So... I wanna' try casting hollow points??

[Whitespider]

I have this mold... picked up in a trade somewhere I'm sure... a Lyman 457122 HP.
Now, the mold I have is a bevel-base, which is strange because every illustration I see of that boolit is a plain-base?? But that's really beside the point.

I've never tried a HP mold.
What advice can y'all give me to avoid as many pitfalls I as possible??
Keep in mind I cast with a ladle.
*

[Walter Laich]

You need to keep the mold and the pin hot!
And cast quickly to keep it hot
Some folks will hold the pin in the melt to keep it hot between casts
(seeing a pattern here?)

When I cast HP I will preheat the mold on a hot plate while the pot is heating to temp

best of luck and, oh, yea: keep everything hot

[15meter]

You need to keep the mold and the pin hot!
And cast quickly to keep it hot
Some folks will hold the pin in the melt to keep it hot between casts
(seeing a pattern here?)

When I cast HP I will preheat the mold on a hot plate while the pot is heating to temp

best of luck and, oh, yea: keep everything hot

What he said....

[Whitespider]

LOL
I get it... HOT.
But how do you hold the pin in the melt when you're using both hands to manipulate the mold??
*

[Eddie17]

I've found as others stated, you need to keep pins an mold hot! Move quickly!

[OS OK]

That's going to be a tough one...especially since the pot level will drop as you cast.

I set my pin in a big hex nut that sits on the saw blade...that sits atop the hot plate. Hmmm? I wonder if a hot plate is in your future?

"Has anyone mentioned yet...'KEEP IT HOT?' . . . :bigsmyl2: . . ."

[Whitespider]

That's going to be a tough one...especially since the pot level will drop as you cast.

I set my pin in a big hex nut that sits on the saw blade...that sits atop the hot plate. Hmmm? I wonder if a hot plate is in your future?

"Has anyone mentioned yet...'KEEP IT HOT?' . . . :bigsmyl2: . . ."
That I can do... my "pot" is an old cast iron sauce pan and the heat source is an old electric kitchen 4-burner range.
I use one of the other burners as the "hot plate" to preheat and keep everything hot during refills.
The hex nut is a good idea... I was actually thinking about some sort of hanger to set the pin in that would hold it in the melt... the hex nut is a simpler solution.
Thanks.
See... it's always worth my time to ask questions here.
*

[Ateam]

Here is the secret, get that mold HOT! I dont mess with heating the pin separately, I find if I stick the corner of the mold in the melt and get it to the point where it takes a while for the sprue puddle to cool(10 seconds or more), then you are just a little above ideal temp. This will trow slightly smaller boolits untill you get back in the right temp zone. Cast as fast as you can, I dont think you can over heat this mold by casting.

My 457122 is a plain base, no bevel. Maybe you got a special run for muzzle loaders? It would start easier with the bevel.

I find if my alloy has any antimony at all the hp will shear its petals. I think this design is begging for some of that copper toughened alloy I keep reading about. That or cutting of a third or so of the pin, I find the cavity to be so deep that when proper expansion occurs it is just a micron away from shearing off.

[daloper]

I just started casting HP with a new MP mold I bought. Like everybody said. I heated it up on a hot plate. Before heating I rubbed a soft pencil lead over the pins. I had no sticking on the pins.

[OS OK]

This being your first HP's...I'm curious as to what you have planned?

What Pb are you going to use?
What pistol or revolver are you loading for?
How fast are you going to send them?

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-MIt11Lihm02hMxIIY-b0w . . . This is a channel called 'Loads of Bacon' on the Y-Tube...he is doing a comprehensive study of all the factors involved in casting successful HP's. He is sharing all the gritty details of his success and he is doing really well just starting out like he is.

You might give it a view...'empirical evidence and data' is unbeatable if you want to get right down to casting successfully...and he is PC'ing these rounds too.

[DerekP Houston]

LOL
I get it... HOT.
But how do you hold the pin in the melt when you're using both hands to manipulate the mold??
*

I cheat, grab a butane pencil torch and just run it over the pins when they start sticking. Works for me at least.

[Thumbcocker]

A little NOE plate lube on the pin and cast normally and you will be fine. I only cast with the hp mold when running hp as opposed to running 2 molds otherwise. I do pressure cast with a bp pot but other than that no real problems. Eric's hp molds are well worth the money and avoid having to fight with a separate pin.

[Beagle333]

Get it hot, cast fast. Don't stop and admire them, don't roll em around seeing how they dropped, don't stop and wonder why there are voids or wrinkled noses, don't stop..... Just cast like yer arm was on fire, and it'll get to temp and start turning out pretty ones. You'll learn later how much you can slow down and poke at em while waiting for the sprue to harden. But until you are dropping pretty ones or frosty ones...... CAST CAST CAST CAST!!!! Good luck.

[DerekP Houston]

Get it hot, cast fast. Don't stop and admire them, don't roll em around seeing how they dropped, don't stop and wonder why there are voids or wrinkled noses, don't stop..... Just cast like yer arm was on fire, and it'll get to temp and start turning out pretty ones. You'll learn later how much you can slow down and poke at em while waiting for the sprue to harden. But until you are dropping pretty ones or frosty ones...... CAST CAST CAST CAST!!!! Good luck.

That describes all my casting sessions, sort at the end!

[OS OK]

We do things a 'wee-bit' differently over here on the 'left coast'....

CAST...CAST...CAST...CAST...TAKE A SIP-O-COLD BEER..CAST...CAST...CAST...TAKE A SIP-O-COLD BEER..CAST...CAST...CAST...TAKE A SIP-O-COLD BEER...CAST...CAST...TAKE A SIP-O-COLD BEER..CAST...CAST...TAKE A SIP-O-COLD BEER..CAST...TAKE A SIP-O-COLD BEER...CAST...TAKE A SIP-O-COLD BEER...CAST...TAKE A SIP-O-COLD BEER...

Then you keep going till you run out of Pb or Cold Beer . . . :bigsmyl2:

It's a flexible routine, gotta stay hydrated ya know!

[DerekP Houston]

We do things a 'wee-bit' differently over here on the 'left coast'....

CAST...CAST...CAST...CAST...TAKE A SIP-O-COLD BEER..CAST...CAST...CAST...TAKE A SIP-O-COLD BEER..CAST...CAST...CAST...TAKE A SIP-O-COLD BEER...CAST...CAST...TAKE A SIP-O-COLD BEER..CAST...CAST...TAKE A SIP-O-COLD BEER..CAST...TAKE A SIP-O-COLD BEER...CAST...TAKE A SIP-O-COLD BEER...CAST...TAKE A SIP-O-COLD BEER...

Then you keep going till you run out of Pb or Cold Beer . . . :bigsmyl2:

It's a flexible routine, gotta stay hydrated ya know!

I'm a slacker at heart.....get the work done as efficiently as possible so I can go back to relaxing and chillin' :D. I like your style Charlie.

[OS OK]

I'm tellin ya Derek...it's a great routine for reducing the 'reject-ratio'...by the time your finished, you can't find a single 'reject'!

[Whitespider]

This being your first HP's...I'm curious as to what you have planned?

What Pb are you going to use?
What pistol or revolver are you loading for?
How fast are you going to send them?
I'm planning on starting with COWW with a bit of SN added, for use in my .45-70 Handi-Rifle, at maybe 1500 FPS (give-or-take).

Couple of things...
They don't need to expand, I won't be hunting with them (at least not now). I've been shooting a 405 grain (very) hard-cast commercial boolit over 50 grains IMR3031 in it; that's over-kill for killing beer cans and yard vermin. I'm planning of casting the hollow-point to "lighten the load" (so to speak), test the effect on accuracy, and because I've never cast hollow-points (which is an excuse in itself).

My only concern is the diameter of the boolits from the #457122... hopefully they will drop a touch over .459 (which is the sizing die I have). If it works out and shows promise, I may remove the bevel-base from the mold... maybe.

[Whitespider]

Oh... and my beer fridge is just a couple steps from my casting stove... by design.
Casting boolits is hot, thirsty work ya' know??
*

[Wayne Smith]

Mine is the mold that demands to be pressure cast with the ladle. That is - hold the mold sideways, put the nipple of the ladle in the sprue plate, tilt the whole thing vertical, slow count to three, and remove the ladle. Very small sprue. Remove hollow point pin, dump mold, replace HP pin, repeat.

I've never heard of a bevel base 457122 - is it in fact a Lyman mold?

[Whitespider]

Yes, it's a Lyman and a bevel-base.

194556 194557 194558

*

[Larry Gibson]

Assuming you want to push to 1300 - 1500 fps out of a 45-70 rifle?

Use a 1-16 Tin - lead alloy with no antimony in it at all. Cast with the alloy at 710 - 725 degrees. Use the dipper technique as per Lyman's instruction in #3 Lyman CBH (pages 57 - 59) if you have one. If you have an older Lyman or RCBS dipper you might want to drill the pour hole out to a larger size. You want to get the alloy into and around the HP pin as quick as possible because the alloy will begin to solidify immediately.

You might also make a simple holder for use on a propane torch to keep the HP pin hot. The flame is adjusted to keep the pin just hot enough. After the sprue hardens and is cut off I then twist the HP pin and remove placing it in the holder.

194559

I then open the blocks tapping on the handle bolt for the bullet to fall out. The blocks are closed, the sprue plate shut and then the pin is removed from the holder and placed back into the mould. A new casting is immediately poured. While waiting for the sprue to solidify I do a quick inspection of the bullet using a large tweezers. The hot bullet is rolled and inspected for wrinkles then picked up and the HP is inspected for complete fill out. If any defect is noted it goes into the pot. If good it gets set in a pile to the side. The sprue is put into the pot. By that time (not very long actually) the sprue is hard and it's ready to do all over again. With that technique I cast about 1 1/2 bullets per minute.

Let the 1-16 alloy bullets AC for 24 - 48 hours before using.

Larry Gibson

[s mac]

Everyone has their own technique, I have 5 or 6 HP moulds made like yours, a ladle caster and have never needed to do anything to keep the pin hot other than a normal casting cadence.

[Whitespider]

Well that weren't so difficult at all...
194671

I made a mold furnace out of a saw blade and coffee can last night and did that ever work good.
The first pour produced a completely filled out (but really frosty) boolit.
And I made a hanger thingy to hold the pin in the melt between pours... that worked good also.
194672 194673

I was worried about not having enough heat so the first 2-3 dozen drops were frosty. When I settled in and slowed my pace a bit the boolits turned nice and shiny. I wish I'd done that sooner... the frosty ones appear to be undersized at a touch under .459, but the shiny ones measure a touch under .460 inch. The weight is nearly dead on 335 grains.
*

[OS OK]

"Oh Boy...when your wife gets home...you are going to need a new place to hang your hat!" . . . :bigsmyl2:

[Whitespider]

"oh boy...when your wife gets home...you are going to need a new place to hang your hat!" . . . :bigsmyl2:
lol ‼
*

[Beagle333]

Once you get your rhythm down, you probably won't even need the pin holder. I don't use one anymore. You'll learn how to get the pin out and back in before it cools.
Lookin good so far!!