New brass mold 38/200 super police

[tucumcari_kid]

I got a great new mold from Old West Bullet Moulds. Looks fantastic. I've never worked with brass molds before, even though I have a couple on my bench. Bernie put some instructions and advice in the package. Do I need a mold release on this, or will it even work? He doesn't mention release so maybe I'll just follow his advice first and break it in. Ideas are always welcome...

202085

[Outpost75]

No mold release necessary. Degrease with a mild detergent like Dawn and hot water, then pre-heat a bit and cast away. Enjoy your new mold.

[country gent]

Bernie Roweles moulds are a piece of art. They cast great and come up quick. Wash with dawn and a toothbrush really work up a lather all around with hot water then rinse and repeat a second time. Let dry ( a blow drier speeds this up a lot) lube alighnment pins and sprue piviot a very light coat on the sprue plate. Apply lightly with a q tip then use a dry one to remove excess. If possible pre heat on a hot plate to 300*--350* or set on top of pot while its coming up to temp. You can dip the front lower corner in the pot until lead dosnt adhere but this may be on the hot side and youll start out slow waiting on the sprue to cool. I have 5 of his moulds currently 45-547 grn 2 cavity, 40 cal 400grn nasa 1 and 2 cavities, and 38 360 grn nasa 1 and 2 cavities. All are a pleasure to cast with. I ladle cast with these and have no issues at all

[tucumcari_kid]

Bernie Roweles moulds are a piece of art. They cast great and come up quick. Wash with dawn and a toothbrush really work up a lather all around with hot water then rinse and repeat a second time. Let dry ( a blow drier speeds this up a lot) lube alighnment pins and sprue piviot a very light coat on the sprue plate. Apply lightly with a q tip then use a dry one to remove excess. If possible pre heat on a hot plate to 300*--350* or set on top of pot while its coming up to temp. You can dip the front lower corner in the pot until lead dosnt adhere but this may be on the hot side and youll start out slow waiting on the sprue to cool. I have 5 of his moulds currently 45-547 grn 2 cavity, 40 cal 400grn nasa 1 and 2 cavities, and 38 360 grn nasa 1 and 2 cavities. All are a pleasure to cast with. I ladle cast with these and have no issues at all

thanks, that's what I'm looking for. I ladle cast as well and Im looking forward to having access to this mould -- as much as I appreciate my bullet suppliers, I enjoy being able to produce what I need to my own specs. Guys like Bernie make that possible. Thanks for the pointers. I'll post some of these as soon as I come up with handles that will work...

[country gent]

One thing I found thru this site and carried a little farther on my own. These moulds really are consistent when you over pour them. Not just pouring a sprew, but pour a full ladle over letting excess run back into the pot. I "vented" the tops of my sprue plates to make this easier. it keeps the bases hot longer and allows better gas release from the moulds. With preheat to temp and this my bullets are .5grn variance for 90% or better on a 4 hour run. I'm casting 20-1 lead tin alloy for these big bullets. They perform well out past 500yds in my BPCR rifles. I use an rcbs ladle as it holds a little more than the lyman ladle, I also have a #1 rowel and at 1 lb of lead its a little to much for these long sessions. Experiment a little and find what works for you. One plus to these is in most 38 spl / 357 mags they are barely stabilized and when they hit they tumble making the length frontal area. We used thm in the wifes 357 for bowling pins for several years when she was alive. They took pins off the table as well as my 45s did.

[runfiverun]

be patient with the mold.
do some short quick sessions until you see it start to build up a brownish patina in the cavity's.
that patina will be the release agent.

[tucumcari_kid]

One thing I found thru this site and carried a little farther on my own. These moulds really are consistent when you over pour them. Not just pouring a sprew, but pour a full ladle over letting excess run back into the pot. I "vented" the tops of my sprue plates to make this easier. it keeps the bases hot longer and allows better gas release from the moulds. With preheat to temp and this my bullets are .5grn variance for 90% or better on a 4 hour run. I'm casting 20-1 lead tin alloy for these big bullets. They perform well out past 500yds in my BPCR rifles. I use an rcbs ladle as it holds a little more than the lyman ladle, I also have a #1 rowel and at 1 lb of lead its a little to much for these long sessions. Experiment a little and find what works for you. One plus to these is in most 38 spl / 357 mags they are barely stabilized and when they hit they tumble making the length frontal area. We used thm in the wifes 357 for bowling pins for several years when she was alive. They took pins off the table as well as my 45s did.

Examining the bullet design, I think the center of gravity is forward just far enough that it can't help but tumble if disturbed. I was fantasizing about ways to change the design slightly to push the CG even farther forward, but I want to see how these go first.

When I pour I usually drown the mold, I keep pouring until the ladle is empty or almost. I've had good success with that after I stopped pouring too fast and trying to just leave the sprue. It pours off into the pot or it all cools and falls off and then it goes back into the pot.

[tucumcari_kid]

be patient with the mold.
do some short quick sessions until you see it start to build up a brownish patina in the cavity's.
that patina will be the release agent.

Thanks, finally got to that Sunday night. Cast about 35, not including real defects. They were looking soft, but I was lowering my standards when all the sudden, out came a winner. I scooped the 35 in and started over. These are great. I didn't weigh them yet because I was using some harder alloy for another project and I'm not overly critical yet on these. But they are beauts. Dropping at .363 which makes me very pleased because we can size those for 38 s&w, 38 Long, 38 Spec and 357. I was worried they might drop at .359, but no problem. 202876