Jog my memmory

[coldmold]

I have not done any casting for a lot of years. I have several older lyman molds.
What do I need to do to prepare them for use. I also have one new lee mold do I need to do anything to break it in. If I remember right I used to smoke my molds before and after use. Is this still ok. Any and all replies will be aprecciated. Please excuse my typing.

[canyon-ghost]

You can clean the molds and cavities with a pencil eraser (cheap rust remover). I smoke some of mine if they stick a lot, most don't. Some will tell you not to but, I do it. Just make sure they are fairly clean and free of oil or grease.

I do appreciate Lyman molds, they're nice.

[mooman76]

Smoking is fine if that's what works for you. I quit a long time ago. I would usually forget and when I did it, it didn't seem to help anyway.

[sabot_round]

I "smoked" my lee's at the time that I bought them and have been using them with the same ole "smoke". I haven't "re-smoked" them in years and they do just fine.

SR

[462]

Clean the mould, then clean it again. Some use a mineral spirits soak, some use brake parts spray cleaner, some use Dawn dishsoap, some boil the mould. Regardless of the method used, all machining fluids need to be removed. Some moulds may require two or three short casting sessions till all the fluids have been removed.

Check for and carefully remove any burrs in the vent lines and round the cavity edges.

Pre-heat the mould on a hotplate. Done properly, the very first boolits dropped will be keepers.

I've yet to find any need to ever smoke a mould.

Last, but not least: Read the Leementing stickies and ignore Lee's directions.

[dragonrider]

"Read the Leementing stickies and ignore Lee's directions."

+1 for that.

[MtGun44]

Smoking reduces the boolit diameter just a touch, and I have never seen any noticable
change in release from smoked or not smoked. My tendency is to not smoke since
undersized is usually the primary problem that we have. If you have release problems,
lapping the mold a bit or cleaning up burrs will fix the REAL problem.

Bill

[cbrick]

Clean properly heated molds work better. Smoking a mold can only do two things, 1> It could possibly though doubtful cover up a problem, 2> Gunk up the mold. If there is a problem with the mold such as sticking bullets why attempt to cover up the problem, find it and fix it. A lot of sticking bullet problems are a mold temp issue and smoking the cavities will do nothing to fix it, getting the mold up to proper casting temp fixes it.

I use denatured alchohol and a nylon tooth brush to clean my molds. I use a hot plate with an aluminum heat sink to pre-heat the mold to casting temp.

Rick

[Jim]

..... I use a hot plate with an aluminum heat sink.....

Rick

Rick, you got my attention. Can you post a photo of that? I'm interested. I understand the hot plate. I'd like to see the heat sink.

Thanks!

[cbrick]

Rick, you got my attention. Can you post a photo of that? I'm interested. I understand the hot plate. I'd like to see the heat sink. Thanks!

Using the aluminum heat sink distributes the heat more evenly as opposed to setting the mold directly on the coils.

I don't have a photo right now but I'll try to get one today. What I use is a 1/2 inch thick piece of aluminum that's slightly larger than the hot plate coils, it was a cut off end from a local metal supply house, picked it up for a couple of bucks from their scrap pile. I also drilled a hole in the side for the probe of Swedes digital thermometer so I can keep an eye on the temp, not mandatory but it sure is nice.

Rick

[cbrick]

Ok Jim, got the photo. Had to take it outside in the sun to get a decent pic.

It's nothing more than a square 1/2" thick aluminum plate a bit larger than the coils of the hot plate. On the right side is where it's drilled to hold the probe for Swede's digital thermometer. The oven is a large electrical outlet box. The two machine screws you see towards the front of the aluminum plate I use to regulate the height of the mold handle hinge bolt so that the mold sits flat and heats evenly. The brass MP 4 cav in the photo is heavy enough it doesn't need the screws, it sits flat all by itself even with the handles.

Rick