Ordered A Accurate Mold

[Colorado4wheel]

I ordered a Brass 4 cavity 135 gr, .357 mold from Tom at Accurate Arms. I am really looking forward to it. Any hints about his molds. I have used Lee and had bad luck. Mostly using Lyman but wanted a lighter bullet. I don't plan to do anything but clean it and check the sprue plate for burrs that might drag on the mold. Any other hints for casting with this type of mold. I am excited about getting it.

[white eagle]

you won't find any burs
sounds like a good plan enjoy

[Shooter6br]

Ordered a clone of Lyman 314299 from Tom. Told him what I was looking for and he added 31-200L to catalog.

Had enought of poor QC on some mass produced molds. Should be great shooter in M1917 sized to .313 :castmine:

[longbow]

I am sure you will be very happy with the Accurate Mold, Tom does an excellent job.

My suggestion is to run lead a little hotter than you may be used to and cast fast and steady. Brass moulds seem to like to be run hot.

I usually cast with alloy and mould hot enough to slightly frost regardless of mould material. My brass Mihec and Accurate moulds seem to like to be run noticeably hotter than iron moulds.

They may take a bit of getting used to but they cast beautifully if run properly.

Mould prep before casting is a hot topic. Many people like to soak the mould in solvent or scrub with dishwashing detergent to degrease. I won't argue because there is nothing wrong with making sure the mould is degreased. I usually don't so a lot of mould prep and just wipe them off well then pre-heat until sprue lube starts to smoke before casting. That works for me.

The short story is:

- make sure the mould is degreased
- pre-heat the mould well (don't overheat just pre-heat well)
- run alloy a bit hotter than normal to start anyway
- cast fast and steady to keep the mould temperature up (don't stop to closely inspect boolits while casting)
- adjust alloy temperature and casting speed as required to get good fillout and not too much frosting
- enjoy a mould that casts to spec and makes beautiful boolits

Longbow

[Greg G]

I ordered and received a mold from Tom in a matter of a few days. I'm a machinist for a living and the mold looks perfect. Haven't cast with it yet but I see no problems.

I know one thing, I'll be getting into far fewer group buys after discovering Tom.

[StratsMan]

+1 on Longbow and Greg...

I noticed that my brass mold from Miha runs very well with my melt at 675*-700*... I just ordered my first mold from Tom at Accurate; I like the time frame better than the Group Buys, but he only makes flat meplat boolits... so if I want a Pointy Boolit, I guess I'll go elsewhere...

[adrians]

this is good to know ,
after doing a chamber cast of my 43 mauser i intend to give Tom the measurements and let him cobble one up for me .:twisted::mrgreen::evil:

[Colorado4wheel]

I am sure you will be very happy with the Accurate Mold, Tom does an excellent job.

My suggestion is to run lead a little hotter than you may be used to and cast fast and steady. Brass moulds seem to like to be run hot.

I usually cast with alloy and mould hot enough to slightly frost regardless of mould material. My brass Mihec and Accurate moulds seem to like to be run noticeably hotter than iron moulds.

They may take a bit of getting used to but they cast beautifully if run properly.

Mould prep before casting is a hot topic. Many people like to soak the mould in solvent or scrub with dishwashing detergent to degrease. I won't argue because there is nothing wrong with making sure the mould is degreased. I usually don't so a lot of mould prep and just wipe them off well then pre-heat until sprue lube starts to smoke before casting. That works for me.

The short story is:

- make sure the mould is degreased
- pre-heat the mould well (don't overheat just pre-heat well)
- run alloy a bit hotter than normal to start anyway
- cast fast and steady to keep the mould temperature up (don't stop to closely inspect boolits while casting)
- adjust alloy temperature and casting speed as required to get good fillout and not too much frosting
- enjoy a mould that casts to spec and makes beautiful boolits

Longbow

I pretty much already do what you do. I put the lube on after my first sprue is cut. I am wondering what your consider "hot" as far as temp.

[MikeS]

I have a couple of Tom's brass 4 cavity moulds, and they're great! I also have brass moulds from Mihec, and NOE, and they too cast great! I don't know why folks always say to cast them with the lead hotter than 'normal' I cast mine between 625F to 675F and never have any problems. The only time I'll cast with the pot closer to 700F is when casting hollow point boolits. I really need to get another mould from Tom, but I'll have to wait til I have extra money. :(

[cajun shooter]

I've been using Accurate moulds for about 18 months and I've found that if you use a single burner Hot Plate from Walley world to preheat the mould you will have keepers from the first drop.
I run my RCBS Pro Melt with the thermostat set at 750. I use a 20-1 alloy and also use a two mould method so that the mould is not overworked.
Brass moulds take longer to reach your casting temperature but may be over worked if you try casting very fast.
You have to learn the correct cadence as the brass moulds are in a world by themselves.
I first poured bullets in 1970 and after buying 3 moulds from Tom I'm sorry I never tried brass until I was in my 60's. You will not find anything to smooth down on any of his moulds. Enjoy your new toy David.

[geargnasher]

I pretty much already do what you do. I put the lube on after my first sprue is cut. I am wondering what your consider "hot" as far as temp.

I don't know about Longbow, but I consider hot to be around 400 degrees (give or take 20-30 depending on alloy composition and mould preference), and the alloy temperature to be 100-125 degrees hotter than the point at which the last grains of mush melted in and it turned to a smooth liquid. For WW alloy that usually runs about 675-700 depending on how much, if any, tin you added.

Gear

[Colorado4wheel]

I don't know about Longbow, but I consider hot to be around 400 degrees (give or take 20-30 depending on alloy composition and mould preference), and the alloy temperature to be 100-125 degrees hotter than the point at which the last grains of mush melted in and it turned to a smooth liquid. For WW alloy that usually runs about 675-70depending on how much, if any, tin you added.

Gear

So I think we had this conversation before. But how much above melting point do you recommend casting at?

[geargnasher]

C4W, all alloys are different. If the alloy isn't eutectic, it will have a slush or mush phase spanning from just a few degrees to well over 100 where part is liquid and part is solid. You need to determine the temperature point where the alloy is FULLY liquid. During the mush phase, the temperature of the alloy will remain constant. I forget at the moment what this platau is called, but during the phase change of anything the temperature remains constant as the material continues to take on or lose heat energy until completely transformed to the next stage. When your alloy is in the mush phase, from the brown-sugar consistency through the thin cream-of-wheat consistency, the temperature will level out. The instant the last grain of mush melts, the temperature will begin to rise, and THAT is the full-liquidus point. For an excellent baseline with the majority of alloys, 100 degrees or so higher than the full-liquidus point of the alloy is a good place to start. Sometimes a bit more or less depending on the mould (brass likes a bit hotter alloy, light, thin, large cavity steel and iron moulds like it cooler). The alloy will flow very well, cast very well, and not oxidize excessively on the surface, a characteristic particularly valuble for ladle-casters because it reduces dross formation.

I keep seeing a trend over and over with new and experienced casters alike that they cast too slow and overheat the alloy to make up the loss of heat in the mould from the slow pace. I guess it works, but I prefer the way I do it. Overheated alloys cause too many issues with boolit consistency and tin loss.

Gear

[longbow]

Unfortunately I can't give you a temperature as I have never used a thermometer. I "cast by eye".

I have learned over the years to judge casting temperature by the colour of the lead surface. When the surface starts to turn a light golden colour the alloy is "hot". At that point I start casting and get into a good cadence then as the mould (which is pre-heated) reaches final casting temperature where the sprue puddle takes a few seconds to harden after casting, I start to turn down the heat on the lead. I can usually judge pretty well but I set alloy temperature so that with steady, relatively fast casting the sprue puddle stays molten for a few seconds and I can cut the sprue at about 5 seconds.

I generally keep the mould hot enough to have lightly frosted boolits. If the sprue puddle takes too long to solidify or the boolits are too frosty, I turn the heat down.

I find the brass moulds (and NOE aluminum as well) like a faster cadence and a little higher heat than my iron or Lee moulds.

I use an open cast iron pot over a propane burner and ladle cast so that may affect things a little too.

Not sure if that helps any but that's how I do it and my brass moulds cast beautiful boolits.

Longbow