A few newb mould questions

I dont post much here and contribute even less, mainly because I dont know much, but I figure you folks are probably the best to ask questions to about mould and design elements.

Im going to have to take the plung and try to start casting for at least one firearm I bought because buying cast bullets is about as much as jacketed. I bought a Rossi92 in 454Casull. I bought some bullets from Matte Bullets and they shot great but due to the fact of buying for so many other guns Id like to cast my own for this one, to start, and eventually take more of the load off of my wallet (maybe).
Accurate Moulds is where Ive been looking due to the wide array of choices he has. He has so may though it is starting to hurt my brain.

When looking at designs, particularly the grease grooves, do you want to have two or more small grooves or fewer or one larger ones?

Being that Ill be loading for a long gun I want a gascheck, if I find a design I like can I get a GC added? If I used a somewhat harder alloy would I necessarily need one?

How do some of the harder alloys react when cooling? Do they contract? To what degree?

If you are considering an Accurate mold, you could probably contact them for advice and answers to your questions. From everything I’ve heard, they want their customers to get the right mold for them and be a satisfied customer.

If you want a gas check mold.. ask them. I'm sure they can cut one for that. I'd personally run the gas checks in the handgun and the long gun to prevent cutting at the base. Now.. on alloy.. don't go too hard. Go hard enough though. For a round like that.. I'd do between 12 and 15 bhn.. so say.. lyman #2 as the top end.. and thinned a bit with some straight lead or range scrap or clip on wheel weight for less. you can also ask what their mold will drop at..if they specify a weight.. for instance.. some molds give you a weight and size.. if you use X alloy.. like #2 for instance.
Now.. you will also need a way to size and lubricate. Presumably this will be a .452 mold.. so you could simply buy a .452 push thru sizer die from lee.. this sizer will size the bullet AND crimp the gas check on. For lube.. if it is a small number per session.. I would just pan lube.. IE.. get a disposable pie pan and either make or purchase some lube.. melt it.. set your bullets in the pan and pour lube in.. then pop lube cake out when very cool.. then push bullets out with a dowl.. then size.. alternately.. you could also buy a bottle of alox.. and tumble the bullets in a single light coat.. allow them to cure.. then size and gas check them.. and THEN do the pan lube. More steps.. but is sometimes easier.. and you get the benefit of having a GOOD lube as a base coat on the bullet. Tip.. spray the pie pan with cooking oil spray as a release agent.. then set your bullets.. pour liquid melted lube.. allow to cool.. then punch out lubed and sized bullets. easy peasy.
For lube.. there are many recipies here that you can assemble from easy to find stuff.. ivory soap.. beeswax..red grease.. parafin wax..mineral oil.. vasolene.. etc. there are also commercial waxy lube sticks you could buy and melt down.. then just save the empty cake and remelt and pour on the next batch. For the longest time.. rcbs rifle lube was alox and beeswax.. but there are adds to make it better.

It won't make a big difference, but be sure to tell 'em if you'll be powder coating or doing the old school lube.

Bill, welcome to the forum.
you ask some good questions.

1. Mold.
While Lee molds are known as cheap, they have some pretty good designs. Their 300gr RF would be real good for 454casull, IMHO. BUT, if you want to spend some money for a better mold, many mold makers offer a similar design. You can use it with a GC (gas check) for HOT loads, and without a GC for mild loads.

https://leeprecision.com/mold-dc-c452-300-rf

2. Lube grooves.
I use to like multiple lube grooves, but I've learned that it is sure simpler lubing them in a lube sizing press if there is just one groove and using a good lube, you only need one groove full of lube.

3. Gas Check.
You need a design that has a GC shank, to be able to use a GC on a boolit. BUT, you can shoot a boolit designed for a GC, without a GC for light loads.

Mostly, there is no worries about harder alloys shrinking or growing as they cool or age. But alloys with high antimony will grow with age, like 2 or 3 years. Usually the growth is very limited, you likely will never notice it, but they have been known to grow .001" to .002" is large caliber boolits.

Yeah, I know I need to buy all of the ancillary stuff to go with my new mould, and I plan to. Like I said, just beginning. I shoot alot of cast bullets, pribably 80% of what I shoot is cast so Ive done some reading and listening and I like to believe I have a handle on the sizing and bhn and all of the basic stuff. I rarely see any leading with the stuff Ive been shooting. Not to say that I wont have many more questions in the future.

As far as design atrributes, what anoit multiple grease grooves as opposed to a single larger one? Any benefits one over the other?

How many of you buy used moulds off of some olace like fleabay? If I were to do that what am I looking for that should disqualify a purchase? What is irrepairable in other words? Ill tell you I have a very hard time buying from someone who will not let you return it. Been there done that so Im not a fan of that sort of stipulation, especially not being knowledgeable about moulds.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bill.68

How many of you buy used moulds off of some olace like fleabay? .

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I have, and got a .38, old school Lyman DEWC, almost new, in the cardboard box.
It's the one everyone was all ga-ga about when S&W Model 52s were in their hay-day.
It was $40. with handles and looked like it hadn't been used more than a few times.

But be careful. Look at the seller & their record there.
Enlarge and look at the pictures for hammer marks, rust, and heat marks- or lack of, and other signs of abuse.
Not being able to return it is reason for caution, and helps hold the price down.

Like the old saying, "It's a horse a piece"
You might get a good one, or you might not. I've never bought one from ebay.
Myself, I prefer to buy from my friends in the Sellin and Swappin forum. I have not been let down yet. If fact, I just bought one there this week, a fairly rare 41 cal mold for $35 and free shipping.

I have a bullet mold habit and need a 12 step program. In my lifetime, I have bought and sold many many hundreds. eBay accounts for some of them.
You can return a mold or any product even if the "no return" is in the posting.
Products that, in the description, do not have the described ware and damage you discover when received, can be returned. You have to make a claim. If the seller does not play ball you can get eBay involved. It is a hassle either way.
I do not bid or buy when pictures are unclear, not provided or the angle or side of the item you need to see is not available. Read the written description which is often little or none and that plays in the buyer's favor. eBay wants happy buyers.

With molds, good clear pictures of the cavities are needed. Look for the registration pins and holes. Casters who are hard on their tools bang the mold halves together and peen out the alignment resulting in poor bullets. Look for clean crisp edges on the registration holes. Also, look at the top of the mold with the sprue plate turned open to see the condition of the top of the blocks. Some casters will crank down the sprue plate in an attempt to get a flat base and a clean cut sprue, which doesn't work but does do damage. Correct adjustment, which is a separate topic, should be a slightly loose plate and no galling, scratching or turn marks are best. On used molds, some of that can be fixed.

Yeah, Ive been dealing with fleabay for over 25 years, mostly for Japanese woodworking tools and boat stuff. I actually made over $6,000 from one guy,a Japanese fella, and I can only clearly remember 3 incidents of having to dispute an item. I won all times.
Thanks for some things to look for folks. What do heat marks look like?

I dont need many moulds as I dont load many calibers and theyre all just standard stuff and I already know what moulds Id like.

You'll hear it said a lot around here that "Bullet fit is King". If you're ordering from Accurate, take the steps to measure out what your gun will want in terms of diameter and nose shape. We have lots of helpful info spread around on that topic.

Since it's a lever gun you'll be loading for, feed geometry will be a main concern.

My own feeling on lube grooves - without a lot of science to back it up - is that the same amount of lube spread over several smaller grooves MIGHT more efficiently pump that lube to the bullet/barrel boundary layer where it will be doing it's job. . .but since you're dealing with a fairly low-intensity, pistol caliber carbine application, I would not lose a lot of sleep over it.

Gas checks: I try to avoid them wherever I can, just to simplify production and lower cost - both monetarily and time. 1,600 feet per second is kind of my soft, squishy boundary of where they start to become necessary. The main benefit below that threshold is if you don't have a solid handle on what bullet diameter your gun really needs or if you are using bullet alloys softer than ideal for the intended velocity in order to get expansion out of a hollow point. I dunno. . .Casull out of a carbine is kind of on the balance point - if you're trying for a baby .458 Win Mag, you probably want gas checks. If you're merely going for a .45 Colt with a case of steroid rage, you can probably get by without them.

If you ARE going for a gas check, one concept I'm in favor of is designs that use the check to form the rear of the rearmost lube groove. The idea is that the check forms a debris scraper that helps scour off fouling shot to shot.