Hi, been lurking for a long time and finally need to join in here. I bought a Lee aluminum mold for my Marlin 1895 45-70. Im using the 405 grain mold. I was just using an pot and ladle for a while with some Homemade Lyman #2 and my bullets were dropping flawlessly. Clean, shiny, uniform you name it. Almost like i knew what I was doing! well, then I went and bought a Lee production pot last week with the bottom pour, and regardless what temp I pour at the mold either wont fill out well, or I get half a smooth bullet and half a bullet that actually looks corroded, even though I know its not. they arent inclusions, but rather tiny little hole-blemishes on only one half the mold! Ive smoked the mold, scrubbed it out with starter fluid and a toothbrush, everything I could think of and the mold still produces some very flawed looking bullets. the mold looks perfectly unflawed to me so Im sitting here scratching my head. Anyone ever seen this before? thanks Bob

A possible problem could be that your mould is not venting air properly. Are you pouring the lead in from an inch or so above the mould, or do you have it in contact like you probably did with a ladle? Bottom pour furnaces work better if you pour the lead in from a non-contact distance.

A couple more questions...are you pouring a big puddle of lead on the sprue plate or are you shutting off the flow of lead when the mould cavity is full? You need to pour extra lead that forms a nice puddle. The mould will suck some of it in as the bullet cools and that helps fill it and makes better bullets.

If your bullets are well filled out but look partially or fully "frosty" or "corroded" it means that your temperature may be higher than necessary, but the bullets will still shoot well. If you turn the temperature down, the bullets will start looking shinier, but at some point they may not fill out as well.

hello sir. I am pouring from an inch or so away. Lee recommends an off center pour to produce a "swirling" effect to help the fill out. I have tried closer contact as well. My bullets arent frosty, im getting nice shiny bullets except for the strange pitting on half the bullet. It looks just like alluminum corrosion. and yes, I pour a generous sprue. thanks for the reply!

av8nak,
I have some experience casting bullets from the .22 up to the .45 calibers.
I have found that the bottom pour pots work great for all the bullets I cast up to the 350 gr. .45.

For whatever reason, the dipper works the best on the 400+ gr. bullets. I have tried the bottom pour pot several times with different alloys over the years and keep coming back to the dipper as the tool to use for making the best big .45 caliber bullets.

John

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If you're not using flux you could be dipping different metal off the top of the pot than you would be getting off the bottom. I'm not even a bullet caster myself, but I remember my friend that casts bullets showing me how the stuff that congealed on the top of the melt would dissolve back in when he fluxed it.

Guys thanks for the great replies. Unclepaddy, I am fluxing my pot everytime it looks like it needs it. Im pretty sure my alloy is a homogenous mixture as my bullet weights vary only within a half a grain or so. Mr. Kort, that is what Im finding as well. Im gonna dip the ladle into the pot tomorrow and see if I can fix things up. thanks again fellas

are you warming your mold enough? i dip mine into the metal for 30 seconds or so and make sure there's no solid metal left in the pot after i pull it out (where the mold cooled it). other than that, i don't have a clue. btw, i cast 1oz (440gr) shotgun slugs with my lee bottom pour pot without a problem.

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I gave up on Lee molds 25 years ago. I purchased a six cavity 15 years ago to see if I had acquired the nessary skills to make it function. Parts of the mold handles started falling off during the first casting session, fixed those, then the lever on the sprue cutter broke and the mold went into the recycling bin.
I've not learned how make Lee casting products work. I muddle through with Saeco, Lyman, RCBS, Mountain Molds, NEI but Lee continues to evade me. It may not be you!

Jim

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Welcome to the Forum,av
I have been casting for some time,and can say that some molds prefer dipper filling over downspout filling.
Check the spout for partial clogging.Make sure that your mold is hot.Make sure that your alloy is hot enough;more heat is needed for downspout then dipping.
If all else fails,add tin to your alloy.
good luck
Frank

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Frank

well i poured some lead today with the Lee pot and learned a few things. First, the 405 Lee mold really likes the ladle! makes perfectly formed, shiny bullets. However, when using the bottom pour spout, it doesnt form for S**t. I just cant figure out why, but I suspect it has something to do with alloy temp, pour angle, auminum mold, plate tectonics, and of course global warming. Seriously, l think Kragman 71 had it right. Some molds like the ladle, especially the high capacity ones. I poured Lyman #2, then some 2-6-92 and had same results. Not a big deal really, but its the little things that really bug a dude. I just really need to know why! Thanks to all those who commented and suggested. Much appreciated. Bob

Also, unless I've read too quickly and missed it, I didn't see a description of your fluxing technique to include scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen and float up the dross for fluxing? Most of us have a wood handle (plastic melts) spatula or concrete tool for this purpose. Some use an old hacksaw blade. Dross catches on the sides and bottom of the pot and if you leave it there, bits break off and get into the bullets.

It can be hard to get enough flow from a bottom pour pot to fill a big mold before part of the lead hardens, and that messes with fill-out. It has no role regarding contaminants that I am aware of, though.

Unlike the problems Jim had with them, I've had good luck with Lee molds. The tumble lube 6-cavity molds in particular have worked well for me and produced more accurate .38 wadcutters than any other I've been able to cast or buy.

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unclenick, I clean the pot pretty well to get all the junk out before I add a new batch of lead. And Ive been using Marvelux as a fluxing agent, it works well. The last couple of batches ive left a couple pounds in the put to let harden between pours. Im generally impressed with the furnace, I just havent worked out all the kinks I guess. I really like the lee molds too. they are cheap for sure, but they heat up quick, and they form a good bullet when you get the technique down. I just wish they made a .459-.460

You say you flux (and skim I assume?) often. But, do you stir all the way to the bottom of the pot? I ask because it sure sounds as if you have a "dirty" alloy.

Maybe I'm just lucky but I find no significant difference in using any brand of molds, including Lee's. ??

I think what you are seeing is a common problem with the bottom pour furnaces. It is a problem with mine too. Richard Lee explains it some, as he states, the molten alloy is bouncing off one side of the mold and creating a hotspot. I think there's a little more to it than that, like the alloy picking up some air on its way to the mold, but it's something I've just learned to live with. One half looks looks pretty, the other half slightly corroded. It's not something unique to Lee molds either, though it appears to be more common with aluminum molds than those made of another material. I've tried varying the angle, bouncing the flow off the sprue plate, putting the mold right against the spigot, etc., but mostly to no avail. I even see it with an old Lyman/Ideal 308329 that I have. Since it was producing bullets with a weight variance of +/- .2gr, I just don't concern myself with it anymore.

It is almost like all the molds are female. They decide what they want and if you give them that then you will get good results. Come to think of it my rifles are the same. The major difference is that my molds and rifles don't change their minds about what they want as often as my wife. None of the tell me about the policy changes I have to discover it on my own.

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