Paul Pollard wrote:
Pat the Pigslayer wrote:
They're dropping .361, +/- with Lyman #2. Didn't take long at all to get that mold broke in! Sprayed it with brake cleaner to clean the oil off, warmed it up & had at it! Was casting perfect little gems in no time. Found that due to the smaller mold blocks I don't see as much chance for frosty bullets. Although I use a PID controller I still have to leave my mold blocks open for about 10 - 15 seconds between casts to avoid frosting with the older larger blocks. With these new slimmer mold blocks I don't seem to need to do that.
Hey Pat,
If your alloy #2 is the real deal at 90-5-5, I have found that it is finicky about mould temperature. With an LBT aluminum mould, pot temp at 660F, the best I can do is one cast per minute. Faster casting gives a frosted area at the mould handle area. This frosted area also does not fill out, giving a wasp-waist bullet. I kept turning the pot temp down, clear to 580 in 10 degree steps.
My alloy has a melt temperature of 550F. This stuff seems to fill okay, but I've turned the pot temp to 600 and it still is difficult. Maybe those printer people had the right idea. Linotype, monotype and even wheel weights all tolerate higher temperatures and faster casting without concave areas on the bullet. Maybe it was designed for iron moulds? I've considered quenching the mould in a bucket of water between casts.:P
Paul,
Yep, my Lyman #2 is the real deal. I make it from pure soft lead, 70/30 lead/antimony alloy from rotometals & pure tin from rotometals.
You may want to check the heat in your pot with a thermometer. I think that rotometals has them. A bi-metal thermostat ( if that's what you have) can swing up to +/- 30 degrees F. That's a lot. I use a PID controller which keeps my temps within about 2 degrees. I'm running my PID at 335 degrees Celsius or 635 degrees Fahrenheit. When using the larger 2 cavity molds I leave my mold open to the air for about 10 to 15 seconds between casts and get nice shiny bullets. With the older Lyman single cavity AND the new & smaller LEE mold I may leave the mold open for maybe 5 seconds or simply close it immediately and cast again. A PID controller is the way to go in my book and Uncle Russ on this site sells them. At the very least get yourself a thermometer.
Hope this helps,
Pat
If someone else had of done to me what I did to myself . . . I'd have killed him. Humility is an asset. Heh - heh.