aluminum?...brass?... cast iron?....steel? which is best?

[mozeppa]

if you had no molds at all but wanted to get a great mold for 40 cal and 45 acp...

what would you get?

i'm looking for user friendly....durability...goof proof function.

[GLL]

i'm looking for user friendly....durability...goof proof function.
Those prerequisites would lead me to an iron mold such as RCBS as long as you can live with a 2-cavity !
For 4-cavity perhaps a SAECO.

There are several custom makers also machining iron molds.

I have aluminum, brass, and iron molds but the iron would be, in my opinion,the most user friendly for a new caster. They do require careful storage though to prevent rust.

Jerry

[Beagle333]

Agreed.... goof proof = iron.:cbpour:

[bangerjim]

Well.......I had NO molds back then and I went with aluminum LEE 6 bangers. Good price and they last a long time......and they are accurate.

I now have 16 of them in 2 and 6 hole versions and all drop boolits that really do not even need sizing.

I know many swear on those expensive brass & iron/steel molds, but I really cannot see how a hunk of metal casting a hunk of metal is going to make that much difference!

And I am an engineer and have all the NIST measurement techniques to test the Lee slugs and they are spot on.

Buy Al molds.....get more of them for the same $$.......have more boolit styles to play with!

bangerjim

[USAFrox]

For what it's worth, my aluminum moulds cast much better than my cast iron one.

[warf73]

if you had no molds at all but wanted to get a great mold for 40 cal and 45 acp...

what would you get?

i'm looking for user friendly....durability...goof proof function.

I would get a Lee mold either the 2 or 6 cavity style. As for “user friendly....durability...goof proof function" I've heard of people breaking an anvil with a rubber hammer on here. So material of the mold is moot as some folks are just hard on stuff. The Lee mold would be half the cost and IF he messes it up well there isn’t much money out of pocket and the learning curve didn’t cost him a $75+ mold. After he masters the art of making good boolits with the Lee mold maybe he will want an iron or brass mold.

[novalty]

I don't know if I would say Lee aluminum molds are "goof proof," especially since there is a special term for fixing common problems with them "Leementing." RCBS would be my choice for a "goof proof" mold, no having to worry about quality control issues from factory, and RCBS will take care of any problems quickly.

[MtGun44]

All will work fine if properly made and most are properly made. Aluminum is easier
to damage, brass is next and then the normal Lyman soft cast iron molds. RCBS uses
mehanite (a harder form of cast iron) which is much harder and seems to be much
more durable, too.

No simple rules of "which is better".

Like asking which is better, Chevy, Ford, Porsche or Cadillac. Depend on
a lot more than that.

24 hr at LeMans - Porsche. Baha 1000 - probably Ford, maybe Chevy or VW. Quiet with a good
ride, Caddy. Etc. No simple answers.

Bill

[41 mag fan]

I'd say no mold is goof proof. Like Bill posted above on cars, it all depends on how they are treated or in the car area...driven.

[1876dan]

Mozeppa, you must be a Tulsa Boy, and a child of the sixties..........like me.
I loved the late night Uncanny Film Festival and Camp meeting with Gaylard Sartain...

[Piedmont]

if you had no molds at all but wanted to get a great mold for 40 cal and 45 acp...

what would you get?

i'm looking for user friendly....durability...goof proof function.

There is no goof-proof mold. An idiot can ruin anything.

I tend to like iron molds the most, but Lymans and RCBSs tend to be small in diameters. Most of my recent purchases have been NOE and Accurate Molds. These are carefully chosen to get the diameters and designs I want. These have been aluminum molds (don't want to pay the extra for other materials) and I will never wear one of them out. By this time I know how to treat a mold and they are sturdy enough if you pay attention and don't abuse them. I am completely satisfied with aluminum if it is from a quality maker.

[GLL]

If COST were a major consideration on the list I would certainly agree that LEE molds would be at the top for consideration !
I own a few and have found that they require considerable work to clean, debur, and adjust, to make them function properly. They make a lot of bullets in short order but to keep parts in place I have drilled and tapped four separate holes for set screws on each mold. To me this is a good idea if you plan on casting the thousands of bullets you might require for .40 and .45ACP.

There is nothing wrong with aluminum molds. Accurate Molds and NOE make very nice examples and I have a BUNCH ! The Accurate Molds 5-cavity aluminum mold is beautiful ! Some of my VERY favorites are aluminum BRP molds.
I just feel an iron RCBS 2-cavity is a great mold to start with if you want ease of casting, durability, and "goof-proof function" ! If cost is a very important consideration then go with LEE.

http://www.fototime.com/1D439CEFB658D4D/orig.jpg

Jerry

[MT Chambers]

My first pick would be Iron, esp. Saeco, H&G, RCBS, Lyman, or custom, then Brass, esp. M&P, Accurate, etc., then aluminum, then Lee.

[mozeppa]

Mozeppa, you must be a Tulsa Boy, and a child of the sixties..........like me.
I loved the late night Uncanny Film Festival and Camp meeting with Gaylard Sartain...

damn!...are you really kreskin?
i'm a okmulgee boy born ..raised in hell.

all my family is in muskogee and eufaula.

you are good!

[Ben]

If COST were a major consideration on the list I would certainly agree that LEE molds would be at the top for consideration !
I own a few and have found that they require considerable work to clean, debur, and adjust, to make them function properly. They make a lot of bullets in short order but to keep parts in place I have drilled and tapped four separate holes for set screws on each mold. To me this is a good idea if you plan on casting the thousands of bullets you might require for .40 and .45ACP.

There is nothing wrong with aluminum molds. Accurate Molds and NOE make very nice examples and I have a BUNCH ! The Accurate Molds 5-cavity aluminum mold is beautiful ! Some of my VERY favorites are aluminum BRP molds.
I just feel an iron RCBS 2-cavity is a great mold to start with if you want ease of casting, durability, and "goof-proof function" ! If cost is a very important consideration then go with LEE.

http://www.fototime.com/1D439CEFB658D4D/orig.jpg

Jerry

Jerry,

You have quite a bit of money in those stacks of molds ! !

Ben

[NoZombies]

Those prerequisites would lead me to an iron mold such as RCBS as long as you can live with a 2-cavity !
For 4-cavity perhaps a SAECO.

There are several custom makers also machining iron molds.

I have aluminum, brass, and iron molds but the iron would be, in my opinion,the most user friendly for a new caster. They do require careful storage though to prevent rust.

Jerry

Listen to this man.

If you want the best advice on something, the person to ask is one who has experience with all of the options you're thinking about. Jerry has the experience to know, and hasn't displayed any particular prejudice against any material or manufacturer that I've been able to discern.

[500MAG]

I have a few from all of them. I do like NOE molds. Good quality at a fair price.

['74 sharps]

My pistol molds are 4 cavity Lyman and work extremely well. Shoot unsized with a tumble in White Label lube. Keeping it simple........

[GLL]

Jerry,

You have quite a bit of money in those stacks of molds ! !

Ben

Ben:

If you look closely you notice almost all are the old Group Buys from years gone by ! :)
The cost was spread across a lot of years. A couple represent some of the very oldest Group Buys made on this Forum.
The honchos went through a LOT of frustration getting these molds made ! ;) ;)

Jerry

[Springfield]

And you put a drawing of the bullet on each box! I don't have enough room to store mine in boxes. I use this cabinet to store most of my LEE 6 cavity moulds in the top 3 drawers. The bottom drawer is full of Mihec, NOE and Accurate moulds mostly, and a few Lyman and RCBS's. Oh, and one JTKnives mould, hopefully to soon be 3. I keep track of what I have by putting one of everything on a line on a shelf in my computer/leather room. As for what works, they all do if taken care of. I won't say what works the best, but for starting out as a newbie, I would suggest you do NOT start with a 6 cavity LEE, too much work to get them running right, and NOT a Lyman 4 cavity, too heavy for a new guy. A 2 cavity iron mould is probably the easiest to start with, not too heavy, more difficult to damage, easy to keep hot for good bullets. Just make sure you get some Bullplate Sprue lube no matter what you get, it just flat makes life easier.
82927
82928

[GLL]

Mark:

That is a VERY long line of bullets ! :)

Jerry

[colt 357]

I went with the Lee molds when I started casting about 4 years ago. I have 7 molds all of my molds have cast tons of bullets with only general cleaning and maintaince. I am casting as much as I can now that it has cooled off and have cast 40 pds of 9mm .357 .40 .45 and about 5 pds of .44 for my black powder revolver. this winter I will go and size all of them and clean up my molds for next year. The lee mold for the price well cast lot of bullet before you have to replace them. When I do replace mine I well keep the handles for homemade sinker mold or ebay the handles hear people are always looking for handles and sometimes they fetch a good price.

[40-82 hiker]

For what it's worth, my aluminum moulds cast much better than my cast iron one.


I'll second this. Only one aluminum mold so far, but not the last! I have a number of Lyman molds and like them, but one is so undersized it is unusable until I open it up, if I can do so without ruining it.

[fredj338]

Nothing about a Lee mold screams durability, but baby it, it will last, get a good one, it will even cast a lot of good bullets quickly. Iron molds seem more durable IMO, but heavy when you get into production sizes fo 4 & 6cav. A high quality alum mold can be made to last as well & easy to cast with from the go.

[Iron Mike Golf]

if you had no molds at all but wanted to get a great mold for 40 cal and 45 acp...

what would you get?

i'm looking for user friendly....durability...goof proof function.

I'd start first with selecting the boolit designs I want for each caliber.

[SciFiJim]

40-82 hiker, please clear out you PMs so that you can receive more. I would like to send you a PM.
Scifijim

[waco]

:-oI prefer brass. More durable than aluminum, but still has some heft to it. Plus, no need to coat with an oil of some sort to prevent rust between use.
I have two molds in brass, and lots in both other forms of material. All work just fine, I just like the brass.[smilie=l: