Oh for the love of...

K

kealil

New member
That was my words today after throwing 100 bad bullets.
It turns out that I somehow got lead stuck in the little cracks in the mold. I been able to get the major majority out but the mold still isn't closing flush. What would be the quickest way to get this junk out?

I was thinking maybe minerals spirits or a Leading remover like Hoppes.
 
You might also try looking in the portion of the molds that has the guide rods/pins in them. There might be something in there that is stopping your molds from shutting. You should be able to see anything that is on the inside contact face.

I haven't personally tried this, but you could take a hard bristled toothbrush (or something similar) and try to scrub the inside face of the mold. It shouldn't scratch from the brush, and you might be able to jar loose some of the flakes and little pieces.

OR, to throw something wild and most likely much more work than its worth, you could pour liquid lead on the inside face of the mold, covering it, and remove it. The liquid lead (if hot enough), should be able to grab any of the small particles when it solidifies and you can just knock it off or pull it off with a pair of needle nose pliers.

Just throwin some ideas out there. If you don't like 'em, you can send 'em right back...
 
Take a close look at where you're building up and why. In the venting? How about the alignment pins? careful work with a safety pin ot the point of an x-acto knife should clear any "malfunction"... :)

Happy casting. ;)
 
Gettin the lead out

If I can see it I pour lead on it , if I can`t I work with smaller tools & magnafication 5x preferably .
 
When you say "the little cracks in the mold" do you mean the vent lines?

If so, the only way I know of to remove the lead is to use either the sharp point of an exacto knife, or scalpel, or a dental pick to drag through the vent lines to clean out the lead.
You need HIGH magnification to make sure you don't get too carried away with the removal. It's easiest to do this on the cast iron molds, although I've had some success with aluminum ones.
Make sure you don't damage the edges of the mold cavity when you clean out the vents.

One of the "lead-away" or lead removal cloths might work, I've just never tried one.
 
I have used penetrating oil to clean the mold of stuck lead pieces in the vents. Spray it on heavily, let sit for at least an hour, then use a stiff nylon brush. Then use brake cleaner to clean the penetrating oil off. Re-lube the sprue plate and alignment pins. The first few boolits after that will be wrinkly, but it will clean it up.
 
I heat the mold to casting temp and scrub the surface with a cotton rag. If there are some stubborn spots, I'll use a bronze brush to lightly remove spots of lead...
 
Since you DIDN'T tell us what type of mold it is, we,(at least I,) can't give you specific tips to get the lead off the face of your mold. Steel/cast iron molds can take a lot more scraping to get that lead off the blocks, than aluminum or brass molds can.

I use a stainless steel brush on an iron mold if there's some lead on the faces. I also use a propane torch to get it hot before using the brush. Alum. molds will melt if you use a torch too long, so watch out. Be careful around the edges of the cavity, a burr there will result in boolits hanging up, refusing to drop free.
 
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