If you had it to do over again, what would you have done differently?

[Ken in Iowa]

Hindsight is 20/20 they say. What would you have done differently in the world of moulds and handles and why? Different manufacturer? Customizations? More or less cavities?

When I first started casting, muzzle loading was my focus. I inherited Lyman moulds with handles so that's all I knew. I bought a new rifle that came with a Lee RB mould. I could not get it to cast a decent ball! Used Lyman RB moulds of various sizes were and are cheap and readily available, so that Lee was quickly replaced.

The damage was done, I was soured on aluminum moulds!

My son expressed interest in casting for pistol calibers, so off I went in the conical boolit world!

The great reloading component shortage was on, so I decided to cast for my Mosin and Krag rifles as well.

With my previous good experience with Lyman, the first Boolit moulds I bought were from them.

A brand new 358665 was purchased from Midway. After breaking it in, it cast a beautiful undersized .356" boolit. Not good as I wanted mass quantities of .358s for 38 Special.

Reading here at Castboolits that new Lyman moulds typically run undersized, I simply returned it to Midway instead of fighting with Lyman

Experienced casters here including runfiverun were consulted. Since I was Soured on aluminum, I switched from Lyman to RCBS, the top of the heap for commercial moulds. I used my Midway credit to purchase a 38-140- CM and a 45-230-CM both double cavity iron moulds.

Gosh, those Beautiful Lyman handles that I already owned would not work on RCBS blocks,so upon several recommendations I bought a couple of excellent KAL RCBS series handles from Canada. ( no regrets there!)

The RCBS moulds broke in quickly and after minimal tweaking I was casting beautiful boolits. The RCBS moulds were heavy and I found myself tightening the sprue plate screw frequently. Oh well, I am retired and have the time....

Now that I was fully vested in RCBS, I picked up several more moulds. They worked just like my first moulds, so I was happy enough. I did find myself wanting more cavities, but that's not an option with rcbs.

I was offered a used Arsenal 311331 with the assurance it cast well and shot well in Mosins. It was time to get over my "alumaphobia " By this time, I had read enough horror stories about LEE moulds that I knew that was my problem years ago with my ML. My "alumaphobia" turned to LEEphobia.

Oh boy. Now I needed handles for the Arsenal. I also wanted a Krag mould, so off to NOE for some shopping and research. I decided on a 311284 for the Krag, a couple pair of NOE handles and a mould thermometer to help me over the curve in learning aluminum moulds.

I was not disappointed in my decision to go NOE! Al personally called to tell me of a delay in production of handles which was appreciated. The order arrived when promised. The handles are equal in quality to the KAL.

With the help of the mould thermometer, I quickly learned how to make beautiful boolits with those aluminum moulds. The thermometer probe wire was a little ungainly, so I removed these training wheels and have been happy ever since.

Where my experience helped to form my opinions, in retrospect I wish I had looked to NOE aluminum earlier. I also would have been happier with 4 or 5 cavities in my 38 special

Luckily, used moulds in great condition are an easy sell when properly marketed on swapping and selling, so one can go back for a mulligan in this hobby.

[RobS]

You were use to iron molds and when moving from mold to mold each has their own way to cast. I don't know what the deal was with the Lee mold however not all aluminum molds are the same. Regards to the Lyman mold, members here will say you need to add tin to your mix and the Lyman mold will cast at intended diameter. Long ago I said no thanks as I didn't want to alloy with so much tin which meant I would go somewhere else. RCBS was good with straight WW alloy and so was Lee molds. However, as I look back at my experiences now I rather pay a few extra dollars for a new mold from a custom maker to cast at the diameter I want and with the alloy I want to use.

[lightman]

If I was starting over I would change my smelting set-up. I would start with building a bottom pour smelting pot that would hold 400# or so and a natural gas fired burner. I would build several, maybe 7 or 8, ingot molds from either angle iron or channel. I would actively look for 4 cavity Hensley and Gibbs molds. I would also start with a Star sizer.

There's nothing wrong with my current equipment. My current smelting set-up works fine. A bottom pour would save a little bit of wear and tear on the ole back. My Lyman style ingot molds also work fine but a slightly larger mold would speed things up. The 2 cavity RCBS molds that I have all cast nice bullets but the 4 cavity H&G's are a joy to cast with and are faster. My Lyman 450 sizer works fine but a Start would be faster.

[KCcactus]

I started with a Lee 10 lb bottom pour pot and a couple of their 6 cavity molds. I picked up a couple of used 2 cavity iron molds early on, but didn't like them much. My first custom molds came after I found this site. I've also added a Lee 20 lb bottom pour. The only thing I would have done differently is I would not have bought the used 2 cavity molds. If the 20 lb pot had been available when I started, that would have been a better choice for the 6 cavity pistol molds I used at the time. Now, depending on what I'm casting, I use the 20 lb, the 10 lb or both. I still use those old Lee 6 cavity molds and have added several others.

I can understand your frustration with Lee 2 cavity molds. I have a couple of them and on the rare occasions I use them, they remind me why I almost never use them. Their 6 cavity molds are much better. They make huge piles of nice boolits very quickly. They are not as nice as the custom molds from the vendors here, but they are also a fraction of the price. I have several custom MP brass molds and they are works of art. I haven't tried custom molds from the other vendor sponsors yet, because I haven't found one in a design I just have to have ... yet. But, I also have other hobbies that compete for the available $.

[runfiverun]

look at that washer between the plate and the bolt head.
they like to dig in and back the bolt off.
once they get that bite on the plate and under the bolt head it's a royal pain to make them stop unscrewing the bolt.
you can also drill a hole in from the side and tap it for a set screw [if the rcbs doesn't have one already] to keep that bolt in place.

[rintinglen]

I wish I had saved up my Nickles and bought a single good 4 cavity mold, instead of picking up several two cavities.
My problem was limited funds. My first molds were picked up at a yard sale (so was my first press). I limped along making a small pile of boolits when I could have made a big pile, which would have given me more time to load and shoot!
Now, thanks to Ranch Dog, NOE and MP Primarily, I have 4 (or more) cavity molds for all my favorites.

[psweigle]

I bought and still use lee double cavity molds and a 20lb pot. Never found a need for anything else. The only other mold I have that isn't a lee is the rcbs 25 auto mold that I way overpayed for and I really don't even like.

[labradigger1]

I would have started with 4 gang brass molds from noe.

[dale2242]

I would have started with a bottom pour pot instead of casting with a ladle and cast iron pot on a Coleman white gas camp stove....dale

[Harter66]

I'd have gotten​ a new dog instead of a 2nd wife . I'd have had a lot more money for moulds . I don't regret the wife it was a good run , the now 9 NOE moulds , 12 Lyman , 6 RCBS and assorted others instead of replacing Lee's that just did what was needed with moulds that run freely .

Of course if I'd gone with the dog I'd have most likely built a 35 Remington on that Carcano action instead of the 7x6.8 SPCII which wouldn't have sent me looking for the 7mm mould , getting irritated by the shipping cost being as much as the 27-150 I wanted to patch and buying the NOE 5C 285-150 hunter for $10 more to the door . Probably best just the way it went down .

[clum553946]

Not started? Lol, I probably wouldn't buy so many molds! In the relatively short time I've been casting, I've used aluminum, iron, & brass molds. I've made all kinds of mistakes, but with casting, you get to remelt & try again. The one thing I would do over is try to find an understanding local mentor that could've pointed me in the right direction instead of the trial and error method I learned (& still learning) by!

[pworley1]

Started sooner.

[Yodogsandman]

My only regret was not stocking up with more COWW's when they were all lead and free for the taking. I thought that 2 tons were enough and they almost made it to my retirement. Restocking is a much bigger pain and I can't carry as many now.

I suppose, I do wish I had learned about what a difference there was between the Lee 2 cavity and 6 cavity molds.

[sghart3578]

I would have started casting sooner. And not sold the guns that I have sold. And..... It's a long list.


BTW I have 19 two cavity Lee molds and they all work very well, if they didn't I wouldn't own them. I also own molds by NOE, RCBS and Accurate. Thinking about trying an Arsenal mold next.

[Beagle333]

If I could start over, knowing what I know now....... I wouldn't ever start casting. I would buy a Star, and I'd get all my bullets from Missouri or somebody, unsized, uncoated, and I'd powdercoat and Hi-Tek, or lube in my Star and toss in BLL. I would spend all the money that I have in my bazillion molds and casting gear on lots of commercial lead bullets and have cases and cases of them stacked up and preserved from oxidation. The only reason I left commercial bullets was because I love HP's. And I still do love my HP's, but if I were in the imaginary world of having my money back and starting over, now that I have cast and shot HP's for years and I've got those memories, I'd just go with big meplats and not bother with the casting part of it. I got a bum leg, and casting really takes a toll on me, so I would just skip that part in my "do-over fantasy."
I shoot almost exclusively cowboy style shooting, so the need of making a bullet that is better than anything that is sold commercially isn't going to change my shooting much.
I would just do my own coating and lubing because I really do like that part of using cast bullets.

[WALLNUTT]

Remember, change one thing and you change it all. I'm comfortable where I'm at. Live and learn. Failure is nothing but a try.

[Taterhead]

I would have started this sooner!

[GhostHawk]

Only real change I would make is that I would jump into the Lee 6 cavity molds right from the start.

Not that any of the 2 cavity molds are wasted.

But in my experience the 6 cav's are better quality and rain boolits with few issues.

However when it gets down to figuring out exactly which mold is the one your gun wants vs which looks good to you. The cheaper 2 cavity molds are a great way to actually find out.

And knowing what I know know I might have never bought a .356 9mm mold. Instead buying 2 or more .358 molds in handy sizes and a .357 sizing die.

[LenH]

The one thing I would do over is try to find an understanding local mentor that could've pointed me in the right direction instead of the trial and error method I learned (& still learning) by!

I had a mentor and I started this madness when I was 15 (I'll be 61 this year). One of my friends dad got me hooked. At first I would just watch and ask questions then he would tell
me to get my hind end over there and do it and he would explain what was going on while I was at the helm. Then he would let me take his reloading/casting books home and study
those instead of doing homework. I would take those back the next morning and me and my friend would walk to school. He wouldn't let me help him cast any for a couple of years.
but eventually he did let me cast and that is when the bug hit me hard and I have been casting ever since.

[Pmg]

I also would have done more hoarding of WW when they were free for the taking.