Thx for more great pointers. I occasionally got wrinkles pouring last night, i thought it was temp (too low) but now i know it was lube contaminated. What do you clean the molds with? I was going to use brake cleaner and then denatured alcohol.
I use Brake Cleaner
Isopropyl Alcohol works Good as well. All you are looking to do is Cut Away the Preservative Lube/oil on the Mold from Storage. After i give a Mold a Few good Shots of Brake Cleaner, i hit the Mold with my Air Compressor Blow Nozzle, this Dries it up QUICK. Then i Corner the Mold in the Molten Lead/Alloy
The key for me is getting the Mold a Little To Hot, Where the Sprue “Dances” for 20-30 Seconds before it Starts to Solidify, This is a CRITICAL Step, This BURNS Away ANY remaining oil in the Mold that the Brake Cleaner, Alcohol might not have Got? After the Sprue Slowly Solidifies (this takes Several Seconds when the Mold has been Slightly Over heated) WAIT at least 30-45 Seconds AFTER you See the Sprue FULLY Solidify before Culling that Bullet out, If you open the Mold to soon the Bullet Wont be Solid and will pour out on the Mold Halves, Then you have to Deal with that
it’s FAR better to wait a little Longer and MAKE DARN sure that Bullet has Hardened enough to Drop from the Mold
I then Cast 6-8 Bullets with the Sprue Plate Wide Open, These Are QUICKLY Cast, and Dumped/Culled. THEN i start Keeping them. With the Above method i get PERFECT Bullets, and my Keep Rate is at least 95%, With LOTS of Casting Sessions yielding 99-100%
With the Above method, Smaller Bullets Such as 200-300 Grain Pistol Bullets, Round Balls, etc. Will yield nearly 100% PERFECT Keepers for me Every Casting Session
The Bigger the Bullet, the Faster you need to Fill the Mold, this is why i Drill the Spout of the Lee 4-20 Bottom Pour Pot out to 3/32, Then i use the Adjustment/Shut off Stem to Play with Flow til i get it where i want it.
Casting PURE Lead is BY FAR the TOUGHEST to Cast, Alloys such as 1-40, 1-30, 1-20, 1-16 etc. Will Cast MUCH MUCH Easier. Learn to Cast PERFECT PURE Lead, and you can Cast ANYTHING
Start with an Alloy, and Pure Lead will FRUSTRATE you