Forrest r
03-10-2012, 10:42 PM
All I can say is “ WOW, these are some fantastic molds!!!
This is the first time I’ve used this mold or any MiHec or any HB or HP mold for that matter. They take longer to cast than what I’m used to compared to a standard 4 cavity mold. But it’s worth the wait; this mold throws some beautiful bullets.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t242/forrestr-photo/44hbwcmold.jpg
I received the mold in the mail the other day & installed the HB pins. I used some Flitz polish on them & the pins smoothed out in about 2 minutes of moving them back & forth. I mean they dropped in & out when I tilted the mold. I cleaned & oiled everything with the lube they sent with the mold afterwards.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t242/forrestr-photo/44hbwccan.jpg
After reading that these molds like to be run hot I put the 432-395 mold on a hot plate to preheat it & set the hot plate a little hotter than I what I’d normally use it at. I left the lead at the normal temp that I usually cast bullets at. When the mold/lead was up to temp I tried the first pour. It was terrible, lines all thru the bullets. It took 6 to 8 seconds for the lead in the spurs to harden so I knew the mold was hot enough. I put the mold back on the hot plate & turned the lead up.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t242/forrestr-photo/44hbwcbullets2.jpg
The 2nd try at casting good bullets was a lot better than the first. It took about 3 or 4 sets of pours to get good bullets. After I cast bullets for awhile I noticed that the bullets were just starting to frost so I turned the lead down a hair & kept casting. I use the base from a turkey fryer (propane) & a cast iron skillet along with a Lee 10# IV production pot when I cast. I melt 30# of lead in the cast iron skillet & use a ladle to fill the Lee pot when it runs low/out. I managed to cast 25#+ of these today, that’s pretty good considering I’ve never used a mold like this before. I’ll get better with this mold as I use it more & cast better bullets. These came out a consistent .432 in diameter & weighed 219.5g to 220.5g with the 10 I measured/weighed with melted down jacked bullets from hill pickings (range lead) with a little tin added for fill out.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t242/forrestr-photo/44hbwcbullets.jpg
This is the first time I’ve used this mold or any MiHec or any HB or HP mold for that matter. They take longer to cast than what I’m used to compared to a standard 4 cavity mold. But it’s worth the wait; this mold throws some beautiful bullets.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t242/forrestr-photo/44hbwcmold.jpg
I received the mold in the mail the other day & installed the HB pins. I used some Flitz polish on them & the pins smoothed out in about 2 minutes of moving them back & forth. I mean they dropped in & out when I tilted the mold. I cleaned & oiled everything with the lube they sent with the mold afterwards.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t242/forrestr-photo/44hbwccan.jpg
After reading that these molds like to be run hot I put the 432-395 mold on a hot plate to preheat it & set the hot plate a little hotter than I what I’d normally use it at. I left the lead at the normal temp that I usually cast bullets at. When the mold/lead was up to temp I tried the first pour. It was terrible, lines all thru the bullets. It took 6 to 8 seconds for the lead in the spurs to harden so I knew the mold was hot enough. I put the mold back on the hot plate & turned the lead up.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t242/forrestr-photo/44hbwcbullets2.jpg
The 2nd try at casting good bullets was a lot better than the first. It took about 3 or 4 sets of pours to get good bullets. After I cast bullets for awhile I noticed that the bullets were just starting to frost so I turned the lead down a hair & kept casting. I use the base from a turkey fryer (propane) & a cast iron skillet along with a Lee 10# IV production pot when I cast. I melt 30# of lead in the cast iron skillet & use a ladle to fill the Lee pot when it runs low/out. I managed to cast 25#+ of these today, that’s pretty good considering I’ve never used a mold like this before. I’ll get better with this mold as I use it more & cast better bullets. These came out a consistent .432 in diameter & weighed 219.5g to 220.5g with the 10 I measured/weighed with melted down jacked bullets from hill pickings (range lead) with a little tin added for fill out.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t242/forrestr-photo/44hbwcbullets.jpg