Prompt delivery of my first NOE Mold

[prs]

Added my first NOE aluminum mold with handles to my stable. This one for their version of the 68 SWC with the provision for hollow point in 4 cavity. Looks like Swede turns-out first class product and good concise instructions and hints to boot. My plan is to break this baby doll in and then try my hand at powder coating a few each in black, and blue, and gold. I will probably clean it and heat cycle it a few times before using, don't know when I will make time for a casting session, unless it rains again.

prs

[35 shooter]

Careful.....those noe's are habit forming. Mine literally rain boolits out when their up to temp. I think you'll be more than pleased with yours!:smile:

[prs]

We had a thunder storm so instead of mowing fields, I prepped the new mold. I used dawn and scalding water and followed Swede's advice to smoke it with butane (I don't think that really helps, but that is what the directions say). Preheated while the lead came up to temp and....... got under filled and wrinkled boolits.

Trouble was, my Lee 20# bottom pour pots are the old version that are not as tall as the new ones. The pin retainers made the mold so tall that there was barely room to slide under the spout. Thus seeing the pour was tough. I got about 50 good keepers out of 100 4 cavity pours bottom pouring.

Then I tried the ladle and not too quickly got another 60 perfect boolits with 15 fills of the 4 cavity mold. By then, the screws that tension the spru cutter were too loose and it was too hot and humid to enjoy casting more. These were hollow point plane based versions of the HG-68 and I was surprised they dropped so easy. Gloved hand easily opened the spru cutter casting at 700F pot temp (ladle lead temp probably lower). The boolits weighed between 200gr and 203gr with 95:2:3 alloy, very round and just kissed by the .452 die in my lube sizer. They are already loaded over 5gr 700X and can age harden until Wednesday afternoon ;-)

Now, I need to mod my pots or save-up for the taller version so I can see the pour and get the angle just the way the mold likes it. Life is good.

prs

[TXGunNut]

Read Al's break-in instructions, if it doesn't work scrub them again. Had one that took a few heat cycles to break in but others started dropping pretty boolits after a good scrubbing.
Awesome quality, super customer service.

[prs]

That first batch was rather small due to all of the culls, but they shot great and both of my 1911's ate them like candy. No leading and certainly minute of steel cowboy target, even the dueling tree at 60 feet.

I got to run the mold for its second round today. Much better this time. I did purchase a new Lee Pro-20 with the new adjustment stem and better stage clearance which helped greatly with this tall mold. Best result was with the PID set to 700F and filling rather slowly compared to other molds I have. Very few rejects and those were when I had to pause to tighten the pivot nut of the handle set (after the session I staked that nut). The hollow point pegs tend to hold onto the boolets a little stubbornly and that slows the pace a bit. Next time I will try the mold with the regular SWC nose pegs. Very nice mold indeed.

prs

[prs]

109220

This was my plan for this mold, a powder coated hollow point SWC with plane base. The gold color looks too much like those unmentionable bullets. I have black and blue in the cooker. I do not shoot indoors, but this would be a great way to go. Hardly any smoke and no lube residue in the gun.

prs