Brass mold - any special care and feeding

[foxtrapper]

I'm in a group buy for a mihec brass mold. This will be my first brass one, I have used aluminum molds with great success . Anything different in prep before use? Thanks:-P

[runfiverun]

they like to be heat cycled too so they get an oxidized finished in the cavity's.
they like heat too,maybe not as much as an aluminum but more than a mehanite.

[Mal Paso]

+1 for heat cycling. With the blocks open to allow oxygen to get to the cavities. New brass is pretty but lead will stick. Brown Brass is like Teflon.

[HATCH]

Mine loves 800 degree lead.

sent from my mobile.

[stubshaft]

It usually needs to be seasoned by an experienced member prior to use. I will volunteer my services to insure that it casts perfectly good boolits when I have finished breaking it in.;)

[cajun shooter]

I have used Tom's brass moulds for over 4 years now and have zero problems with them. I don't have to leave them open or no such thing.
I do however use a large single burner hotplate to bring them up to temperature and use them in a cycle type of casting. I also have perfect cast bullets with no rejects when using this style of casting.
I always order two of the same mould from Tom for my large production bullets. I purchase the largest blocks that are capable of holding 4 cavities but only have 3 cut. This gives the mould more metal to use as a heat sink.
If you have ever ridden a air cooled motorcycle you will know about the reason for the extra metal.
I place the moulds on the hot plate at the same time that I turn on my RCBS furnace and set it at 750.
Once it is ready to go I turn the hot plate down to about half or less and leave it there.
I fill mould #1 and set it on the hot plate. I then fill mould #2 and set it on the plate. I pick up mould #1 and dump the bullets and then refill it, back to the hot plate. Then mould two receives the same type of dumping and refilling and then back to the plate. Now mould #1 is ready to start the new cycle again.
You will be able to cast quite a few bullets in no time using this style of casting and your moulds will not be in any danger of over heating and warping if you maintain a slow even pace.
Sometimes if I'm not in a big hurry I'll let them rest on the plate while another batch of alloy comes to temperature. I do at times have my Wagge pot full of ready alloy to continue the process with out the delay time.

[244ack]

Do you use anything special to lubricate the alignment pins?

[MikeS]

Bullplate, or similar lube is what should be used to lube the alignment pins. Also if you put a very thin coating of it on the tops of the blocks, and bottom of the sprue plate, you'll be able to open the blocks much quicker than you would otherwise and not leave lead smears on the blocks. I do this so I can open the moulds using just a gloved hand, rather than using a mallet. This is much nicer for your blocks & sprue plate, no need to hit either with anything.

[Patrick L]

I too will soon have my first brass mold from MiHec.

What exactly is "heat cycling?" I am unfamiliar with that term.

I do use Bullplate on all my other molds, so I 'm set there. What about smoking the cavities? I do that with all of my other molds, both aluminum and iron.

[Mal Paso]

Bring the mold blocks up to 400F and let them cool slowly. Do this 3-4 times. Easy to do in a cooking oven. I think this should be done with the blocks open to expose the cavities and block faces to oxygen. It will darken the brass and make it more resistant to tinning (Alloy stuck to the brass).