Purple iron mold

[Recycled bullet]

I cast with a steel Noe bullet mold for the first time, earlier this evening. Once it was up to temperature I made a lot of bullets. I made so many bullets that it was bulging a 1 qt freezer bag. I had three defects. That's awfully good for the first time with a mold. Some point during the casting the mold turned purple. Is this normal?

[Winger Ed.]

I've had Iron molds do that. I think the heat does it.
I think these Iron molds get seasoned sort of like Grandma's old cast Iron frying pan.
All my molds are pretty old and well used by now, and don't remember seeing them being purple any more.
Like Grandma's frying pan, they're all a solid black and don't change or add any new colors.

My newest mold is a Lyman DEWC, and I got it used.
It came in with a few heat marks on it, and the area around the hole for the boolit was purple.
But it went away after the first 1/2 coffee can full of my production.
I don't know what difference it makes, but I do run my pot on the hot side.
I crank it up to start, then turn it down a little at a time until I have just the barest hint of frosting.

[Recycled bullet]

I've had Iron molds do that. I think the heat does it.
I think these Iron molds get seasoned sort of like Grandma's old cast Iron frying pan.
All my molds are pretty old and well used by now, and don't remember seeing them being purple any more.
Like Grandma's frying pan, they're all a solid black and don't change or add any new colors.

My newest mold is a Lyman DEWC, and I got it used.
It came in with a few heat marks on it, and the area around the hole for the boolit was purple.
But it went away after the first 1/2 coffee can full of my production.
I don't know what difference it makes, but I do run my pot on the hot side.
I crank it up to start, then turn it down a little at a time until I have just the barest hint of frosting. Hello Winger Ed. It was just the strangest thing, I cast a whole bunch of bullets at 700 degrees Fahrenheit. Almost all of them came out great . I'm powder coating them now and if I can stay awake long enough before this coffee wears off they'll end up being sized too :-) .

I'm accustomed to Casting at 850 to 900 fahrenheit that is the temperature range where my brass Kramer style hollow point pin molds quit misbehaving and start to act right.

[Bazoo]

It's normal for moulds that are new or have been cleaned extensively. I've had it happen on several. The exact temperature and metal composition will affect the color and you might have gotten more purple than someone else.

[JSnover]

I've lapped a handful of iron molds and the cavities usually turn purple afterwards, almost like they're bluing themselves. Doesn't hurt anything.

[Recycled bullet]

It's the most gorgeous purple color. It makes me want to get more steel molds.

[Bazoo]

I like the color myself.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

It's called Heat Stain.
Ya ever see sheet steel that was recently welded ?

[Recycled bullet]

Yes that must be it jonb. It reminds me of racing exhaust after a test run, purples and blues, and the color shifts around the tig welds for the pipes and brackets.

I'll get a pictures today or tomorrow.

[15meter]

NOE steel mold?

Didn't know there was such an animal. And I've got 2 dozen NOE molds.

Learn something new every day. Now I need to go shopping :violin:

[jdgabbard]

Never seen an NOE Steel mold, but I think Arsenal used to cut his earlier molds, and they do offer steel molds. So, it's possible.

But steel/iron is GREAT mold material. I have become partial to Brass for new molds due to the benefits: cheaper, great heat retention, and absolutely stunning beauty before it gets it's patina. That said, I have a lot of old Iron molds from Ideal, Lyman and Hensley Gibbs. But, that said, for what it costs to get a brass mold from Arsenal or Accurate, you can almost buy an iron mold. But MP is still cheaper on the brass molds than either of their Aluminum molds...

[20:1]

An oil film left on a mold will often "blue" the surface. It's pretty fragile and eventually goes away entirely.

[gwpercle]

It's the most gorgeous purple color. It makes me want to get more steel molds.

What is the NOE Mould number ?

I was looking at 38 cal handgun boolit moulds on the NOE website and could find only aluminum and brass ... would surely like to have a NOE Steel Mould ...
Tell us some facts on this .
Gary

[Recycled bullet]

What is the NOE Mould number ?

I was looking at 38 cal handgun boolit moulds on the NOE website and could find only aluminum and brass ... would surely like to have a NOE Steel Mould ...
Tell us some facts on this .
GarySo I just took these pictures right now and the camera does not capture what my eye can see. It's dark cold and raining outside so maybe another day I'll take a picture in the sunlight and it may be able to share the shimmering metallic purple and blues that fascinate me.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240109/a12dd057d2907102a87698de221d689f.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240109/7855f70bf4ad0f461ca9241daf8f8c1e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240109/fa4b276dc1243fe14b31ea2274df6b9b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240109/6093bcb08763b1c4d78777afa18dfb9c.jpg

[jdgabbard]

That looks like a brass mold that has developed a patina. But the blue hue is unusual. Hard to say for sure what the mold is made of from that picture, and if you say it is a steel mold, you're the one holding it. If it is in fact steel, that could be caused by temperature.

[Recycled bullet]

Well i ran it hot and fast just like a brass mold. Once i got the handles installed I placed the mold into the fire and when it was sufficiently hot that it steamed when wiped with the two cycle rag, I began to pour, strike, cut, dump, every 20 seconds for two hours and made a bunch of 30 caliber bullets for my black out project.

I assembled the ammunition on Sunday. Now i need time to shoot!!

[15meter]

https://noebulletmolds.com/site/shop/bullet-moulds/308-311/htc310-225-rn-ce4/htc310-225-rn-ce4-2-cavity-pb-steel/

First one I've ever seen in steel from NOE, they are few and far between on his website.

Wish he made more. I like iron molds.

[Bazoo]

It is beautiful. What'd be worse, someone to scrub the seasoning out of your iron skillet or off your mould?

[country gent]

On steel when hardened you polish it and draw it back to anneal or relieve it straw, purple blue are the collors you look for in that order. Your mold jsut relieved or annealed is what the colors shows.

[gwpercle]

https://noebulletmolds.com/site/shop/bullet-moulds/308-311/htc310-225-rn-ce4/htc310-225-rn-ce4-2-cavity-pb-steel/

First one I've ever seen in steel from NOE, they are few and far between on his website.

Wish he made more. I like iron molds.

:goodpost:
I also like iron / steel moulds and wish he made more .

That C310 -225 - RN design sure looks like it would be a shooter !
Sweet looking mould ... if you post any more photo's , post a picture with the cast boolits it makes ...
Gary

[Recycled bullet]

:goodpost:
I also like iron / steel moulds and wish he made more .

That C310 -225 - RN design sure looks like it would be a shooter !
Sweet looking mould ... if you post any more photo's , post a picture with the cast boolits it makes ...
Garyhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240110/77b639cadd53d350a5c3c287138fc718.jpg

[Recycled bullet]

It is beautiful. What'd be worse, someone to scrub the seasoning out of your iron skillet or off your mould?I don't know Bazoo both of those situations sound awful. I lent a Dutch oven to a Co worker for an afternoon, he cooked, washed it with dawn, didn't oil it, it rusted. He was so embarrassed, then I showed him how to fix the pot with bacon grease. Nobody is permitted to use my bullet molds. The good thing is most people are really lazy and casting bullets is a lot of work so I don't even have to try to keep them away from my molds. Sometime it's funny how those situations sort themselves out.

[Recycled bullet]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240110/d25cd233d9a2a84a993cf7eaa7779bd1.jpg

[Recycled bullet]

I want to figure out zinc casting. That is the original purpose why I purchased this mold.

[Bazoo]

Nice looking bullets. Zinc huh, I've never done it, but I've read about it. That'll be interesting for sure!

[gwpercle]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240110/77b639cadd53d350a5c3c287138fc718.jpg

If they shoot only half as good as they look ... you still got a winner !
Sweet !
Gary

[LeadHead72]

A few years ago I bought a large lot of moulds on GB. One of them was a new-in-box Lyman 4-cavity 429421 with the most gorgeous purple cavities and inner surfaces ever! Gotta say it was extremely difficult to decide to sell that one.

[GregLaROCHE]

You are lucky to get so many good boolits from the get go. Usually it takes a little time for a mold to break-in. However, I have a steel round ball mold that cast a perfect ball the first time. Having the right alloy counts too.

[Recycled bullet]

I think getting the mold hot enough to steam the oily rag, combined with consistent melt temperature I monitor with a lead thermometer allows for the proper cadence of pour, cut, dump, repeat. I think that is how I get good consistent bullets from a mold on the first try.