would like to see your set up fan to cool mold while casting

Mike W1

Active Member
Small fan and 110v motor from Graingers seems to help. Rest it on the little shelf and kind of go by the feel of the sprue cut. Holes in the ends of the closure and also on the shelf.
Cooling Fan-2.JPG
Bench10-18-2.JPG
 

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
I also do not use a fan for the molds. I DO USE a fan for the AREA. MOVING FUMES AWAY.
I also free cast and develop a cadence when I get hot I allow to cool on a block the pot sits upon. Then pick up a second mold. Sometimes a mold I "need" bullets from. More often a mold I simply use allot of bullets from. Like my ball or 40 competition bullets.

Its worked for me for decades.
CW
 

Walks

Well-Known Member
I cast from 2-3 molds at a time. So there is enough time between fills for the mold to cool a bit.
A smooth rhythm makes it work.
I have used a small fan to cool molds in the past.
Even though I cast outdoors, I use a big fan behind me to blow fumes away.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
I'm amazed so many people use fans to cool the mould. I've found keeping the mould hot enough to be a far, far, far larger issue than ever worrying about cooling one down. I try to get the mould up to temp and one the occasions I find the sprue taking longer to solidify than I like, I just slow my pace a bit and soon enough all is well. I've also used the damp cloth to help freeze the sprue, but only rarely.
 

358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
I often set my moulds on room temperature alloy ingots to regulate temps. After awhile the ingots get hot, then I move those to the top of the pot to warm up even more before adding them to the melt when needed.
 

Walks

Well-Known Member
358156 hp,
I think it has to do with "patience", most folks don't like to "twiddle their thumbs" waiting for the sprue to harden. I know when I started casting at 8yrs old with an old Lyman 1cav mold for My Dad's Colt Navy that it was pure torture watching that sprue harden.
But I had learned that patience when I switched to a 1cav 9mm mold. No more lead smears on the top of the blocks.

It's why I have to cast with 2 or molds today. No patience.
 

Ian

Notorious member
I'm amazed so many people use fans to cool the mould. I've found keeping the mould hot enough to be a far, far, far larger issue than ever worrying about cooling one down. I try to get the mould up to temp and one the occasions I find the sprue taking longer to solidify than I like, I just slow my pace a bit and soon enough all is well. I've also used the damp cloth to help freeze the sprue, but only rarely.

IIRC you don't bottom-pour. It's tough to ladle fast enough to really need any kind of sprue cooling mechanism.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
IIRC you don't bottom-pour. It's tough to ladle fast enough to really need any kind of sprue cooling mechanism.
Depends on the ladle.
With a Rowell #2 I can get almost any mould too hot. Pouring hot lead over the sprue plate get a mould hot pretty fast.
I think the technique and timing make a huge difference. I know I can’t make things work with multiple moulds yet others do. Just doesn’t fit my style.
 

Dale53

Active Member
I MUCH prefer to use multicavity molds. Frankly, a five or six cavity aluminum mould, using my little manicurists fan enables me to run twenty pounds of bullets in an hour to an hour and a half (using my RCBS bottom pour pot. It literally takes only two seconds for the sprue to harden, then, wearing welders gloves, I open the sprue with my thumb. One positive thing that happens, that I really did not anticipate, is that those two seconds under the fan controls the temp of the mold and it never overheats. Frankly, it is just pure pleasure to cast.

Now, when I use a multicavity iron or brass mold, I limit myself to a four cavity mould. Iron or brass gets too heavy with more cavities. When I was much younger I could handle 8 cavity iron molds without issue, but at 85, a five pound (or greater) mould is not much fun for me. But, I rejoice in the fact that that at 85 I can still get enjoyment out of casting, reloading, and shooting! THAT is something to celebrate, my friends!

Dale53
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
IIRC you don't bottom-pour. It's tough to ladle fast enough to really need any kind of sprue cooling mechanism.

Oh yeah you can! But if you want good bullets, you need a hot mould. I'm as impatient as the next guy, but a low cull rate makes being patient easier.
 

JonB

Halcyon member
I use the fan, when casting with molds with large cavities, like about 200gr or larger.
The Fan is on low, and not directly toward the mold, it is pointed toward the bullet pile, the mold is only in that position for 3 or 4 seconds...I also like the air circulation for the smallish room I am in.
AND...the fan is off when casting light bullets.