Quote: Stir, stir, stir. Flux at least every 10 pounds (cedar sawdust works).
Underclocked; Great advise as usual! But I would like to expand on this one point - The purpose of fluxing is to return oxidized metal to the melt. When tin and other alloy metals oxidize which they do quicker because of their lower melting temp. they rise to the top. You should stir stir stir and then skim to remove these metals if you want soft lead. Fluxing returns these alloy metals to the melt which would result in harder lead. Think about it.
Steve
Posts: 1 | Location: WV | Registered: 26 February 2003
Muzzleloaders REQUIRE pure lead! It's getting harder and harder to find the stuff! It sounds to me like your lead and/or your mould are not getting hot enough, if you are getting wrinkles and bullets that aren't filled out completely. If your lead gets "too hot", the bullets will take on a frosty appearance. BUT THEY WILL FILL OUT PROPERLY!! A frosty, well-formed bullet is shootable.
The bigger the bullet, the more difficult it becomes to cast good ones. The worst problem comes from air bubbles inside the casting that you can't see, but which unbalance the bullet. Leave the dipper pouring spout attached to the mould for about five seconds or a little more when pouring. This helps eliminate the internal voids.