Newby on the block... well, to casting anyways.

[avator]

I rest my molds on top of the pot while I ladle pour so the weight don't bother me. Also it's only a 2 cav mold.

[Hoosier Daddy]

Quick question, and it may have already been addressed in this awesome thread.
 If your lead has a "rainbow" appearance is that too hot?

[avator]

I don't think I've ever seen thee rainbow in my lead. I wonder it that's because I never had it too hot or if it's because the wheel weight lead I use is not 99.9% pure lead.

Scott, you're not using a PID are you?

[Hoosier Daddy]

No PID here. Just the knob on my Lee 10# pot.
 I was last casting about "6" and turned it up to "7" to try and get a better fill on that .22 mold
The lead took on a rainbow sheen in the pot, wondering if I went too much.

[avator]

Oh wait... I have to take back what I said. I do see a rainbow when I add a pinky nail of bees wax. But it goes away when I pull the drose off.
I forgot because I mostly use saw dust instead of wax.

[triggertreat]

Quick question, and it may have already been addressed in this awesome thread.
 If your lead has a "rainbow" appearance is that too hot?

You can see rainbows in molten lead anywhere above 621°F (leads melting point).  It's basically lead carbonate (a thin film) which forms in lead heated above 621°F.  It's the refraction of light reflecting off of this film.  Impurities can affect the colors in the rainbow appearance.  It's thought of as a protection layer on the surface of the lead like oil on top of water.  It's nothing to be concerned with.

[2A Georgia]

No PID here. Just the knob on my Lee 10# pot.
 I was last casting about "6" and turned it up to "7" to try and get a better fill on that .22 mold
The lead took on a rainbow sheen in the pot, wondering if I went too much.

My ole girl Lee pot was running 8 on the dial which I felt was too hot, but with only a small amount in the bottom the lead deformed but didn't liquify at 6....I'll try 7 and a longer wait time with more material when my Rotometals arrives....I will do a run of 30cal and then try the 17gr .22 WCs, if they group MOS that might be my plinking ammo for the backyard.  Anybody ever shoot a 17gr out of say a Notos at one of those ".177 only" resetable trap boxes?

[avator]

These PID controllers are so cheap and easy to build. The hardest part is waiting 10 days or so for the parts to arrive from AliExpress. But for $30 or less you can take all the guess work out of your temps.

[Back_Roads]

And get a cheap lead pot thermometer Guessing by dial numbers does not work, just like asking what pellets my gun likes best, you need to get a lead pot crony

[triggertreat]

Definitely focus on building a PID controller.  It is of my opinion that the more consistent every aspect of your casting adventure is the more consistent the outcome will be.  I don't think the lead fills out the mold the same way with vary temperatures.  It seems there are larger swings in the weights in my testing/casting.

Here's the PID controller and YT video links I used to build my PID controller.  I just used a used computer P/S box I found on eBay on the cheap.

https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=158723.msg155780761#msg155780761

[2A Georgia]

Definitely focus on building a PID controller.  It is of my opinion that the more consistent every aspect of your casting adventure is the more consistent the outcome will be.  I don't think the lead fills out the mold the same way with vary temperatures.  It seems there are larger swings in the weights in my testing/casting.

Here's the PID controller and YT video links I used to build my PID controller.  I just used a used computer P/S box I found on eBay on the cheap.

https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=158723.msg155780761#msg155780761

Tracking - parts list typed out - garage dig this weekend....the AliExpress
I could also use the PID to control my toaster oven for Kydex warming...hmm

[avator]

I've got 3 of them that I built.
1 runs the hot plate mold oven. 1 runs the pot and the 3rd one is actually built right into the toaster oven.

[2A Georgia]

I've got 3 of them that I built.
1 runs the hot plate mold oven. 1 runs the pot and the 3rd one is actually built right into the toaster oven.

Love the ammo box and the toaster.  I've got an ABS project box in my AliExpress cart for now until I do my garage treasure/easter egg hunt.  I have a Good Will Toaster oven and I really like what you did and all the other knobs are pretty much useless to me so having temp control that tight for molds and kydex seams like a no brainer....the pid with solid state relay kits are like $7 from China on AliEx.  Pretty sure I'm gonna clone your Frankentoaster idea...respect!

[2A Georgia]

Like a child with a basket of Easter candy I ran home to smelt some .30 cal slugs with my new RotoMetals ingots.  I cast 84 slugs and kept 62 for 73.81% acceptable without the PID.  Excited to see what QA/QC looks like once I build the PID for the pot.  The NOE 68 with HP pin dropped at avg 63.14gr (for the 62 keepers) with an ES of 1.6gr or 2.53%.  That should be acceptable for hunting so those slugs will get lubricated and then used for hammer spring test/tune and hopefully a decent group.  I believe with the PID I should get 63.0 to 63.4 with a median of 63.2.  Continuing to track this thread and learn.

[avator]

Charles...
Here is a thread that another member and I detailed the process we went through when building a couple PID controllers. The pot and toaster oven I built are included in the thread. Lots of good info in the thread you should find useful. If you are going to do a toaster oven pay particular attention to the to the part about insulating it and filling the gap left in the door when the mold is in the oven. If you don't fill the gap in the door you'll melt the bezel on your PID like I did.

https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=208108.msg156449243#msg156449243

[2A Georgia]

Charles...
Here is a thread that another member and I detailed the process we went through when building a couple PID controllers. The pot and toaster oven I built are included in the thread. Lots of good info in the thread you should find useful. If you are going to do a toaster oven pay particular attention to the to the part about insulating it and filling the gap left in the door when the mold is in the oven. If you don't fill the gap in the door you'll melt the bezel on your PID like I did.

https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=208108.msg156449243#msg156449243

That's very helpful!  As I say tracking....I will dig into those links.  Pretty sure I'll end up with the toaster and project box PID as I put 2 ($6 each) PID kits in my AliEx cart..tomorrow after work I'll shuffle through Lowe's and maybe NAPA for some of the misc. parts and some food grade silicone spray.  The test slugs got Pam Spray Olive Oil with a piece of towelette in the tin

[triggertreat]

The toaster oven is pretty slick.  I just use a hotplate (solid single burner under $20) to heat my molds up.  That said I also have NOE to drill all of my molds and I use the digital thermometer he sells to know the mold temperatures.  Just a different way to skin the cat so to speak.

[2A Georgia]

Bill,
I dug through your thread and made some adjustments to my AliEx cart...the other thread Utube I based on had a 20a main power fuse and 1a fuse for the PID.  I deleted my fuse holders and added a 20a push button circuit breaker and the smallest was 3a for the PID so I'll have 3 buttons on the front of my unit.
The other Utube didn't have a fan just the heat sink, but $6.95 is cheap insurance for a 60mmx60mmx25mm fan.  It might change the size of box I have in the cart or may need some more scrounging.  I am considering replacing my glass door to my eazybake with a sheet of aluminum with slots cut in for the handles and then some of that insulation on the "face towards man" side of the door.  I don't need to see the "cake" in the oven.....I might want to see Kydex in the oven so still thinking that through....I just upsized my box to allow room for the fan....Again thanks for going before others and sharing your experiences!

[avator]

Welcome...
I plug into power strips with circuit breakers.

[avator]

I ordered 5# of 99.9% pure lead ingots from Rotometals. I want to see if I get better results for my .22 and .25 pellets than I do with the wheel weight lead. I have no idea what % my wheel weight ingots are. I am positive they are not 99.9%.
I'll empty and clean my pot and get a clean start when the lead arrives. I may even change the pot back to bottom pour. I'll build a slide for the molds.