New aluminum NOE 9mm HP truncated cone made for powder coat. Cleaned with carb cleaner and gone through 5 heat and cool cycles over three days. Lead is hot, mold is hot and nothing but wrinkles. Vents are spotless. Cleaned again with carb cleaner and still wrinkls. Cleaned with denatured alcohol and clean new Q tip. Still wrinkles. I even added more tin and out of somewhere around 200 fillings and I have three keepers.

Never had a problem like this with any mold.

What do the experts suggest?

The mold is not hot enough. The first ones cast will show wrinkles, as the mold heats the rejects taper off. Once the mold is hot enough, pour and wait maybe 5-6-7 seconds and drop. By waiting to drop there is heat transfer from the molten lead/tin to the mold. Once you get the proper cadence down you should be able to cast 200 nice bullets before fatigue sets in. I only use iron moulds, they hold heat longer. Good luck!

what pinback01 says.

Each alloy works with a different temp. Pure lead requires 800*, 30:1 works with 775*. Wheel weights will cast in the 650-675* range. Lead thermometers are useful tools.

This site might help: http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm

How old is your pot?

I agree with Dan; need to KNOW the alloy temp.

Another reason with electric pots to just turn them up to max to eliminate the alloy heat variable.

Float the mould until the lead sluffs off, cast two mould fulls and all should be well.

About 6 months old.

And is it cranked, or is it set lower than max?

Only reason I asked is a well used pot has a tendency wear out and I know you cast a bit.

I've also worn one out too!

Mold was all the way up to 450F. Lead was up to 850. I will try again tomarrow. I will win!

450 is your problem.

RCBS 25 pound pot with butter in PED. Same settings have cast great bullets at lower temperatures for the lead and for the mold. I will start over tomarrow.

Started at 350 as per NOE instructions then raised to 450 when nothing else worked. I turned on the hot plate at the same time I turned on the lead pot like I always do. In the time it takes 25 pounds of lead to reach temperature the mold was hot. Both lead pot and hot plate are fairly new and both have been tested for temperature. I played around a wide spectrum of techniques of pouring from slow to pressure.

I guess that is part of the fun of casting.

I would float the mould on up to temp alloy until the lead sluffs off and doesn't stick; which is a tad hotter than 450...

I use a hot plate to heat moulds actually; if I didn't have it, I would be using the above method. ( wee 22's and aluminum moulds, I do use the above method.)

I pre heat the moulds on the plate while the pot gets up to temp. By the second round of filled moulds, I've got zero rejects.

Made a pot of 270/280gr. 45's today. About 700 bullets with three moulds in the fray before the pot needs re-filled.

NOE's instructions flat don't work and the pin settling issue, if it is one, hasn't shown up in the 20 or more moulds of theirs I have. If you like poor fillout, follow the instructions they give you.

Any updates Scott?

Hope you got it running.

Played with it a little yesterday. Got two good ones but I only cast about ten. I cast, powder coated and gas checked 200+ 300 grain flying soon cans for a 45-70 yesterday. Will be working on 400 grain hollow base today but I give the problem mold a little workout whenever I fire up the lead pot.

I've not had much luck with aluminum molds, excepting those made by NEI. I've limited myself to iron / steel and brass.

Probably the best mould spray lube protector, and finicky mold fixer I've ever used is Ballistol spray lube that comes in the green cans. It's amazing. Lead splatter doesn't stick to the mould after a treatment of this stuff