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Thread: Preventing voids in bullets, an experiment.

  1. #11
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    I've never used anything but my bottom pour Lee pot, but I love it. By pouring off the bottom you don't have to worry about dross in your bullets. And you get a nice controlled pour every time. I like it.

    Steve

  2. #12
    jonk is offline
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    I used to get about 50% rejects for otherwise good bullets due to voids at the top of the core pin; I look foward to trying this.

    Part of the problem was, the sprue solidifies before the heavy core of the bullet does; I've found it to help things considerably to keep the mold hard pressed up against the spout on my 20 lb bottom pour pot, adjusted to really let the lead flow; then pull the mold away after 5 sec or so and let the sprue puddle and harden. Now I'm down to about 15% rejects, but would love to improve that further.

    I always read about folks saying 'oh, gotta ladle pour the minies'... personally I never had any luck with ladle pouring minies whatsoever, with about 75% rejects. I DO still ladle pour my sharps bullets as I have 3 pots- big one is pure lead, medium is wheeleights for smoothbores and smokless, small one is 1/3 ww to 2/3 pure for the sharps pretty much only.

    But, whatever works for you.

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maillemaker View Post
    So I was playing with my new Lyman Parker Hale mold, which has a very truncated cone for making the hollow base. Most of my molds come to a rather sharp point for core pin.

    I wondered if this mold would be less prone to making voids because of the lack of a point on the core pin. Most of my minnies, when they make voids, make them at the cusp of the core pin.

    I theorized that perhaps the voids are initiated in the bullets much like bubbles are in a beer or glass of soda - they initiate on tiny microscopic defects in the glass. I theorized that perhaps voids were initiating in a similar manner, the apex of the core pin being a great place to initiate a "bubble".

    I noticed right away that the Parker Hale mold, with its flat-top core pin, seemed to be less prone to voids. But there were, on occasion, perhaps 5 out of 20 drops, voids forming on the top of the core pin. The top of my core pin was fairly smooth, but you could still make out concentric circles of the tool marks left on it from manufacture.

    Could this rough surface be initiating voids?

    To test this idea, I took my core pin and polished the top face of it until it was nearly mirror bright.

    And lo and behold, it definitely made a difference. Instead of 5 out of 20 having a void, now perhaps 1 in 20 had a void, or less.

    Now I still did get the occasional void, and I do not know why, but I tend to think that defects in the mold may be propagation points for voids.

    The next thing I need to fix is that these PH bullets have such thin skirts that they are easily dented when they drop into my bucket of water. I've got to find a new way of cushioning the bullets when they drop from the mold.

    Steve
    What did you use to polish your core pin?

  4. #14
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    I started out with some diamond paddle files.

    But in the end I found it easier to maintain a good, flat alignment with some fine sandpaper on a rubber sanding block and a few drops of oil. I only polished the face of the pin. The Parker Hale mold pin is not pointy like most minnie core pins, it has been cut short and flat to increase the weight of the bullet.

    To polish a regular core pin you'd have to chuck it up in a drill somehow.

    Steve

  5. #15
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    Okay, thanks... I was thinking rubbing compound or jewelers rouge... for the very tip maybe some fine emery paper??

  6. #16
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    I just got done casting some Lyman P-H bullets. I smoked my core pin (as well as the mold halves) and the bases came out real nice and smooth. Just a thought!
    Relatives; Isaac W. Shafer 33rd Va. Inf. Lost right arm at Antietam
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  7. #17
    norman horne, 12321 is offline
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    Smoking your mold

    Best thing I've found to smoke (carbon-coat) your mold for good bullet release, is what we in the South call "lidard" (actually lightwood). This is the heavily resinous wood from the pine tree; it lights easily and burns with a thick smoke. It has been used hundreds of years to start fires in stoves, fireplaces, and heaters. Growing up, I was told that it is formed when a pine tree dies or is killed in the spring when the sap is up, as opposed to cold weather, when the sap is down.
    4th North Carolina, Iredell Blues, NRA "Lifer", Member SCV George Davis Camp 5.

  8. #18
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    We always called that "fatlighter" in scouts.

    What I read was that smoking does not aid in bullet release from the mold. In fact the smoke residue is mostly gone within 20 bullets or so.

    What the smoke does is act as a thermal transfer barrier between the molten lead and the mold blocks. This allows you to get better bullets quicker when the mold is not yet up to temperature.

    If you start with a hot mold I don't think the smoke does much for you.

    Steve

  9. #19
    hp gregory is offline
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    it would seem that almost every mold wants a little bit differant procedure when it comes to casting a good bullet. canting a mold under a bottom pour sorta copys what you do with a laddle. i think this pushes the air up and out of a mold. i know i have a lot of molds that this works with. some molds have vent lines cut in their face. if these stay open they can help event the air. it seems to me that the hardest bullet to pour correctly is a hollow base minie and these are the only bullets i use a laddle to make. i have found canting the solid base bullet molds is enough to get good bullets when using a bottom pour. the pesky hollow base minies seem to need the laddle. im sorry to say that weighting the bullets is the only true way of knowing if there is a cavity inside the bullet. it takes some time to do even on a digital scale but for those who want the best ammo i find that its worth the time taken to do it.

    hp

  10. #20
    Southron Sr. is offline
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    Add A Tad of Tin

    I head down to the local hardware store and pick up a spool of 50/50 lead/tin solder wire. (NOT the acid core wire,use the solid core wire) Then I throw some of the solder wire into a pot of molten lead and stir it in.

    The tin causes the molten lead to fill out the mould much better and prevents voids in the cast bullets. A little bit of tin in the mixture does not appreciably harden the Minie Balls.

    Try it and you will like it as your Minie Balls come out brighter and much better!

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