armory mould

[frugal]

Picked up a very nice Ideal 358432 7 cavity armory mould at a show this weekend, but it does not have handles. Are these still available anywhere? Im thinking of drilling out a hardwood handle and using a pair of large carriage bolts to hold them in place since its tapped with half inch threads. Its a beast of a mould, cant wait to try it.

it was a good show for moulds, picked up these as well
308403
308334
429220 Himmelwright
360271
266455

[MikeS]

That would work, except that you probably want regular 1/2" screws, as the carriage bolts have a round head without slots of any kind, and so it would make it difficult to screw them in. I'm pretty sure that the original handles were basically the same as what you want to do. How much does that mould weigh?

[frugal]

The mould weighs in at 4 lbs, adding handles will probably make it five. I could just use regular bolts as long as Im careful not to touch the ends when its hot. very neat mould though, if only I could know the history of where its been. Im finding that more moulds are making it to shows these days because the original owner has passed and were picked up at estate sales.

[snuffy]

It didn't happen without pictures!:kidding:

I would like to see it/them, as I'm sure others would too.

[PS Paul]

Just for kicks, I have been on the lookout for a Himmelwright in .45 cal. Sounds like a real score! I've hear those armoury moulds are heavy, but this is actually the first time I'd heard/seen/read the actual weight of one. I suppose strong and well-developed forearms will be the result when you start castin' with it!

[Pertsev]

How bout those pics !!
Have a 6 cavity for a 45 cal 405 gr bullet,(45/70) RNFP from Ballisticast.Got it last year.Weighs 4lbs4oz. It is a workout to use,sucks the lead up like cold beer on a hot day ! Got to use a BIG lead pot.
Would love to see pics of an old Lyman gang mold. :-)

[frugal]

as requested, Ill try to attach the mould as well as the Himmelwright and Pope mould

The Himmelwright is a very old integrated handle type. It doesnt even say the mould number. It says 44 S&W R 175. No idea how old this one must be.

[Bradley]

Picked up a very nice Ideal 358432 7 cavity armory mould at a show this weekend, but it does not have handles. Are these still available anywhere? Im thinking of drilling out a hardwood handle and using a pair of large carriage bolts to hold them in place since its tapped with half inch threads. Its a beast of a mould, cant wait to try it.


If memory serves the Ideal armory moulds came in 5,6,7,8 and 9 cavities. I've never seen either the 5 nor the 9 but I have examples of the other three. The design of the mould changed over the years with the first ones have a more unusual cut-off plate. I think production stopped in the 50's so regardless of when your mould was made it has to be at least 60 years old.

[HARRYMPOPE]

his is the later model l with the stop stud for the sprue(missing it appears).The three i have had were like this.The original handles has capped metal ends that threaded into the blocks.