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.

Tree climber

I poured my maxie balls for years till I switched to power belts.

I never lubed my mold, just make sure you keep it close to the heat, so it will be hot when you pour, (if not , it will have bubbles , holes in the bullets).keep the mold hot and pour all your bullets at a setting.
as for the lead sticking to the tin.it will not stick, unless it is rough, then just bump it and it will fall right out.if you want to lube it,just spray it with Pam cooking spray.

good luck,it's fun to think you poured the bullet that took the trophy buck.

cayugad

I use Rapine Lube in my molds.I paint the inside of the mold and especially the hinge. That way nothing sticks to it. I also smoke the mold with a candle until it is black.

Remember, keep the mold hot and if you need to tap the mold to make it release the projectile, NEVER HIT THE MOLD ITSELF, HIT THE HANDLE. I use an old hammer handle to tap the handle with.

Keep the mold hot and you should be fine. As for the muffin tins, I bought the small muffin tins and cast into them. That way they fit nice and neat into my smelter.

When your done casting for the day, leave the last projectile in the mold and let it cool that way. If you let the mold cool empty they claim it can twist out of true shape.

eldeguello

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!