Trouble with MP mold

jordanka16

jordanka16

Active Member
Bret4207 said:
Are you using a ladle as God and nature intended or one of those bottom pour monstrosities? Are you letting a generous amount of alloy run over the sprue plate? It all helps get the mould up to temp. I've seen some videos of guys that were self-proclaimed experts trying cast and they didn't leave enough of a puddle to say so. Be generous with the alloy. It'll go back into the pot after it serves it's purpose of heating up the mould.
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Yup, using a ladle, and I leave a good size puddle on top, or at least I think.

Perhaps next time I cast I should take a video to let people examine it. I've never had any trouble from my iron or aluminum molds, but perhaps there's some error I'm making.
 
S

shuz

Active Member
I have a half dozen MP MOLDS and all but 1 are 4cavity. My alloy temperature is between 700 and 725 and I get nice boolits perfectly filled out at that temperature once my mould is up to temperature.
 
Tomme boy

Tomme boy

Well-Known Member
When I turn the pot on, I also turn my hot plate on and set the mold on it. I walk away and come back at least 30-45 min later. I will get perfect cast on the first or second pour. I know my plate and molds. I know where each has to be set.

@Ian didn't you use sulfur of liver or something like that to force a patina on a brass mold?
 
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S

STIHL

Well-Known Member
Talking about adding patina to brass, that means you have to make it oxidize if one knew chemistry, or a simple google search would probably give you the means to what you need to increase the oxidation process, I know you can leave brass in the dirt here 2-3 months in the rainy season and it will turn brown, I don’t know what is in our soil here but it does it.

I have tried my hand at ladle pouring and let’s just say I’ll stick to the bottom pour. If it works....... with that said, call them a drip o matic or waht you want but, it’s hard to beat a Lee pro 4-20 for the price and it makes bullets. I know the end result either way is the same, and what you get used too is always better.

I have made good bullets, bad bullets, bullets In between, to the most perfect bullets I believe I have ever made and every time I fire that pot up I get better. Main thing is if you have a bad day just scratch that one and start over. It will eventually go your way.
 
Brad

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Get A bigger ladle. I don’t leave much sprue. I pour alloy, and HEAT, over the mould.

Not a great video but see how the lead flows off the sprue plate and back into the pot? That is adding heat to the mould.

 
Rick

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
Brad said:
Get A bigger ladle. I don’t leave much sprue. I pour alloy, and HEAT, over the mould.

Not a great video but see how the lead flows off the sprue plate and back into the pot? That is adding heat to the mould.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I remember having a heck of a time teaching you that. :)
 
Ian

Ian

Notorious member
Man, that made my wrist hurt just watching. I cut about 6" off the handle on mine and re-threaded it.
 
358156 hp

358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
You can also use your Lyman ladle and fill the first two cavities with generous runoff, then refill and do the back two. Drain the ladle each time, and keep the excess flowing over the front like Brad shows. Also notice that his sprue plate is really hot, this is very important. It really would be better if you could use a Rowell #1 or #2. I prefer to use RCBS ladles, which have a little more capacity than Lymans. Being left-handed, I hunt the world over for the old RCBS ambidextrous ladles, and I also have a couple of Lymans like that. I have also finally put the effort into learning how to cast a respectable bullet bottom pour.
 
358156 hp

358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
I forgot to bring up something I read a long time ago, this is probably best directed to Jim (JWFilips). I watched a video of a guy assembling a TC muzzleloader kit, and he was rubbing the brass pieces with (real) black powder to force them to tarnish. Is this true? The video was shot a long time ago.
 
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fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
Jordan.
I think you got a plan,,, go with it.

BTW a nice brownish patina in the cavities is the key to a smooth operating brass mold, don't remove it.
 
jordanka16

jordanka16

Active Member
fiver said:
Jordan.
I think you got a plan,,, go with it.

BTW a nice brownish patina in the cavities is the key to a smooth operating brass mold, don't remove it.
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I think so, I'm going to get a bigger ladle, I could use that for some other molds anyway, and I plan to get a 4 cavity .44 mold so it will come in handy for that.

Otherwise I'm going to cycle the mold to build up a patina and try more heat in the mold. I'll get this dang brass mold figured out.
 
Bret4207

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
jordanka16 said:
Yup, using a ladle, and I leave a good size puddle on top, or at least I think.

Perhaps next time I cast I should take a video to let people examine it. I've never had any trouble from my iron or aluminum molds, but perhaps there's some error I'm making.
Click to expand...
Do as the video showed, hold the mould over the pot and let the alloy flow. That's one of the beauties of the ladle over the BP pot. Yes, you can use a BP and make perfect bullets, but it's not as flexible a method IMO. To each their own. The key is HEAT in the mould and remembering that pot temp and alloy temp are two totally different things.
 
JWFilips

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
358156 hp said:
I forgot to bring up something I read a long time ago, this is probably best directed to Jim (JWFilips). I watched a video of a guy assembling a TC muzzleloader kit, and he was rubbing the brass pieces with (real) black powder to force them to tarnish. Is this true? The video was shot a long time ago.
Click to expand...
Absolutely The brass on a firelock gets a great natural patina from black powder smoke! Many of the folks that I built custom flintlocks for insist on polishing the brass every time they shoot! I never do this with my flintlocks!
I know I have used a lot of Birchwood Casey "super blue" liquid in my shop for the customers who wanted pre-aged Firelocks. Does nice things to clean degreased brass and On the barrel near the breech and touchhole; applied strategically to areas that would be exposed to the flash....Then wrap a Clorox soaked rag on it ( "outside" of course) It will pit and etch barrel steel nicely. Used this technique when I was doing museum restoration of firelocks.... In areas that needed to be filed or new metal added. Tends to blend in the new with the old! Probably have forgot more tricks then I remember over the years.
You need to know a lot of stuff before starting working on a 230 year old J.P. Beck, Pennsylvania Long Rifle!;)
I had that restoration job in my shop about a year before I even had the courage to start working on it!
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
JW I gotta ask.
how many of those old guns did you get to sneak out and 'test fire'... you know just to make sure of your work..LOL
 
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