Need Help/Input for Custom .410 Wad-Slug Mold Design

[Greg5278]

Turbo, watch out for Brooks Molds. He did some crappy wotk for me, and ruined a set of my bnlocks he agreed to bore. He broke his center drill on the blocks, due to Operator error, and cursed me out, canceled the job, and charged me for his Drill and time!

That guy is a piece of S&*%! I had the blocks made from certified cast IRon of a known grade. He told me that my blocks were hardened steel, and then cursed me out. HE returned my money, minus his time and aggravation, and a ridiculous charge for a center drill. I had the blocks remachined, and cleaned up. I was able to have someone else make a 1043gr 12 ga Truncated cone slug mold made on them. See He was a Liar, the blocks weren't hardened, he was just a *******, and wanted to blame it on me.

If you want to discuss this episode, email me. I refuse to deal with him.
Greg

[turbo1889]

Greg, thanks for the heads up about Brooks Moulds. I researched what his customers had to say about him on the web before I ever ordered with him. There were a lot of very satisfied customers who really liked the molds he cut for them, but also a few like you that were not so happy. Most of the dis-satisfied stories mentioned that they had ordered a "(type)" mold of xyz-weight in xyz-caliber and the mold they got wasn't exactly what they thought they ordered as far as "(type)" but weight and caliber were as specified. I take these reports with a grain of salt considering his main customer base is BPCR shooters. To put it nicely, I have found that individuals of this persuasion have in general the temperament of a stubborn mule, who has to have everything done his (or her) own way. I have been a member of more than one forum where the BPCR section got turned off more then once because they wouldn't play nice with each other. My girlfriend (mainly a lurker but posts occasionally on forums under the username of tommygirlMT) is also a BPCR caster, loader, and shooter and her temperament at certain times can fall under the same heading.

At least one other besides yourself mentioned having problems when they asked Brooks to cut "their" blocks instead of his own. In addition when a significant problem or disagreement arises between Brooks and someone else it appears he holds his ground and doesn't budge ---- at this point I should point out that he is also a BPCR shooter.

Long story short, I still ordered with him. I made sure I sent him drawings which fully outlined exactly what I wanted cut while at the same time leaving tolerances in non-critical areas as generous as possible and made sure I was clear about what I wanted but wasn't "nit-picking" in addition he is going to cut them in his own blocks. From the other story I mentioned it was pretty clear that asking him to cut anything but his own blocks was not a good idea - I wouldn't say that's too unique among custom mold cutters. They usually don't like to cut blocks that aren’t there own. Generally I've learned that if your going to have your own blocks cut and then have a separate person cut the cavities in the blocks - it is best to have a broad skilled machinist cut the cavities rather then your dedicated mold cutting shop. Such an individual knows how to take what they have and make it work, mold cutting shops in general have their way of doing things and don't like to differ from that one little bit.

I had already taken the plunge and sent payment before you posted and hopefully they are in the process of being cut and I will have them in a few weeks. I'm not saying your wrong about him, just saying I was willing to try him out and see how it worked out. In addition I do believe that I have an advantage with him that you don't have. If things start looking like they are going to go way sour he is only a couple hours drive from me and I can stop by his shop figure out what is going on and look him in the eye. I will let you know what the final results are. If he pulls through and makes my molds at least close to the specs I requested and sends them to me within a months time or so he will be miles ahead of a reasonably well though of other mold company that when I sent them exact prints showing what I wanted they said they could do the job and took my money including the extra charge for a custom cherry fee and then stopped communicating with me and the mold never showed up and the money was never returned.

[Greg5278]

I am, and have been working with severl good CNC Lathe shops to find one who is comfortable cutting the mold cavity. Once I find a reliable one, I will post it for all Forum Members. Alot of so called mold makers use very poor or outdated equipment, they can sometimes make a really nice mold. CNC machines to not have bad days or attitude problems. The biggest things about Lathe Boring a cavity on a manual machine is the fact that it is all "blind" work. You can't see where you are actually cutting util you are done. That makes mistakes much more likely.

I didn't have a Problem with Brooks and the Job, until he cursed at me and said I was a Liar. He said my Blocks were made from a hardened alloy, not cast Iron. If he had a clue, he could have seen that it was a cast alloy from the chips, and checked the hardness with a File. The metal was Durabar 65-45-12 direct from the Mill with the Certification, and he tried to argue and say that is was hardened Steel. I spoke with several Machinists, and they all agreed the mistake was not the blocks of machine, but Operator error. He could have just accepted responsibility and been done with it. I offered to send another set of Blocks to redo the job, and he refused.

Greg

[45 2.1]

Several of use have an excellent 410 hollow base slug that was produced by a board member. I do not know if he could be convinced to do anymore. 357Max shoots this slug into quite nice groups at 100 yds out of a scoped smoothbore boltgun. Maybe he could be convinced to talk about it.

[Andy Griffith]

Did you ever get this project finished?

Or give us an update?!?

Looks great so far!!!

[Saiga .410]

Any updates? I to am trying to create a .410 slug mold. Mine are gonna be 325 grain, and barrel diameter. (.410)
Thanks -Saiga .410