Pellet Skirts filling out inconsistently

[msurf]

I am casting .25 and .30 NOE molds and having issues with the skirts not filling out on some of my pours.  Anyone have this problem?  If so, what were the solutions?  Have tried different temps, pour methods, lead hardness, lead temps, heating molds etc.  The only thing I haven't tried is heating the pins directly. Got better results when I hold my bottom pour nozzle in the sprue hole, (I guess a pressure pour) but not that much better.  Any insights?

[triggertreat]

I am casting .25 and .30 NOE molds and having issues with the skirts not filling out on some of my pours.  Anyone have this problem?  If so, what were the solutions?  Have tried different temps, pour methods, lead hardness, lead temps, heating molds etc.  The only thing I haven't tried is heating the pins directly. Got better results when I hold my bottom pour nozzle in the sprue hole, (I guess a pressure pour) but not that much better.  Any insights?

I am casting both .25 and .30 NOE molds currently myself with good results, so I have some questions.  What temp are you running?  Do you have a PID controlled pot?  How are you preheating the mold before considering the first batch good from there forward?  What is your tin percentage?  Have you cleaned the mold thoroughly with a degreaser and brush?

[Wayne52]

I've cast thousands in .25 caliber both Hunter's and Magnum Hunters using the pressure pour method with 99.9% pure lead.  I don't have a temperature gauge however my pot is an old Lee 275 watt single heat.  I've never used anything but the pressure pour method I've described in the pressure pour sticky.  I've never had any luck with melted down commercial pellets at all they're all made from lead that's suitable for swaging only in my opinion.  Only 99.9% pure lead has ever worked for me.  I use to use lead pipe that I had on hand at one time which is pure but I ran out of it so started buying the split pig ingots from Rotometals.

[msurf]

Thanks guys. I have used both melted down pellets and Rotometals pure lead. The last pour was with melted down pellets.  I have varied the temp, measured with a digital thermometer, (no PID) try to keep it around 700-750 degrees. 
I am using a Lee bottom pour, and last pour I turned it up to 10 to see what would happen.  Same.  Yes, I preheated the molds on a propane burner plate I made, and I cleaned the molds before the last pour.
I do have a ladle like the one you have Wayne, may try that method today.  The things I am thinking are the pins are not hot enough, or it could be my spout in the bottom pour is too fast.  I drilled it out larger to allow for faster fills when I used to pour large fishing weights.
May try again today.
I will say not all pellets are bad, I am getting about 25 to 50 percent good ones...

[Loren]

..., or it could be my spout in the bottom pour is too fast.  I drilled it out larger to allow for faster fills when I used to pour large fishing weights. ....

Slow your pour flow down.  Gives the air a chance to escape.

I have this .457 hollow base bullet that was giving me fits with fill out, so similair to a diabolo pellet with a skirt and hollow base being choked going to the sprue opening.



I was getting a void above the core pin and bases were so so.


Slowed to flow going into the mold and problem was gone.

For the NOE pellet  molds I run my lead temps at 850F. May back that off to 820F once everything gets really hot.

[msurf]

OK, thanks again guys. Had some success using the ladle.  Not every pellet was perfect, but much better success rate than the bottom pour.  I am ordering a new pot liner for my bottom pour...was going to anyway because it is almost rusted out.  That will take care of the pour spout issue.
I just watched your video Wayne...am reheating the lead right now and will go pour some more.  I had lead all over the place dripping off the sprue, etc. I see how you do it properly. Thank you all!

[Mr.P]

Is this a problem mainly with hollow base pellets or slugs?  I'm new to casting don't know what I'm doing but I got two molds and work perfectly with no problems. 

I've read a few of the stories of people really having trouble getting your molds to work, and I'm just wondering why I am having such dumb luck here.  Not checking temperature, not being super picky about technique... pretty much get great casts every time.  When I hear about PID controllers and slight changes in temperature and special pre-heating (beyond letting it sit on the pot for a little while)... all this kind of stuff ruining batches of pellets and I'm scratching my head and wondering what am I missing?

The only thing I can think is that solid and hollow point slugs with a solid base slugs are easier to cast than hollow base pellets.  The other possibility is that there is something wrong with  my casts and I can't tell because I don't know what to look for.

I want to know what I'm doing right because I don't know what I'm doing.   After reading this forum for a while I got the impression that casting would be a complete nightmare, and i almost  decided not to even try it because of all of the problem stories I read here.  I'm glad I just went for it honestly.

[triggertreat]

Is this a problem mainly with hollow base pellets or slugs?  I'm new to casting don't know what I'm doing but I got two molds and work perfectly with no problems. 

I've read a few of the stories of people really having trouble getting your molds to work, and I'm just wondering why I am having such dumb luck here.  Not checking temperature, not being super picky about technique... pretty much get great casts every time.  When I hear about PID controllers and slight changes in temperature and special pre-heating (beyond letting it sit on the pot for a little while)... all this kind of stuff ruining batches of pellets and I'm scratching my head and wondering what am I missing?

The only thing I can think is that solid and hollow point slugs with a solid base slugs are easier to cast than hollow base pellets.  The other possibility is that there is something wrong with  my casts and I can't tell because I don't know what to look for.

I want to know what I'm doing right because I don't know what I'm doing.   After reading this forum for a while I got the impression that casting would be a complete nightmare, and i almost  decided not to even try it because of all of the problem stories I read here.  I'm glad I just went for it honestly.

Yes, it's easy to make a pellet, especially a flat nose.  Just pour some lead in the mold and voila.  I have cast thousands of slugs and pellets in three different calibers, and I've weigh every one of them.  The trick is to get a full fill out at a consistent temp, which yields consistent weight results and best groups once properly sized to the bore.  Pick your temp, bring your mold up to temp and enjoy the consistency.  My last batch of some 400 .30 cal pellets yielded a spread of only 0.58 grains for the entire batch when culling the first four casts to bring the mold temp all the way up.  There's nothing like having your temp controlled, your mold up to temp, and cast dropping off the pins effortlessly each time, and the cast looking near perfect.

[msurf]

I have cast hundreds if not thousands of slugs and roundballs for big bores with success.  My first few rounds of pellet casting were OK (about 50 to 75% good), but the latest round, I was having probably 75% rejects.  I think I am on the road to recovery though!  Had even better success last night after my last post. Learned a lot.

[Chickenthief]

1-2% tin added will aid mould fillout greatly and not make the pellets much harder than pure.
The problem with small bullets is that the mould will shed heat faster that it is added. For that a few seconds on a hotplate in every casting cycle will help.
The void in the .457HB bullets is mostly due to filling the mould directly down and the lead hitting the HB pin will overheat it and "boil" away lead at it solidifies. Cant the mould some 15 degrees to the side and the problem will go away.