Smoking Molds

[Ron/The Old Reb]

I know you can smoke a mold with a match or by burring a stick. But I was wondering if anyone has ever tried smoking a mold with a carbide lamp and dose it work?

[YOU DON'T KNOW ?]

I tried to smoke one once, couldn't get it lit. So I just settled for a cigar. Seriously you can use fat wood with great results.

[Michael T.]

I have used a candle to smoke the moulds, seems to work, wonder if rubbing powdered graphite into the mould would work?

[Ron/The Old Reb]

I too thought of using power graphite. But I read that it blocks the vents and the mold will not throw good bullets. So I never tried it. I just know that since a carbide lamp produces very fine soot an is the best thing for smoking sights ( Witch by the way, YOU DON'T KNOW, are also hard to lite ) that it might work for smoking molds. IF I can fine a miners carbide lantern, they are readily available in my area because of all the mining, I may buy one and give it a try. I can always use it to smoke my sights.

[Jim Brake 3587]

A drop or two of Lens Lube dropped in a lead pot works great. It also gets rid of mosquitos in the garage and most people...Jim

[Maillemaker]

Lee recommends smoking their molds. I read somewhere, and I cannot recall where, that the purpose of this layer of carbon is not to aid in the bullet dropping out of the mold. Rather, it acts as an insulator that slows heat transfer from the molten lead to the mold body. This allows the lead, particularly the surface of the bullet, to stay molten longer and thus fill the mold contours better.

Steve

[Ron/The Old Reb]

I found a source for fat wood in my area. I am going to take You Don't Knows advice and give it a try. I have never smoked any of my molds and never had any trouble getting them to throw good bullets. Except a couple of Lyman's that I thought would never break in. I purchase a Lee mold a few weeks ago, that I am not thrilled with, and after casting over three hundred bullets the lube rings will still not fill out. I have one other Lee mold. It is not a mine but has lube ring's. I got it used and was treated with Raypine's mold release and that one works great.

[Ken Hansgen, 11094]

I just apply "Mould Release" (a black liquid containing alcohol & graphite) to a cold mould with a Q-tip and let it dry overnite.

[Maillemaker]

I think what smoking a mold does is allows you to get good bullets faster until the mold heats up and you get good bullets anyway.

Because the carbon doesn't stay on the surface of the mold for very long anyway. Big patches of it are gone by the time you do 20 or so bullets.

Steve

[Pat in Virginia]

I set my mould on a hot plate at a medium setting and by the time the melt is ready the mould is plenty hot. The quality of my cast bullets has improved dramatically since I started doing this. They fill out and they are bright and shiny even with pure (?) lead. I get good bullets a lot faster doing it this way. Also, I run my pot at about 850 for pure lead. Now that's free advise (and you know what that is worth).


Pat in Virginia