Neglected Mould

[Pressman]

After reading all the threads on restoring neglected moulds I keep thinking that I need to get started on this one. It's an Ideal Armory mould that was left unloved for too many years. One handle is wrapped in black tape, the other has a short split.

Looking at the mould under normal lighting it looks batter than I does when I took a high resolution picture and looked at it at 100%. Now I have doubts that it will ever be truly usable after cleaning. Still, it will be better than just leaving it to continue in this sad condition.

Ken

[Michael J. Spangler]

Drop her in some evapo-rust and you might be amazed at what comes out.
I would bet you have a serviceable mould there.

[Bazoo]

Neat, what bullet is it for?

[Bookworm]

Looks like it could be a 311299 style mould. An older variation, it has rounded lube groove.

[Conditor22]

+1 on the evaporust, then a good cleaning and maybe polish the cavities .001 larger, you could be surprised

[skeettx]

Many of the old Armory molds were for the 30-40 US

[DGV]

I have 2 of these molds both of them have grease fittings at the hinge can you tell me anything more about them

[Pressman]

This mould is 309333, I have two others: 308245-87 and 50 Govt. They need cleaning though they are otherwise in decent condition. The 50 has replacement handles, I think, and is a different style sprue plate stop. They all have an oil hole in one half of the hinge pin, no jerks.
I have not conducted a Handbook search for information on these, yet.

I might add that all three have the New Haven address on them, this pre-dates Lyman and could by prior to Marlin or post Marlin ownership.

Ken

[DGV]

I have a 7 cavity Ideal 358446 and a 7 cavity 358432. Lots of info I found on both. I have not cast with either one but will try. They look like they might take some serious pre-heat to get to good casting temperature.

[Pressman]

DGV, are yours marked Ideal and Middlefield?

[DGV]

Both are marked Ideal Middlefield CT USA

[Pressman]

After soaking overnight in Exhausto Rust the cavities look like they are salvageable. There is some light pitting and most of that is around the nose. I scrubbed them clean with hot, soapy water and was rewarded with instant flash rust.
It also became apparent that the mould would have to be disassembled to get a proper and total derusting. When I put the wrench on the sprue stop bolt, it came right out. The same for the three nuts on the pivot pin, then a light tap with a hammer and the pin/bolt dropped out.
The handles are secured with a blind pin so I am not going to attempt to remove them. The rust remover also makes fast work of the crud and grunge on the wood and brass with no ill after effects. One handle is charred on the outside and the other was bandaged in electrical tape, once it was removed the wood is split, but not seriously and will repair easily.

Currently all the parts are soaking in a pan of rust remover, along with a 22 rimfire trigger guard from another project.

[NoZombies]

I do love the old armory molds, I have a few of the Ideal molds, and a couple of very similar brass molds, one completely unmarked, and the other marked Springfield Armory. The two brass molds are identical other than markings and cavities.

[Pressman]

N Zombies, it would be nice to see pictures of your brass moulds. I am not familiar with Springfield Armory moulds, Frankfort Arsenal, yes.

The disassembled mould is clean. I had to search for a container to immerse the entire block, up to the handles. I finally settled on a flower vase. It worked. After wiping off the derusto residue I gave the handles a bath in oven cleaner then baked them at 200 for a couple of hours to get dry.
today's efforts will be towards cleaning and repairing the handles. There is a missing alignment pin that needs to be fabricated also.

Pictures show the handle, then I switched to Canon's wonderful 100mm Macro lens for a closer look at the cavities. That picture is straight from the camera with no post processing. It really highlights the pitting, though to see the mould in your hand it looks quite nice, certainly no worse than the one nitro-express is working on. His work is the motivator to get going on this project.

Ken

[lightman]

It looks like its cleaning up really well. EvapoRust is really good stuff!

[Petander]

Beautiful mold,nice work!

[Bazoo]

Looks like history to me. I'm a sucker for neglected moulds though. Thanks for the update.

[Pressman]

Finished. After pictures I will coat the mould with rust preventive and put it back in storage. At 110 years old it will still cast good boolits, but why? After all it's been through it deserves a comfortable retirement. Besides it's very heavy for a long casting session.

The near side handle is charcoal having gotten too close to a fire. I finished the handles by light sanding and applying two applications of Watco Danish Oil, Golden Oak. It's reasonably close to the original appearance.

Thanks for the feedback and motivation to get on with this project.

Ken

[Jack Stanley]

Press man , nice job on the cleanup . After casting for years with six cavity H&G molds I've found a casting box and ladle is the way to go . I don't remember the book that gave me the idea to build a box . The concept is easy though , Hold the mold upright for ladle filling . Be able to turn it on the side to cut the sprue , and a cushioned ramp for the bullets to roll away from the area for collection .

Jack

[Pressman]

Jack, that is a great idea. I have not seen any mention of it in the period literature through I am sure someone around that time came up with the idea.

These big moulds had to be used with a lead pot and dipper as the bottom pour idea was still years away from reality.

I should weigh the mould, I am guessing it's around 5/6 pounds.