H&G 68452 200gr mould worth saving?

[Grampo]

I was given a 2 cavity H&G 68452 by someone who had gotten it from a dead uncle. I just recently got into casting so he gave me the moulds that had been sitting in his garage for the last 10 years. The mould has a broken sprue plate/handle screw hole so the screw will not stay tight. Since the sprue plate wasnt tight, I was getting too much flash on the bottom of the bullet for the bullets to even work. Also the stop/other handle screw seems to be frozen in the hole so I can't remove the handles. So is this thing even worth getting fixed or should I sell it as a parts/project for someone else?

http://i804.photobucket.com/albums/yy321/samsonIMI/20160511_163803_zpsyfzvsxfo.jpg
http://i804.photobucket.com/albums/yy321/samsonIMI/20160511_163854_zpsxdfm1c2z.jpg
http://i804.photobucket.com/albums/yy321/samsonIMI/20160511_164030_zpsudsm2tcz.jpg

[Rick459]

Balistic cast took over the H&G design. look there for parts. yes it"s worth saving. there should be a threaded hole next to the sprue plate that uses a set screw to keep the sprue plate screw from coming loose.
Rick

[MT Gianni]

Drill and tap it for a more common thread. I have a 4 cavity Lyman with a 1/4 20 bolt there.

[StratsMan]

The web address for parts is: www.ballisticast.com (http://www.ballisticast.com)

That is a # 68 mold... Sometimes molds cast a little large, or a little small, so H&G stamped the as-cast diameter of that particular mold next to the model number. So that is a model 68 that casts at .452... or it did when new... no telling now, of course...

[reddog81]

Are the cavities pitted? Do the mold blocks line up with out daylight shining through? If the answer to both those questions are satisfactory the mold is probably worth saving.

If the cavities are pitted or it doesn't line up correctly it wouldn't be worth my time...

[StuBach]

Worth saving.

I picked up a beat up old H&G on here a while back and had some good luck restoring. If you need some help with it shoot me a PM.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[lotech]

I've had some work done by Erik Ohlen at Hollow Point Bullet Mould Service ( or a very similar name). Whether or not he still does repair / refurbishing, I don't know. Google the contact information. He does good work and prices are quite reasonable.

[dmitch]

Last year, assuming love would be the main ingredient in restoring a neglected, 4 cavity H&G 50 on flea bay, I parted with a seemingly small amount of money. When the mold arrived, I immediately realized that it had been owned and used by a ham-fisted, mouth-breathing Neanderthal. Hours with toothpaste and a toothbrush took care of the rust, but the dings and peening were gross and inexcuseable. The sprue plate hinge screw was BENT, if you can imagine! So, long story short ...... after a new sprue plate hinge screw, a new sprue plate stop screw (www.ballisticast.com (http://www.ballisticast.com)), a set of new mold retaining screws (www.nvballistics.com (http://www.nvballistics.com)) and some excellent work by Erik Ohlen (www.hollowpointmold.com (http://www.hollowpointmold.com)) , I have a perfectly serviceable H&G 50 mold. Erik surface ground the top and bottom of the sprue plate and milled about .020" off the top of the mold. It now casts very nice 141 grain WCs with soft range scrap. But it ain't as pretty on the outside as when it was birthed 60 years ago in San Diego. (Probably true of most of us, come to think about it!) Lesson learned: I will leave the rehabs to other brave souls with deep pockets.
Erik does beautiful work; has no problem picking up the phone for consultation and delivers quicker than he originally promises. I was so happy that I just had Erik hollow point an Ideal 225438 with a generous HP pin, a FN pin and a custom top punch with a pin to fit the HP cavity. But that's another story.
dmitch

[Grampo]

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll hit up Erik for a quote.