Casting hollow point bullets question

[Fire_stick]

I recently acquired a NOE hollow point mold. It is a fine mold and makes great bullets. However at times (a lot of times) the bullets do not want to release from the pin. I figure this might have something to do with temperture.

What say the veterans?

[pt4u2nv]

I cast using the Lyman "Devastater' hp and have never had trouble with the pin sticking. Might want to try some Kroil on the pin.

[ph4570]

Put some sprue lube on the pins. I have a NOE 360-180 HP and the lube works for me.

[southpaw]

I have found that if I twist the pin while the boolit is still being held tight in the mould it helps with them falling off of the pin. If they will fall out of the mould with ease I will pull the pin out slightly then open the mould.

hope this helps

Jerry Jr.

[1Shirt]

I use the same proceedure as southpaw, and never have had a problem casting HP's.
It might also be a good thing for you to polish the pin as if it is at all rough, it could cause some hang up.
1Shirt!:coffeecom

[ph4570]

If the OP's NOE HP mold is like mine the pin twist method is not an option.

[mooman76]

I'd try the lube thing and/ or polishing the pin.

[wistlepig1]

Use a little 2 cycle oil on the pin. Use a Q tip to apply it and less is more. I do this on a 30 cal HP and it works for me, hope that works for you!

[Fire_stick]

So far, the solution has been to clean the pin tip with steel wool. I used 0000 steel wool, and spin the pin using my cordless drill. The bullets release from the pin much better now.

2 cycle oil seemed to promote wrinkled bullets. But I might have used a little too much and had some get in the cavity; "less is more" I think rings true.

Hesck, there are so many variables that it is had for a very part time caster to figure much out quickly. But the steel wool has been a winner so far.

Thanks for the replies.

[MT Gianni]

Glad that worked, you may need to run a little hotter if the pins aren't staying hot.

[Blammer]

I typically cast, then twist pin, then pull pin out a tad, then cut sprue, then crack mould drop boolit.

[GLL]

Polish the NOE pin, keep it VERY hot, twist it 180 degrees, and pull before cutting the sprue !
I have eight NOE HP moulds and they all work flawlessly ! :)

Jerry

[Blammer]

Eight moulds and probably 24 pins for them. :)

[ghh3rd]

Have you checked for any burrs on the pin?

[Fire_stick]

Cant pull the pins on these NOE molds. You can twist them, if you have needlenose pliers though; and I have done this before finding the solution.

What works for me is polishing the pins with 0000 steel wool.

[GLL]

I feel your mould and pin may not be hot enough to begin the pour !

Heat the mould on a hot plate & hold the pin in the alloy for a minute before you start !

If everything is up to temp the pin should rotate easily and retract with minimal effort.

The only NOE HP mould I had to work on a bit to get the pin out was the 454424HP,
The wooden knob on that one was also a little loose which did not help.

Jerry

[BCall]

I think he is referring to one of the RG2 or RG4 molds. You cannot remove the pins to stick them in the melt to heat them. Kinda like a Cramer style HP mold.

I would give it a bit more heat and it looks like you already polished the pins. Perhaps just smoking the pins may help them release? I don't like the idea of putting oil on them, but perhaps Kroil might work?

[Piedmont]

If it is any consolation they do wear in. Also run hot and fast and I think they don't grab the pin as much, because they aren't cooling as much on it before you whack your mould handle hinge and drop them off. I also think heavier bullets drop off the pins more easily than light ones just because you get more weight working for you.

[GLL]

Oops! Somewhere I missed the fact that you are using an NOE RG style mould rather than his standard single pin design!

Jerry

[Blammer]

ah, it is an RG!

I lightly smoke my pins and cast hot. Some times a light tap on the handles helps free them.

It took a few sessions for the pins to become seasoned, if you will, now they work quite well.