wilkinson mold help

[medic302]

hello everyone, i've just started casting with my new moose wilkinson mold. i'm having a little difficulty getting the bases to fill out evenly. i've been casting at 700F, should i cast hotter? or pour slower? i've been using a bottom pour lee electric pot. any advice is appreiciated.
Jason

[Maillemaker]

I'm not familiar with that particular bullet, but when I have fill/void problems, I try tilting the mold to as hard an angle as I can so that the lead pours to the lowest part of the mold rather than impinging on the protrusion that makes the hollow base.

On Minnie balls, I find that a direct vertical pour impinging on the nose of the cone results in voids at the top of the cone every time. By tilting the mold, I don't see the voids. There has been some talk that the voids may still be there, just that they are hidden. I don't know.

I also cast at around 750F.

Some have suggesting putting a tiny amount of tin solder into the mix to improve fill-out, but I've been scared to try this for fear of inconsistencies in hardness unless I carefully fill the pot to the same height every time before adding solder.

Steve

[Michael Bodner]

Don't add tin. You'll just increase hardness. Try adding some flux (ie wax) to the melt. I take a small (less than the size of a pea) of ordinary candle wax, melt it in the ladle, then stir it into the pot. Be CAREFULL!! Too much and you'll set it on fire. If this happens, do NOT blow it out - It will burn out harmlesly by itself.

It will help remove impurities from the mix and it will help with filling in the voids.

Also, make sure your mold is plenty hot. You'll probably toss back in the first 5-10 rounds before it gets hot enough. That's why I let the mold get warm on top of the pot and occasionally cast a round while the mix is warming up.

Good luck!

-Mike

[iron brigade]

Don't add tin. You'll just increase hardness. Try adding some flux (ie wax) to the melt. I take a small (less than the size of a pea) of ordinary candle wax, melt it in the ladle, then stir it into the pot. Be CAREFULL!! Too much and you'll set it on fire. If this happens, do NOT blow it out - It will burn out harmlesly by itself.

It will help remove impurities from the mix and it will help with filling in the voids.

Also, make sure your mold is plenty hot. You'll probably toss back in the first 5-10 rounds before it gets hot enough. That's why I let the mold get warm on top of the pot and occasionally cast a round while the mix is warming up.

Good luck!

-Mike

I agree,
Make sure your mold is hot. dip the thing right into your melted lead and cast a couple. dip again for a few seconds and try again.

[hp gregory]

i love a bottom pour furnice for everything but a minie. i found that the dip the laddle is much better for a hollow base bullet. however a dear departed friend of mine had learned what his favorite minie mould liked to cast good bullets with a bottom pour. he found that just the correct angle on the mould let the air bleed out as the lead went in. i honestly think all moulds are a little differant. however if you use a laddle method the moulds seem to be easier to deal with. the dip and pour method is not any slower than bottom pour. the realy good part is that you dont have to toss back many bullets. i use one of rapines 20 lb pots. i run it pretty hot. you have to get the mould up to temp. i normaly use a propane torch to preheat the mould. once you start you can find the perfect mould temp by adjust the speed at which you cast. once you get in the grove i think you will find that using a full laddle is the way to go. the weight of the lead in the laddle helps fill out the bullet.turn the mould on its side and mate it to the laddle. slowly turn the mould and laddle intill the hole in the sprue plate is pointing up. pull the laddle away leaving a head on the sprue. place the laddle back in the pot while you nock the sprue off. drop the fresh bullet onto a soft rag or towel. reset everything and do it again. when using a solid base bullet mould i have found that the bottom pour can work well by holding the mould at an angle and leting the lead run into the mould fonm the edge. this gives more room for the air to come out instead of being trapped. i feel the most important thing is to have the lead and the mould hot enough. if its not filling out i would bet the mould is to cold.

hp

[Pat in Virginia]

To heat my molds up these days I use a one burner electric hot plate. I put a steal plate (like the cover for a 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 electrical wiring junction box) on the burner element set the closed mold with handles already installed on it so that the handles are pointing straight up and crank up the heat setting to about half way. While the lead melts in the pot the mold is getting thoroughly warm as well. Keep and eye on it and turn the temp down if you can feel the handles getting hot.

I find I get much better bullets a lot quicker using that technique.

With soft lead I run my melting pot around 825 degrees.


Pat

[ms3635v]

Medic,

I am using a .54 caliber Wilkinson Moose Mould and I have no trouble with the bullets it produces. I am using a plumber's pot fueled by propane. I sit the mould on the edge of the pot while the lead is melting. When the lead is melted I use a ladle to pour the lead. The mould produces acceptable bullets after two to three pours, and sometimes on the first pour.

[medic302]

thanks guys for the advice, it sounds like i don't have my lead hot enough.

[medic302]

mike, how's the 54 wilkinson shoot for you?

[Scott Kurki, 12475]

I have been using a bottom pour furnace with minnies. At first I had some voids, but the tipping the mold trick resolved that issue. I believe it has to do with letting air escape from the mold during the pour but I have no proof. All I know is that it works for me.

[ms3635v]

Medic,

I've made about 100 of them but haven't shot them yet. This will be a spring project as I am doing the Drake conversion on the rifle.

[moosette]

Mike - I heard it might go up to a steamy 45-50 degrees next week - get out there and do some shootin! We can't wait to hear your results ;)

Moosette (Sandy Amos)

[medic302]

i've got 25 good ones in .577, but we just got snow so i won't be able to shoot for a few days yet. :(

[ms3635v]

Hey Sandy that would be great, are the .542's ready yet?

[Jim Barber]

Moosette,

Global warming did not go as planned, so my dad and I have not tried out the Wilkinson in a Springfield yet. Haven't forgotten though, we'll let you know how we do when the weather breaks for casting & our local range opens up!

Cheers

Jim B.
110th OVI
Grove City, OH

[moosette]

I was able to do some shootin on Sunday - felt great to get back out there!! Hopefully, my husband and I will find some time to try out the Wilks bullet this season!!

Mike - the .542 is almost ready!! Trust me, you'll be the FIRST to know :)

[ms3635v]

Thank you Sandy!

[Southron Sr.]

A SMALL amount of TIN will NOT make your bullets harder. What the TIN will do is make casting faster and easier because the molten lead will fill out the mould cavity much, much better. Your bullets will also come out "brighter" and with a smoother surface finish.

I recall one time I was casting a "suspect" lot of scrap lead and almost every bullet was coming out of the mould with "blow holes" in the base. I finally threw in a small amount of TIN and my bullets started coming out perfect.

[ken s]

wiggle the mould when you pour. not a lot, just enought to swish it around... Ken