Hock Mould Challenges

[grullaguy]

Hi,

I am trying to cast some 45 caliber bullets in a Hock nose pour mould.

I continue to have poor definition on the four of gas grooves nearest the nose. There are eight gas grooves in total.
I have tried hotter temps and added tin to the lead. This is a 500 grain bp bullet, so I am using dead soft lead. I am ladle pouring.

I have been reading in the archives and it seems others have had similar problems. My bullets are coming out frosted due to the high heat yet the grooves still do not have good definition. When I cool the lead down to what I consider "normal" casting temps I have the lead at the sprue freeze before the mould is full.

Any ideas of a fix??

It seems like a venting issue, but I am hesitant to take a tool to such an expensive mould.

Thanks

[Ben]

grullaguy


Assuming your mold is 101% oil free and clean and your alloy is clean and is the proper temp along with the mold being at the proper temp.....next try this :

Don't take a tool to the mold.

Take some " Beagle Tape " and put a ply on one side
of the mold block face.

This will allow air to vent off better. I had a mold a few days ago
that wouldn't offer a properly filled out bullet. I put in a single ply
of tape and PRESTO.....my problems were over.

Ben

[Bent Ramrod]

You might also try loosening the sprue plate screw by a small amount. Don't forget to retighten the locking nut on the bottom. Keep holding the ladle to the mould a few seconds more than you think should be enough.

Hoch moulds are plenty finicky sometimes. They are so well made they can be almost air tight under some circumstances, like when the casting heat expands the blocks against the dual sprue plate. There is also a lot of mass to heat up to optimum running temperature. Sometimes it just takes a few casting sessions to get them broken in and working right.

[grullaguy]

Thanks for the advice.
I will try loosening the bolt a little and if that doesn't work, I will put the bolt back to it's original setting and then beagle the mould.

[Ben]

grullaguy

Please keep us posted with your results.

Ben

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I have a Hoch mold that was made in 1990 and never used untill three weeks ago. After about two hours trying to get a good bullet, I gave up. The next time I cast I will try the above suggestions and let you know. I also have a Hoch mold in .30 cal. It is a copy of Lyman's 311440. That mold produces good bullets right away and they shoot great in my 30.30 Ruger #1.

[MtGun44]

Scrub the mold with Comet and a toothbrush.
Add some tin.
Loosen sprue plate a touch.
Increase casting speed or metal temp to increase mold temp.

Bill

[L Ross]

When casting large BP bullets I mix 50 lbs of the softest lead I have with 2 lbs of pure tin in an old dutch oven over a turkey fryer. I heat to 775 degrees, flux thoroughly with soft wood sawdust. I use a RCBS ladle and fill it completely for each pour. Holding the pre-heated mould in my left hand cavity horizontal, I place the ladle spout into the opening and rotate the mould vertical and hold it in place for a count of 5. I pull the ladle away leaving as large a sprue puddle as I can possibly balance on the sprue plate. I wait for the sprue to jell then fan cool for a count of 8. Since implementing this procedure I have had some of the best quality bullets I have ever made.
If the above did not work for me I would suspect a mould cleanliness problem or a venting problem as previous posters have mentioned.

Duke

[Ben]

2 lbs of pure tin......I bet that gets into your pocket book pretty fast.

Ben

[grullaguy]

Well, I loosened of the bolts that run through the mould and secure the sprue cut off to the lower plate. Suddenly the mold was not as air tight and filled well.

I then deduced that the poorly filled out front bands on the bullets were due to the mould becoming overheated from my repeated attempts to fill it with too high a temp of lead.

I turned the lead pot down and found a rhythm that worked well.
It casts nice bullets now.

Thanks everyone.