Experienced caster, now having issues

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I have casts many calibers- using Lee molds. Any issue I had, I was able to correct. What is new to me. Lyman mold for 223 which is cast iron, I believe, compared to Lee's which are Allum.

This is my scenario--
1- new mold, different material.
2- First time I have used a spray to assist with bullet drop- Graphite type
3- Brin. scale of 35 using Lee tester, dimple measured .4 to .45

Theses are my problems;
1- Tiny thin burrs at the top and side seams of bullet, I can scrap off with finger nail, but they should not be there.
2- all bullets are speckled, none are shinny like I'm used to having.
3- So-SO to poor lube grooves at the bullet base.
4- Lead sticks to spur plate. never seen that before. I had to actually poke the lead hole from the back side...even after spraying the cutter
What is right--
1- Bullet base has perfect cut off.
2- Top 2 lube grooves are very cleanly cast.

New Mold was properly prepped prior to use. I tried lead temperatures of 800, 700 and 600 same results.

Questions. Is it possible that the graphite on the mold doesn't allow it to seat 100% Is my extremely hard lead causing an issue? AmI missing something I haven't thought of, like maybe I'm just too old and senile to do this any more[crying]

PLEASE give me your thoughts [grin]
 
Speaking strictly from a materials science background (no experience casting lead) I would say the difference is in the mold materials.

Possibly the cast iron needs some break in at higher temps - just to bake out impurities etc. ? Are you using the correct lubes for a cast iron mold?

Burrs at seams - mold allows some lead to seep into seams? Not sure of the mold configuration but if it is a two piece there must be a seam. Try lubing the seams up real good to block the lead from forming burrs.

OK - enough bad advice from someone who has never cast lead. But as I said, the issues you are having may simply be related to the different mold materials.

Good luck. I hope to be reloading some day....
 
I usually cast at about 750 degrees. It takes longer for the cast iron mold to come up to temp and until it does, I get wrinkled and poorly filled bullets. That's a hard alloy. Is it straight linotype? I clean all the oil out of my molds with dish soap and a toothbrush then I hold the mold over a candle. That's it. I don't put anything else in the mold while I'm casting.
 
what alloy?
what casting temp?

sounds to me like the mold is too hot.

the heat would cause the discoloration of the surface. a hot mold would cause the splotchy surface. iron molds hold heat better than aluminum.
too high a temp on the alloy, and too hot a mold will cause the little fins on the boolit. they're probably just boolit metal seeping in to the vent lines.
i doubt the lube is causing the fins or flashing. you can put a layer of .002" thick tape between the layers of the mold and still not have that. unless of course the mold us very hot and the alloy is too

that would also cause some sticking of the sprue. seems like if it doesn't cool, it doesn't shrink and holds on to the sprue plate, and any smeared alloy also from the high temps can cause a bond between the smeared lead under neath and the sprue above.

sounds like you need to run the mold a little slower and you're alloy a touch cooler. run the alloy just to the point of full melt and proper bottom pour flow.

as far as how crisp the lube grooves are, do they clean up nice once sized? i used to worry about perfect crisp corners but realized as long as it's consistent and they clean up when sizing i'm good to go.
also you could have some alloy stuck on the cavity of the mold so you're not getting proper fill out. if so you need to heat the mold to melt that tinning and wipe it off with a cloth or bronze brush.

good luck.
 
My first thought was the same as Mike's. Mold is too hot... but you tried different temps...

What mold material are you used to casting with and what material is this?

What make is the mold? Is it possible they did a crappy job machining it and mating the faces? If you clean it and hold it up to a light, can you see gaps?
 
I can see gaps in my lee moulds and they have very little "fins" if any along the seem line.
Now onto the steel or iron molds. Its cats and dogs. What you are most likely experiencing as noted is the difference in the mould material and your technique.


1- new mold, different material. = Start by cleaning the mold again, this time do nothing but clean it with hot soapy water and rinse
2- First time I have used a spray to assist with bullet drop- Graphite type= dont bother once you find the sweet spot for alloy and mould temp they will drop nice.
3- Brin. scale of 35 using Lee tester, dimple measured .4 to .45= Why so hard I cant see this being good for anything but maybe leading up your barrel ?

Theses are my problems;
1- Tiny thin burrs at the top and side seams of bullet, I can scrap off with finger nail, but they should not be there.= I sometimes get fins, usually theres lead stuck somewhere it shouldnt be...ie: the alignment pins...
2- all bullets are speckled, none are shinny like I'm used to having.= I gave up on shinny bullets sometimes I get them sometimes i dont. Good fill is all that matters to me.
3- So-SO to poor lube grooves at the bullet base.= This sounds like a heat issue to hot to cold ????
4- Lead sticks to spur plate. never seen that before.= I had to actually poke the lead hole from the back side...even after spraying the cutter...again clean it dont put anything on it. I have some lead sticking here and there. no rime or reason to find yet ?

I always find myself back here reading up on what I dont know or forgot. From Ingot to Target: A Cast Bullet Guide For Handgunners, Table of Contents - Fryxell/Applegate of course this can be applied to cast rilfe bullets also
 
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35 bhn is too hard for bullet alloy. What is the alloy made of? Is it loaded with zinc? Zinc will stick to your mold, melt pot and do crazy things to drive you crazy. Did you clean the mold of oil etc or did you just smoke it? Is the graphite lube still wet on the mold? If so it is probably boiling when you pour the lead in. It may be plugging up your vent lines and could be built up thick enough to keep the mold from closing up tight.

http://www.pnjresources.com/Hardness of Lead Alloys.htm

Bullet Casting Heartbreak of Zinc - YouTube
 
I use a lyman mold 223. My lead is as such. had leftover 3/4 pot of ww lead used for 45 and 9mm, melted it, added 1 full teaspoon of powdered antimony then linotype at 18% antimony. well mixed, I ran 7 small ladles though and pour them back into top and stirred well. I was guessing at the hardness prior to casting, I do have some pure lead and tin I could add to lower then hardness. This was the 1st time I cast rifle bullets and was guessing, just knew they needed to be harder. I was surprised at the hardness level. I was guessing and trying for a level of 18-20. Mold was fully scrubbed prior to use as I have used new molds many times. In a few days I will soften my mix, and, after spraying the mold, I will wipe the flat surfaces clean leaving the graphite only in the cavity. It was mentioned above about CORRECT lube for cast iron, is lyman's graphite spay the "wrong" lube
 
35 bhn is too hard for bullet alloy. What is the alloy made of? Is it loaded with zinc? Zinc will stick to your mold, melt pot and do crazy things to drive you crazy. Did you clean the mold of oil etc or did you just smoke it? Is the graphite lube still wet on the mold? If so it is probably boiling when you pour the lead in. It may be plugging up your vent lines and could be built up thick enough to keep the mold from closing up tight.

http://www.pnjresources.com/Hardness of Lead Alloys.htm

Bullet Casting Heartbreak of Zinc - YouTube

Zinc in bullet alloy will cause leading problems. Alloy contaminated with zinc is basically useless for bullet casting.
 
Zinc in bullet alloy will cause leading problems. Alloy contaminated with zinc is basically useless for bullet casting.

PS "Fins" in the cast bullets is a sign of excessive temperature. Harder alloys melt and cast at lower temperature than pure lead. I have found it necessary to lower the temperature in my machines to 650 deg to cast the harder alloys.
 
I use a lyman mold 223. My lead is as such. had leftover 3/4 pot of ww lead used for 45 and 9mm, melted it, added 1 full teaspoon of powdered antimony then linotype at 18% antimony. well mixed, I ran 7 small ladles though and pour them back into top and stirred well. I was guessing at the hardness prior to casting, I do have some pure lead and tin I could add to lower then hardness. This was the 1st time I cast rifle bullets and was guessing, just knew they needed to be harder. I was surprised at the hardness level. I was guessing and trying for a level of 18-20. Mold was fully scrubbed prior to use as I have used new molds many times. In a few days I will soften my mix, and, after spraying the mold, I will wipe the flat surfaces clean leaving the graphite only in the cavity. It was mentioned above about CORRECT lube for cast iron, is lyman's graphite spay the "wrong" lube

Try not useing any graphite at all. Also adding pure antimony does little to your lead....unless your getting your lead over 1100'F. Melting point of antimony. You need to add a alloy such lino or monotype to bring up the Sb(antimony) to harden you alloy. Your specs on your lead could be antimony not blended well with the alloy?
Heat treating cast bullets and lead - antimony - arsenic alloys tons of info here and links to even more fun information. I'm running 20bhn at 1800fpsxgas checked with decent accuracy and no leading.
 
The right temperature for casting is just hot enough to keep the alloy flowing from the spout. Adjust as necessary for whichever alloy you are using. Flux often.

-Proud to be dad every day, a licensed plumber most days, and wish I was a shoemaker on others.
 
I would lean towards alloy composition and temperature as the culprits as well. Looks like there are a bunch of people here who are thinking the same way.
 
OK ALL!!! I reloaded my cast 223's. added gas check, found I needed to expand mouth due to the gas check. Loaded with 7.3 grains Unique. range was 7 to 9 grains. This load should have given me aprox. 2075 fps. They shot well, 3" at 100yds. BUT, load was not strong enough to recycle my M&P 15 [frown] These loads basically turned my AR into a bolt action[rofl] shoot, pull, shoot, pull. going to try 8.2 grains this week, will let you know if cast bullets remain intact and if action cycles

NOTE- was using my bore sighter, got it tuned in and told my son to give it a try. Don't know where the bullet when, but the bore sighter when about 70 yards, battery still good though [laugh2][laugh]
 
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OK ALL!!! I reloaded my cast 223's. added gas check, found I needed to expand mouth due to the gas check. Loaded with 7.3 grains Unique. range was 7 to 9 grains. This load should have given me aprox. 2075 fps. They shot well, 3" at 100yds. BUT, load was not strong enough to recycle my M&P 15 [frown] These loads basically turned my AR into a bolt action[rofl] shoot, pull, shoot, pull. going to try 8.2 grains this week, will let you know if cast bullets remain intact and if action cycles

NOTE- was using my bore sighter, got it tuned in and told my son to give it a try. Don't know where the bullet when, but the bore sighter when about 70 yards, battery still good though [laugh2][laugh]

I would be surprised if your AR functions at all with unigue. Even at Max load I don't think the gas valume is there to function the action completely?. Best to go over to castboolits.com several guys doing the ar thing there.
 
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1- Tiny thin burrs at the top and side seams of bullet, I can scrap off with finger nail, but they should not be there.
2- all bullets are speckled, none are shinny like I'm used to having.
3- So-SO to poor lube grooves at the bullet base.
4- Lead sticks to spur plate. never seen that before. I had to actually poke the lead hole from the back side...even after spraying the cutter
s [grin]

I use a lot of Lyman molds and never use lube. Generally I find them to be much better made than Lee molds and pretty much trouble free.

1) Check to make sure nothing is preventing the mold from closing completely. Also, make sure the mold is closed completely when attaching the the handles. Don't put the two halves on one at a time, but as a set.

2) Not sure what speckled means. Do you mean frosted? Generally if the mold is too hot the frosting should get worse as the mold heats up. Lyman molds might take 10-20 casting to get up to temp. If all the bullets look "speckled" it doesn't sound like the pot is too hot, but I'm not sure I understand what you are saying.

3-So-so meaning they are rounded? This usually indicated the mold is not hot enough.

4-Are you sure the sprue plate is adjusted right? If it is too high, a little lead will get around the cutting blade and make them stick. They are never adjusted right at the factory. Keep in mind the adjustment cold may not be right when it's hot. Also, I find it helps to let some extra molten lead collect on the top of the sprue plate, maybe as much as 50 grains per bullet. The extra mass helps it drop off.

Other tips for Lyman molds:
-They rust very quickly once you put them away. Lube them if they will not be used for a while.
-Make sure you hit the hinge point of the handles, not the mold, to release.

- - - Updated - - -

OK ALL!!! I reloaded my cast 223's. added gas check, found I needed to expand mouth due to the gas check. Loaded with 7.3 grains Unique. range was 7 to 9 grains. This load should have given me aprox. 2075 fps. They shot well, 3" at 100yds. BUT, load was not strong enough to recycle my M&P 15 ....

You'll never get Unique to cycle an AR (or M1 carbine in my experience). I find the Lyman reloading manual lists a lot of loads which don't work in semi autos.
 
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