Newby needs advice!!!

[brocksdad]

where is the best plade to buy a 4 or 6 cavity mould. thanks in advance

Brocksdad

[waksupi]

Welcome aboard.

Lee Reloading has six cavity molds. The six cavities tend to be pretty good. For four holers, Ebay may be your best bet. In my experience, when you get to 4 and 6 cavity molds, you want aluminum. The ones made of steel get to be heavy when casting.

[docone31]

From your question, I suspect you have not done a lot of casting.
If that is the case, I strongly reccomend starting with a two cavity mold. They are all I use and I can cast a bunch at a time.
Six cavities are another animal with casting. I have read of issues I have not had with two cavities. This is not to say do not do it, but, I started with two cavity molds and I am there today. They have their own issues.
Just my 2c. I am glad I did it the way I did. I use Lee molds, all aluminum. I got quite used to them. In the beginning, I ran into some hair pulling castings. Now, it is almost old hat.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Welcome to the forum and never hesitate to ask questions; You will always be helped. If you buy molds new then the best places to look for them are via mail order. The most popular ones are thru mail order emporiums; Midsouth shooters Supply, Midway, Graf, etc. All have websites and catalogues and are reasonably priced. They usually sell 2 cavity molds but have provision for four and six cavity versions, some thru special order. Trying to get a mold off of E-Bay can be a very frustrating experience due to the bidding wars that result in sniping and molds that get driven up in price to levels way beyond what they are worth. Speaking from experience, it is better to start out with a smaller number of cavities type mold to get the feel of what you are doing. Two cavity molds can crank out a lot of bullets. Molds whether made out of Aluminum or iron, can and do cast excellent bullets, but each have their own "personalities"....and they take some getting used to, relative of course to what method you are using (ladle vs bottom pour)to fill them. Iron molds of 4+ cavities also tend to be quite expensive and as already stated are quite heavy to work with over a long period of time. Gather as much info as possible before making a definitive choice/commitment. LLS

[axman]

How about LBT moulds in 4 cav. I have 2 and am ordering 2 as we speak. If used as directed I don't think you can go wrong. Jim
:castmine:

[HeavyMetal]

Yep the web places are the easiest way to get molds, provided the site has them in stock!

I will second the 2 banger molds as a good starting place. A lot easier to get good boolits and less going on with a Lee 2 banger VS the 6 banger. My thought is by two molds and get used to how everything works then bump up to a larger mold design if you need to!

[docone31]

I relooked at the first post, and I answered everything I learned except the question. I guess I have been talking to my wife too much today.
I use Midway USA. I like their service. They stand behind their stuff.
When I got back into this casting stuff, I had taken an 30yr hiatus from a disasterous first experience. I got nothing but ****. I knew nothing about molds, alloy, heat, sizing, etc.
I got into it and seriously considered six cavity molds first. I found this forum and lurked for over a year. That was back when wheel weights were there for taking.
I got my molds in two cavity. I got my .45 .357 and 9mm plus .30, and .303. I got the wrong mold for the .303 right off the top. Too light when cast.
I sit down and cast 500 .45ACPs right off the top.
Midway has a full compliment of good double cavity molds in stock.
Six cavity molds are there also.
They cast good castings that work!

[brocksdad]

WOW!
I cant thank you guys enough for the welth of information!, I used to be a member of several 4x4 forums and if you werent a long time member you souldnt get so much as a hello. I think I will go for the double mould for now and order from midway and get the tumble lube style to start with, that seems to be the less complicated of the types. I am only reloading 40. right now on a hornady lnl AP. with the new EZject and I love it, but with the price of precast going up every day even that is killing me. I have found a supplier of wheel weight 5gal every 3weeks for free. :-D so I am hopeing that will get me started in the right direction.

I will certainly be asking a ton of Q's from you guys and gals in the nere future and I thank you in advance for all the help.

1 more Q should I be adding tin to my lead?

Brocksdad

[waksupi]

WOW!

1 more Q should I be adding tin to my lead?

Brocksdad

No, that shouldn't be necessary. I only add tin if casting a small boolit, like a .22, or a Loverin if I am not getting good fill out.

Let fill out be your guide for adding tin to your alloy. If you aren't getting crisp castings, when running the melt and mold hot, you MAY need to add tin, but shouldn't need to.

[cajun shooter]

You might want to purchase a 2 cavity RCBS mold to start. If cleaned and brought up to the correct temp, they are almost fool proof. I still use them for a lot of my 45's and you can put out a lot of bullets with them. The Lee 2 cavity is the most troublesome of the molds to start. The tumble lube process is cheap as is the sizing die that comes with the alox. After trying this process you will do better with the other brands of molds. The last two Lee molds I bought had problems with one still at the factory for the last month.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

+1 to Cajun Shooter for the recommendation on RCBS. They cost more than Lee, but have a good track record plus the guarantee is solid and they last a long time. Since you have a good supply of WW on a regular basis; a few good pointers to save you some agony later on. If you are going to use a bottom feed- pour pot, I suggest that you do not smelt and clean the WW's in it as the crud and debris that has to be removed from the melt will play havoc with the valve--clog it and make it leak. Not a fun experience to deal with. Secondly watch out for WW's that are noticeably lighter in weight and/or lighter in color...Both symptoms are indicative of ZINC....which is undesireable in a melt and a major contaminant that will, if its present as/in an alloy will make a nightmare out of casting bullets. A major terror situation with castings having sunken frosted spots and incomplete fillout of bases and grooves. You don't want to go there at all. Ask me or anyone how we know!!! In general gather as much info as you can on smelting, fluxing, temp control, storing your mold(s) and not getting burned or Never/Ever getting a drop of water near the pot when the melt is in it. Keep reading and asking questions. There is also a lot of this stuff that is already on file, past posts and articles on this forum. Do searches by topics. Enjoy casting & good luck. LLS

[Recluse]

I like RCBS moulds as well, but my best three boolits all come from Lee two-cavity moulds. Go figure.

For beginning casters, the steel moulds will teach you about casting and alloy and sprue cutting, etc etc etc. Once you get familiar and comfortable with that, don't hesitate to try the Lee moulds. We have an excellent thread here entitled "Lee-menting" that gives some superb information, techniques and tips on preparing Lee two-cavity moulds.

Another advantage to a Lee mould is that you can buy two (almost three) for the price of one RCBS mould--so if you're wanting to try new boolits for one reason or another, that is the way to go.

As far as tumble lubing goes? You can tumble lube ANY boolit--doesn't have to have the micro bands. But again, check out the threads on LLA (Lee LIquid Alox) as well as those on JPW (Johnsons Paste Wax). I keep making the lubing circle. Started tumble lubing, then went to using lubesizers, then back to tumble lubing and now back to lubesizers. However, I never went all the way one or the other.

Over time, you'll begin learning which boolits and gun and reloading combinations work best with which moulds, alloy mixes and lubing methods and you'll find you want to stick with the combo that works best.

For instance, my number one boolit is a Lee TL158SWC that I tumble lube with a mixture of LLA/JPW/mineral spirits, lubed, sized, then lubed again. This boolit performs in all .357/.38 special applications with zero leading and other-worldly accuracy and consistency. I have other .358 boolit moulds and I can get superb loads out of them (some tumble lubed, some lubesized, some come from aluminum moulds some from steel), but my best combo is that Lee mould in my tumble-lube mix.

Such is the joy of the black and mystical art of boolit casting.

:coffee:

[Bret4207]

One of the nice things a bout the Lee moulds is they don;t coast a lot. For less than the price of one new Lyman or RCBS, to say nothing of NEI, LBT, etc, you can try a couple different styles. That's what I'm doing for my wifes 40, trying 2 different Lee 2 bangers to see which style the gun and I like better.

[TAWILDCATT]

there seems to be a question on other forum as to the resent quality of redding and RCBS.I dont know as I have only one item from redding and RCBS dies are fine with me but I buy Lee because its inexpensive and works.:coffee:[smilie=1:

[WHITETAIL]

brocksdad, Welcome to the forum!:mrgreen:

[WHITETAIL]

brocksdad, I'll second the motion on
buying a two holer.
They are alittle easer to start with and
they will last for ever.
Now as far as getting WW,
take all you can get!

[klcarroll]

Welcome to the forum!

As Waksupi mentioned, ....Ebay can be a great source of used reloading equipment: ....But ALWAYS check on the current NEW retail price of the item you are bidding on!

You'd be astonished at how many people on Ebay pay more than New Retail for a used item! .....All because they got caught up in "The Auction Thing"!

Two good online retail sources are:

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/

http://www.midwayusa.com/

Kent

[tonyb]

Didn't have my glasses on, thought the title said "newly weds advice" lol

[jnovotny]

Welcome to the forum and I agree with most that said for the new caster start with a two cavity mold. That's all I use and when you get in a rythem you can cast a slew of boolits pretty quick. But enjoy lots of good info just for the asking.

[brocksdad]

I think I am going to get a lee 2 slinger tumble luber, maybe from Midsouth. And a lee melting pot. I am smelting my WW with a turkey fryer and a cast Iron pot and skiming off the bad stuff into a SS pot off to the side. After I have enought to start making my ingots I am using an old cast Iron round cornbread mould that holds 11 at a time that I picked up for 10 dollars at an antique store. They are about 2 lbs a peice.

Thanks for the info guys it have helped out so much, and I really feel welcomed here.

Brocksdad (Bryce)

[old_salt]

I just received a 2 cavity Lyman 225438 (22 caliber, round nose, 44 grain) mold and gave it its first try today. According to Lyman, you should NOT ever dip your mold into the liquid metal as it can cause warping of the mold. My problem is that with this fairly heavy, steel mold and two miniscule bullet cavities I am unable to cast fast enough to keep the mold up to temperature. I have heated molds before by dipping a corner into the melted metal and letting the mold heat up before trying to cast. Am I going to harm this mold by heating with the melt (I use a lee bottom pour 20 pound pot) or should I preheat it some other way. Ditto keeping the mold hot enough to pour good bullets.
Thanks for any help,
Glenn

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Lyman is right; dipping an iron mold into the melt can cause the blocks to warp. I preheat my molds on the kitchen electric range with a setting of 5 on one of the burners, for 15-20 minutes before starting to cast. Cast iron, including cookware will warp if subjected to sudden (and high) heat. The problem that you are having with 225 is a well known and often encountered pain-in-the tush. The small size of the bullet (and cavity) simply does not bring enough heat to the blocks to keep them at a temperature that will lend itself to reliable fillout. Roasting the mold to an exaggerated high temp is not the answer. You will have to do two things to get the mold to do things right. A) You will have to increase the temperature of the melt and accept frosted bullets (if they occur). Frosting has absolutely no effect on accuracy!!!! and B) When the bullet(s) are poured and cavity(cavities) is/are filled, continue to let the melt flow all over the sprue cutter. It makes for some large and grotesque sprues (that go back in the pot anyway), but the extra hot metal heats the mold generously and your problem should go away. As I said before, accept the frosting and get well filled out bullets. If the frosting really bothers you or someone next to you on the club firing line, you can get rid of it by polishing the bullet with some #0000 steel wool. Enjoy your mold & casting. LLS

[old_salt]

Thanks for your rapid response, I will give that a try, it makes sense and no I do not mind frosted bullets. As you said, no loss on the extra metal from the sprue, just requires more frequent metal addition to the pot. Too bad they do not make this size mold a three cavity with a 300 grain .45 in the middle >>grin<<.
Again, thanks for your immediate response.
Glenn

[old_salt]

I did as you said, (actually let the pot run on its highest setting) and heated the lead (WW alloy) quite hot and let the metal flow across the top of the sprue plate after the cavities were full (for a couple of seconds tops) and the bullets came out exceptionally well. slightly gray instead of shiney, but not objectionable. You are a prince to come up with this easy a solution.

Thanks many times over, I will let you know how they shoot in a .22 PPC on a 1908 DWM receiver.
Glenn


Lyman is right; dipping an iron mold into the melt can cause the blocks to warp. I preheat my molds on the kitchen electric range with a setting of 5 on one of the burners, for 15-20 minutes before starting to cast. Cast iron, including cookware will warp if subjected to sudden (and high) heat. The problem that you are having with 225 is a well known and often encountered pain-in-the tush. The small size of the bullet (and cavity) simply does not bring enough heat to the blocks to keep them at a temperature that will lend itself to reliable fillout. Roasting the mold to an exaggerated high temp is not the answer. You will have to do two things to get the mold to do things right. A) You will have to increase the temperature of the melt and accept frosted bullets (if they occur). Frosting has absolutely no effect on accuracy!!!! and B) When the bullet(s) are poured and cavity(cavities) is/are filled, continue to let the melt flow all over the sprue cutter. It makes for some large and grotesque sprues (that go back in the pot anyway), but the extra hot metal heats the mold generously and your problem should go away. As I said before, accept the frosting and get well filled out bullets. If the frosting really bothers you or someone next to you on the club firing line, you can get rid of it by polishing the bullet with some #0000 steel wool. Enjoy your mold & casting. LLS