Trouble with new noe mold

[rintinglen]

The postman dropped off my Birthday Present yesterday. A USPS package with two new NOE molds. The first worked like a champ, after I boiled it in hot soapy water. 111 grain .432 Wadcutters dropprd out 2x2, a lot of rejects at first, but it soon settled into the kind of performance I expect from a Quality product...

NOT SO with the second one. It is a 4 cavity 311-407 and I struggled with it for an hour or so without getting One good boolit.

The problem seems to be that I can't cast fast enough to keep the mold hot because it is too darned hard to get the boolits to drop out. I have to beat on the hinge repeatedly to get the boolits to fall, all the while the mold is cooling. At first I thought it might be oil in the blocks, but this mold was bolied in the same pan at the same time as the aforementioned 44 snub WC mold, which gave stirling service. Should I "Leement" the mold, smoke it, send it back or what.

I hate it when a plan falls to pieces.

[Artful]

After you cleaned in soap and water - the old dawn and toothbrush treatment...
Have you heated and let it air cool three times to help seat the alignment pins per instructions, did you smoke the cavities, then started casting?

You saw in the instructions

Some bullet designs may stick - bullets with a lot, or deep lube grooves and sharp angles may stick in you mould.
If this happens tap on the hinge of the handles with your casting mallet as you open the mould, the bullet will usually fall out.
You may have to repeat the above with certain designs.

this looks like a lot of lube grooves to me.


I'd examine with magnification to see if you have any burr's but all my blocks for NOE looked good so far.
I'd re-clean and heat cycle it again, then take the ol' bic after it and try again - make sure you heat up the blocks before casting starts.

[zuke]

Turn up the heat

[Blammer]

get the mould hotter some how, dip the corner in the melt once in a while, may help it.

[SwedeNelson]

rintinglen

I have a love, hate relationship with this bullet
It is not a good bullet for a new caster or some one
that doesn't like to work out the In's and outs of making it perform

Like Artful, Blammer have said preheat the mould to about 350F before you even start to cast.
Run your pot at about 695F and see what you get.

If you still cant get it to work, send it back and we will check it out.
We will get it fixed, replaced or a refund out to you. It is guaranteed.

Swede Nelson

[41 mag fan]

rintinglen

I have a love, hate relationship with this bullet
It is not a good bullet for a new caster or some one
that doesn't like to work out the In's and outs of making it perform

Like Artful, Blammer have said preheat the mould to about 350F before you even start to cast.
Run your pot at about 695F and see what you get.

If you still cant get it to work, send it back and we will check it out.
We will get it fixed, replaced or a refund out to you. It is guaranteed.

Swede Nelson

1 of many reasons I like NOE molds....Al has a top notch customer service, and stands behind his molds and work.

[Bullshop]

If your beating that hard to get them to drop I would bet there is a mechanical issue. Either there are burs holding the boolits or the cavities are not centered to the parting line.
You should never ever have to beat a mold to get boolits to drop. Even if your not actually hitting the mold itself the mold is still being beaten against the handles and hinge pins as well as the sprue plate and its hinge.
Any mold that acts this way needs to be leemented. A 10 minute session leementing a mold will make a world of difference. Once I learned that and did it to any molds I had that gave problems I was free of the missory of beating up molds. Molds I once dreaded to use are now a joy.
Sweede will fix your mold for sure. I am posting this mainly for others with problem molds. A well tuned mold will or should drop its castings almost of thier own weight and if not with just a light tap on the handle butt. I dont tap the hinge pin but the handle butt instead. The seems easier faster and to work better for me.
Casting should be enjoyable not misserable but with a stuborn mold it sure can be missorable.

[rintinglen]

Hi all, first off, I am not an inexperienced caster, I have 5 other Louverin molds and (one NOE and four Lyman) have not had quite this much trouble with any of them. My 311-466 4 Cavity NOE gave me a litle bit of trouble at first, but by the third casting session it was a dandy, and even the first gave me some good boolits. I cycled the mold in the oven, though I may have only got two cycles not the recommended three (wife is extremely good at finding stuff for me to do when I am doing something else.) I actually floated the mold in the melt after pre-heating for about 30 seconds and cranked up the Lee pot to max as I went along. I suspect that there may be a mechanical problem, because the boolits were sticking in the right half of the mold, not the left. I will break out my loupe, when i can find it and carefully inspect for burrs. I will also reclean the mold, scrubbing it out again with the tooth brush and try it again Friday or Saturday, Christmas Tree hunting not with standing.

[SwedeNelson]

ringtinglen

Sorry - not saying you are a inexperienced caster - just that a Louverin can be a challenge.
Bullshops points are very valid and can be a problem.

Keep me posted to what we need to do to make you happy.

Swede Nelson

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

it sounds like time to go buy a good hot plate with temp control...

[Fishman]

I had the same problem because I neglected to read the instructions . Swede was patient and fixed me up. I neglected to heat cycle the mould and one of the alignment pin sleeves was slightly protruding into the block. Exactly the same symptoms you describe. Run your finger over those sleeves on the inside of the mould and if you feel them raised at all, that could be your problem. A trip back to Utah and then proper heat cycling will then make it all good.

[rintinglen]

it sounds like time to go buy a good hot plate with temp control...

Got one, used it.

Thanks, Al, I know you stand behind your work and I honor you for it. I am going to re-heat cycle the mold after washing it thoroughly and carefully checking for burrs then give it a couple of more tries before I throw up my hands. "A new mold can be a fractious thing," said John Barlow some hundred and ten years ago. Part of the fun of casting, "If it was easy, anyone could do it."

[SwedeNelson]

Making them is just like using them - "If it was easy, anyone could do it."
Will watch for your out come.

Swede Nelson

[madman]

There is not a better guy than Swede. Great products and wonderful person to deal with. I own a lot of his molds and never have I had a problem with any of them. The guys I shoot with all want me to supply all of their cast boolits to them because I use only NOE molds. Lees, RCBS, Mt Molds, Lyman all gone, poor product quality, poor service when there has been a problem with thier molds. Follow his recomendations and he will make it right with you. I only wish I had more guns so that I could purchase more of his molds and cast with them.

Just my 2 cents worth. Glad to have him as a Friend.

[Elkins45]

My only NOE mold is a 311407. It has to be at almost nuclear temperatures to drop good bullets.

[Jon K]

I have 2 of the 407 moulds...I have found the many grooves and sharp edges to be the problem with them sticking.
I wrapped some 4x steel wool on a 22-25 brush, and turn it to de-burr & burnish...only needs a little to make the boolits fall right out of the mould.
My moulds seem to run best around 750*-775*

Jon

[rintinglen]

Man Oh Murder--This mold has to be HOT to get good boolits. After a second scrub down and three more trips up to 350 degrees in the oven (to the repeated queries of my wife: "What are you cooking now?"), I brought the mold back out and fired up my Lee pot. The only way I get good boolits is to pre-heat the mold, then every three or four casts dunk a corner back in the melt for 15-20 seconds. If the lead freezes in less than 10 seconds, it's not hot enough. This has now taken the title of "Most Finicky Mold" from my Lyman 311-467. Louverin boolits are hard to cast well, due to the multiple small bands and the square cut grooves. This one is harder than most. My NOE 311-466 is much more amenable to reason. Now to shoot some and see how they work.

[zuke]

I have an NOE mold I love!
45-70 330 GC HP and when I use it I run it at 825-850 deg.
Boolit's tumble out and are fully complete.

[cbrick]

My moulds seem to run best around 750*-775* Jon

Hey Jon,

Question . . . How do you get the boolits to freeze with the mold at 775 degrees?

Rick

[Jon K]

Rick,

PREHEAT...

BTW...Are you near located Steve & Sue?
Just saw your post about the move to AR.

Jon