Do you suffer from sprue plate lead smear?

[Wallyl]

Wanted to mention....to cast bullets fast one needs the melt hot and you will get sprue plate "smear"...many think a thin coating of synthetic oil (AKA Bullplate Lube) will prevent it...I have not found that to work well at all. I have a better method...you take a damp sponge and lay it on the casting table. As soon as the sprue is solid, invert the mold and press the sprue on the sponge for a few seconds. Then strike the sprue plate to remove the sprue...no more lead streaks or smears.

 

[462]

Wasn't that Bruce B's casting method?

Is it my imagination, or does Bullplate actually remove the lead smear, and not just cover it up?

 

[Wallyl]

Perhaps......I don't know who Bruce B is....

 

[Ian]

The wet sponge was Bruce B's thing. I do use a sprue plate lube but never have seen the need to quench the sprue with water.

 

[Wallyl]

Glad that it works; it has not worked for me.

 

[S Mac]

I find if I get a smear I also don't get a good sprue cut, usually a bump on the bullet base. I need to slow down just a touch.

 

[Wallyl]

With Bruce B's method you will not get the bullet base bump.

 

[L Ross]

I use plate lube and a manicurist fan, no smear. I didn't like the discoloration of my sprue plate from the mineral in our water when I tried the sponge.

 

[Intheshop]

Don't know who Bruce B is but have been using the cooling effects of a wet rag for 30+ years. But only as a way to lower the temp when casting hot N heavy. Meaning,not every pour.....

I use more than one mould now.

None of which is what the OP is referring to. I have a cpl moulds that smear.... may have try it for that.

 

[RBHarter]

Bruce was a great guy , lotta knowledge .
He had a lot of things go wrong , go wrong , go wrong his last 4 yr .

Insert something profound and mournful here .

 

[fiver]

he was a character but he had some cool stuff.

there are a ton of things you can use for the smear or to stop the smear from happening.
pencil lead, soap stone, anti-seize, a little bullet lube, A/C oil [shrug] pick one.
I like anti seize on aluminum it stops the galling and helps hide it if it does occur.

 

[Bret4207]

IIRC Bruce passed on? Hope I'm wrong on that. He was a fount of knowledge and just a good guy from all the back and forth I had with him. I find it sad people here don't know the name, or Felix Robbins or several of the other characters from the old days.

 

[RBHarter]

Yes Bruce passed away . I guess it's been 5 years now or close to it . I met him at the NCBS in Winemucca Nv .

I participated in the memorial salute .
It was honorable but must have looked a bit like the Stooges doing a parody of a such .

 

[Cherokee]

I wait for the sprue to freeze (turn frosty), no lead smears.

 

[KHornet]

I also miss some of the ones from the past, particularly John Goins (Beagle)

Paul

 

[Cherokee]

Yes, do miss some.

 

[Bret4207]

I also miss some of the ones from the past, particularly John Goins (Beagle)

Paul

Beagle is gone too?!!! I don't know if I was unaware or just forgot. So many friends that I never actually met are gone now. Life kinda sucks sometimes.

 

[S Mac]

I may be wrong, but I thought I saw something Beagle posted on CB not too long ago. Just looked, he was on there today.

 

[Wallyl]

Beagle is alive & well living the good life in Kentucky!

 

[Ben]

Yes, I do believe Beagle is among the living.

Ben