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View Full Version : "Buckshotted" Mould



NVcurmudgeon
09-05-2005, 12:03 PM
I have an aluminum, single cavity, NEI mould for a .35 cal. 220 gr. RN. I bought it used almost twenty years ago. This mould showed all the wear and tear of an aluminum mould in at least one pair of wrong hands. The top of the mould was badly galled, the sprue cutter was bent and galled, the alignment pin holes had upset metal around them, boollits were hard to drop, and there was a tendency to base finning. I sent it to Buckshot and got it back almost instantly. The metal in places it doesn't belong has been cleaned up, pins are properly set, there is a brand new, double thickness sprue cutter and a clever little hold-down device that keeps the sprue cutter flat down on the blocks. Much of the galling has been taken off. The first test use of the "new" mould has been very pleasing. Boolits either drop upon opening the mould or shake right out, which never happened before. Base finning is almost entirely gone. The thicker sprue cutter seems to dissipate heat better as the sprue solidifies faster, speeding production. Surrounding the sprue countersink is a milled, square, pocket that makes it easy to stop after making an adequate sprue. Now the old problem of too much sprue mechanically locking up the mould no longer happens. (I am left-handed and use the slop-pour method of ladle casting, so it is easy to involve the sprue cutter screw in my sprues.) The hold down thing keeps the sprue cutter down where it belongs so base finning is pretty much a thing of the past. This mould has been brought back from the grave, and is better than ever. From one sailor to another, "well done," and there is no higher prise.