I think my lead alloy is crap

I hope we do to.

But i must say i have really enjoyed the conversation here and gotten some good stuff for future casting
 
Here's the mold.

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I'm wondering if it is the alloy although I doubt it. I'm also wondering about the mold. In one of the pictures it looks like the cavities are corroded but that could be lint. Also, the the small lines that run the length of the mold are what let the trapped air out of the cavity. Are they clean?
 
Water pipe lead is loaded with calcium, rust, fluoride and anything else the
local water municipality puts in it (just ask Flint Michigan), it's okay to use, just
stir the hack out of it to get the crap to the top.
 
I sharpen a chop stick and go over the vent lines to make sure there clear.

This mold i bought at estate sale. I got a lot of molds at this estate sale cheap.
Unfortunitly they were stored in a wooden box in a crawl space and most were not salvageable.
This one and a two cavity 44 mag 245 gr. Keith mold were good.
The 44 mag cast some unbelievable nice bullets.
There was also a couple 4 gang 429303 molds that i have heard called arrow points. But they were beat to hell.

The other molds were for 270 winchester and 30-06.
They were still in boxes and full of mold and rust.. a real shame.
 
Your lead pipe etc, are you stuffing that straight in the cast pot or are you making clean ingots first, then putting them in the pot?

The later is the correct answer.
 
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Cover the entire top of the alloy with some type of dry media flux. I use walnut shell media because I have it on hand. Light it when it starts to smoke. Let it burn until it goes out. I then use an old wooden spoon to stir the alloy with. I push the spoon in until it scrapes the sides, and bottom as I stir. I then use a metal spoon to skim the dross. Then I add my ladle. Once it gets hot I flux it again. I get better results if I flux twice before I pour. As I go I flux about every 10 to 15 minutes. I heat my mold first on a stove burner as well.
 
I'm pretty much clueless to this. But heat and zinc was mentioned. The hotest I ever cast is 750*. somewhere around 800* is where zinc melts, don't remember the temp exactly. All my lead right now is in ingot form, I make ingot's first to to clean the lead. I melt the lead for ingot's at about 600* I thinkit is, just over the melting point of lead. I throw everything in the pot and anything that doesn't belong there, zinc, floats to the top. I have an old metal serving spoon I drilled a bunch of small hole in that I use for picking out the zinc, don't get the spoon in to deep, it'll pick out the tin too. Once the zink is out I flux with whatever I have on hand to flux with, I like candle's best!Then scoup out the garbage on top and the lead is clean.
 
I drilled a bunch of small hole in that I use for picking out the zinc, don't get the spoon in to deep, it'll pick out the tin too.
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Tin melts at about 449 degrees Fahrenheit, Lead melts at 621 degrees. If your alloy is melted, the Tin would be liquid...how then would dipping the spoon in too deep, remove any Tin? Ask'en for a friend.
 
Maybe consider smoking your mold with a candle before pouring it.

Never skim a furnace's surface to cast with.. Always bottom pour or dip melted lead from below the surface.
Old casters Tip: If not wanting to see a chunky dross surface while pouring. Lightly sprinkle Boric Acid Crystals on top of a freshly fluxed lead's surface. If the Boric Acid glass like surface tension isn't broken during the pour. You'll have a no separation of tin >top Rim to pots Empty.
i.e. pile junk bullets and sprew's off to the side till the pot's material is used up so to not break the dross surface tension.
 
Yes i flux when i make my alloy.
So i flux that old water pipe before i add my alloy. Then pour into 1 lb bars.
I usually do no more then 40lbs at a run.
I am down to 27 lbs on this last alloy i made... will cast with it till its out. Might just throw it out when i get towards the bottom of the pot since it has contaminates in it that i just cant get out
 
Cool... i will be making up new alloy this weekend. I will grab some.
I will be using lino i got in 5 lb bars from roto metals with lead...
Will heavily flux my lead befor adding lino.

Whats a good ratio of lino to lead to gwt a bhn of 12 or 13 ?
 
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