NOE sprue plate problem.

[marek313]

I just got my first NOE mold 358-155-TC which casts great bullets but I'm having hard time breaking the sprue plate after casting. I dont have a lot of molds but none of my other molds such as Lee, Lyman, Saeco take a 2x4 to open it up. When I cast with my other molds I use old drumstick (think drums no chicken lol) and thats all I need to open and release my bullets. I had to step it up closer to a 1x3 to get this one to open after few solid wacks. Its not the the sprue plate is binding anywhere because on its own it moves freely just fine. Maybe there is a trick I'm missing with these NOE molds.

[daengmei]

Cooled too long?

[mattw]

Aluminum mould and it is not hot enought. That said, I hate to run mine hot enough if I don't have to, would hate to warp a mould block.

[bedbugbilly]

How many cavity mold is it? I have probably ten NOE molds now - 2 to 5 cavity - .358 wish to .454. I don't have any issues with the 2 cavity - just cut the sprue with hand pressure. On the 4 and 5 cavil molds, I use a rubber mallet at times. I usually run mine hot and I'm guessing you might want to run your led a little hotter as well as your mold - and increase your cadence a little?

[Conditor22]

get a hot plate to preheat the mold to around 380° set a saw blade or piece of metal on it to distribute the heat. cut the sprue faster, as soon as the puddle changes color. start filling at the hinge and work away from it, this gives you more leverage on the colder sprues.

[Boolit_Head]

Noe molds like to be run hot.

[waco]

More heat to the mold. Plus one on use of a hot plate. $10 at Walgreens.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Once the mold is Hot, at the proper temperature, the sprue puddle will freeze in 3 to 5 seconds. You want to cut the sprues one or two seconds after it freezes. You should be able to do that with a gloved hand and NO tapper, if the mold and sprue plate are at the correct temperature.

Using a Hotplate to preheat the mold, gives you a huge head start.
Good luck.

[MaLar]

I bought one years ago never used it until recently. The nose cast to large .353" should be .350". Cartridges loaded with it won't chamber.

[Taterhead]

I turned my 5 cav NOE sprue plate by gloved hand once up to temp. A cold mold does take some effort to cut sprues. Great advice is given above.

[Ginsing]

+1 at start pouring with the cavity closest to the hinge. Makes a big difference on my 5 cavity .432 mold

[sutherpride59]

Honestly when I use my 6 banger molds and heck all of my mound I have a wooden table that I cast over. Once the spru has cooled I push the mold with the spru plate against the wooden table and using body weight it cuts just fine and makes beautiful bases without loosening the screws from banging on it.

[sutherpride59]

Of course I do this with welding gloves on

[Conditor22]

[mvozz]

I use several NOE Moulds and don't have much of a problem but I have a 4 cavity Lyman that was giving me fits - until I heated the sprue plate. I preheated on a hotplate and it made very little difference, the mould was hot but not the sprue plate. Once I heated the sprue plate the sprues sliced right off with very little effort. I got that tidbit from Glen Fryxell's book and it is worth it's weight in gold!!

[Conditor22]

I have a trigger start propane torch sitting on my casting table;

sets flux on fire
warms up frozen spouts
pre-heats sprue plates (when needed)
burn lube out of cavities (if needed)

Last time I used it was to melt some pure lead in a dipper to cast some pure 45-70 boolits to slug a gun. (if the boolit isn't fat enough hit the end with a hammer and it will get shorter and fatter)

[gwpercle]

A 4 cavity mould and a hard alloy , even just COWW , if you let it harden just 2 seconds too long will take a fair amount of effort to bust open. Two and three cavity moulds aren't as bad but I have to open the 4 cavity just as soon as the sprue sets up...no more.
I've also noticed that towards the end of the pot the mould get easier to open....the alloy seems to cut easier than when you first start.
NOE...run it hot , count to 5 and bust open.

Gary

[marek313]

+1 at start pouring with the cavity closest to the hinge. Makes a big difference on my 5 cavity .432 mold

I might have to try this. I'm running my mold hot as i know cold temp makes this harder. I have it right at the point where more heat will rip chunks and not cut so its not a heat issue. Its a 4 cavity mold btw. I think pouring away from me might help with this so I'll have to try that next time but for now I made about 1.5K of those so its not going to be soon that I use this mold. I need some more 45s but at least my Saeco has much better sprue plate design.
Thanx for good tips though.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

It sounds like you have handle on mold temperature, but there is also sprue plate temp. Maybe try pouring larger sprue puddles to keep the sprue plate hotter.