Well, since it has rained or snowed ‘bout every weekend here in Western Pennsylvania since last October, and this weekend is no exception, I figured this would be a good day to cast a few bullets and thoroughly clean the Harley. Both done + + + + + had a few brew and cooked a nice wild turkey in my roaster. It sure looks good…

Now to the questions. Probably they have been answered a dozen times but I must have missed the replies so here goes:

1. Do all bottom pour furnaces leak? I have a Lee and it leaks, BUT is tolerable. I have cast thousands of slugs with a bit of aggravation, but it has done what it was intended to do. I got it several years ago when I started casting as I wasn’t sure I would “get into” this aspect of reloading. Well, I’m looking to upgrade to an RCBS or maybe a Lyman bottom pour. Any thoughts?

2. I cast ‘bout four hundred 287346’s today. The only way I can get the base of both bullets to completely fill out is to fill both cavities together. That is, move the mold forward and backward to fill the cavities together. Is this caused by the Lyman sprue plate that is thin? And would a thicker sprue plate eliminate this problem?

Hope the last Holiday of Summer went well. Thanks…BCB

BCB, my Lyman bottom pour dribbles, too. I quit trying to cure it and simply leave an ingot mold sitting under the spot. The stalagmites go into the sprue box.

I wonder if cutting a tough on your sprue plate would fix your problem? Some older gang molds had a trough. It would be a simple thing to try. Run a ball mill between the pour holes. I've seen some that looked like they were done with a hand grinder. The ball mill would sure look better. I'd be glad to do that for you if you want to be the guinea pig. I use to have some extra Lyman sprue plates but I couldn't tell you where they are. Maybe somebody else has tried it and will let us both know.

I have had a Lee bottom pour for ever so long. It dribbled when I first got and it dribbles now. In between it went back to Lee. I just learned to live with it (but I keep a coffee can handy just in case). I decided that I needed a larger capacity than the 10 pound Lee provided and bought an RCBS on Ebay last year. It doesn't dribble.

.......I have a Lee 20 lb pot. It dribbles on occasion. More than not, it has this tendancy when the pot is full or nearly so. A good bit of pressure is on the spout. I have a pair of small Vicegrips clamped to the top of the plunger rod, purely for weight. Sure seems to help. If the pot does dribble after a pour I just tap the Visegrips and it stops.

.........Buckshot

BCB,
I have a Lee and Hilts that leak and a Lyman that doesn't.
I have had a few moulds that no matter how tight or loose the sprue plate was the bases didn't fill out. I very slightly beveled the top of each mould half from the outer edge to the cavities. They don't have that problem anymore. Orygun

Thanks for the replies. I sort of figured that most of the bottom pours might leak a bit. Actually, for the bashing Lee takes from time to time, my little 10 pounder has cast a good many thousands of bullets with only minor aggravation from the dripping. I do the same thing with the vise grips. It is amazing how thoughts cross. The only problem I have with this is it makes the arm a bit heavier to lift and for me that makes it a bit more difficult to control the lead flow.

Cutting a channel between the holes in the sprue plate might be a good idea. I might try to get a spare sprue plate or so and have a relative who is a machinist give that a try. I wonder if it will weaken the metal and cause warping as the sprue plate gets increasingly hot? Still, that idea is surely worth a try.

And, beveling the top of each half of the mold I am assuming works to vent it better? Might also be worth a try, except that I seem to always ruin anything I attempt to fix!!! Mr. Fixit I ain’t! Example: When I must repair a minor leak in the plumbing in the house, I always end up with 2 or 3 to fix before I get the original leak fixed!!!

I sure like this particular mold. It is shooting dang well in my 7-30 Waters Contender…Finally found a cast bullet that would shoot with consistent M.O.A. accuracy at 100 yards. I guess the effort of moving it forward and backward to get the good square base fill-out may be worth the energy. Thanks again…BCB

I'm using an old SAECO bottom pour that a buddy has loaned to me, and it doesn't have the dribbles. I have a lee 10#, and it does have the dribbles, though I haven't used it in years, since my buddy loaned me the SAECO.

Can't help on the mold fill out problem other then I've always found casting hotter seems to cure most all casting ills.

BCB,

Like the other folks I tried lots of things to get my 20# Lee pot to stop dripping- I even doused it with penicillin and it still dribbles. One nice byproduct is the "LeeSculptures" that you can make......

Regards....

Lead eats aluminum. I don't own a Lee pot, and if that spout is aluminum, that's the problem assuming a clean spout. You will have to drill out that hole to a very smooth fit with the drop rod every once in a while. For venting a mold, lightly sand all sharp corners to soft corners with emphasis on shaving off only the metal outside of the cavities. Works on the worst of molds. But don't over-do it, especially across the top of the mold. You have gone too far if the lead wants to splinter out through the crack, especially with a gas check design. However, the mold won't be ruined. Just make brittle lead and roll the boolits around in the pail of water used for the boolit drop. ... felix

BCB, what powder and charge is giving you the minute of angle groups in the 7-30? I have that mold but hven't worked with it much. Mine has one cavity that doesn't fill out the base. Going to try easing the edges a bit to let it vent.

My Lee 20 lb. pot does not dribble. It did once and I polished up the rod end and spout and it stopped.

.......BCB, you know Gussy offers replacement tool steel sprue plates for Lyman moulds? I don't have his website on 'favorites' to post here and I'm hoping someone who does will provide it.

Also, if you have a machinist relative possibly he could make you a new plate? One from 3/16ths aluminum would be good. The sharp edge might eventually dull if shearing lots of sprues using hard alloy.

As mentioned, tapering the top of the parting line of the opposing blocks helped or eliminated poor base fill out for me, as did loosening the plate pivot screw (which you've already done).

.......Buckshot

Whitworth,
I believe the address is www.castingstuff.com -JDL

Marc,

I am using WC-844 surplus powder. Supposedly it loads using H-335 data. Maybe, maybe not! It does seem close according to “the books”. Since I do also have some H-335, I really could check it using my chronograph but I really haven’t had the time—might be a project for later this Fall. Regardless, I am using 31 grains of WC-844 which is 1 grain below the listed maximum using H-335, according to Lyman. Velocity is running right at 1932 fps. The bullets are cast from an alloy of 2-1 (ww to #2) and heat treated to a SAECO of 11.5 or a BHN of approximately 30. Heat treating the bullets was the key to getting the M.O.A. accuracy at 100 yards. Groups increased a bit proportionally larger at 150 yards and 200 yards—1.75” and 2.5” respectively. Accuracy of the bullets that were not heat treated was absolutely miserable. At times I could barely keep 3 holes on an 8 �” x 11” target at 100 yards! I think the 1:9 (9 � ?) twist is simply too fast for lead bullets at velocities greater than 1400 – 1500 fps. Also interesting is the fact that Red Dot, SR-4759, H-110, IMR-4227, and Unique all would shoot 3 slugs into 1.0” at 50 yards, but were 2” group material at 100 yards. The slower velocity stabilized at 50 yards but went down the hill at 100 yards. So, I guess if you don’t have any WC-844, then H-335 or Winchester 748 might be worth a try. Heat treat the bullets and I size only the check to 0.285”—the rest of the bullet is as cast. A heavy coat of Lee Liquid Alox is the lube.

NOTE: I consider the 31.0 grains of WC-844 to be maximum in my Contender. Thirty-two grains produced 4-6 inch groups at 100 yards and produced a large puff of blue smoke after it was fired. Cases extracted easily and showed no signs of pressure, but “something just didn’t seem right”. Sometimes gut-feelings are worth as much as pure facts!! It goes without saying—use published data, start low, and work up. Good-luck…BCB

Whitworth92374 (Buckshot seemed better!!),

Do you think that aluminum is better than steel? I went to the address that JDL, posted and Gussy does offer the sprues—he may even have some for Lyman in stock. The 15 bucks might be worth the investment. I sure like this 287346 since it made my Contender an M.O.A. shooter, so it will probably get much use. Thanks for the info…BCB

BCB, I have WC-846 and a little 748 left too. I will give the WC846 a try first. I don't think mine fit the throat unsized. I lapped a Lee sizer to about .2865" and then used a .287" Lyman die to lube it. I just haven't worked with it much yet. I will get back to it after deer season. We are in the middle of our early season now and then late season ends in November.