Bullet mold material

[Bladeswell]

Hello all,
I'am about to start casting for my Mosin and my Mauser. I have not yet decided between Lee molds or Lyman. I hope I'am not opening up a can of worms but I'd like openions on which molds you folks think are better. Every manufacturer claims to make the best product no matter what it is they make. So tell me, you true end users, Lee aluminum molds or Lyman iron, and why ? Thank you for your time.

Bladeswell

[Bullshop]

Iron if your a heavy handed, use a bigger hammer if it dont go type. Aluminum if your gentil, presice and especially if the boolits are big and heavy. Aluminum will pull heat faster which is what you want for large cavities but for tiny boolits like 22's I prefer iron. Four and six cavity irons wear on my forarms after a bit but aluminum is way less stressful.
BIC/BS

[IcerUSA]

One thing is that you can try out a Lee 2 cavity mould (mold) for less than 20 bucks and if you like the design of it you can always upgrade to and iron of similar design .

I like the Lee 6 bangers that I have for peesools and am waiting ever so patiently for a couple GB 6 bangers for rifle .....waiting.....and waiting..............AND WAITING hehehe .

But again if you go with the iron right off the bat and you don't like it you can recover alot more than compared to a Lee 2 banger .

Alot of the guys here also like the Lee push-thru sizers , I have Lee's and the Lyman sizers .

And always slug the bore so as to get the right mould (mold) diameter for your weapon .

Another thing is that as you will find out is the recommendation to get the Lyman Cast Manual as it has alot of info in it and it will give you some insite as to more questions to ask here :) .

Hope this helps a bit.

Keith

[Bladeswell]

Thank you for your replies. I would say I'am not the heavy handed type and that I'd prefer to go with a two cavity mould. I do have the Lyman Manual, but so far it does'nt say anything about the differences between iron and aluminum moulds. I will continue to read on and see what I find. Other than warm up time, is there really any difference in the finished bullet ? Thanks again.

Bladeswell

[Cherokee]

I use both Iron and aluminum molds. They each have their quirks. You can get quality cast bullets from either. I go for the bullet design primarily. The Lee 6 cavity moulds are really nice to use and you can turn out a lot of bullets in a short perid of time.

[Buckshot]

..............With a bit of care, your kids will be able to use a Lyman mould you bought. A Lee just isn't going to make it, but the odds are improving if you use Bullplate lube on'em.

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

[cuzinbruce]

I have used both. Aluminum or iron will both work fine. Biggest problem is the quality on the Lee moulds. The cavities are cut OK but the rest is not the same quality, nor is the price. I don't like the sprue cutters, they have always needed to be fiddled with. And the soft aluminum blocks tend to get galled by the sprue plate. Smoke the aluminums with a butane lighter. Sometimes smoking helps with the iron blocks too, but not always. The aluminum blocks do come to temperature quickly. Lymans are usually pretty good. If they haven't been abused, I can usually get them casting good without too much trouble. If you look around, sometimes you can find the old Hensley & Gibbs used. Iron and better quality then the Lymans. Cast like a dream, expensive too. And RCBS is excellent, in my experience. Only thing I noted was that the lines on the face of the blocks could be a little finer. They are more prone to "whiskers" when you have them real hot and are using a bottom pour melter. The others, Saeco, NEI, old Cramer and such, I have never had the opportunity to try. That's my experience.
Good Luck!