Shiloh Rifle Forums

Started casting today I have a Lyman 45-70 pastel mold . Should you see the line were the mold comes together on the bullet?? Thanks

HI i cast for my 40-65 and use three different molds and i can not see it on any of my cast bullets . Is your mold closing all the way ?

As tight as handle will let. Thanks.

are you using locking handles ? or hand held handles ? when the mold is empty with the plate open and the mold closed do you see any light when you look in it holding it up to the light ? some times small vents will get lead in them and stop the mold from closing all the way

how hot is your lead in the pot if it is too hot it will cause problems also

Regular Lyman handles. Lee pot temp between 6and 7. When closed there is a space.

There should be no space when closed. Most likely there is a speck of lead on one or both of the surfaces. You have to be careful removing any specks as you do not want to mar the surface. Take the mould out of the handles and look and see if there is still a space. Tom

Lets see a picture of your cast bullet and the faces of the mould blocks. There can be many reasons the mould line is visible. The Lyman postel is an excellent bullet profile, but the Lyman production technique leaves a lot to be desired. I have many Lyman moulds and some have required tuning for optimum results. A properly tuned mould should not require camming or locking handles to cast perfect bullets. A casting thermometer is a big help in repeatable lead temperature. The numbers on the Lee pot do not relate to temperature. The Lee pot is a good pot, but again you must know it's limitations. I've worn out and or rebuilt mine several times over the 45 plus years I have been casting and still use them. The daylight you state is visible on the closed blocks may be a sign that your alignment pins are not fitted properly or that the mould blocks have warped. Both symptoms can be fixed. Again, pictures help to allay the speculation and may allow a proper response.

Woody

I echo what bpcrshooter and Woody told you. You need to see no light between the moulds when they are closed. It only takes a small speck of lead to cause the problem you're seeing. You also need to look at the corners of the mould and make sure it wasn't dropped and dinged. When you post the pic, Woody will tell you how to tune the pins and other things to check to get the mould closing properly..

And, you need a good thermometer to make sure the temperature is in the right range. I recommend the TelTrue, with a range of 200-1000 degrees F and a 6 inch stem. Mine has been going for 25 years. It's much higher quality than RCBS and Lyman thermometers.

Clarence

Thanks for the response I’ll try to get pics later today. What is a good starting temperature?? It’s a 20:1 lead alloy. I get a lot of yellow and black crusty stuff on top I think the yellow is the tin burning off ?? I was looking I found my thermometer I’ll use it today. Thanks again

bpcrshooter62, what is too hot?

we try to stay around the 750 deg mark at all times
if it gets to hot the fumes are hazardous to your health i use a range hood over my pot so the fumes are sucked outside

There are others on here that have been doing this a lot longer than me as i have only been at it for 26 years lol i am sure they will chime in here soon

bpcrshooter62, have you ever looked at your bullets under magnification? Do you know what temperature the fumes become poisonous?

lol nope and you should never inhale the fumes ever but if the pot is turning green i have been told it can be deadly