I guess, I just don't understand.

[littlejack]

Time to vent:
Why would a person buy or trade for a nice mold, and then purposely beat on it with something metal,
i.e. hammer, round stock, or ????.
I have about six or eight molds, and the new ones that I bought, look almost new, except for normal
casting usage.
The used molds that I have are all in very good condition except for the normal casting usage. When I
buy a used mold, I look closely at the photo/photos of the mold, and buy with that scrutiny. I hate
beat up molds. There is no reason for it, and no one can come up with a good excuse of why they did
it. I don't even like ugly guns.
I was a steel fabricator/welder for most of my career of 37 years, and a damn good one. I did not
manufacture inferior products, and kept my career by doing so. I have seen items that were beat on
by some people that looked like a gunny sack full of door knobs, AND they were proud of it???
If you have a nice mold, and want to cast boolits, get a piece of wood to tap on the sprue plate. Use
your gloved hand to swing it out of the way. Please (so I can sleep better at night) don't beat the hell
out of them with a metal object.
I use a RAWHIDE mallet, have done so for decades. Really, they work.
Jack

[GoodOlBoy]

I agree 100% littlejack! I picked up a used mold from a old resale shop and the thing looks like somebody threw railroad spikes at it! If I hadn't needed the handles I woulda just walked away.

GoodOlBoy

[.22-10-45]

I was at a major gun show and was standing in front of a table of old Ideal/ Lyman moulds..couple of young guys walked up..took a look and said " Oh look..WW2 wire cutters!"

[williamwaco]

I guess i misunderstood what that those dents were.

I bought an EBAY mold and I thought it had been used AS a hammer.

I guess I had it backwards.

[lancem]

Why would someone buy a nice house then not cut the grass, fix a broken window, pick up the trash in the yard... Why would someone buy a new car and in a matter of a year or two have it look like something from a bad action movie???

I could go on, guess my point is there are some people that just don't give a ****, to them it's just stuff and when it doesn't meet their needs any longer they'll dump it off the side of the road somewhere and start over on a new one.. thanks for letting me vent, I feel better now :)

[Bullshop]

The plain hard cold truth on the matter is that there are some people that should not ever touch tools.
For them hiring a repair or just buying the product is the best and safest rout.
I have acquired many used molds and some of them have been owned or used by some of those people. Fortunately my mold doctoring skills have prevailed for most of them.

[fatelk]

We all know people we won't loan tools too, I suppose.

Growing up on the farm, there was one neighbor my dad would not loan anything to. One look at the guy's own equipment told you why nobody would ever loan him anything.

Some people take care of their stuff and some don't. I'm probably more careful than most but not as careful as some.

[milrifle]

I'm still new to casting, but all I've ever used was a piece of oak about 3/4" square and a foot long or a small plastic 'dead blow' hammer.

I once had a guy tell me he had gone to a friend or relative's house who had inherited the tools of his father-in-law. He was using his micrometers for C-Clamps. That fellow had to be rolling in his grave.

[littlejack]

Micrometers for c-clamps?? Now that's a first for me.

[dkf]

Micrometers for c-clamps?? Now that's a first for me.

I wish I could say it was a first for me. It is why I never loaned out any of mics, calipers and etc. Always had my own on hand that I could trust. Most I believe is ignorance but there is plenty of stupidity to around too.

[lead-1]

The plain hard cold truth on the matter is that there are some people that should not ever touch tools.
For them hiring a repair or just buying the product is the best and safest rout.
I have acquired many used molds and some of them have been owned or used by some of those people. Fortunately my mold doctoring skills have prevailed for most of them.

There was a motorcycle mechanic that used to say, "someone should melt down all your tools, turn them into handcuffs and make you wear them when you are in the garage".

[rollmyown]

We all know people we won't loan tools too, I suppose.

Growing up on the farm, there was one neighbor my dad would not loan anything to. One look at the guy's own equipment told you why nobody would ever loan him anything.

Some people take care of their stuff and some don't. I'm probably more careful than most but not as careful as some.

i'm in the camp of not lending tools. I hate to see something I've been really careful with come back beaten and abused.
I will however help friends out with my chainsaw etc, but only if I run it.

[dragon813gt]

The plain hard cold truth on the matter is that there are some people that should not ever touch tools.

This is the majority of people. I will add to it and say they should not attempt to make any construction related repairs. So many shoddy repairs it's not even funny. There are only a select few that I will loan tools to. And they're the same way so we trust each other. I have one friend that kept asking to borrow my tiller this year. That I had to deliver because he didn't have money for gas. When asking him how he was going to fix it if it broke, since he had no money, he just gave me a blank stare. Most people should never pick up a tool.

[Love Life]

It's theirs. They can paint rainbows and unicorns on it if they want.

[Wayne Smith]

Why is it that people buy shovels and let them rust when 30 seconds of cleaning (well, maybe a minute, but I gotta walk by the WD40 to hang it up) and it will be new for years?? For most it's poor training. Nobody taught them.

[FISH4BUGS]

I have used a neoprene rod about an inch across and 10 inches long to open my moulds. I bought it from Buffalo Arms many years ago when I bought my 65,000 btu burner setup.
They said "....it will be the last mould hammer you will ever buy". They well may be correct on that. I also have three 1 lb lead hammers purchased here that I rotate. Either one of those works like a charm and doesn't hurt anything.
When you pay stupid money for Hensley & Gibbs moulds, you want to take care of them. First lesson learned.

[M-Tecs]

I am going to order one on my next order with them http://www.buffaloarms.com/Detail.aspx?PROD=161427&CAT=3905

[Garyshome]

Thanks for the link. Oak doesn't last that long.

[fouronesix]

Agreed.
The same would hold true about any tool. Some folks treat a $1000 gun similarly, even a $40,000 truck! …, etc. A real head scratcher. But I sure don't lose and sleep over it.

[FISH4BUGS]

I am going to order one on my next order with them http://www.buffaloarms.com/Detail.aspx?PROD=161427&CAT=3905

That's it. I have cast many tens of thousands of bullets and whacked the sprue with this for most of them. I still works like a charm.
Best 10 bucks you will ever spend!

[a.squibload]

I use a gloved hand to open the sprue plate, unless it's the first cast or two
and still a little cool, hard to cut. Then I use a lead ingot to tap it open.
Also to tap on the handle hinge bolt for those boolits that won't leave home.

[1johnlb]

I snatch up any broken shevel handles I find. Most people will give them away at yard sales and such. A little shaping to fit my hand and waa laa a spruce mallet. One mans junk is another man's tool.

[dtknowles]

Why is it that people buy shovels and let them rust when 30 seconds of cleaning (well, maybe a minute, but I gotta walk by the WD40 to hang it up) and it will be new for years?? For most it's poor training. Nobody taught them.

Because rust is the natural finish for a spade. Mine leans against the side of the shed with the rakes, shovel and fork. The spade never rusted out or even have serious pits still have the same one 30 years going my shovel is all welded aluminum, the guy who made it gave it to me also 30 or more years old. The wooden handles don't take the weather as well. Maybe if I had a big barn I would put garden tools under cover but indoor space has better uses. I would not use WD-40 on my spade. Some people are obsessive about their tools and they should not lend them to others. Not all tools need the same kind of care. Hey some people here have as much fun casting ingots as they do casting bullets, to each his own. A man can do what he wants with his own tools and if you don't like it don't watch.

Tim

[country gent]

I am fussy who I loan tools to. At work it wasnt so bad as evryone in the tool room knew and respected tools. At home its a diffrent story One nieghbor and a couple in laws I will do the work for them rather than loan them something. I have a old chigago drill press all cast iron probably 75-80 years old now with no holes in the table. I cleaned it up replaced what was needed upgraded to 3/4 hp motor. Im not going to watch one of those clowns drill holes in its table. I watched the one use the gun on his wire welder to tap at slag. I My michrometers calibers and tools all look as good as new other than where handling has polished the finish after 30 yyears of use. Good tools last several lifetimes if taken care of, I have some of my grandfathers That have been passed down from him to Dad to me. The files he made still out cut the new ones after 80 years.

[country gent]

Want a good idea of a persons mind set and skills watch them use a file or hacksaw.

[Janoosh]

Wayne Smith has nailed it. It's all in the training. My Father had NO tools. My uncle had every hand tool you could possibly want. My uncle was the one that "trained" me to use and care for tools. That, and shop class in school. I still can't get using a file correctly.
Back on topic...started casting in an agressive manner and abused Lee molds, joined this group, and learned about the ART of using a mold and it's care.
Thanks to All

[Wayne Smith]

And it is specific training. My father in law was a graduate of the US Naval Academy and retired as a GS16 - an engineer. No lack of education there. I went to use one of his shovels in his shed and it was rusted to nothing. Had to buy another.

[C. Latch]

It's theirs. They can paint rainbows and unicorns on it if they want.


Exactly.

[TXGunNut]

Yes, some folks will beat and abuse a good piece of equipment and then complain about what a piece of junk it is.

[badbob454]

Time to vent:
I don't even like ugly guns.

i agree on taking care of your molds , but ugly guns ?dont like em?, , these are the ones i like to shoot , keeps my other guns nice , HaHa .. on opening molds i fashion a old hammer,or shovel , broomstick out of wood , amd cut to 16'' these work great to coax my molds to open and drop i water drop so i dont want a mold so hot/ boolits < that they can be opened with a glove , they will dent on a water drop , i wait till my sprue plate flashes over < solidifies.. wait @ 10 seconds tap open my mold and drop on a towel floating on the top of my 6 gallon bucket full of cold water < or room temp. this is easy on my molds , never metal to metal == bad

[Bullwolf]

I also like to open the sprue plate on my moulds using a gloved hand. It gives me a good feel for my timing and cadence while casting. When I started out casting boolits long before the internet was around, I just used a wooden dowel as a sprue cutter/whacker.

Since then I've learned to pre-heat my moulds (often using an electric hotplate) or to start off casting 1, then 2, cavities and working my way up to 3, 4 ,5 or more so as to warm up the mould while I cast. This often makes hitting the mould with a stick unnecessary.

I tend to respect my tools, as most are quite useful to have around. I spent much of my time growing up on a farm where if you did not have what you needed, you either made it, adapted, or did without. There was no easy trip to the store to buy whatever you needed or wanted.

Perhaps this is why I also try to treat tools with care and respect so they may last, and will be around when I need them. I am not a big fan of lending out tools either.

I once made the mistake of letting a relative "borrow" my nice fat (.3585) casting Lee 6 cavity 9mm mould. This relative broke the sprue cutter off, and then kept on casting by hitting the sprue plate and mould with and I kid you not here, a pair of closed metal vice grips, ruining one of my nicer casting Lee 6 cavity boolit moulds. This relative is of the type who should never be near a reloading press in the first place, but that's another story altogether.

When I got the mould back, it looked like someone with steel teeth had chewed up the mould blocks and the sprue plate. I was appalled. After a thorough butt chewing out, no replacement mould was ever offered up either. "It's just a tool, go get another one" was what I was told.

I won't lend any tools, moulds, or anything that's not completely disposable to that particular relative ever again. I am actually somewhat embarrassed to be even related to the individual.



- Bullwolf

[303Guy]

I want the sprue plate to have a handle!

[bigboredad]

I guess I don't understand why people get so worked up about something that doesn't even have anything to do with them. If a guy wants to pay the money for a mold its his mold he is free to do whatever he wants its hold. Could be he doesn't know any better could be he can afford to replace a mold every month either way who cares it's his mold. If you have time to worry about how everyone treats their molds and judging someone cause they aren't up to your standards could be that's a bigger issue than mold abuse. Rant over I feel better now

[BruceB]

Right now I have something over sixty moulds on hand. This figure is down considerably from my inventory at its peak, let alone the many moulds that have come and gone for various reasons over the decades.

EVERY SINGLE ONE of them was routinely opened with a non-metal mallet, and EVERY ONE of them is/was completely unharmed by my "brutality" to inanimate objects.

A lot of those moulds have been used to cast thousands upon thousands of bullets..... my 4-cavity Lyman .38 wadcutter mould created over 150,000 bullets, and is still going strong, making excellent bullets.... and every time it was filled, it was "beaten" open with a mallet or similar "torture device".

Realistically, however, it comes to this:

If YOU don't want/can't imagine the use of some type of striking instrument on YOUR mould, that is up to YOU.

If you don't understand the correct and non-harmful methods that others decide to use, fine. Some of us, with the experience of decades behind us, DO use instruments to open the moulds..... and we DO NOT HARM THEM IN ANY WAY.

I must add that in my casting, the mould itself is never struck. The mallet is used on the projection of the sprue plate, and sometimes on the handle hinge or the sides of the handle.

'Nuff said.