Please rate the mould manufacturers!

[FISH4BUGS]

The golden age of casting is here

I respectfully disagree.
When Hensley & Gibbs were making moulds in the 40's 50's and 60's and maybe even the 70's, THAT was the golden age. I don't think anyone has come close to the tolerances and quality of those moulds. I own a fair number of them and I have to say the quality is always top notch.
They were master machinists. They didn't have the CNC machines and did it the old fashioned way on Bridgeport lathes - by hand and micrometer.

[dragon813gt]

I respectfully disagree.
When Hensley & Gibbs were making moulds in the 40's 50's and 60's and maybe even the 70's, THAT was the golden age. I don't think anyone has come close to the tolerances and quality of those moulds. I own a fair number of them and I have to say the quality is always top notch.
They were master machinists. They didn't have the CNC machines and did it the old fashioned way on Bridgeport lathes - by hand and micrometer.

And I will have respectfully disagree w/ you. You obviously collect H&G molds and have affection for them. Nothing wrong w/ this. It doesn't matter how molds are made. The current custom makers turn out molds that are to spec in a short amount of time. Tom at Accurate is the epitome of fast turn around. This didn't exist in the past. You can have any mold made that you can think of and have it in your hands in a few weeks. That's why it's currently the best time ever to be a caster.

[jmort]

And I will have respectfully disagree w/ you. You obviously collect H&G molds and have affection for them. Nothing wrong w/ this. It doesn't matter how molds are made. The current custom makers turn out molds that are to spec in a short amount of time. Tom at Accurate is the epitome of fast turn around. This didn't exist in the past. You can have any mold made that you can think of and have it in your hands in a few weeks. That's why it's currently the best time ever to be a caster.

This...

[FISH4BUGS]

And I will have respectfully disagree w/ you. It doesn't matter how molds are made. You can have any mold made that you can think of and have it in your hands in a few weeks. That's why it's currently the best time ever to be a caster.

OK....granted. BUT there is more to a mould than fast turnaround. I believe it DOES matter how moulds are made. I think this is particularly true with the raw materials the mould makers start with. Most of the earlier (up to the 70's and maybe even 80's) H&G moulds were made with Meehanite, which is not common today. I think the steel used today (for the iron moulds of course) is not the same quality steel as 40+ years ago.
I don't use brass moulds so I can't comment on those.
But to each their own.

[kmrra]

I have used several different brands of molds and have great success with Lee molds, they throw good bullets .

[dragon813gt]

OK....granted. BUT there is more to a mould than fast turnaround. I believe it DOES matter how moulds are made. I think this is particularly true with the raw materials the mould makers start with. Most of the earlier (up to the 70's and maybe even 80's) H&G moulds were made with Meehanite, which is not common today. I think the steel used today (for the iron moulds of course) is not the same quality steel as 40+ years ago.
I don't use brass moulds so I can't comment on those.
But to each their own.

Fair enough. It's really personal preference. I live in the rust belt so I will never own an iron mold. I have enough trouble keeping all my tools from rusting. I don't want to add casting molds to the list.

Materials have changed over the years and there is nothing that can be done about it. Buy whatever material you want and make it work for you. That's all you can really do.

[trixter]

I started with Lee and still have some and use them. I purchased 2 molds from MP (mihec) and love them too ( a little heavy, but you get used to it). I am still making boolits and am planning on adding a Lee 9mm next, a friend made me 20lbs and I will get a mold like his.

[SwedeNelson]

Mart

More than just a little offended that you think I would send you back a bad mould.

You sent a mould back that was in need of a little TLC and the RG pins need to be adjusted. Fixed it, cast with it, measured the out come and every thing is in spec.
No charge for the service or the shipping.

If you don't like the mould- just say "I don't like the mould!"

Will get you a refund in the works!

Bullet maker, maker
Swede Nelson

[mart]

Al,

My apologies. I didn't intend to imply you would send a bad mold back. I'm just stumped as to why I couldn't get it to cast for me. I'm no novice to casting and will certainly cast with it again. Probably next week while my wife is recovering from surgery. I'll need to stay close to home for that and casting will be a good project while she's resting. It was uncalled for of me to make that post and I'm sorry. I deleted the offending post and returned the refund.

Mart

[Harter66]

OK....granted. BUT there is more to a mould than fast turnaround. I believe it DOES matter how moulds are made. I think this is particularly true with the raw materials the mould makers start with. Most of the earlier (up to the 70's and maybe even 80's) H&G moulds were made with Meehanite, which is not common today. I think the steel used today (for the iron moulds of course) is not the same quality steel as 40+ years ago.
I don't use brass moulds so I can't comment on those.
But to each their own.

There isn't any radiation free metal made any more that is for certain .
There is a level of craftsmanship that is imparted to things made in the old ways . I will almost bet real money that a GI 1911 knocked out by Colt in 1925 and slapped in a box for to be shelved for 80 yr would feel nothing like the same GI gun made for commercial production in 2005 .

Sure the Cramer #45 mould I have just oozes feel and to cast it is near boredom . Pour , whack ,open , close , flip ,pour repeat make 100 pours this morning size and check 180 perfect bullets this afternoon .

I finally got the MiHec to run , it took 14 heat cycles and probably 200 pours .
1 of a dozen or so NOEs has given me trouble , men don't need no stinking instructions ........ Yeah about that , use them .
I needed a special bullet for a particular cartridge in a particular rifle so I went to Mountain Moulds and fussed with the bullet maker program for an hour or so ,lots of previous false starts , poked the order and recieved an email that said thanks for the order expect 6-8 weeks . 9 days later I cast the mould and it dropped exactly what I asked for , exactly on spec .

Now I have no idea what an original Cramer or a 40-60s H&G was like right out of the mailbox but I will guarantee that if you called them on the first or mailed a letter with payment on the 24th you wouldn't have been pouring a dead nuts perfect spec mould on the 10th of the same month .

That is what makes this such an amazing time to be a caster I have moulds from 10 makers 3 of them make responses Sunday through Saturday 6 of them answer the phone every time or call back within 90 min Monday through Saturday . Obviously Cramer isn't going to answer and Lee only shows up Monday thru Friday . TC will answer but may as well be Cramer .

[Harter66]

Mart

More than just a little offended that you think I would send you back a bad mould.

You sent a mould back that was in need of a little TLC and the RG pins need to be adjusted. Fixed it, cast with it, measured the out come and every thing is in spec.
No charge for the service or the shipping.

If you don't like the mould- just say "I don't like the mould!"

Will get you a refund in the works!

Bullet maker, maker
Swede Nelson

Here's a little something I don't think is found anywhere else in the industry !
This is what sets a standard .
This is ........a gold standard .

[10sandxs]

I sold two h&g 68 molds that both cast excellent bullets, but the weight between the bullets cast from the molds were slightly different. I used the proceeds to buy three NOE 68 replicas. Bullets fall 215 grains instead of 200. I cant add enought tin to get them back even close to 200 gr.

I have contemplated putting them on the bridgeport and shaving the tops, but its a significant amount to remove.

They cast ok, but not as good as the H&Gs they replaced. Aluminum is different than cast iron, and it took me about 2500 bullets to get it sorted out. I have proven they cast the same weight bullets once you learn how to cast them.

Biggest dissapointment... A week after I recieved the molds I get an email saying 10 or 15% off any molds from NOE. emailed them asking about a small refund... never got a response... a "no" would have been better than being ignored.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Leadmelter]

Best=Mihec, NOE, Accurate
Very Good when you find them: Vintage Lyman and RCBS molds
I never understood why RCBS never made four cavity molds.
Spin of the wheel: Lee I have several and I follow the instructions to the letter and get nice boolits.
Leadmelter
MI