1st mold buy

[TNshawn]

I am a newbie, I have the Lyman Cast book ordered so while I am waiting I thought I would gather tools & equipment. I have a question about molds. Should I buy a 2 cavity first, sort thru the standard newbie problems and get use to making good boolits before moving up to the 6 cavity or jump all in with the 6 cavity? Is the 6 cavity more difficult to master than the 2 cavity?

[mooman76]

Get a good 2 cavity first so you can develop your skills and get used to it. You have to work fast with the 6x to work. Some nubies start with them no problem but most don't have the coordination skills down yet so they get frustrated quick. You can pick up a Lee 2x pretty cheap.

[59sharps]

all i use are single and 2 cav. Had a 4 cav once but they for some reason get to heavy for me.
Had several lees in the past that where lent to me , I'm not crazy about them. would rather spend a little more, get something better.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Do yourself a favor an go with a 2 cavity mold, 4 cave require some work and 6 cave means you best have some rhythm and a good layout to be successful, crawl, then walk, then run if you want.

[Suo Gan]

Why not compare aluminum to cast iron right now. Perhaps buy a new Lee 2 cavity, and buy a used double cavity cast iron mold from fleabay. It could be that aluminum is not your thing and a six holer from Lee would not suit you. Just a thought anyway. Have fun experimenting and trying out everything that makes this hobby so rewarding. All the best, Chris

[HeavyMetal]

Haunt the auction sites and get a good used Lyman single cavity.

Use this until your boolits are perfect, then use it some more!

By then you will have come to understand how a mold works and what it is supposed to do this will make the transition to bigger molds easier.

[TNshawn]

Another question (I am trying to learn). Why is the Saeco molds so high? I did notice the ones i have looked at are steel instead of aluminum but 4x more. I am not trying to knock anyones product but I would think for that price the mold should do everything on it's own while you watch.

[Rocky Raab]

A Rolex costs a lot more than a Timex. The one might be made to much higher standards than the other - but they both tell you what time it is.

It is the same with bullet moulds. Almost any of them (if not defective) will turn out perfectly usable bullets.

Do start with a single- or double-cavity mould, for the reasons suggested. Try to duplicate what your guns already like, or what might be considered the "classic" bullet for the rounds you shoot. If I had a 38 Special, for example, I'd look for a 158-gr SWC mould to start with.

[arcticbreeze]

When I first started I realized that the # of cav alone was not as much an issue as the different materials. After much expense I settled on a preference of 2 cav iron molds or 4 to 6 cav aluminum molds. I detest 2 cav Lee molds but like Lee 6 cav mold. I like 2 cav Lyman, RCBS or Saeco molds but 4 cav of those brands are to heavy for me to cast comfortably for a long time. This is just my personal experience so take it for what it is worth.

Marc

[canyon-ghost]

It does make a difference if you bottom pour or ladle cast. I know guys that have multi cavity molds and big bottom pour furnaces (several hundred $) and never go shooting anymore. I use the little Lyman Master Casting Kit out in the carport with all 2 cavity molds, except one single cavity hollowpoint mold.
The thing is, I can pour 1000 rounds in a weekend and load them over the coming season. Have 100 rd. ammo boxes full of loaded stuff. The way I do it is, well, this is my saturday night thing. I turn on the radio and go into the reloading room for several hours. It's for relaxation.
Two cavity cast iron molds take a certain rhythm to pour bullets, you'll need to know by experience and eyesight just when a mold is too hot, too cold, alloy is messed up, all the variables. Gather up mold handles and wax for flux, and wheelweights.

[Alchemist]

+1 for starting with 1 or 2 cavity moulds. It might seem like it takes forever, but after you get the hang of it you'll get more productive. I started casting in 1982, and never used a mold with more than 2 cavities till last year.

Welcome to the hobby & the site....you'll like it here!

[Jaybird62]

Learning "repeatability" is what has taught me the most. That is, being able to duplicate a boolit once I find one that performs the best for a particular gun/load combination. I keep a notebook above my casting bench to record everything I can think of... alloy composition, casting temp, mold treatments (Kroiling, smoking, etc.) distance from spout on bottom pour, whether the molten stream is hitting the middle of the sprue hold, to the side of the hole, condition of the boolits after dropping... you get the idea.

All that being said, others' suggestions of a one- or two-cavity mold to start is best. I like steel molds better than aluminum because I was rather rough on my molds in the beginning out of ignorance. Steel will take a lot more abuse than an aluminum mold. The kind of abuse that I'm talking about is just simple things like closing the mold correctly. The Lee 2-cavs I have I have to be particular about closing them with the bottom of the mold sitting on a flat surface or the alignment pins start chewing up the blocks.

Good luck.