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Picked up a vintage army man mold and gave it a go, couldn`t get any of the rifles to flow out, tried bullet wheel weight lead and pure lead with no success .
Anyone play with one of these old molds.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
Those are really neat! It's pretty cool that you got them to come out of the mold all painted up like that...
Seriously, I don't cast bullets, but from all the articles or how-to's I've ever read on it, I'd check things like:
Air vents in mold?
Temp of lead?
Temp of mold?
Maybe try pewter?
Can you tip the mold L-R slightly as lead is poured in?
Any burrs in the mold? (can you wire brush them to get the inside surface "slick")
OK, I am out of ideas... Good luck! I hope some bullet casters chime in to help you.
Thanks fellers, been sick for two weeks so something to do.
Tried everything seems like the lead should be thinner but i don`t remember how to do that.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
Pitchy wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 2:50 pm
Thanks fellers, been sick for two weeks so something to do.
Tried everything seems like the lead should be thinner but i don`t remember how to do that.
Pitchy, I suspect that your mold is not warm enough when you pour the lead in. This results in the heat from the lead being siphoned off before the rifle cavity is filled. Maybe set up a burner to rest the mold on while you're getting the next pour ready.
Pitchy wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 2:50 pm
Thanks fellers, been sick for two weeks so something to do.
Tried everything seems like the lead should be thinner but i don`t remember how to do that.
Pitchy, I suspect that your mold is not warm enough when you pour the lead in. This results in the heat from the lead being siphoned off before the rifle cavity is filled. Maybe set up a burner to rest the mold on while you're getting the next pour ready.
Don`t know buddy i set it on top of the melting pot every time, so hot i can`t hold it with gloves on.
It works better than i expected but could be better.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
Just a question first. You may have already done these but --- Did you soak the mold or wash the mold in acetone to remove any preserving oils? Did you soot the mold with wood matches or butane lighters? If you did all the above like for normal bullet molds then only one more possibility.
Can you add some 'tin' to your lead to make it flow better?
A bit of tin , maybe 1% should help and I believe you need the mould hotter. Just like with boolits, a too cool mould will give incomplete fillout and wrinkles.
Pitchy, I'd say you need more heat and tin. A fellow I worked with years ago made a lot of lead soldiers and said the only thing that worked was lead/tin. Of course he was bending the soldiers into other poses but that's probably a good start.
I see the mold doesn't have handles, so probably should rig some up (piece of cake for you!). It will be WAY too hot for gloves when it's hot enough!
Glenn
Hope you can get it sorted, Lenn. The machinegunners look great!
Best book I ever read on WWI was "A Rifleman Went to War," by Herbert McBride. Jeff Cooper often referred to it.
Thanks guys i`ll try and find some tin and linotype i do have a handle on the one half.
It doesn`t want to fill in the pads they stand on either i think that side of the mold is cooling when i set it down on a steel plate while filling.
There is no frosting and the detail is perfect it`s just the rifles that won`t fill, i`ll do some more experimenting today thanks for the ideas.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
Well guys we tried everything suggested and probably cast me and only got one with a rifle.
Gotta give it a rest.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
Lenn, with bullets, sometimes I get better fillout if I cast with the mold further away from the pour spout so the alloy has more of a drop.
May be time to take a break and revisit pop-pop boats, ya think?
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
Don't be deterred You Old Geezer , I'm sure Your going to figure this out ......if the Hostiles don't overrun your position in the mean time.!! BE READY. .
Thanks, gave it another try this morn, had to heat on the mold with a propane torch between each pour.
Got some rifles and better detail.
I`m sure my mixture isn`t quite right also.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
While I can see what you mean by, 'they are not perfect'. It sure looks, like you are making progress towards a completed figurine.
Keep up the experimentation. I just can't believe the people who did this years ago, had this much trouble. But I am not one of those people.
Good luck getting this to a satisfactory end state.
Thanks buddy, i might try setting the molds on a electric hot plate tomorrow but it only heats to degrees so we`ll see.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
Cast some real nice ones today and made up a box for the whole kit.
Thanks for watching.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
Thanks gents, i found a old instruction sheet on the web that said to use pure lead so tried that again.
Kept the mold reel hot with the small torch and made a tin trough to hold the mold while pouring and got some good results.
Yep persistence pays off most the time.
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.