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stevemunoz
Not entirely surprised I would goof up like this. I seemed to have pushed my mold too hard.
I assume that I set the sprue plate too tight, or got some lead underneath it. As for damage on the edge of the cavities, it still feels smooth when I feel around with my fingers, though I did get a tiny bit of lead bleeding off the lip of one of the cavities.
I’ll be trying to cast with it tomorrow. If the bullets come out with some issues I may have to get a replacement (or repaired if NOE has such a policy). This is how you learn, I guess…
stevemunoz
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Hugh Kuhns
It was a learning curve for me too. The first several NOE moulds I used got some lines similar to those on your mould. Now when I am doing the initial cleaning I remove the sprue plate and polish the underside with a extra fine fingernail board to take off any burrs. Wash with dish soap, assemble mold, continue heating process and then use 2 cycle oil to lube. Usually don’t have any other problems.
I also make sure the sprue plate is loose enough to swing open and closed with a flick of my wrist but not so loose that it doesn’t cut the sprue off cleanly.
762sultan
SwedeNelson
Well, it looks like the mold is okay. The edges of the bullets are coming out a tiny bit frayed, just enough to feel it. That’s not a deal-breaker though.
Obviously these didn’t come out well. Maybe I didn’t have enough temperature. They’ll got back in the pot on my next try.
We do have a repair service if you would like to return it will see what we can do with it.
Glad to know. I may take NOE up on it, that scraping noise is a bit worrying.
teemu
AlvinYork
Those squiggles you’re getting in the mold may just be it breaking in. The other possibility would be the heat, as you mentioned. The mold being too cool would cause the flow to harden at spots before the rest of it because of that. Hence the squiggles. Also the melt might be too cool and you basically get the same effect as having a cool mould. So boost your pot temperature and use a hot plate to pre-warm your mould.
Your pot temperature is going to depend on your alloy. I run my pot at 612F but I have 87% (or thereabouts) pure lead in my alloy. I notice the more lead in the alloy the higher the temperature at which it becomes “pourable”. I use a lot of tin in my alloy which lowers the overall melt temperature (I guess).
I set my hot plate between Low and Medium and the moulds are usually fine right off the plate or have one or two bad throws at most before producing nice bullets.
And one other thing, am I imagining it or does that third cavity from the left in your photo have some sort of damage? It almost looks like it matches those squiggles on the bullets which would explain why they seem to be the same and in the same spot.
Anyway, let us know if extra heat helps.Third time’s a charm? See for yourselves.
To see if it was either my lead or mold being too cold, I exposed the mold to flame as the lead melted, cranked up the temperature to the point the lead was oxidizing blue/purple and kept cranking out bullets as quickly as I could pour (Got a nice little burn mark where the sprue plate whipped around and singed my arm). Still got plenty of wrinkles.
And one other thing, am I imagining it or does that third cavity from the left in your photo have some sort of damage? It almost looks like it matches those squiggles on the bullets which would explain why they seem to be the same and in the same spot.
I don’t think so. I believe them to be some of the excess residue from when I smoked the cavities. Though I am willing to believe anything at this point. (Should point out, the pictures were before I cleaned them.)
Careful with your lead temperature! The fumes become toxic above a certain temperature.
I recall there was another gentleman on the forum who had similar problems. His issue, it seems, was due to his “pouring” method. I believe he had a bottom feed pot and was holding the mould quite far from the dispensing spout, 1 to 2 inches (or more). Turns out the melt actually had time to cool enough to cause wrinkling issues. Would that casting methodology describe your technique? If so just get the sprue plate as close as possible to the spout. I wouldn’t say touching the pot spout as I’ve actually had cases where I did that and the lead in the spout cooled so much it stopped up the flow.
adamsutherland
Hugh Kuhns
SwedeNelson
teemu
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