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

[avator]

DERAIL ALERT !!!   (I can do that, it's my thread  )

Speaking of frogs.. While I was completely immersed in focusing on the Flash I heard a bone chilling scream. I'm not a scaredy cat by no stretch but this was so close and loud that it definitely got my attention.
A rather large toad had crawled it's way to the top of one of the natural tree posts I used to build the lean to roof. Apparently it was in the mood for love and looking for a partner because it went to screeching out it's love song.
I encouraged it to take it's dating app elsewhere.

It took one look at ya and fell in love 💕💕💕.

LOL   too funny..
Betty Lou and I were out there trying ti decide what we were going to do to replace the fallen Quonset. We were sitting and talking and the frog decided to share it's opinion.

[2A Georgia]

Are you lapping the mold? Because to do what you are saying involves placing material in-between the mold halves to make the projectile larger. It is temporary.

I didn't think of that.  I am chucking up an already cast .2995 slug smeared with valve grind polish and spinning with drill.  Today's gentle polish dropped at .3015-.302
Pretty sure they won't group worth a darn yet but I have 2-3 mags sorted and about the same amount for rejects (underweight - air assumed).
The pellets look good but have a wide variety in weight so probably something in my technique is randomly introducing air pockets keepers were 60.8 to 62.5 sorted in groups of .3gr

[2A Georgia]

Showing my Newby status another interweb article suggested reading a book on casting (Lyman for one) and I found the PDF "Ingot to Target" on the web.  Devoured the first 4 chapters before the SSS started jumping around....
Take aways;
The author warms the mold on the edge of the crucible like I do
Reaffirmation to switch back to sawdust for flux (memsahib just gave me some beeswax cause she didn't like the smell of my paraffin)
Author's recommendation for accuracy is to slug the barrel (need calipers) to the nearest 10 thousandth, order your mold 2-3 thous over and lap the sizer to exactly the calipered/slugged diameter (makes perfect sense to the engineer-a near zero tolerance parts match)
I am studying his comments on meplats and solid SWC for larger game...hmmm.
Looks like I will be purchasing the .0001" reading calipers, Lee hand press and .303 sizing dies.  If I ever get a big bore this will be valuable learning and/or I could slug the fire breathing hand cannon and cast some accurate 10mm SWC's for larger game...hmmm

[Madd Hatter]

Get a micrometer instead. Much more accurate than a caliper especially for measuring to the.0001.

[2A Georgia]

Get a micrometer instead. Much more accurate than a caliper especially for measuring to the.0001.

I believe that's what the author said and I miss paraphrased.  It's in my Amazon cart....

[2A Georgia]

Are you lapping the mold? Because to do what you are saying involves placing material in-between the mold halves to make the projectile larger. It is temporary.

I didn't think of that.  I am chucking up an already cast .2995 slug smeared with valve grind polish and spinning with drill.  Today's gentle polish dropped at .3015-.302
Pretty sure they won't group worth a darn yet but I have 2-3 mags sorted and about the same amount for rejects (underweight - air assumed).
The pellets look good but have a wide variety in weight so probably something in my technique is randomly introducing air pockets keepers were 60.8 to 62.5 sorted in groups of .3gr

Groups as expected were better but meh
Might try a few more gentle lapping while waiting on the AM
I did cast a ton of 217RF19.4s only a third back in the pot and fat bell shape curve of 19.3-19.7 mostly 19.4.  I kept about a dozen 19.8-20 for plinking.  I have reduced the flow length below the pour spout so almost like a pressure pour.  Still learning and improving...

[avator]

Every now and then a pleasant surprise just sneaks up on you....
I've been testing my cast .22 pellets in guns I have. I have 3 molds...
217 20 RF Hunter
217 22 RF Magnum
And a wadcutter mold that I have yet to even explore much.
I use the long pins on the Hunters and Magnums and sort them in 2 weight groups for each.
The Hunters I sort into 19.20 +- .10 and 19.40 +- .10. The Mags I sort into 22.40 +- .10 and 22.60 +- .10.
The gun I chose to test today was the FD-PCP. This is one of the XS60C guns that were converted to PCP by FDAR.

[avator]

The FD-PCP has always been set up to shoot CPUM 14.3 so I figured I should start with the lightest pellets first... the Hunters.
First thing I noticed was how tight they fit. I had to bump the bolt to get them to load and they (both weights) didn't give me better results than 1" at 30yds.
At that point I thought "case closed", not gonna happen. But just for gits and shiggles I loaded a Magnum 22.40..
Wait, did the pellet fall out? Nope, loaded right in like it was made for it. The next 20 shots gave me sub 1/2" groups at 30 yds.
I topped the gun back off and tried the 22.60... back to 1" groups.
Back to the 22.40... with a slight hold over I could get the same 1/2" groups to 45yds.
I logged those results in my airgun journal.
I'm a happy boy. 

[2A Georgia]

The FD-PCP has always been set up to shoot CPUM 14.3 so I figured I should start with the lightest pellets first... the Hunters.
First thing I noticed was how tight they fit. I had to bump the bolt to get them to load and they (both weights) didn't give me better results than 1" at 30yds.
At that point I thought "case closed", not gonna happen. But just for gits and shiggles I loaded a Magnum 22.40..
Wait, did the pellet fall out? Nope, loaded right in like it was made for it. The next 20 shots gave me sub 1/2" groups at 30 yds.
I topped the gun back off and tried the 22.60... back to 1" groups.
Back to the 22.40... with a slight hold over I could get the same 1/2" groups to 45yds.
I logged those results in my airgun journal.
I'm a happy boy. 

I'm sold on your sorting for groups.  Looks like you found another winner.

[avator]

The FD-PCP has always been set up to shoot CPUM 14.3 so I figured I should start with the lightest pellets first... the Hunters.
First thing I noticed was how tight they fit. I had to bump the bolt to get them to load and they (both weights) didn't give me better results than 1" at 30yds.
At that point I thought "case closed", not gonna happen. But just for gits and shiggles I loaded a Magnum 22.40..
Wait, did the pellet fall out? Nope, loaded right in like it was made for it. The next 20 shots gave me sub 1/2" groups at 30 yds.
I topped the gun back off and tried the 22.60... back to 1" groups.
Back to the 22.40... with a slight hold over I could get the same 1/2" groups to 45yds.
I logged those results in my airgun journal.
I'm a happy boy. 

I'm sold on your sorting for groups.  Looks like you found another winner.

I have to admit that it takes a long time and it's not my favorite thing to do  but, if I had not sorted them I would have chocked it up as this gun, and maybe others, just wouldn't shoot my cast pellets.
But, I am retired with time on my hands and I am committed to casting pellets and saving money. If I was still working 8 to 12 hours a day, 6 and 7 days a week my free time might be more valuable.

[2A Georgia]

I cast some 217RF19.4s today with my last two "muffins" of pure 99.9....
I culled more than half as under-weight skirts not fully formed...obviously a technique issue.
The alignment pins were cleaned and lubed and closing nicely.  None of the pellets had the vertical line.  I'm going to re-clean this mold with the toothbrush again anyway and see if I can do better.
I stole Avator's sorting concept and repurposed some old tins with the help of a razor blade (for the decal) and a Laser printer.

[avator]

I cast some 217RF19.4s today with my last two "muffins" of pure 99.9....
I culled more than half as under-weight skirts not fully formed...obviously a technique issue.
The alignment pins were cleaned and lubed and closing nicely.  None of the pellets had the vertical line.  I'm going to re-clean this mold with the toothbrush again anyway and see if I can do better.
I stole Avator's sorting concept and repurposed some old tins with the help of a razor blade (for the decal) and a Laser printer.

A couple questions...
Is this mold brass or aluminum?
Are you preheating the mold with it open? What temp? For how long?
How hot is your pot?
Is temp gauge at the top or the bottom?
Are you dipping or bottom pouring?

Skirts not filling out, in my experience, is from the lead cooling to fast... either the mold or the lead is not hot enough.  Or both.
On the other hand, if your were getting wings, one or the other or both are too hot.

[avator]

Something else I discovered... smears.
If the sprue cutter is too loose and/or I am cutting too quick I can get smears... dragging lead across the top of the mold.
This adds weight to the pellet. It also can build up on top of the mold compounding the problem.

.22 pellets are hard to cast keeping weights consistent. It's a fine line between good and bad.

That was so obvious to me today when I was testing that FD-PCP.

[avator]

BTW... the brass washer on the screw that holds the cutter needs to be between the screw head and the cutter, not between the cutter and the mold. The washer is there for a reason... make sure it's there.

[2A Georgia]

I cast some 217RF19.4s today with my last two "muffins" of pure 99.9....
I culled more than half as under-weight skirts not fully formed...obviously a technique issue.
The alignment pins were cleaned and lubed and closing nicely.  None of the pellets had the vertical line.  I'm going to re-clean this mold with the toothbrush again anyway and see if I can do better.
I stole Avator's sorting concept and repurposed some old tins with the help of a razor blade (for the decal) and a Laser printer.

A couple questions...
Is this mold brass or aluminum?
Are you preheating the mold with it open? What temp? For how long?
How hot is your pot?
Is temp gauge at the top or the bottom?
Are you dipping or bottom pouring?

Skirts not filling out, in my experience, is from the lead cooling to fast... either the mold or the lead is not hot enough.  Or both.
On the other hand, if your were getting wings, one or the other or both are too hot.

Thanks for coaching..
The mold is brass and I am resting it closed on the edge of the crucible while heating up and whilst gathering sprus
The temp gauge is 100cm and goes to within 1cm of the bottom of the crucible.
I am bottom pouting with the spru place within 1/4 to 1/8 inch of the spout.
My PID holds 296-300C but that can't be correct as the melting point is supposed to be 327C...
At about 286C lead still flows but a "bugger" solidifies on the end of the spout, at "300" shinny lead drips constantly from the spout and I cast at that.
If I had to guess, I have a 50 degree C "offset" that I should put into the PID which means I casting at about 350C.
Lead cooling too fast....I seam to fill out better the closer to the spout I hold the mold....earlier casts I was flowing almost 1/2" before entering the mold.

[brewbear]

This may help, I hope. I was casting before my accident,  I have a 20# bottom pour setup. I kept the pour spout touching the sprue plate. I had very few pellets going back to the melter. It was in fact a sort pressure pour. Of course some adjustments were made on the fly , if the pot was full, I'd keep about 1/8th distance between the spout and the plate. As it emptied,  I'd move the two closer together.

[2A Georgia]

BTW... the brass washer on the screw that holds the cutter needs to be between the screw head and the cutter, not between the cutter and the mold. The washer is there for a reason... make sure it's there.

Yessir, washer in place mold toothbrush scrubbed and air drying for tomorrow after work....

[avator]

I'm not one to tell someone what to do. I can only share what works for me...
350c is 662f. I dip from the top and run my pot at 700f with aluminum. I get bad pours if I go lower.
I preheat my mold open in the toaster oven at 140c. I put the mold in the oven when I turn on the pot pid so it gets a good preheat. (careful not to burn the wood handles)
Brass likes to be poured hotter than aluminum.

[avator]

I only use wax to lube and I only touch the wax on the hot mold at the sprue cutter screw and the 2 mold alignment pins.
When I clean the mold I use a .22 brass barrel cleaning brush to clean out the 2 mold alignment pin holes.
If my pellets are sticking I smoke the mold with a BIC lighter.

[2A Georgia]

Good tips I have heard similar on lube the pins etc.  I use syntheic lube that I used on my bullet press ram.  Somewhere I read to Qtip it on the mold pins and use the other end of the qtip to remove excess so that's how I do it.  I did have success with the soap bar on the pins as well.
I will go back to oven pre-heating the mold (open will be new but makes sense).  I had been smoking the pins by adding parafin as flux and letting the smoke rise up through the mold while preheating.  I'll give the Bic lighter method a try.
Again the joy of this hobby is I can learn things from seniors, articles etc. and "adsorb what is usefull."
I will have to "calibrate" my thermocouple and try a set point of 370C/700F