Mold Material

[Reddirt62]

Opinions on the best mold material? Aluminum, steel, brass, or??
Thanks

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[GhostHawk]

I'm cheap, I like lee molds. Light weight, warm up quick, cool down the same. Not hard to work on, takes some practice. I think of them as kits, some user tuning, adjusting and learning required.

[Reverend Recoil]

Aluminum: light weight, lowest cost, will not rust, machines well, less wear resistant & holds less heat.
Cast Iron/Steel: wear resistant, holds more heat, heavier than aluminum, cost more than aluminum, & will rust.
Brass: Holds heat, will not rust, machines best, heaviest weight, & highest cost.

I have numerous iron and aluminum molds. I have no brass molds. All of my custom molds made by Accurate Molds are of aluminum blocks and they work very well. The next mold I order from Accurate Molds will be aluminum.

[308Jeff]

Glad you asked this. Been wondering the same thing myself.

[Bzcraig]

I prefer aluminum, have one iron mold that casts beautifully​ but does require special care to keep rust away. I have about 25 Lee molds and have found the newer ones are pretty good quality. Just today casted some Lee 358-125 and with the mold warmed on a hotplate I had no rejects. I also anticipated as I age mold weight would enter the equation at some point so aluminum would allow me to cast for more years, all things being​ equal.

[gwpercle]

I learned to cast on Lyman iron moulds , I think they might be a bit easier for a beginner to learn on. Now that I've been casting for decades and figured out Lee moulds , I think I prefer aluminum. They have their casting and handling idiosyncrasies but I like the lighter weight and the no rusting .
Actually I'm a mould junkie and like them all !
Gary

[toallmy]

I found it easier to cast with the hard metal molds to start with as well , it was easier for me to get them up to a good casting temp , and they can take a little more abuse wile I tried to figure it all out .

[toallmy]

Let me try to make it more complicated by asking , so what would you like to do with this mold ? Cast a bucket full for the 9mm , 38-357s , 40s , or the 45 acp , a few slug , some buckshot , or a rifle .

[Reddirt62]

Let me try to make it more complicated by asking , so what would you like to do with this mold ? Cast a bucket full for the 9mm , 38-357s , 40s , or the 45 acp , a few slug , some buckshot , or a rifle .
I do some rifle and a lot of pistol. I have been using Lee but started having issues with my 9mm (356) spent an hour cleaning it up and got it close but want to move up in quality and since most offer them in three materials I thought I would get some opinions.

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[toallmy]

For the 9 mm I would have to go with the lee " 6 cavity 356-120 tc with the standard lube grove " . So far out of 4 different molds for the 9mm this one works the best for me . One was a steal mold one is a brass mold the other was a aluminum but the lee works the best out of a few different guns and production is amazing . Sorry if it's not what you wanted to hear . I avoided lee to start with because I was wanted to start with a better quality mold to make up for " my inexperience " but in the end it works really good . But it will probably drop the boollits at .357 -.3575 if you're lucky .358 .

[mold maker]

There is no "BEST", only choices. To each his own.

[toallmy]

:lovebooli. Very true mold maker that is what casting is all about .

[Soundguy]

I have aluminum and iron, both work, aluminum seen to be easier to take care of..

[Smk SHoe]

For piles and piles of good pistol bullets, it's hard to beat the Lee 6 gangers. With that being said, Most of the mold's I have been purchasing lately ( bout 1 a month) have either been from NOE or Arsenal. Arsenal has a larger stock on hand to ship fast, But a NOE mold is a work of art.

[wv109323]

I don't think the material of the mold is as important as other parts of the mold. I have all three steel brass and alum. You can cast excellent bullets with all three. I think the sprue plate adjustment and retention, the Mold handle screws and alignments pins are more important than mold material. If you have to stop casting to do maintenance on the mold it really messes up your casting rate. You have to get the mold temp. Back up to cast.

[Dpmsman]

I started with the Lee molds because of cost. Then I moved to new Lyman molds thinking they would be better quality and easier to cast with. They were, but the bullets were out of round and undersized. So I started buying MP 4-6 cavity brass molds. They are a work of art but heavy. And I found that if I cast with a two cavity mold along with the 4 cavity mold I could cast just about as many bullets with the two cavity as I could with the 4 cavity in the same amount of time. So now I've gone back to running two 2 cavity RCBS molds they cast wonderfully with about the same production as the 4 cavity mold. The 2 cavity iron molds seem to work the best with my casting technique/skill. This is coming from someone that is still pretty green with about 4 years under my belt.

[Josh Smith]

OK, I'll cop out here.

I have both iron and aluminum and like each for different reasons. :D

Josh

[toallmy]

I like to cast with a steel I get it hot and relax , it just works best for me, could be sprue plate stays hot or something , but to empty the pot a lee 6 cavity works . Brass I am not qualified as I only have 2 and one of those is a slug mold . I only have 1 mold that I don't like but that's because it don't want to give me my boolits , dang it if it wasn't so pretty .

[reddog81]

I don't think the material used determines whether or not the mold is quality. Each material has pros and cons. It's how well a mold is made that determines the level of quality. Lee molds are a good value and the quality is reasonable. Other molds are much better quality but cost 4 times as much.

[rototerrier]

I have both Alum and Brass. I can produce good boolits with both. If I can get the exact same boolit in both, I'll always go aluminum. I'm fairly young, healthy, and strong and I still get fatigued fairly quickly on big heavy molds. I can cast all day on aluminum without any trouble. This is obviously a personal choice and there are other factors to consider. I mostly cast high volume 45 and 9mm and therefor need something light weight to avoid fatigue.

I know a brass mold is supposed to be more consistent which is probably better for rifle boolits where higher degrees of accuracy are trying to be achieved. I've not gotten there yet, so I'm only ever concerned with volume and weight and fatigue and aluminum works a little better for me.

[white eagle]

first its brass then Cast iron followed by aluminum
the first two hold the heat better and aluminum
gets hot to fast before you need to slow the cadence down

[country gent]

A lot has to do with how the moulds are were cut originally a "cherry" was cut and ground to size in the shape of the bullet. It was offset each way. some were cut in a heavy drill press with a special vise even. Now with modern machinery a undersized cherry can be used and cut with the cnc controlled machine out to size with the blocks completely closed from the start. The cnc machines make cutting a mould much easier and faster. A well machined mould is a thing to behold and a tribute to the craftsmans skill. I prefer my Brass moulds for several reasons and steel is second. I made several steel specialty moulds for guys at work on a Charmelle cnc edm. They really came out nice and no cutter spring as the electrode never touches the part. Carbon electrodes were quick and easy to machine.

[Gunslinger1911]

Learned to cast on Lee 6 banger aluminum. Once you get the "mould prep" down (some are great right out of the box), Low cost, light weight, fast heat up, FAST production; more delicate than the others, over heat easy. Best bang for the buck.

Never used a new iron mould, bought a couple used ones over the years - so already broken in. Great moulds, can be kinda pricy, hold heat well, don't over heat too bad.

Brass, ah brass, heavy as hell, slow to heat up, pricy ! You really gotta work hard to over heat one. My 6 favorite moulds are MP HP 4 bangers !

[dkf]

Have molds in all materials, they all cast good bullets. I like to cast fast so I prefer aluminum, being light weight is an added bonus.

[gwpercle]

For piles and piles of good pistol bullets, it's hard to beat the Lee 6 gangers. With that being said, Most of the mold's I have been purchasing lately ( bout 1 a month) have either been from NOE or Arsenal. Arsenal has a larger stock on hand to ship fast, But a NOE mold is a work of art.
I got a NOE Keith signature 41 magnum mould for Christmas and to date I've only looked at it and fondled it because I don't want to dirty it all up.... it's a work of art !

[Drew P]

Why is brass's ability to "hold heat" considered a benefit? I thought the mold would run too hot causing problems? I've even been resting my brass mold on a wet rag to cool it in use. I feel like aluminum is a better choice. But, I don't know much. I only have one brass mold and two steel molds and a couple aluminums.

[gundownunder]

First you need to find a quality manufacturer, (cheap is cheap for a reason) then look at material.
I bought a Mihec brass mold and it cast beautiful bullets.
Problem is, brass is very heavy, and I have arthritis.
That's a bad combination.
Also, I've read that brass can warp if you are not careful.
I now use aluminium molds from Accurate.
Light weight, so easy on the arthritis.
Heats up quick, so you get to casting good bullets in a hurry.
Heats up quick, so you need to keep a slightly slower rhythm. I find using two molds at once sets a good pace.
I tend to be a lazy sod, so I wouldn't entertain an iron mold, as it would end up as a great lump of rust in no time.
You can't blame the mold for that. If you're not a lazy sod, and you don't have arthritis, I would think an iron mold would last a lifetime, or two.

[Harter66]

I too started with Lee moulds . When I did get an iron mould , wow what a difference !!

No brass to date .

I can say mould for mould and Apples to Apples Lyman and RCBS even older Cramers are about equally matched in production , product and ease of use .

Aluminum moulds , well , after accumulating NOE , LBT , Mountain , TC , old and new Lee doubles and the 6 cavities , I can say beyond any doubt that better production , product ease of use come from more costly tools .
I'm a cheapskate but I can say that the first NOE was worth every penny . The others are at least as good . The only Lee's I get now are to mass cast and get someone started ........ I'd rather cousin hamfist drop , hammer and generally abuse the $20 wonder than the $100 Mountain Moulds custom .

The obvious weight advantage and volume production by mould weight of mould goes to aluminum , but only because a 5C NOE weighs about same as a 2C RCBS , of course the 5s and 6s run off and leave the doubles but run about the same rate of cycles . Back to Apples to Apples I'd say I get about 3 more cycles every 5 min with similar bullets in aluminum vs iron 2C .

[dkf]

Why is brass's ability to "hold heat" considered a benefit? I thought the mold would run too hot causing problems? I've even been resting my brass mold on a wet rag to cool it in use. I feel like aluminum is a better choice. But, I don't know much. I only have one brass mold and two steel molds and a couple aluminums.

If you want to run two molds at a time and don't want to go at madman speed having a mold that can hold some heat can be good.

[Wally]

I have iron & aluminum bullet molds. I prefer the aluminum molds as they are lighter and more comfortable to cast with. I've had to return Lee, Lyman, & RCBS molds to the factor for defects. Lee molds are inexpensive and IMHO the latest ones are excellent. However others have found quality control issues. Lee will replace a defective one but one has to pay the shipping to return it. A new dual cavity Lee bullet mold costs about $20....a Lyman or RCBS $75. One can buy 4 Lee bullet molds for nearly the cost of one from Lyman or RCBS...and they have built in handles. I have many from all three companies; I use my Lee molds the most.

In the .44 Caliber...I have a Lee 240 SWC-GC mold...comparing accuracy with bullets cast from it and a Lyman 429244 or an RCBS (82042)....the Lee bullet is just as good.

[DocSavage]

I have to admit NOE and Accurate are my favorite molds at this point though I do have a fair number of RCBS,Redding,LBT and NEI molds. Last mold I bought was an Accurate mold for a 230 gr .452 truncated bullet and once it's up to temp turning out massive amounts of bullets is easy.

[longbow]

As stated, to each his own in choice.

My choices are first, iron, second brass and third aluminum.

My reasons:

- iron is durable and easy to cast with. It will take more abuse or mistakes without damage than the other materials... though one should treat moulds nicely. Accidents and mistakes do happen to everyone though.
- brass much like iron but not quite as durable. Brass moulds cast very consistently for me.
- aluminum is light so a bonus but not nearly as durable as iron or brass. Having said that a well treated aluminum mould should last a lifetime (even Lee moulds). My NOE aluminum moulds cast very well but I prefer iron and brass.

I am always surprised when people discuss rust ~ "aluminum moulds don't rust". Right, the mould blocks don't rust but the steel sprue plate and alignment pins rust and a rusty underside of a sprue plate will gall up the top of an aluminum mould block very quickly. I oil all my moulds when they go into storage after use regardless of material.

If I had to choose one material it would be iron. I like iron two cavity moulds for some reason. Different strokes!

Longbow

[Wally]

Well said....with the Lee molds one should lightly oil/grease the iron sections of them when storing. It is not a big deal.

Casting with a Lyman or an RCBS mold and then a Lee...immediately I find the Lee mold much more comfortable to cast with. If you treat the Lee mold well, it will never wear out. I have some that are from the 70's.


As stated, to each his own in choice.

My choices are first, iron, second brass and third aluminum.

My reasons:

- iron is durable and easy to cast with. It will take more abuse or mistakes without damage than the other materials... though one should treat moulds nicely. Accidents and mistakes do happen to everyone though.
- brass much like iron but not quite as durable. Brass moulds cast very consistently for me.
- aluminum is light so a bonus but not nearly as durable as iron or brass. Having said that a well treated aluminum mould should last a lifetime (even Lee moulds). My NOE aluminum moulds cast very well but I prefer iron and brass.

I am always surprised when people discuss rust ~ "aluminum moulds don't rust". Right, the mould blocks don't rust but the steel sprue plate and alignment pins rust and a rusty underside of a sprue plate will gall up the top of an aluminum mould block very quickly. I oil all my moulds when they go into storage after use regardless of material.

If I had to choose one material it would be iron. I like iron two cavity moulds for some reason. Different strokes!

Longbow

[oldblinddog]

I have cast with Lyman, RCBS, and Accurate iron molds from .225 to .458, 55gr to 530 gr. Iron is the best! I have had several NOE aluminum molds, all .30 caliber. Everyone of them is a pain to cast with (to me, YMMV). I am down to one of them now. I will keep this one because of the bullet (311331 218gr gc) and because it is the easiest to cast with of all of the aluminum molds I've had, but I will never buy another aluminum mold.

[bangerjim]

I have almost every cal and weight of Al mold Lee makes from my past years. They cast (mostly) good boolits. Some better than others. Al damages VERY easy!

I also have 10 or so brass molds from the various custom makers on here that cast perfect profile and weight boolits every time! Best there is. I never buy anything but brass these daze. They are heavy but last much longer!

Even here in the dry AZ desert, the Fe molds I have will rust if I do not mess with them. PITA as far as I am concerned. And they are only 1 and 2 bangers. Way too slow for my casting needs.