master caster mold alignment

[finattic]

Guys I changed molds today to make some 45's for my uncle. All went well but I noticed the pour stream is not directly over the spru plate holes. I have never moved or made any adjustment to the machine since I got it last year. I am pretty sure this works the same way as a rear end loosen one side and tighten other to move mold, is this correct and after it is correctly positioned how tight are the guide rails suppose to be against the carriers. I have often thought this one was a little tight when pulling the handle but was not sure if it suppose to be that way.

thanks for any help

Alan

[HATCH]

You are correct on alignment.
Loosen one side tighten the other.
You want the rails to just barely touch the mold carrier.

I run mine on the loose side.
Basically have one side push the carrier to under the spout but have the other one loose.

[finattic]

Thanks Hatch If that is the case then mine are way to tight cause I am continually having to lube the guide rails where it rubs so much. not is the time to fix it since the pot it empty and ready for a good cleaning.
Thanks again
Alan

[Littleton Shot Maker]

rails should be tight- lube them though--

but yes they should be tight, you don;t want lead to squeeze out- if it's so tight you can't open or close with out hurting your self or sloshing lead all over , you will hate it when it gets hot

is the stream left/right of sprue hole or it is wrong back to front?
There is a stop that keeps you from going to far BUT dang it's been a decade since I had to pull that handle

Sure some one that uses theirs all the time will chine in and help though

Lef to right non-issue, adjust rails - back to front - other problem

In the big machine there is a bar that one would adjust to set the molds up right under the pour spout- I had to adjust those on a few molds as we did changes- the
Hand cast never gave me much trouble and FOR 'my use' I still like using that one more-
IF I need 10K + bullets we fire that (big automated) mudder up.
Since we still have 40/100K bullets ( various cal.s ) from the old days won;t need to fire up the small machine soon except maybe some rifle bullet I'd like to do

[jmorris]

I don't have a real master caster but I have noticed on the machine I built there is a large enough difference between spree plates on some of my molds that I have to adjust the "closer" so the holes are centered with the cavity(s) in the mold.

Said differently the mold is in the right spot but the sprue plate is crooked.

[Littleton Shot Maker]

OK
well the small unit you will have to loosen the base nuts then move it to make sure it ok -FRONT to Back
side to side?? all in the rails-

IF having to move the pot do it when very low, it is easier to move, not so heavy and when it moves faster that you wanted you won;t get lead all over the floor- arms hands etc...
Been a long time since I had to do that, forgot there for a few-

[ReloaderFred]

If the alignment problem is front to rear, there is an adjustment screw on the back of the handle, near the base. By moving the stop in or out, you change where the mold stops under the pot. All side to side adjustments are done with the rails.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Tazza]

All excellent advise.

One thing to watch is when the mold heats up, it will expand slightly. You will find it may start to drag a little more when up to temperature, so you may need to do a slight adjustment when it's nice and hot.

Happy casting!