Mold Quality?

[mdi]

I scanned the stickies and a couple other sub forums but didn't find what I'm questioning. I Have some old Ideal and Lyman molds and a lot of Lee molds and I can get good boolits from all them, but have been looking at other manufacturers and wondering. I know the premium custom and semi-custom molds are normally top quality but I'm curious about a few others; new Lyman, Saeco, and RCBS. I've been casting for a while and know individual molds can have "personalities" and need specific methods, temps., etc., but overall what's the quality like on these three? Looking at 2 cavity, but haven't ruled out 4 cavity, and have no real preference for a specific mold metal (steel, brass, alum.). Any thoughts?

[RED BEAR]

I just purchased my first new lyman and it cast wonderfully. Have had plenty used molds from other makers that work with varying degrees of success. Mp molds is another new mold that i bought and i have been singing there praises ever since. I have had good service out of lee molds but will not put in same class as others.

[RogerDat]

Lee is a "Chevy" mold. Not top of the line but affordable for "everyman". MP and NOE molds are good quality in my experience. Lyman have not been a disappointment either.

My experience while not extensive, some have more molds in one pistol caliber than I own for all pistol calibers, I will say don't buy molds to let them sit on the shelf as decorations. I buy a mold to use it.

Really I don't think any of the molds are lacking in reasonable quality for the price paid. I do think within the same mold material there is something of diminishing returns at the higher price points. The improvement going from a Lee 6 cavity at $38 and an NOE 4 cavity at $99 is more significant than the improvement that doubling the price of the NOE mold would buy.

Some also depends on if one considers casting an enjoyable part of the hobby in itself as opposed to a step in the goal of being able to do more shooting for less money. Nothing wrong with either one. Does mean that how bothered on is by a longer casting session with a 2 or 4 cavity mold is relative. The hobbyist caster doesn't mind the lower productivity, the shooter motivated caster may not consider it a good mold choice.

[Walks]

The trouble I had with Undersized Lyman molds a few years ago, turned me off Lyman.
Their Customer Service is just about as bad as the Lee guarantee. They have girls answering the phones that KNOW NOTHING about Casting/Reloading. Just about part numbers.

I've had FANTASTIC luck with N.O.E. & ACCURATE Molds. Going to buy an Arsenal mold next.:groner:

[Outpost75]

+1 for Accurate and NOE. Quality top notch and great folks to deal with.

[cwlongshot]

I recently have been using a couple RCBS and Saeco molds and I am VERY impressed with them!

I have a few NOE & Accurate alum molds and they are top shelf too! I just bought my first Brass mold its a NOE and It is heavy but I like it allot.

Lyman has been good to me and for the most part so has Lee. But the bullets are different looking.

Im gonna be buying a RCBS 45 mold soon. I had a LBT years ago and must have lent it because I haven't been able to find it for some time. I saw that the RCBS 300 WFN is very close to it and cheaper then having another custom one cut. Knowing how well the three RCBS molds I have are doing... I have no reservations on another!

Going forward, I will be owning more NOE & Accurate molds.

CW

[Conditor22]

New commercial RCBS and Saeco molds are top-notch,
NOE makes excellent custom molds (haven't dealt with Accurate or Mihec but have heard good things about them

NOE is now doing group buys, I prefer supporting an American company.

Lyman/Ideal - their old molds are excellent then they got lazy and outsourced the labor and quality control. I've seen too many bad newer Lyman molds and hear many bad reports (recently a few good) about their customer service. I believe Lyman used to have the same warranty as RCBS -- not any more.
For me, Lyman has a long road to travel before it gets back the quality and reputation that greed and laziness destroyed.

[marek313]

I dont have dozens of various molds like some of the old timers here but I have few Lee, Lyman, Saeco, NOE. I never had any major issues with none of those and my biggest issue would be undersized bullets and that I will consider as a manufacturers fault if not up to size with correct alloy. Picking a favorite mold is the same as picking a favorite gun. Very subjective and 100 people will give you 100 different answers. I agree that Saeco or NOE are little bit better quality but I dont think its enough for me not to pick up any of those manufacturers.

What it comes down to is preference. I actually like Lee very much and prefer Lee sprue plate over NOE or Saeco. I shouldnt need a 2x4 or a jig to open up my mold and I think Lee has the easiest sprue plate to open up on a 6 cavity mold. I have 4 cavity NOE and Saeco which are much harder to open up which is the reason people build jigs just to fix that issue.

Also I dont know which mold you are looking for but you can find a lot of good solid used molds being sold here on this forum from other members for a very good price. I got a 4 cavity brass Saeco #68 for $65 and used 4 cavity NOE 358-155-TC just recently for $55 so if you look around you can pick up good used molds for a very good price. I dont recommend getting molds from ebay though as many of those are rejects from users that dont know how to use those properly.

[KenT7021]

I have bought a number of Ideal and Lyman molds from Ebay without getting a bad mold.From the posts I've read where someone with a bad mold talks about selling the mold on Ebay you are taking a chance.I have a few substandard molds.They're in a box in my shop and will not be sold.They're all the same brand and not Lyman.I've bought some new Lyman molds over the last few years.They've all been satisfactory.Saeco molds are excellent quality as well.

[georgerkahn]

My first query to purchase a mould is in fact the mould size I'm seeking. As but one example -- and forgive my ignorance if there are off-the-shelf versions -- I bought, many years ago a Victory S&W revolver in .38 S&W, wanting a 0.361" bullet. It turned out Buffalo appears to be the only provider of this mould, and in house makes these using SAECO/Redding blocks -- the mould is a clone of what manufacturers used in the "time" of this, and Colt New Police caliber revolvers.
So -- in a case like this, there's not much choice. On the other hand, if you look at the ubiquitous 0.358" 148 grain double end wad-cutter, I'd suggest many, many manufacturers offer this. My personal favourites seem to be two-cavity brass moulds made by MP and NOE; two, three, and 4-cav moulds by Redding, RCBS and Lyman. Not (my personal "likes") a fan of Lee moulds -- I have two -- just like the .361" one -- are the only ones which cast the bullets I wanted. All moulds have their own "personalities", and -- to me -- cast quite nicely.
Cutting to the chase, MY "recommendation" is to think of the bullet you wish to cast, first; then, look for a source. Quite a few of mine came quite, quite used from great members on this sight; and, eBay.
BEST!
geo

[RogerDat]

.......
Picking a favorite mold is the same as picking a favorite gun. Very subjective and 100 people will give you 100 different answers......


To paraphrase an old saying: If you ask three casters who makes the best molds you will get at least four answers. So with a hundred.... expect at least 133 different answers on which is "best". :-)

I will say that size is a function of alloy and temperature. The hotter the lead the more expanded it will be, thus the more it will contract when it gets to room temperature. I point that out because I do wonder if sometimes the "undersized" bullets reported may not be the molds fault. Not to say no one ever gets a mold that casts undersized. Accurate mold wants to know the alloy you plan to cast to take some of that variability into account.

I find going from a two cavity aluminum SWC from Lee and an iron WC from Lyman my pace really had to change or I had to tweak the temperature of the lead being poured to match the mold. Iron/Steel held heat so got less cooling between dropping the bullet and filling the mold again. I was building up the temp of the mold as I cast more than I did with the aluminum at the same pace. Not that one is better or worse but switching did involve a bit of change on my part to get good results.

[sw282]

l prefer Hensley&Gibbs molds...RUN from anything that says RCBS... Customer service is ZERO... You may as well be calling Santa Clause at the North Pole... RCBS is now owned by Vista 0utdoors.. All customer service calls go to some switchboard in Wisconsin, regardless the number

[1Hawkeye]

Arsenal molds are a quality multiple cavity mold for what lyman gets for a single cavity. I also have others such as Ideal/lyman,hoch,rcbs, & lee but the arsenal's aren't quirky like the others. Another thing I learned is with lyman molds the older the better.

[RobS]

If thinking about a Lyman, RCBS or mold then one could go with a custom/semi custom mold as the price is nearly the same however you can request exactly the diameter you want. Arsenal seems to be the least expensive and the quality is very, very good and then next is NOE followed by Accurate Molds and the MP molds which all have excellent quality too. Personally, we are so blessed with quality mold makers now a days that I will never buy another Lyman, RCBS or Saeco mold. Lee................yes if the mold design is what I am after because the price point is just too good and I have the mechanical ability to "help" a lee mold work should the need be.

[RED BEAR]

The main reason i like the lee molds while others may be better quality molds is the weight i have arthritis in my hands and the light weight helps.

[osteodoc08]

Miha is in Slovenia but does awesome work. Turn around times can be slow from sign up to delivery but he has improved leaps and bounds from a few years ago. Top notch product.

Accurate allows you to custom design and make whatever your heart desires. That is truly a custom affair and again, top notch stuff.

I’ve got more NOE molds than any other. It’s nice to be able to pick up the phone and call Al Nelson the owner and get, Al Nelson. He answers any questions I may have and can assist in choosing the appropriate mold.

I’ve also got molds by Lyman, RCBS, LBT, Arsenal, Lee, etc. All good molds but there is a quality difference between Lee and the others. Lee’s benefit is that most have handles already and they are lightweight. Pound on a 4+ cavity brass mold for a casting session and I feel it. I’ve been buying mostly 2-4 cavity aluminum molds now because of the weight. Call me weak or whatever but after casting a few hours, I’ll definitely feel it.

[samari46]

Saeco molds never had a problem with. Two Rcbs molds cast undersize and of the 6 or so lyman molds only their 314299 casts where they say it is supposed to cast and I have two of them. Accurate is going to be my next mold maker. Frank

[lightman]

I'm slowly collecting H&G molds in the calibers that I cast a lot of. They can be hard to find but are a pleasure to cast with. I've never had a problem with RCBS molds. I have a new Accurate mold that is top quality and is a pleasure to cast with. There is a lot of negative stuff posted about Lyman now days. Saeco's quality seems to be holding up ok.

[Budzilla 19]

My one and only mold besides Lee is a NOE .45 hp mold that I’ll be darned if I can make this aggravating thing work! ( got to be operator error) I’ve done everything to make it work. As far as quality of that mold, it is top shelf. Oh well, forward we go!

[RobS]

Adjust the alloy temp. hot. What alloy?


My one and only mold besides Lee is a NOE .45 hp mold that I’ll be darned if I can make this aggravating thing work! ( got to be operator error) I’ve done everything to make it work. As far as quality of that mold, it is top shelf. Oh well, forward we go!

[Budzilla 19]

RobS, the mold doesn’t close square is part of the problem. It is open at the bottom, but if I take off the handles, it closes perfectly! By perfectly, I mean square with no gap top or bottom.Like the handles are “ tweaked “ some kind of way. So, before I adjust these handles, which I paid a premium for, I’ll just send it back and have NOE fix it. Ally is ww/2% tin mostly. No thermometer but I run it hotter than my Lee 6 camvity molds for sure.The few boolits I get are wonderful. And it will NOT LET GO of the boolits from the hp pins. I preheat with a hot plate, have polished the pins, hollow point ones that is, cup points work half way ok.im at a loss to put it mildly. When I get it back I’ll let you know how it works, if it does. So, like I said, forward we go. Got other .45 molds that work with no problems and just rain boolits.:castmine:

[MT Chambers]

Of the molds mentioned by OP, I go: 1.)Saeco
2.)RCBS
3.)Lyman
4.) Something I cobbled up in my basement with a drill
5.)Lee