New Brass Mihec mold ???

[Russ in WY]

Just received it , whats the recommended cleaning procedure before casting ??? Standard tooth brush & dish soap??/ The little bottle of Sprue Lube, is that the same as Bullplate or similar, probably no way of telling really. Its the #68 clone 200gr SWC 45 ACP... Tks Russ.

[Doby45]

Hot water and dish soap. Done and done.

[Dale53]

Russ;
Doby45 has given you the straight scoop. I use Dawn dish washing liquid and a toothbrush. I try to be VERY thorough and then rinse with hot tap water and pat dry with Puff tissues (do NOT use the lotion tissues).

I then pre-heat the mould on a hotplate and start casting. With the latest MiHec brass four cavity H&G #68, by the second cast I was running excellent bullets. I have sized the first twenty pound batch and had exactly six rejects (operator error).

I do one other thing with all of my moulds. I remove the set screw that puts tension against the sprue plate lube, drop a lead shot (biggest that will still go in the hole) against the threads THEN tighten the set screw down. This will prevent you damaging the threads when tightening. You won't need to heavily tighten, either. I consider this important.

The lubricant is similar to Bull Shop Sprue plate lube in it's action.

Dale53

[Russ in WY]

Dale ,What temp do you use to cast with the Brass mold ??? Seems I recall that some one had mentioned 700-to-750 range, is that close to what you run at ?/ Tks Russ.

[Dale53]

Russ;
I typically cast at 700-750, also. My alloy has a bearing on that. I commonly use WW's +2% tin.

Dale53

[montana_charlie]

I remove the set screw that puts tension against the sprue plate lube, drop a lead shot (biggest that will still go in the hole) against the threads THEN tighten the set screw down.Unwilling to find out what problem would be caused if that lead shot melted...I snip off a piece of heavy copper or aluminum wire, and drop that in the hole.
CM

[Doby45]

VERY cool idea MC. I will be trying that on my molds also.

[cbrick]

I use a piece of copper also. In fact RCBS moulds come with such a piece and the next time you have them on the phone ask for some, last time they sent me 5 extras.

Rick

[Dale53]

montana;
My mould never gets to the melting point of lead. However, it is a valid consideration and the brass suggestion is good. A piece of brazing rod should do it just fine if you don't cotton to the lead shot suggestion. A hobby store might be a good place to look for brass rod of different diameters. You can use a drill bit shank to determine the desired size.

Dale53

[montana_charlie]

The very much more gooder and absolutely way cool fix is to remove the original screw, and replace it with a brass one.
But (sigh) that takes planning...

CM