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View Full Version : Getting boolits out of my mold



bazzer485
04-30-2016, 12:18 AM
Hi, I'm really happy with the boolits I have been molding with a 2 cav lee mold and a great NOE 2 cav hp mold. My problem is getting the hollow points to drop off the pins. I get frequent boolits that hang on to one or the other of the pins, then it takes several taps with a small plastic mallet to get it to drop off. I've tried smoking the mold some more,, but it doesn't seem to make much difference. Any suggestions anyone? I've only been casting for a couple of weeks.


Interests include Fly Fishing, Archery, Shooting and many more. British Military Veteran.

dh2
04-30-2016, 01:04 AM
I spray the mold down with drop out mold release from midway

huntnman
04-30-2016, 01:54 AM
The usual fix is hotter pins. 1 preheat mold, 2 hotter alloy, faster casting pace.

jimb16
04-30-2016, 09:28 AM
Another thing that may help....try polishing the pins on a buffing wheel. If there are any irregularities on the pins the lead will tend to stick. The smoother the surface, the better the release.

tja6435
04-30-2016, 09:47 AM
Run mold hotter and/or remove pins and chuck into a drill and polish with flitz

Beagle333
04-30-2016, 10:00 AM
http://noebulletmolds.com/smf/index.php/topic,185.0.html

Get the pins slick and keep the pins hot. Cast like yer arm was on fire til they start dropping easily. You can cull em later, you can put the sprues back later, just keep pouring and dropping them boolits as fast as you can without smearing the sprue plate. Once hot, you can slow to your cadence, but you gotta get em hot. They'll release then if they are smooth.

bazzer485
05-03-2016, 12:26 AM
http://noebulletmolds.com/smf/index.php/topic,185.0.html

Get the pins slick and keep the pins hot. Cast like yer arm was on fire til they start dropping easily. You can cull em later, you can put the sprues back later, just keep pouring and dropping them boolits as fast as you can without smearing the sprue plate. Once hot, you can slow to your cadence, but you gotta get em hot. They'll release then if they are smooth.

Beagle and others, thanks for the advice. I'm new to casting and enjoying it very much. It sure saves a lot of money over buying jacket bullets for plinking. I'll try the recommended polishing of the pins. I'm sure my mold is hot enough, but it's hard to tell what the temperature of the mold is using my infra red thermometer. I'm dropping lots of really nice looking boolits but I have to tap the pins to get them to drop and I found I bent the pin holder a little which made it hard to fully close the mold. Obviously I don't want this to happen again.

JWT
05-04-2016, 08:27 PM
I had an issue with the large hollow point pin on a NOE mold. As previously mentioned I polished the pins up to 2000 grit on the drill press. I preheated the mold with a hotplate and gave the pin a quick heat-up with a propane torch just before using. I ran the lead about 50deg hotter than normal. Problem solved.

Beagle333
05-04-2016, 08:40 PM
If you find that you need to tap anything til it gets hot enough to drop them, don't hit the mold itself. Open the blocks and flip the mold over. If they don't drop then, tap (or even whack) that big nut that hinges the handles in the middle, using something wooden. (I use a 18" soft pine furring strip.... 'low impact and nearly soft as balsa)
You can pretty much bang on that and won't damage the mold anywhere nearly as easily as actually hitting the blocks or the pin rails. Once you learn how hot you have to be, you won't have to do that anymore either. Good luck!