Lubricating molds

[Char-Gar]

Guys..What...how and why do you lubricate molds?

[Bent Ramrod]

Chargar,

I occasionally touch the wax candle I use for flux to the joint of the mold handles after they are hot. This just on general principle; I've never noticed any sticking or anything.

I touch the wick of the candle to the top surface of the mold under the sprue plate when I see lead smears on the underside of the plate. A little bit of wax goes a long ways here, it's just enough to barely moisten the surface and most of it is removed with the lead smears the next opening of the mold. I take care not to have any wax sweep near the cavity as the plate swings back and forth.

That's about all I do for lubrication.

Bent

[Buckshot]

.............I save the little glops of lube that ooze out from under the lube-size die in an old 35mm film canister. From there it's applied to moulds with a jewelers screwdriver. Lee moulds demand lube, as it's aluminum on aluminum which gets sticky when really hot, so it helps them close easier. Also on the sprueplate pivit screw and the alignment roller bearings they have pressed into the block halves (one and 2 cav moulds). The alignment rollers are steel and must easily seat into the aluminum portion easily. Lube helps. Those narrow steel roller bearings can beat up the softer aluminum easily.

On steel and iron blocks I will touch a dab on the noses of the alignment pins and the sprue pivit. Again just to ease the surfaces past each other.

..............Buckshot

[Willbird]

I have been using Lee Liquid Earwax on the dowels in the 6 cavity molds, and the pivot point of the sprue plate, and a touch on the hold down bolt nearest the operator. I find that just about 1000 bullets is when one needs to re-lube.


Bill

[Rod B]

I have had good results with the automotive antiseize compound. The product I am using is sold by "Felpro" & contains powdered copper.

This stuff is also used by "Glock" to lubricate the slide rails on their new guns.

Rod. [smilie=f:

[canuck4570]

I never lube or put wax on my mould .... what I do his drop a few drop of wather on the sprew after it solidify and let it sizzle til it evaporate the evaporating time should no be more than 3 to 5 second and this way I never get lead on my mould plate or the mould itself and it speed the casting process....if the evaporating time is more than 5 seconds your mould will get to cool... experiment with your mould to find out how much drops of water you have to put to avoid lead on the sprew plate...works great and speeds thing up....Michel or canuck 4570

[Slowpoke]

Guys..What...how and why do you lubricate molds?

I use a 80-20 mix of Bees wax and graphite any where aluminum is in the picture and on all sprue plate pivots.

Moly powder applied with a Q -tip on all steel alignment pins and sockets.

All to retard wear.

I used the liquid alox on alignment pins for about six month's as an experiment and it works good in that it's slow to burn off and stays put, but if you are not real vigilant in cleaning around the pins before or after ea. session you will end up with a beagled mould. So for me it was self defeating and I abandoned it.

I also tried the Permatex brand of copper anti seize, but found it traveled to much for me.

So what does Chargar use? An Ole lead slinger like you should have it all figured out by now.:)