TUK101

Well I am starting to get pretty good at casting my own bullets. I picked up a Lee production pot today, what a godsend that thing is. It heats up pretty fast, is easily adjustable and poors nice and smooth. But now from using the alex that was recomended in the manual I am getting some ugly lines in my bullets. Nothing that should effect performance too much, but they are there none the less. How do I go about cleaning my molds without ruining them? I have tried dipping them in the hot lead and burning it off, but that hasnt worked.

Briman

You want to use a little beeswax/alox to lube your sprue plate- heat the mouldup and touch a lube stick to the top of the mould block- you don't need much.

Before using the moulds, boil them in water, then scrub them out with soap/water and a toothbrush, make sure to let them get good and dry before using molten lead + water= explosion.

If some of the stuff gets into the cavity, it will leave wrinkles- run your pot to its max temp and just keep casting until the stuff burns/boils off. It might take 20 bullets or so, but you can toss the bullets back in the pot and reuse them again

Helpful hint- don't run your Pro Pot dry- you'll get clogs and drips from debris running through the spout.

HEAD0001

I use Rapine mold prep. First clean your mold-I use rubbing alcohol-then a degreaser of some sort. Electrical connection cleaner works well. Then I use the Rapine mold prep. You can smoke the molds with a candle if you want, but I have never found a need to do that. Put your rubbing alcohol in a small pump bottle.

If your sprue plate needs lubricated, then I think something is wrong. I have neverneeded to lube a plate,it may just need readjusted.

I am assuming you are using an aluminmum mold, that in my opinion is why you are getting your lines,I believe you are getting the mold too hot-which in turn causes the wrinkles. Buy a good Lyman, or steel mold, take good care of it, and it will last you forever. IMO stay away from aluminum.

By the way, congratulations on the new pot. Now you only need about five more of them for different alloy's. And of course you need a big one for smelting. And thennnnnnnn------,Tom.

TUK101

Lol, I think that one pot and a hot plate will do me just fine. As for my molds, yes I bought aluminum ones. It is very easy to get them too hot, but I am getting the hang of it to know the sings of that happening. Eventually I will get some steel ones, but for now that was all that I could afford, (around $15 apiece for the ones that I bought). Thanks for the tips so far, I will try them out.

HEAD0001

Tuk---watch e-bay, I see alot of used molds there, and some of them go pretty cheap. I have bought a few there. I have noticed that some of them were never used. What are you loading for-your 44? What bullet are you casting. I will check my table, and see if I might have an old one laying around. Tom.

TUK101

I have been loading 44 240gr swc bullets. I wouldnt mind getting a hollow point mold for it too. I am also loading 170gr bullets for my sons 30/30. That one is just a rfp mold. I will eventually pick up a mold for .270, 243, .490 round ball, .451 round ball and maybe even one for .223 but that one is not a priority at all. The round ball molds will probably come next though since I love shooting the muzzleloader so much. Do you know if anybody makes sabots so that I can shoot my 44 rounds through my 50 caliber muzzleloader?

HEAD0001

Yes, you can get your sabots from MMP(Modern Muzzleloading Products). I shoot alot of cast bullets out of my ML. It is cheaper just to pour conicals, and shoot a bullet out of your ML. I pour a 525 grain bullet for my 50 caliber. When it hits a deer, it is **ll on earth. It is also quite effective on elk. I pour it out of an RCBS adjustable mold.

As far as your hollw points, I do not pour those. They are hard to pour. It is easier to pour solids, then HP the bullets on your case trimmer, or with a drill.

That 170 should work great with your 30-30. And keep shooting that black powder. Just be careful, you can get hooked real easily on that BP stuff. I shoot Silhoutte with my BP rifles, believe me you can shoot more than 5 times. Just mix up some cleaner, and put a few swabs through every few shots. Tom.

Briman

The Lee moulds aren't very well made but they can do the job well if treated right. My neighbor works at Lee as a mould tester/repairer. H etold me the biggest problem with their moulds is galling on the mould face from not lubing them.

Most of my moulds like to be run very hot- you don't get wrinkles, but you get a frosty appearance which doesn't hurt anything, the tricky part is keeping the sprue plate cool enough so that the bases of the bullets don't get torn. I touch a damp towel to the sprue plate after dropping the bullet(s) to cool the plate before closing it and refilling.

There is a lot you can do to make your Lee moulds run better. Here's a link: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=654I do this to my moulds now, its well worth the time and effort unless you are lucky enough to get a mould from the factory that fills out perfectly andwhere you don't have to beat on the handle hinge to get the bullets to drop out.