any thoughts on pre heating molds w/ propane torch?
pre heat mold
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- Last Post 28 May 2008
I know a guy who uses a hot plate to pre-heat his moulds while the pot is getting hot. I've tried it and it cuts down on time to get good bullets.
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I do it all the time, and have for 36 years. It doesn't hurt a thing if done properly
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Ditto above, I've done it also for years, iron moulds only, with no adverse effects I just keep the mould moving in the flame to try and keep the heat distribution even.
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dromia, I was thinking as long as you dont rush or keep the flame in one spot it would not warp the iron mold. thanks. this might help get at least a few good lyman hollow points. KD
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I have a hot plate that I pre-heat my moulds. My hot plate has a solid sheet metal cooking surface (I wouldn't put a mould directly on a calrod unit as I am afraid that differential heating might warp a mould or melt an aluminum mould). If I had a CalRod unit, I would simply lay a piece of sheet metal on the surface then rest the mould on the sheet metal.
At any rate, I turn the hot plate on, set it on “Medium” and place the mould on it at the same time I start up my lead pot. When the lead pot is ready, the mould is nearly up to heat. I could set the hot plate a bit hotter but I would rather do the final heating by pouring lead. At any rate, it only takes a pour or two to have the pre-heated mould up to temperature for great casting.
Dale53
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I made a warming shelf for my Lee pot out of 1/8” aluminum which also incorporates a thermometer holder. Definitely speeds up the casting process but you do want to keep the shelf small as possible to avoid any extra heat loss.
Mike
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I use an electric hot plate, piece of 1/4” steel plate on top, heat on med, place mold on steel plate.
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Propane torch is fine as long as you keep the flame moving. I usually keep the mold on the top of my Lee “dripomatic". Usually it takes around 30 minutes to get the raw ore melted and by that time, the mold is ready to go.;}
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I have used an old Lee five pound lead pot for quite a long time to preheat and maintain the mould temp when taking a break. By the time my twenty pounder is ready, the mould is also. Often can be found on rumage sales for practically nothing.
RD
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Yep a tourch will work just fine as said on previous replys keep the flame moving all over the mold .
It usually takes 40 minutes for my lead to be at casting temp and I put the 5 molds I will be using under the Magma pot and by the time I am ready to cast the molds are ready to go and up to temp.;}
RR
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I use an old frying pan that is on a hot plate to heat up my molds. Mainly because if I was casting only one molds I would put it on top of the pot, as that I cast for hours, I find the frying pan a great help.
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Jerry
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