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View Full Version : 2,4,6 cavity molds, newbie looking for insight



Nefarious Cohort
12-21-2008, 01:02 PM
greetings,
I will be purchasing my first molds in the coming weeks (pistol cal.)
and from some of the threads here I noticed some prefer the 2 cavity molds over 6.

As a newbie to casting, are there any reasons I would be better served with one type over another?

I plan on casting a lot of boolits for cowboy action shooting.
Anything I can learn from your mistakes will leave me more time to make my own ;)

thanks!

mooman76
12-21-2008, 01:21 PM
Try going here, it was basically just asked.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=41709

If you plan on getting several moulds and you have one in mind that you won't be using allot(100's instead of 1000's at a time) I'd buy it in a 2 cavity to get practice with and then after you get the hang of it a little, move up to a 6x for one that you will need allot of bullets for.

Shiloh
12-21-2008, 01:33 PM
My rifle boolit molds are all 2 cavity. All my LEE TL molds are six cavity in .38/.357, .40, and .45 for ACP and Auto Rim. The reason for this is the sheer volume of slugs that can be cast in a short time.

Either way, once you get it down to producing good boolits and a steady rhythm, you can get a lot of quality boolits.

Shiloh

home in oz
12-21-2008, 01:46 PM
Is this a case of buying the six banger molds from Lee, or does some supplier list all the regular molds that Lee produces?

I have bought some molds from MIDWAY USA in Missouri.

Sprue
12-21-2008, 01:58 PM
I would think that most people prefer a 6 or 4 cav over 2 anytime. You have to take into account, how much time that you have and the volume of shooting of any particular caliber.

Then there's steel molds vs alluminum, bothing having advantage/disadvantages such as cost, perfromance, quality and life expectancy.

For the most part, as is for everything else, it comes down to how much you want to invest.

Nefarious Cohort
12-21-2008, 03:02 PM
thank you for the replies, Since I do a lot of shooting (couple hundred rounds a week) I figured that the 6cav's would be the way to go.

I guess it's time to get my equipment get setup and start casting so I can hit you all with the next batch of questions.

much appreciated,
NC

NuJudge
12-21-2008, 05:23 PM
In addition to the other differences, the 6-cavity Lee molds we use a lot are a lot lighter than the 4-cavity Lyman molds, because the former are aluminum and the latter iron, which makes a huge difference to my wrists after 4-hour casting session.

The iron may be a bit less fragile and a bit more durable.

For bigger bullets in the 4- and 6-cavity molds, give some thought to buying enough furnace to keep up with the biggest mold you have, or you'll find you're running two furnaces.

CDD

AZ-Stew
12-22-2008, 01:06 AM
NC,

Since you're shooting Cowboy Action and the distances are relatively short, if I were you, I'd go for maximum production versus precision. This is not to say that the Lee 6 bangers aren't capable of precision, but it's generally accepted that the iron moulds from Lyman, RCBS and Saeco are more precise and more robust products.

That having been said, the Lee 6 bangers will put out LOT of very good boolits in a short period of time. If you're like the rest of us where time casting loading and shooting is at a premium, the Lee's will give you a lot of bang for the $$.

Regards,

Stew

John Boy
12-22-2008, 01:48 AM
Nefarious, a lot of good advice has been posted. The number of holes in the mold is your choice. Just getting started in casting, you may be frustrated with a 6 cavity, at first, trying to drop good bullets from every cavity and you will need a 20# to keep feeding the mold without having to keep refilling the pot.

OK, some additional suggestions:
* Read This ... http://www.longrangebpcr.com/8Phases.htm
* Use a Ladle not a bottom pour pot
* Your melt and mold will be up to the proper temperature when the sprue puddle 'frosts' in 5 seconds
* Fill each cavity with a fresh ladle dip from the pot
And ... keep a constant rhythm ... I have the 8-PHASE CASTING CYCLE chart tacked on the wall where I cast to remind me of the rhythm.