Best material for a mould ??

[Hootmix]

I have a 1884 Ideal mould & loading tool ( for 40-60 win. ) ,, the bullet mould w/ sc cavity on the end, was ruined when someone tried to make a hollow point mould by drilling thru the bottom ,, off center and damaged the mould . I think I can bore ( over size ) out the mould and tig a plug in it ,,then recut ( Lyman # 403168 ) a new mould . (Might have it done by someone if the cost isn't to high.) Suggestion's on what metal I should use,, would be welcome ,, did I mention I have a " Mini Lathe & Mill ".The tool de-prime's,- primes,-sizes the cast bullet,-seat's & crimps the bullet to a perfect 2.227 OAL , using 45-70 brass re-sized down ( I made a de-primer pin & neck expander to start the bullet ).


coffee's ready ,, Hootmix.

[Dragonheart]

Check out old post "New Life for H&G S-55 Mold"

[Bent Ramrod]

I fill damaged mould cavities with brazing rod, and cut new cavities in that. Sometimes the new cavity takes out all the braze; sometimes not, but it doesn’t seem to hurt the casting. I read an old article somewhere once where the writer offered brass-cavity moulds for sale, with the mould cut in the brass insert in the otherwise iron mould. Can’t remember where I read it, but I do recall the guy alleged that the mould done in this way cast better boolits than the all-iron moulds.

The best part is if I ruin the cavity again, I can fill it with braze for another try.

[Hootmix]

Hey Brent,, now ya'r talk'n . Dragon,, how far back ??

coffee's ready,, Hootmix.

[Dragonheart]

Hey Brent,, now ya'r talk'n . Dragon,, how far back ??

coffee's ready,, Hootmix.

Just use the search and you should find it.

[Hootmix]

Thank's for info. ,,, now ! What is the correct name for a vise where both ends move to center at the same time w/ 1 screw handle ?
Yep ! going to make a gig ,, and fix the mould , w/ the help from you guy's.
coffee's ready ,, Hootmix.

[Drm50]

I think it's called a Parallel Vise or clamp when both jaws move. Never saw one with single screw. I've got a good
assortment of vises and don't have one both jaws move on one screw.

[NoZombies]

Thank's for info. ,,, now ! What is the correct name for a vise where both ends move to center at the same time w/ 1 screw handle ?
Yep ! going to make a gig ,, and fix the mould , w/ the help from you guy's.
coffee's ready ,, Hootmix.

It's a self centering vise. Not cheap unfortunately. Good luck!

[country gent]

We had one at work for some specialty jobs. I suspect the ones used for making moulds were more than likely made in house by the companies for a couple reasons. One when used as they did the play in the jaws and threads would be a critical issue. Any side play, vertical play or play in the threads would allow chatter and misalignment. These vise were used more as a fixture and y axis. They were used in a heavy drill press type machine. The blocks were mounted and the vise closed around the running cherry cutting the cavity so thread pitch and play would have been important. These machines also had a heavy coolant flow to remove chips and lubricate the cherry.

The vise we had at work did have adjustable gibs to remove play as needed, but the threads were fairly coarse which would move the jaws faster than what most cutters could handle. Chip load per tooth would have been way to high. It was good for shafts and castings that had to be centered for further locating of the part.

[GONRA]

GONRA has turned over Idea cast iron mould blocks, centered in a 4 jaw lathe chuck and bored out (various boring bars) another cavity in the bottom of the mould.
Drill / tap blocks - otherwise Remount the Sprue Plate and yer Ready-to-Go with a NEW Bullet Mould!!! Verks Great!!

[Dragonheart]

I hope you don't get into your quest and start thinking like I did, "taking on this project wasn't the best idea I ever had". Projects like this can end up being a real time killer. I didn't think so at the time, but I will now say putting this old H&G 10 cavity mold back into operating condition was worth it, as this past weekend it cranked out 5K bullets.

[NoZombies]

I believe you'll have to do some fancy workholding to keep the old all-in-one tool centered, but able to close around the cherry. Not trying to be negative, but I'll suggest that working on the tong tool will likely increase difficulty by an order of magnitude.

[fast ronnie]

Many times the difference between a good machinist and a great one is the ability to set up difficult parts. The actual machining usually is easy compared to the setup.

I had to make a small aircraft part recently that probably took 25 different setups to finish.

[deltaenterprizes]

Thank's for info. ,,, now ! What is the correct name for a vise where both ends move to center at the same time w/ 1 screw handle ?
Yep ! going to make a gig ,, and fix the mould , w/ the help from you guy's.
coffee's ready ,, Hootmix.

It is called a centering vise! I have a really nice one!

[Traffer]

Thank's for info. ,,, now ! What is the correct name for a vise where both ends move to center at the same time w/ 1 screw handle ?
Yep ! going to make a gig ,, and fix the mould , w/ the help from you guy's.
coffee's ready ,, Hootmix.

That is called a self centering vise. I was going to make one but then found a parts one on the internet that I have yet to rebuils. My research led me to using a turnbuckle with the one left and one right handed thread. Was going to weld the two together with a round piece in the middle to hold it in position. Then turning the screw with the jaws attached will move both jaws together at the same time by the same increments. OR you could cut your own lead screw in the lathe. This explains it better than I can...beware though Tony has a very crafty sense of humor:

https://youtu.be/1mZhOlr5v-s

[country gent]

My hand vise I made is similar to his only smaller. I have a handle on mine. I flame hardened the jaws and find they can be slippery now. the Jaws on mine are about 1 1/2" wide and open to about 1". A nice size for small parts to file or grind on the pedestal grinder.

[Hootmix]

Traffer ,, Thanks, I have watched " Tony's video's " OH ! Sure ,, just give me "real equipment " & the knowledge to use it ( correctly ) and patience ,, and desire,, an some of the other stuff he has ,,, ( I'v got my own cat ) . I am always amazed at great " craftsmen ". Thanks again for sharing. And yes,, the tong tool will be a challenge . ( may have to call tony,, whispering under my breath ).

coffee's ready ,, Hootmix.

[Bent Ramrod]

Where do they breed cats like that? I could use one. :mrgreen:

I made a little double acting vise for my mould recutting experiments, and it’s easy enough to center the thing around the pilot hole in the blocks on a drill press, and then clamp it in position.

Henry Beverage had an article in one of the early Handloader magazines on making a bullet mould. IIRC, his blocks were bronze castings with integral handles. He would start the pilot hole between blocks by clamping them together around a piece of thick paper, which would help the drill stay centered. When the pilot hole was enlarged by successively larger drills to just short of the minor diameter, he would fit the wood handles and put a piece of steel rod that was a sliding fit in the holes in the blocks for the locating pins.

He would then spin the cherry he made in a drill press, hold the blocks in the proper position, and squeeze the handles together slowly around the spinning cherry, opening them frequently to clear chips and check progress. The sliding rods, the centered pilot hole and the equal pressure/friction of each block (plus his undoubted skill) would keep the cavity centered in the blocks. When the cavity was done, he would press fit locating pins in the holes in one block so they engaged the holes in the other block, attach a sprue plate, and the mould was ready for use.

He sold these moulds commercially, and though I’ve never seen one, they had a good reputation back in the day, so the technique must work. Sort of like resting a yardstick by the ends on your extended forefingers and pulling your hands together. Your fingers meet at the center mark because of the equal friction on each side.