New .380 mold coming

[99whip]

Richard,

Are the 6 cavity molds hard to get up to temp?

[ssb73q]

Hi whip, IMO the 6-cavity molds are easier to get to temperature than the 2-cavity. I hold the end of the mold in the molten lead until the solid lead mass that forms on the end of the mold falls off. The mold then seems to be at a perfect temperature for casting. One additional thing I like about the 6-cavity compared to the 2-cavity mold is that you can cast, cast, and cast some more  without overheating the mold. When using the 2-cavity mold, the mold would overheat when ripping along where I would need to stop and let the 2-cavity mold cool down. The lead in the 6-cavity mold solidifies faster than the 2-cavity mold. It should be noted that there are a few more surface defects (like lead fold lines) when using the 6-cavity mold compared to the 2-cavity, but view those defects as superficial not affecting shooting performance. I had 7 not usable defective balls out of ~1000 0.454" balls cast yesterday. The 2-cavity mold always produces picture perfect balls.

BTW, I did order the 20lb bottom pour pot that should arrive tomorrow, see:
https://www.amazon.com/Lee-Precision-Pound-Electric-Melter/dp/B001MYESWE/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1479821233&sr=1-1&keywords=Lee+Precision+20+Pound+Pro+4+Electric

Regards,
Richard

[StrawHat]

If the bottom pour mold turns into a drip-o-matic, there are many fixes for that problem.

I have many six cavity molds, about the same number of two cavity molds and several one, three and four cavity molds.  I use a hot plate to bring them up to temp and maintain temps.  If the molds get too hot, a damp towel will help draw down the temperature.

Kevin

[ssb73q]

Hi, the Lee 20llb bottom pour lead pot arrived yesterday. It will easily eat the 3lb lead ingots. The only potential issue is that the large pot makes seeing the pour nozzle easily. There is a mold guide on the pot that may minimize this issue, time will tell. Tomorrow I will fire it up and cast 20 more pounds of lead balls.

Regards,
Richard

[ssb73q]

Hi, I ripped off another thousand 0.454" balls using the new Lee 20lb bottom pour pot. As I guessed, the restricted seeing of the pour nozzle made casting a bit more difficult than using the Lee 10lb bottom pour pot. Also the vertical supports of the 20lb pot limits the size of the catch pan placed under the pot.

In the future I will return back to using the 10lb bottom pour pot that is easier to use than the 20lb bottom pour pot. Being able to melt larger ingots of lead in the 20lb pot is an advantage for large ingots. I could use the 20lb pot to melt and cast the larger ingots to smaller ingots that are more useful in the 10lb pot.

Regards,
Richard

[LonesomePigeon]

That was a lot of great info. Thanks. I recently got a used Lee pot for free that someone didn't want anymore. I'm gonna have to see if it still works and if it does I'll get some molds and start casting. Heck even if it doesn't work I'll just buy a new one and start casting.

[ssb73q]

Hi, I have slowly been replacing my 2-cavity round ball molds with 6-cavity molds to enhance production. After a learning curve the 6-cavity molds work better than single or 2-cavity molds. At a normal production rate, it's hard to overheat the 6-cavity mold. To complete my round ball 6-cavity molds I ordered the Lee 6-cavity 0.457" mold, see:
https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/1202/1/LEE-457-6C

Regards,
Richard

[Len]

Modified a home made mold today and started casting balls for my "new" original Colt Navy. The Manhattan and the Remi Rider take .378", but that is way too small for the Navy, they just fall in. Had to go for .389" which shaves a nice ring (loading on the gun). Going to shoot in the for'end sight tomorrow.