I'm running out of ideas, help me please!

[Indiana shooter]

About 4 weeks ago I finally got my first high quality mold. It is an NOE 432-265-RF RD mold in the RG2 configuration. When I first got the mold I cleaned out the cavities with white gas, heat cycled it three times, ran a toothpick around the edges, smoked it and lubed it. Then I was off casting some boolits. Both cavities stuck a bit but hay it's new.

Now after I've cast 800-1000 boolits out of it it still sticks, sometimes bad enough that I'm afraid I'm gonna bend or break the hp pin. Before each casting session I relube the sprue and pins, I run a toothpick around the edges of the cavities and resmoke the cavities. I have tried to lightly scrub the cavities with comet as well.

When I first start casting the boolits fall out nice and easy with a gentle shake. After 8 or 10 cycles they start to stick pretty bad, by this time I have to give it a couple of whacks on the handle. By the time I have gotten to 20 or so cycles I almost have to pry one cavity out. I then have to knock off some burs on the top edge of the first cavity. (closest one to the sprue screw) then the cycle repeats itself again.

Please help I don't want to destroy such a beautiful work of art and I feel that is exactly what will happen unless I figure out how to stop this!!!!

[Sgtonory]

Try and let your mold cool longer before trying to open it. I use a NOE 4 cavity HP. And after it starts to get what i would call operating temp i have to let it cool a tad longer than i would call normal with a non HP lee mold. Hope this helps.

[Casting_40S&W]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Sticking can be caused by the cavities not being centered in the two mold half's.

[Bzcraig]

If you are preheating your mold this makes sense. Those HP pins have to stay hot or the boolits will stick something terrible. The only way I was able to avoid this (there were times I had to use pliers to pull boolits off at first) was to keep a propane torch going to heat up the pins between casts. It takes some getting used to, to find the rhythm using HP pins but once you do its all good. Don't stop to inspect boolits while your casting, just concentrate on finding the rhythm understanding that when your struggling to get the boolits off the pins, the WHOLE mold is losing heat, especially the pins. If you got flat pins too, try casting with those to find a rhythm then switch back to HP. Melt temperature is important too! If you don't have a thermometer or PID get one. My NOE HP molds require about 775* to keep pins from sticking.

[LenH]

Indiana, I had the same trouble. It was suggested by Beagle333 to polish the pins with some 800 grit sand paper. I found 1500 grit and chucked them in a cordless drill
and spun them at a very slow speed until I had a mirror finish on them. This helped tremendously and as mentioned the pins need to stay hot.

Hope this helps, LenH.

[Indiana shooter]

Y'all got the wrong idea. (Guess that's my fault) the boolit is sticking in the cavity, the hp pin is preventing me from opening the mold.

[gunoil]

Try some hitech mold spray from jerry and Donnie miculek in Louisiana @ bayoubullets.net. I get a new mold and wash with soap & water many times and spray w/this stuff. Something's wrong w/your temps too. Wheres your boolit lead from? Good stuff?

If ya can get one of those RCBS pro melt pots.(dang pots incredible).

I even quit making igots out back, l buy good foundry lead and thats it.

[John Boy]

Lube the HP pin and mold pins with paraffin!

[bhn22]

Tap the hinge pin/bolt of your handles sharply with a medium heavy stick as you open the mould. The mould should be upside down, and the sprue already broken (of course) before doing this. Never strike the mould itself, just the handle pivot.

[Indiana shooter]

My main lead supply is roof flashing, I add lead free solder and ingots made from mag shot for my desired hardness. I do have COWW but no steady supply so I use them sparingly.

As far as my temps go I run my pot in the 725 range for the solid and cup point pins. I found that I have to run the hp pin around 775ish to get good fill.

[gwpercle]

Another thing to try is Liquid Wrench Dry Lubricant. I spray , or use the liquid and apply with a Q-Tip, to the cavities, pins, top of block, face of block and sprue plate (both sides) and let dry. It dries in seconds. Pre-heat and start casting. If something starts sticking, a Q-Tip dipped in it and applied to spot treat.
The stuff doesn't contaminate and cause wrinkling, and the boolits drop right out. I used to use beeswax to lube the mould but this and paraffin wax will cause a burned on build up and muck up the mould, and I usually put too much and contaminated the cavities. Better to use those for fluxing a melt than lubing your mould.
Might help.
Gary

[longbow]

I'm going to say use more heat. Keep the alloy well heated and keep casting at a steady cadence. If you stop casting while mucking about checking boolits or removing stickers then the mould cools off. Not saying that you can't remove stickers but if you get held up then pre-heat again.

My guide to proper mould pre-heat is to pre-heat the mould until sprue plate lube just starts to smoke. That is slightly too hot and the sprue puddle will take a few seconds to freeze but after a few casts the mould cools appropriately and away you go.

That of course is assuming that there are no burrs and that the cavities are in fact centered in the mould blocks. You say you have checked for burrs so if there are none then if could be that the cavities aren't centered but I think that is a long shot. NOE moulds are a quality product.

Try more pre-heat and if that doesn't work then I'd contact Swede Nelson for advice.

My $0.02 anyway.

Longbow

[GhostHawk]

I'm with gwpercle with the liquid wrench treatment.

I first read about it here, tested it on my 2 worst molds, instantly they were transformed to my best molds.
Now I treat every new mold as part of cleaning it, deburring. When wet on a q-tip it does an awesome job of cleaning, removing even smoke from molds. Dry's in seconds, bullets fly from the mold in most cases without even a tap.

Also lead no longer seems to want to stick to the sprue plate or holes.

I have not needed to yet, but will retreat molds as needed.

This for me was a 8$ investment that makes my life simpler, my molds prettier, and my bullets abundant.
As little as I have used from the 4 oz bottle I bought I doubt I'll ever need another.

Don't believe me, fine, buy a bottle and try it out for yourself.

You too can make your 20$ Lee Mold perform like a 100$ mold.

[MT Chambers]

I use bullplate lube on those fussy pins, I would never recommend an HP mold to a newby caster.

[gwpercle]

I'm with gwpercle with the liquid wrench treatment.

I first read about it here, tested it on my 2 worst molds, instantly they were transformed to my best molds.
Now I treat every new mold as part of cleaning it, deburring. When wet on a q-tip it does an awesome job of cleaning, removing even smoke from molds. Dry's in seconds, bullets fly from the mold in most cases without even a tap.

Also lead no longer seems to want to stick to the sprue plate or holes.

I have not needed to yet, but will retreat molds as needed.

This for me was a 8$ investment that makes my life simpler, my molds prettier, and my bullets abundant.
As little as I have used from the 4 oz bottle I bought I doubt I'll ever need another.

Don't believe me, fine, buy a bottle and try it out for yourself.

You too can make your 20$ Lee Mold perform like a 100$ mold.

That stuff sure made a believer out of me. Every mould gets cleaned and treated with Liquid Wrench Dry lube after they cool and before starting another casting session.
The first time I tried it on a Lee mould the boolits just jumped out, it was like magic.
Gary