Well I did it again. I got lazy & paid for it with A LOT of not filled out bullets.
I was going to cast some more LYMAN #311252-75GR RN. I had my old LYMAN pot already set up with an inch of Linotype already in the bottom, so I filled the pot with ingots. The LYMAN will not heat higher that 720degrees. I figured if I cast fast enough I could keep the mold hot enough. I turned up the new hotplate to full & set the mold to preheat as I waited for the pot to come to full melt/heat. That hot plate with a cast iron diffuser plate will keep lead on it's surface molten at full heat. Works great for preheating molds & getting good bullets from the 1st cast. I checked temp with my new LYMAN Digital Thermometer at start & it read 722degrees. So I figured too try it.
Well I started casting & got 5 real good ones from the 1st 3 fills. So I started casting & dropping into the quench bucket at my feet. I kept at it for 30min, then took A break. I refilled the little in the pot & put the mold back on the hot plate.
Came back in 15min. Pulled a few bullets outa the bucket. WRINKLES, WRINKLES, all wrinkled. All I can figure out is that the mold was hot enough coming directly off the hot plate. But I couldn't maintain enough temp to get decent bullets.
Guess I need to get whacked in the head, every time I cast little bullets. USE RCBS PRO-MELT POT THAT WILL REACH 850DEGRESS PLUS.
Old Lyman pot OK for big .44&.45's
Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.