Ever had a Mould

RLD4570

New Member
That you just can’t keep hot enough? My Brooks 560gr Mould likes to be hot and I can’t cast fast enough
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Yep. An NOE 313640 RG4. No matter what I did the HP was crappy. Never got it hot enough.
Then I listened to Rick and get the #2 Rowell ladle and not I get perfect noses every pour.
Sometimes you just need to pour more heat into the mould and ladles are ideal for that, unless it is an Ideal ladle then it is too small.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Ok, hold the mould on the edge of the pot when pouring. Have it angled so overflow runs back into the pot. Pour with the spout of the ladle maybe 1/2" above the sprue plate. After cavity is full continue to pour lead for at least a couple seconds. That makes sure the base hardens last which reduces flaws but also increases the amount of heat transferred into the mould. The excess lead flows into the pot with no ill effect.
Find what the mould needs. Might need to pour for an extra 5 seconds. Might need to empty the ladle.
Let the sprue harden, open mould, and dump bullet. Close mould and repeat.
You will find a tempo that gives good bullets after some trial and error.
 
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Rick

Moderator
Staff member
Never pause to inspect your new creations while casting. If you do the mold is cooling and if it's aluminum it's cooling much faster than iron or brass.
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
Don't put the ladle back on the hot plate. Once the mold is full put it back in the pot, dump bullets and pull a ladle full up and refill the mold, ladle back in the pot.
 
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Ian

Notorious member
If full 30 would get their stuff going for the individual channels I'd put up some videos. Brad already has a ladle casting video up on the toob, but hed have to post a link.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
I went back and looked at the video and I don’t like it too well. I need to shoot another, better one.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
yeah. the tube.

a little trick I learned was to cover the pot with kitty litter and lean the mold over into the alloy.
then roll it back onto the edge of the pot to pour the sprue.
the litter keeps the mold from getting alloy all over it.
it will clog the spout on the ladle if you try to dump all the alloy out though.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Notice I didn't stop pouring after the last cavity was full but rather went back and forth over each cavity again. Think of the extra heat transferred. That can make a huge difference.
As Rick likes to say- you aren't pouring lead you are pouring heat.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
If another, better quality, video would help I can certainly shoot one. Takes very little time and I can always use more bullets. May take a few days to get to it however.
 

Ian

Notorious member
I think it would be a good reference, Brad. We can write things like "pour the cavity full and keep the sprue washed out for a couple seconds, then dollop some metal on it an move to the next one", but there's nothing like seeing it done.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Here is a new video. A bit longer than it needs to be but it gets the point across. Mould is a 4 cav NOE 360160wfn. Figuring on a max sprue it is still under 1000 gr per pour in cavities and sprue. I am pouring close to a pound or 7000 gr of alloy into and onto the mould. Think about that, 6 times as much drains back into the pot as goes into the cavities or sprue.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Oh, the new sprue whacker is awesome. A light tap gets stuck bullets out easily. Almost effortless to use. I like it.
 

quicksylver

Well-Known Member
Here is a new video. A bit longer than it needs to be but it gets the point across. mold is a 4 cav NOE 360160wfn. Figuring on a max sprue it is still under 1000 gr per pour in cavities and sprue. I am pouring close to a pound or 7000 gr of alloy into and onto the mold. Think about that, 6 times as much drains back into the pot as goes into the cavities or sprue.
nice video!!!thanks!! Got a question. I've watched several videos of members casting and then with what seems to me to be too little effort open the mold sprue plate with a gloved hand..i know the sprue has hardenedsome but has it hardened enough to require cutting or is it being torn ?
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
The answer is a resounding yes.
It is slowly torn but largely cut. This photo shows that the sprue cut is torn a little but mostly cut. It is pretty flat to the base, no sprue hump.
I will say that a gloved hand pretty much requires some sort of sprue plate lube is used. No lube would lead to lots of lead smears on mould and plate. The effort required also rises fast with no lube.
Let the sprue harder too much and the plate won't open with a gloved hand. When plate opens easily it is a good sign of a close to temp mould.
IMG_3201.JPG
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
it depends on the plate temp of course.
but it could be tearing, smearing slightly, or cutting but without leaving a bump.
the longer you go the closer to the bump you get, and if you hit it instead of pushing the plate the greater your chances at getting a slight bump are too.

the way Brad was pouring there was hot alloy under slight ladle pressure [weight] taking the place of a sprue puddle, and I could hear his fan going speeding up the cooling process of the smaller amount of actual lead on the plate.
he was probably getting a small amount of tearing but fewer chances at having internal voids in the bullets themselves because of the mold temperature.

when I get tearing it's usually about the point my bullets grey over, and another 1-2 one-thousand count/s usually turns that slight tear into a pretty smooth cut.
if I go one thousand less I get a smooth almost smeared base but that is a very fine line to walk right there.