My first cast minie balls.

[Maillemaker]

http://www.forth-armoury.com/temp/1853/minie.htm

Well, I got my pure lead in from Rotometals, and my Lee mold in from Midway USA.

Unfortunately, I'm getting voids in the top of the hollow base. I have noticed that the sprue hole is off center from the bullet cavity. This would make it harder for air to escape. Should I return this mold?

Steve

[matt]

you should try 2 different things make your lead very hot and to pour in the metal from the side of the sprue hole instead of directly in this will help with the voids everything has to be very hot
matt
winslows battery 9775v

[John Bly]

The void at the end of the hollow base is caused by shrinkage, not by a venting problem. The solution is to keep molten metal in the sprue while the bullet in the mold is cooling. You do this by continuing to pour molten lead into the puddle on top of the sprue plate for 3 to 5 seconds after the mold is full. Every new minie bullet caster goes through this learning curve. Experimenting will tell you the amount of time you need to keep the puddle molten. This is akin to "follow thru" in many endeavors, shooting, golf, baseball, etc. You aren't done when the mold gets full but you must follow thru with the molten sprue until the bullet cools and hardens. I hope this helps.

[Maillemaker]

Thanks. I ran my lead from 650 up to 850 and didn't see any difference.

The outside of my bullets looked very good, except I had these little "worm tracks" looking frosted "veins" going up the sides to the bullet nose. I suspect this was air trying to escape through the off-center sprue opening.

This morning I took the sprue plate off and elongated the hole using my drill press, so that the opening in the blocks is not obstructed. I have the pot heating up again right now to test.

Steve

[Joseph Plakis Jr, 00302V]

If you are using a bottom pour pot. Do not put the lead flow directly into the mold opening. allow the lead to go in slightly above the opening. This allows it to vent better. You also have to leave a puddle of lead on the sprew plate untill it hardens.
If you are not using a bottom pour pot try the same way to pour the lead into the mold.
I run my lead temperature about 750 degrees and if I cast as I said above I do not leave holes in the nose of the bullets.

Joe Plakis Jr.
Hampton Legion 00302V

[Maillemaker]

Well I took the sprue plate to my drill press and opened up the hole until it showed the entire hole in the bullet mold. That seems to have done the trick as I don't have any void issues now.

I do notice, however, that if I pour lead directly into the mold, I get "worm tracks" up the nose of the bullet, about 2 of them, leading up to the sprue. This is just a trace of texture - you can barely feel it with your finger. I think this is from air escaping the mold.

If I allow the stream of lead to impinge on the sprue plate hole and "swirl" into the mold, the entire nose of the bullet has the "frosted" look. It's not frosting that you see from overheating, it's probably just air flowing over the entire nose of the bullet as it escapes the mold.

On the right you can see "worm tracks". The two on the left are from swirl-filling.
http://www.forth-armoury.com/temp/1853/minies1.JPG

I cast up a whole pile tonight. A couple of hundred or so.
http://www.forth-armoury.com/temp/1853/minies2.JPG

[John Holland]

Don't over think it too much, just go and try them! I always figured it wasn't a beauty contest and if they worked who cared?

JDH

[pastore]

If I were you, I would shoot a few of the bullets in your gun before I went to the effort to cast hundreds of them. Sometimes a particular bullet just doesn't work in a particular gun.
After you determine that they work for you, have at it.

[Maillemaker]

If I were you, I would shoot a few of the bullets in your gun before I went to the effort to cast hundreds of them. Sometimes a particular bullet just doesn't work in a particular gun.
After you determine that they work for you, have at it.

I know you can "tune" bullets to guns, slugging the barrel and such to achieve the ultimate accuracy. Lots of people do that when reloading cartridge ammo, too. But I don't. I'm just looking for "factory" ammo to go shooting with. I'm sure when a CW soldier was issued his ammunition it wasn't tailored to his gun. This mold is the only "original" style Minie that Lee makes, so that's what I got. It's a .575 diameter mold.

The good news is if they don't work out, bullets melt faster the second time around. :)


Steve

Edit to fix typo - .565 was supposed to be .575.

[Michael Bodner]

Steve,

To help your bullets mold smoother, make sure you flux the wax. Basically, just add a pea-size hunk of candle wax to the lead. Be careful, because if it melts across the surface of the lead, it will flame-up. I put the wax into my ladle, rest the ladle on the top of the lead until it melts, then twist it and plunge it deep into the lead and stir. It will smoke a lot, but shouldn't flame up. If it does - don't panic!! After all, its just candle wax and it will burn out in about 10-20 seconds.

Good fluxing makes the lead 'splippery' and allow impurities to float to the top and allows the lead to flow smoother in the mold (should eliminate some of those marks on your bullets).

No need to overdo the wax - A little goes a long way.

Have fun and get shootin'

-Mike

[Maillemaker]

Hi Mike!

Thanks for the info. I always flux my lead every time I add lead to the pot.

Steve

[Ken Hansgen, 11094]

Steve, I'm unsure about all the reasons why, but all my bullet moulding troubles went away when I switched from a bottom-pour pot to a top-pour pot with an egg type ladle. Just make sure your lead AND MOULD are hot enough before you begin accepting bullets.

[Maillemaker]

I've cast them from 700-850 with about the same results, though hotter does seem better.

I'm still seeing "worm tracks" along the nose of the bullet. I'm pretty sure this is air escaping the mold. If I allow the lead to impinge on the sprue plate and "swirl" into the mold, the tracks become less distinct, but are still present on the nose of the bullet.

After a few days of oxidation, you can hardly see them anymore.

My biggest problem was voids, and this seems to have gone away once I modified the sprue plate opening to not obstruct the flow of air/lead into/out of the mold.

Steve

[Michael Bodner]

Keep the worms. Use them for bait down by the creek...

-Mike

[Joseph Plakis Jr, 00302V]

Steve
If you place your lead dipper directly into the cutoff sprew you will get the "little worms". What you are doing is forcing lead into the vent lines that are cut into the mold. If you use a dipper the best way to pour the lead is to hold the mold at a slight angle and pour the lead on the cut off plate about 1/8" from high side of the hole. This allows air to vent out the little vent lines in the mold and also out of the sprew hole.
It is not a big concern having the "little worms" on the bullets. If you get "big worms" you have to clean the mold surface vents and make sure the mold is closing 100%.
Joe Plakis Jr
Hampton Legion 00302v

[Maillemaker]

Steve
If you place your lead dipper directly into the cutoff sprew you will get the "little worms". What you are doing is forcing lead into the vent lines that are cut into the mold. If you use a dipper the best way to pour the lead is to hold the mold at a slight angle and pour the lead on the cut off plate about 1/8" from high side of the hole. This allows air to vent out the little vent lines in the mold and also out of the sprew hole.
It is not a big concern having the "little worms" on the bullets. If you get "big worms" you have to clean the mold surface vents and make sure the mold is closing 100%.
Joe Plakis Jr
Hampton Legion 00302v

I am using a bottom-pour pot, but I am pouring the lead as you describe.

I'm not sure which vent lines you are talking about, unless you are talking about the faint cross hatching visible in the face of the two mold halves. If those are air vents, it's possible I choked them off with carbon soot when I sooted my mold, I will check.

Steve