New mold new casting.

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  • Last Post 15 April 2012
JohnM posted this 06 April 2012

Got a new Lee 358-158-RF yesterday. Didn't have the right lubes around after I cleaned it up, but winged it. Took a little dinking around to get the temperature right, then it started making some nice bullets.

Only miked some, but so far they seem right on. Cast enough to lube a few and make up some loads: as is and some through the Lee Sizing die I got to go along with it. They look as nice as a lot of the commercial cast I've used, so they should shoot.

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Dale53 posted this 06 April 2012

I have one of the six cavity Lee moulds in this design (358-RF) and it is a GOOD bullet. It serves my needs well.

Dale53

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dodgyrog posted this 07 April 2012

I run 3 of the 6 cavities moulds at once to allow sufficient time to cool and then drop the boolits into water. They throw a very popular boolit and I sell a lot of them.

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JohnM posted this 07 April 2012

I decided to go with the low cost Lee 2 cavity mold to get started with bullets for the .357. After I got the temps right and the dipper pour down pat I was surprised how fast I was dumping bullets. :) Need to rearrange how my equipment sits though, my old back really got to me standing and sort of leaning over the bench, can't do that anymore.

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Pepe Ray posted this 07 April 2012

John M It's a common problem, back aches that is. Most folks can't understand that they are working from equipment designed for a 5'8” man. I agree on the great boolet design by Lee. Pepe Ray

Only in His name.

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JohnM posted this 07 April 2012

I decided to try out a Lee 311-100-2R I got to make bullets for my Ruger BH in 30 Carbine. I thought I had got it cleaned, but evidently not. Cast 50 or 60 and they never got good, so it's into the sink with a tooth brush for that one and a good scrub out.

Did pick out 5 passable ones and gave them a little coating of LLA and ran them through the Lee .309 sizing die I got to see how they looked. Sized beautiful and right on the money. For the price those Lee sizers are hard to beat.

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onondaga posted this 15 April 2012

JohnM:

Try using a small wooden box to put your melting pot on so the pot is at eye level when sitting . A table or bench height correct for your pot and chair can be worked out to put the spout at eye level also.

 I do this with my Lee 4-20 bottom pour pot and it makes the spout and mold top much easier to see also. I always use the mold guide to get the molten flow from the spout less than 1/2 inch long to the sprue plate. Keeping the flow consistent and short is important for casting quality.

Actually if the flow is long and the metal is too hot, say over 750 deg. F.,  that exposes the tin in your alloy, while it is too hot,  to the air and it oxidizes the tin  instantly. That is not debatable, it is metallurgical science, Tin too hot exposed to air oxidizes instantly at a much lower temperature than lead needs to oxidize. This negates the purpose of using tin in your alloy to improve the flow of your alloy and the fill out of your mold. Bullet quality can become very poor from that no matter what your mold temperature or casting cadence is. This leaves inexperienced or poorly qualified casters very befuddled about their poor casting quality.

Gary

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onondaga posted this 15 April 2012

JohnM:

100% synthetic 2 stroke oil contains no petroleum and is a suitable lube for mold guide pins, pivot screws,mold top flat area and sprue plates. Only the tiniest amount rubbed out to a shine is needed. More of any lubericant causes it to flow into cavities and effect bullet quality.

I also use Clear Silicone Dielectric Grease as a mold lube. Any car parts store will have that. Apply it the same way and rub it out to a shine. You can use a Q-Tip.

Gary

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JohnM posted this 15 April 2012

Sore back :), yeah, my 70 year old bones with severe arthritis don't like some things I still do. A few hours on a chainsaw just about does me in anymore.

I'm not going to be doing any melting or casting for a bit, I just GOTTA spend some time cleaning up my gun/fishing shop. Good buddy has been begging me to tie him up a bunch of flies.

I think next time I'm going to set up on another bench where I can do it all standing, sometimes I can do that for longer periods.

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JohnM posted this 15 April 2012

I had lubed a new mold I got with a bit of paraffin, it seemed to work OK, but after a while seemed to stick. I noticed some darkening/ staining, deposits on the guide pins, etc. Think I'll try to clean it all up and give a try to some synthetic 2 stroke oil, have lots of that around since that's all I use on various 2 cycle engines around here.

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onondaga posted this 15 April 2012

JohnM:

Yes,  paraffin will leave a caked  carbon  on your molds. Paraffin does that because it is a petroleum based product, The 100% synthetic 2 stroke oil will not do that.

Getting the carbon off is hard. If it is light, hot water and comet cleanser and a brush will do it . Heavy carbon requires some tricks. A long soak with penetrating oil then brushing followed by the comet and hot water brushing works pretty well.

It is very important to thoroughly remove all traces of the penetrating oil from your mold or the heat of casting will cause any remaining petroleum distillates to flow and vaporize into your mold cavity and cause bullet defects. This  puzzles a lot of casters who think petroleum and bullet casting  molds are compatible.

As an aside to this......I feel bad you may stop buying paraffin! Nearly 100% of all the paraffin and petroleum jelly (Vaseline) on this planet comes from the State of Pennsylvania  crude oil. The poor state of Pennsylvania will miss your purchases.

Gary

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JohnM posted this 15 April 2012

I think I got it all off. I'd only cast about 400 bullets before I quit. I'll find out before long.

Didn't know most of that stuff came from Pennsylvania crude. Don't use much around here any more for canning and still have a couple full boxes of it.

I'll still probably use it for fluxing, seems to do good at that job.

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