Bullet casting problems

[Roger B]

I'm casting balls today for the first time in years & can't get anything but "wavy" balls with a new Lyman big dipper pot & a lyman mold. No thermometer.  Lead to hot or cold? Mold to hot or cold? Something else? Lead is unknown origin, but I can scratch with my thumbnail. Well fluxed.Any advice helps.
Roger B.

[577SXS]

Too cold mold and you may need to smoke it. Make sure no oil in mold. With pure lead you want both mold and lead hot.

[Roger B]

Thanks! I thought I remembered it that way, but it's been years. I have to keep the pot on max just to keep the lead molten.
Roger B.

[Daryl]

Roger - I scrub out new moulds with dish-soap, or AJAX with an old toothbrush to get the preservative oil out of them. This is done under HOT water from the tap.

They/it, once dry can now be used.  I pre-heat the mould on the edge of the electric pot as the lead is coming to temperature. After use,
I sprayed them with WD40 and store them, even if soot coated. I re-soot the moulds before heating and use (for not moly coated mould blocks)
Before using the electric pot, I used to heat the mould beside the heat source I was using.  The mould has to be hot, as-does the lead. Different
alloys require different heat levels for proper casting.  Bright and shiny are pure lead balls.

One further step I now do, is I dry the mould after cleaning then spray them with a moly bullet lubricant coating- currently using Lyman's Super moly spray.
I have used MS Moly, but I'm out of that product so am using Lyman's - it works the same as a mould preservative and surface lead does not stick to. Rapine
used to sell a mould release coating which was a liquid graphite, seems to me. It also worked, but they are no longer in business, me thinks.
Also, the spray coating does not need oiling with WD40, so those moulds, I do not spray with that oil.

These mould blocks are moly coated.

[smylee grouch]

Sometimes if you are casting large cal. balls you will get wrinkeled(sp) wavey balls because you are not pouring the molten lead into the mold fast enough. I have had this happen several times and then opened up the pour hole just slightly to let the lead in faster. Doing so cured the problem for me. I found a drill bit just over sized from the original hole, drilled through then used a countersink to put just a slight edge to the hole from the pour side.

[Roger B]

I really appreciate all the advice, guys!
Roger B.

[snapper]

 A little tin I think helps the lead flow better as well.   

I usually take a couple of rejected conical bullets that are a lead/tin mix and throw in the pot with my pure lead for round balls.

Fleener

[Daryl]

I hear ya, guys.  The X-Ray room lead sheeting we got was so pure, that in 20 pounds of it, I add
 3/8" of a 50/50 bar solder to the melt.  This really helps with casting and allows more cast balls
before having to skim the pot again for the dross.

[RichG]

if you try every ones suggestions without results, your lead may be contaminated. Zinc and some other metals make bullet casting impossible. still good for fishing sinkers.

[smallpatch]

Roger,
Usually it's from not being hot enough. Keep the mold hot, pour quickly.
If you're having to turn it all the way up, it may be the pot is going out, or you don't have pure lead.

[Scota4570]

Zinc will make the mix cast like Cream of Wheat cereal.  It only takes trace amounts too.  If you get zinc contamination will need to drain and completely clean the pot and ladle.  It may get in the mould too. The alloy is ruined.  Zinc is nasty stuff.  Modern wheel weights are zinc. 

This problem sounds like the melt it too cold and the mould is cold.  Oil contamination also causes wrinkles.  Clean the mould with dish soap and a tooth brush or brake cleaner.  Lube the pivot points with a tiny amount of moly paste or high temp moly grease.  Preheat the mold.  Smoke it with a sooty flame.  Heat the lead to 800-850*F.  Try again.  The melt should take about a five count to solidify the sprue.  Find the casting cadence that maintain the optimum temperature.  IF you get too hot the sprue will smear and the ball will look frosty.   

[Daryl]

With pure lead and too much heat, I get blue-tinged balls.