toensure a completely filled-out, wrinkle-free bullet.
If your bullets are wrinkled, or not completely filled out (especially the bases!!), the mould and/or the lead are not hot enough. If the bullets appear frosty, the mould and/or lead areperhaps "too hot", BUT, a frosty, well-formed bullet made from "too-hot" lead is OK! It will shoot as it should, it just isn't shiny. IMO, there's nothing wrong with a frosty bullet. Better too hot than too cold.
Good luck, be safe, and have fun!