I have a new Lyman 225646 double cavty mold. Bullets refuse to come out of the cavities without an unseemly amount of violence. The mold is clean and corrosion free. The bullets stick in either half of the mold.
The only thing I have tried so far is to smoke the cavities with smoke from a burning piece of cardboard which I seldom find necessary. That didn't improve the mold.
I wold appreciate any suggestion about methods you have found useful so solving this problem. John
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Lap the cavities. Sometimes this still will not help because of the design of the bullet. My experience has been that square lube grooves are famous for this.
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I usually take a brush that looks like a toothbrush but has wire bristles and scrub the heck out of the cavities. If this does not cure the problem I take some 600 grit wet/dry paper and do the cavity edges very lightly and then brush again. Cast iron blocks only. Usually works.
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Like Tomme Boy, I lap the cavities with JB bore compound. I never found smoking did anything except for Lee moulds. Usually this is because the tooling allowed for half the mould to have more than half the bullet cavity. But (!) if you break the edge, sometimes it will work. Otherwise, sell it on E-bay. HTH, Ric
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I think the main reason for what's happening to you might be that there are burrs in the groove area. Take a tooth pick and check the edges of the cavitys for fine burrs. If there is any, try to work them out with the tooth pick, if not, be very careful with harder sharper edged tools. The last ones I did (both older Ideals), I used a the smallest trianglar dimond file that I could find and very carefully scraped them out on both sides of the blocks. You might try lapping after that if there are still rough edges.
I believe if the cavitys are cut off center, the bullets will only stick on the deep side.
Frank
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From my own experience I have found that Lyman molds are notorious for not releasing castings. Removing the (usually unseen) burrs should take care of it.
If someone else had of done to me what I did to myself . . . I'd have killed him. Humility is an asset. Heh - heh.
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I haven't smoked a mould cavity for about 50 years.
Sticking? Two things to consider. (after you've done the obvious inspection cleaning etc.)
Bullet size is reducing with time as the bullet drops from about 700 to 400 (mould temp). Mould is heating and cooling from the bullet and from the air. WAITING a little will help. .22's well - they may well cool down much faster than .375's and larger.
I use a tungsten dioxide lube on the mould faces - right up to the cavity - it has helped a LOT in bullets dropping out of the mould.
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Caution with a wire brush!
Tom Gray suggested that a regular toothbrush and Zud cleanser are a combination that has worked for some.
Tom
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John, as indicated above of the possibility of rough groove edges, use a Q-tip around the edges, the cotton will catch on any burrs.
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Thanks to all for the suggestions. My frustration level is now down far enough to go back down and put some of them into practice. I have a lot of molds and had never seen one as ornery as this one and just walked away after I got a few to measure and see what I got. That is another story. Thanks, John
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Recently had that problem. Had mixed up a good batch of alloy that worked fine in a 9mm (Lyman) mould. Getting to the end of things and found a batch of rifle bullets I'd cast years ago and decided to add them to the melt and bingo things went to pot.
Wasn't too sure of what was in those bullets so I emptied the pots which turned out to be around 11 1 lb ingots. Being lead shrinks the most of the 3 main materials I added 10 ingots of lead from cable sheathing to the batch. My first alloy had a BHN of about 18 and adding that lead dropped this little concoction to 14 on the following day. And they now released from the mould just fine.
I'm sure those rifle bullets were originally cast with NO antimony added as I have never bought any of the stuff back then. But I used to get some solder bars used for wiping cable splicing sleeves so I'm wondering if I was just way too rich on tin. All guesses on my part at this stage but adding that lead turned the trick for me.
Mike
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I have tried several different ways to fix the sticking bullet problem. turning the mould upside down seems to help as it puts the heavy end of the bullet down. the only thing that is fool proof is to lap with an abrasive. I had one mould that I just couldn't get to drop bullets and now someone else owns it.
if you think you have it figured out then you just dont understand
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I have read, that the solder used on cable splices has something in it that causes it to congeal easily and is not good in the lead pot, I have always cut it out and set it aside, hope I'am wrong. Frank C.
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I have read, that the solder used on cable splices has something in it that causes it to congeal easily and is not good in the lead pot, I have always cut it out and set it aside, hope I'am wrong. Frank C.
I'd read that somewhere also years back but no idea where it was. Being I used to splice telephone cables I had access to a lot of lead so I cut those out also. Then got ahold of some of the wiping solder bars and tried mixing it with the sheath and sleeve lead and it worked fine.
I rarely get that stuff anymore being retired but I don't cut it out anymore.
Mike
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Casting too hot with Linotype alloy will cause bullets to stick. Try turning down pot temp a little. Linotype shrinks less than most softer alloys, causing sticking problem to be worse.
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John I burnish the bores with a Qtip dipped in WS2. It makes a huge difference in how easily they release. I get it from this guy. https://www.bulletcoatings.com/xcart/product.php?productid=17522&cat=249&page=1 I would have sent you a drop or two had I known.
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