.314SP 129Gr. (SKS/AK) Finished Buy

[SwedeNelson]

For information on this buy see the “129 grain SPITZER Sks/AK bullet thread AGAIN! ” thread.

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i80/swedenelson/BULLET%20DRAWINGS/1111-019-314SP129.jpg

This is how N.O.E. is going to run our group buy.

We get 15 members to post on this thread that they want a mould.
You can ether post a “I want” on this thread, PM me or E-mail me
at pbsco1@qwestoffice.net.

Will post a running list of user name and how many cavities / options.
When we get 15 on the list the order will go in for the tooling.
It takes two to three weeks for the tooling to get in.
We will keep the buy open until the tooling gets in.

At that time we will close the buy and ask you to send in your
payment.

It will take another one to two weeks to run the moulds.

Prices will be as follows:
Single cavity mould $68.00 Ea.
Double cavity mould $72.00 Ea.
Three cavity mould $79.00 Ea.
Four cavity mould $85.00 Ea.
Five cavity mould $92.00 Ea.
Plus Shipping/Handling.
Prices are subject to change at any time.

You can mix number of cavities in an order to make 15.
We can cut gas checked and non gas checked cavities
in the same mould if the bullet is designed for it.

Use LEE Commercial 6-Cavity handles (not included).
Lyman, RCBS type top punch furnished with each mould
as well as a sample of Bull Plate sprue plate lube.

Hollow pointing one cavity and furnishing a double
ended pin would be $35.00 Extra.

We will accept Checks, Money Orders and Pay-Pal
Pay-Pal requires a 3% sir-charge.

Our mailing address is:
Night Owl Enterprises
1645 W 150 N
Provo, Utah 84601
801 377-7289

Zip Code List
78681
08043
84601
72529
DH3 2AY
64093
75227
87124
67062
78413
55101
28752
78132
48415
97504
43445
39272
85283
04691




Thank you for your interest in this buy.
Swede Nelson

[SwedeNelson]

Confirmed orders
1 - tjndaltx 4 cavity
2 - mag44uk 4 cavity
3 - Dutch4122 5 cavity
4 - saigafan2008 4 cavity
5 - johnch 4 cavity
6 - Gun Junkie 5 cavity
7 - kendwell 4 cavity
8 - dromia 4 cavity
9 -
10 - swiss 96/11 5 Cavity
11- Clyde 4 cavity
12 - KYCaster 5 cavity
13 - Centex Bill 4 cavity with 1 hollow point
14 - rmaster14145 3 cavity
15 - sixgun shooter 5 cavity
16 - Sleeper1428 4 cavity
17 - inuhbad 4 cavity
18 - BrettT/C 5 cavity
19 - 2dogs 5 cavity
20 - bgokk 4 cavity
21 - lifeon2 5 cavity
22 - Mtgrs737 4 cavity
23 - captain-03 4 cavity


Swede Nelson

[mag44uk]

I would like one in 4 cavity.
Can you supply a top punch to match?
I will be up front and say I would like to see a couple of pics of an actual finished mould before I stump up cash!
Tony

[SwedeNelson]

Tony

All my moulds come with a Lyman/RCBS type top
punch and a sample of Bull Plate sprue plate lube
No problem, will post some pictures for you.

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i80/swedenelson/Picture100.jpg

If you would like I can send you a sample from
one of my moulds too.

Swede Nelson

[Dutch4122]

You can put me down for a 5 cavity mold in this design. Thanks for "taking up the task" on these custom designs Swede! :)

[saigafan2008]

I'm in for one 4-cavity mold.

Thanks,

Carl

[Johnch]

Guess I zoned out and missed this

I will go with a 4 cavity

I was wondering how much the different moulds weigh ? (about is close enough )



John

[SwedeNelson]

johnch

A two cavity with handles weighs about a pound and a half.
If that helps.

Swede Nelson

[Gun Junkie]

I would like to get a 5 cavity. Thanks for being willing to do this buy.

I will watch for the notice to send in $.

Thanks Swede!

[kendwell]

Put me down for a four cavity. I'll also need handles, if that is available.
Thanks

[dromia]

Four cavity please Swede.

[swiss 96/11]

i am in for a 5-Cavity,all my lees are on the small side,Gas checked

[Clyde]

I will take a four cavity.

[KYCaster]

I'd like a five cavity mold.

Jerry

[CENTEX BILL]

Put me down for a 4 cavity mold.

Thanks,

Centex Bill
78132

[rmaster14145]

im in for a 5 cavity mould.

rm

[mag44uk]

I have just emailed a dealer near me who casts and sells to try and get him down for one.
I would like this to get going for selfish reasons!
I am in NJ at the end of August visiting my shooting buddy and could pick up goodies then!
Cheers,
Tony

[rmaster14145]

can i switch to a 3 cavity mould?

i think i like them better

PLZ let me know if this is ok

rm

[sixgun shooter]

I would like to order a 5 cavity mould

[sleeper1428]

I'm putting my order in for a 4 cavity mould. Gas checked version, please.

[SwedeNelson]

16 orders.
Will get the tooling going on this one monday.
Will keep the buy open untel we get the tooling in.

Thanks for the orders.
Swede Nelson

[tjndaltx]

Swede,

I'd like a gas checked mold, please.

Tjndaltx

[inuhbad]

Since another group buy I was hoping to get in fell through...

Can I get in on this Group Buy? I'd like a 4-Cavity mould on this group buy if I can get in on this one...

Thanks, Swede!

[SwedeNelson]

Tjndaltx

How many cavity do you want? and we will get you on the list.

inuhbad

Your on the list.

Swede Nelson

[tjndaltx]

Tjndaltx

How many cavity do you want? and we will get you on the list.

inuhbad

Your on the list.

Swede Nelson

Swede, I want a 4 cavity. I think I'm already on the list but wanted to make sure I got a gas checked mold.

[CENTEX BILL]

Swede:

I had previously written that I want a 4 cavity mold but failed to specific that I want it gas checked.

thanks,

Centex Bill

[SwedeNelson]

Bill

No problem.
The standard design is for a gas check.

Swede Nelson

[2 dogs]

Swede, am I too late to get in on this one? Dang near forgot about it!!!!

[BrettT/C]

I would like to get in on this group buy if I am not too late.
I would like a 5 cavity gas check mold.
Thanks
Brett

[inuhbad]

I'm really looking forward to this one!

Thanks for running it Swede!

Just let me know when to send in a check! I had problems with the 'Group Buy' login link thingie in the past, so if it doesn't work (again), I might just have to send in a check & letter with my information on it.

Thanks!

[CENTEX BILL]

Swede:

If it is possible, I would like 1 cavity of the 4 cavity gas checked mold to be hollowpoint. Understand this $35 extra.

Thanks,

Centex Bill

[SwedeNelson]

2 dogs

Have some time to get in on this one.
Tooling has been ordered so its getting closer.

Centex Bill

Can do the hollow point thing if you want it.

Thanks all for the orders.
Swede Nelson

[2 dogs]

Sweede, I would like a 5 cavity gas check mold please. I will send you a MO in the morning. Its 92 bucks plus how much for shipping? I am in South Texas. Thanks again. Looking forward to getting this mold.

[SwedeNelson]

2dogs

Hold on sending a check until we close the buy.
We have the tooling on order and will put out a
last call as soon as it gets in.

Thanks
Swede Nelson

[BrettT/C]

What type of gas check will this bullet take. Is .30 Hornady correct? Also will sizing down to .309 -.310 be bad for the bullet?

Thanks
Brett

[bgokk]

Put me in for a 4 cavity.:smile:

[2 dogs]

I knew this bullet would move......Thanks again Sweede! Looking forward to owning a bunch of your molds!

[SwedeNelson]

BrettT/C

.30 Hornady gas check.
Should size just fine.
May have to size .314 to get lube
groove filled them size down to your size.

bgokk

Your on the list.
Thanks

Swede Nelson

[geomort]

My bores slug .315, probably more in the throat.
So I'm guessing I need to end up more like .317.
If I "beagle" the mold to get to .317 and push the
bullet allox coated through a .317 lapped die would
the gas check crimp on?
If I'm going to have to "beagle" to get to .317 which
cavity number is best to try? single, double, five?
Thanks,
George

[inuhbad]

Good question... .317 is getting awfully BIG!

[bgokk]

Confirmed orders
1 - tjndaltx 4 cavity
2 - mag44uk 4 cavity
3 - Dutch4122 5 cavity
4 - saigafan2008 4 cavity
5 - johnch 4 cavity
6 - Gun Junkie 5 cavity
7 - kendwell 4 cavity
8 - dromia 4 cavity
9 -
10 - swiss 96/11 5 Cavity
11- Clyde 4 cavity
12 - KYCaster 5 cavity
13 - Centex Bill 4 cavity with 1 hollow point
14 - rmaster14145 3 cavity
15 - sixgun shooter 5 cavity
16 - Sleeper1428 4 cavity
17 - inuhbad 4 cavity
18 - BrettT/C 5 cavity
19 - 2dogs 5 cavity
20 - bogkk 4 cavity


Swede Nelson

The correct name is bgokk. I sure it's a typo. Looking forward to the mold.:)

[SwedeNelson]

Bgokk

Sorry
Fat fingers and small key boards

Got it changed.

Swede Nelson

[lifeon2]

please put me down for a 5 cavity if I'm not too late

Thanks

[SwedeNelson]

lifeon2

Your on the list.

Thanks
Swede Nelson

[lifeon2]

glad I made it in time :-D

[SwedeNelson]

Got the tooling in yesterday

Will close this buy July 11th. will go into the shop the
following week.

If you want this one get on the list soon.
Will send a PM with order information and total cost.

Swede Nelson

[Gun Junkie]

The check is in the mail....no really it is.

[inuhbad]

Mine is on its way too...

[mtgrs737]

Put me down for a four cavity Please, that is if I'm not too late.

[2 dogs]

Payday is on the way! Thanks Sweede, looking forward to checking out your molds!

[mag44uk]

Updating my order to one 4 cavity and two 5 cavities!
PM sent.
Thanks,
Tony

[lifeon2]

payment sent on friday :-D

[Dutch4122]

Payment for one 5 cavity mold dropped off at the post office this evening. Thanks for running this one Swede!:Fire:

[captain-03]

I would like the 4 cav. gas check ..... let me know if I made the cut and check will be sent ..

captain-03

[sleeper1428]

Swede:

Check is going out in today's mail. Thanks for running this GB.

sleeper1428

[captain-03]

Swede: Saw where you add my screen name to the list of confirmed orders (4 cavity) -- check will be mailed today. Thanks!!

[SwedeNelson]

captain-03

You should have got a PM also.

Swede Nelson

[inuhbad]

I saw my check cashed & cleared.

Thanks for running this Group Buy Swede! :)

[rmaster14145]

i sent my a couple of weeks ago, have you got it yet?

ZC 28752

rm

[SwedeNelson]

We are about two and a half weeks behind.

So please bare with us a little longer on our delivery
schedule. Have a few more bugs to iron out and
thing should flow a lot better, It has been fun.

This buy will go to the shop on the 27th.
Still have four payment to come in. Will send PM with
a last call.

Thanks for the orders and your patience.

Swede Nelson

[inuhbad]

I'm getting pretty excited about these! Thanks again, Swede!

[SwedeNelson]

New Zip code list.
78681
08043
84601
72529
DH3 2AY
64093
75227
87124
67062
78413
55101
28752
78132
48415
97504
43445
39272
85283
04691
12306
RG6 7LE
72210
93257
32462


Swede Nelson

[inuhbad]

Thanks for the update, Swede!

I'm getting better and perfecting my own method of casting NICE boolits, and hardening them to be a VERY hard-casting without hardly any deformation. I'm learning this boolit hard casting is a very fine and difficult art to master - but I'm getting there & practicing up for when these molds are done!

It's got me very excited to be able to make my own rifle boolits! :)

[Trey45]

I sure hope I didn't miss the boat on this one, PM sent for a 4 cavity GC.

[SwedeNelson]

Getting closer.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i80/swedenelson/314SP129GR.jpg

Hope to run them the first of the week and ship about Thursday or Friday.

Swede Nelson

[inuhbad]

Those boolits are looking REALLY NICE!!! [smilie=w:

Thanks for doing this group buy, and making it such a NICE & FAST run!!! :drinks:

Thanks Swede!

[captain-03]

Great looking boolits!! Look forward to giving 'em a try!!

Thanks!!

[kendwell]

Swede: pg 2, 3, and 4 on the closed 314 129 gr ak group buy returns a "404, page not found error code." should have mentioned that in 1st message. I assume the shipment is incoming?
Anyways, happy with the mould I got, tho it will be a couple of months before use.
regards,
ken

[Piedmont]

This looks like a fantastic design. It should feed in anything. It should also fit a vast majority of .30ish milsurps from Ishapore .308s (with bands sized .311 or .312) through all the Mosins and into .303 British territory with out having to seat below the case neck. Bravo!

[captain-03]

Update?

[SwedeNelson]

captain-03

Boxing the first run of them up today.
Yours was one of them.
Will go out in tomorrow's mail.

Thanks for the order.
Couldn't do it with out you.
Swede Nelson

[inuhbad]

Thanks Swede!

I got a tracking number today!!! The first batch is definitely out on its way today!!! :drinks:

I can't wait until it arrives! I need to go buy some gas checks ASAP!!! :mrgreen:

I'm so excited for this mould to arrive!!!

[inuhbad]

...SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v401/bannie/ForumPics/314_129gr_SP_GC.jpg

THIS IS ONE NICE MOULD!!! :drinks:

MY MOULD JUST ARRIVED OVER MY LUNCH BREAK TODAY!!! I walked into the lobby and the package was sitting there on the counter waiting for me!

SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL!

I can't wait to cast up a batch of boolits with this thing!!!

Unfortunately, I don't have a set of HANDLES to fit it right now, so I'll have to get those ASAP!!! [smilie=b:

THANKS FOR DOING THIS GROUP BUY!!!

INFINITELY FASTER THAN WAITING FOR LEE, and THIS MOULD IS VERY PRECISELY MACHINED!!!

AWESOME!!! THANK YOU!!!

ETA: Sorry for the crappy cell-phone pic! It doesn't do it justice.

[captain-03]

My 4-Cav also arrived today!! Boy, I am impressed with the workmanship of this mould. It is so "purty" I hate to use it!!

GOOD JOB!!

[2 dogs]

My mold arrived today! Well done Sweede and thank
you! You can be sure it won't be my last NOE mold!

[sleeper1428]

My mould arrived today and I've already taken it out for a spin. Ran into a couple of problems which I've covered in a PM to you. Thanks for doing this GB. As others have already said, the mould itself is a thing of beauty, by far the best looking aluminum mould I have in my fairly large collection. Hope I can work out the kinks so that I can start geting consistently beautiful boolits similar to the ones you showed in the photo you posted a few days ago.

Thanks again.

sleeper1428

[rmaster14145]

got mine today :-P.

its sweet. its my first NOE mould, and not the last. thanks for the fine product. its always great to buy something that has "USA" stamped on it.

sleeper can you let us know the minor problems you encountered? its gonna be awhile before i get to use mine. maybe you can help us all out.

thanks

thanks swede nelson

rm

[sleeper1428]

As I've already stated, the mould itself is a thing of beauty and since I had the time - I'm 71+ and retired so I don't have a lot of other commitments - I decided to get right to it as soon as I got the mould in the mail. As I usually do with any new mould, I cleaned it up using brake cleaner in copious amounts along with a stiff toothbrush until I was satisfied that all machining lubrication and/or storage oil had been completely removed. Then I followed Al's instructions and ran the mould up to a temp of 350-400F three times, allowing the mould to cool between heatings until I could handle it with my bare hands. While I was doing this heating/cooling I had my Lee 20lb Leak-O-Matic bottom pour pot, filled with Taracorp Magnum alloy equivalent (2-6-92), heating up with the dial set on maximum (10). While I didn't measure the temperature of the melt, I'd done so on enough previous occasions to know that the temperature would be at least 800F if not higher. Anyway, once the preliminary heating/cooling had been completed I started casting and after about six pours that resulted in inadequately filled out bases I finally got one where all four bases were completely filled out. That's when I applied the Bullplate Sprue Plate Lube, following the instructions that come with Bullplate Lube, and in addition I applied just a very, very small amount of that same lube to the two steel locating pins.

Once I'd done that I went back to casting but after just a few casts the sprue plate began binding - apparently the set screw hadn't been tightened - and I had to readjust it so that it would just swing closed under its own weight, the way I adjust all my sprue plates. This usually allows enough venting to provide well filled out boolit bases but in the case of this new mould, that didn't completely solve the problem and I continued to see one or more of the bases incompletely filled with each pour. Keep in mind that my pot was still set on maximum - it's a fairly new pot less than a year old - so the alloy should have been at least 800F, if not higher, at that time.

It was during this time that I ran into another problem and that was the difficulty that I encountered getting the mould halves to open and getting the boolits to drop from the mould. I found that I had to give the handle joint bolt one or more good hard raps with my wooden mallet in order to get the halves to open and then, in order to get the boolits to drop free of the mould, I had to continue whacking the bolt several more times before all four boolits would finally come loose. I should state that I had not smoked the cavities - I have rarely had to do so and from the looks of the mould I didn't think it would be necessary - so I just continued casting, hoping that the problem would clear up on its own.

It took a dozen or more casts until I finally started getting well filled out boolits, including the bases, but by this time all the boolits were coming out well frosted. Now, I'm not at all adverse to using frosted boolits. In fact, most of my Lee 6 cavity moulds work best when all the boolits are dropping out frosted. But after seeing those neat, shiny boolits in Al's photo that he posted a few days before sending out the completed moulds, I was really expecting to see those sort of results.

I've PM'd Al and he's cleared up a misunderstanding regarding temperatures that he suggested in the instructions enclosed with the mould. When he states that the mould temperature that works best is below 600F, he's specifically talking about the temperature of the MOULD, not the melted alloy temperature. In fact, he says that he runs his melt at 780-820F which is just about what I had my melt at during my casting session. He also suggested smoking the cavities which I plan to do before my next session and I'll hope that that helps with the difficulties I encountered in getting boolits to drop from the mould. If that doesn't work, I may then go on to Leement the cavities to see if that will solve the problem as it usually does with Lee moulds. I may also go back and soak the mould halves in mineral spirits for a few days and then clean them again with brake cleaner just to make sure that it's not residual lubricant that's causing the problem with incomplete fill out of the bases.

I've been casting boolits for over 25 years and have run into my share of difficult moulds so I don't think the few minor problems that I encountered are going to be hard to overcome. Each mould has its own characteristics and one just has to work at it until one figures out what the mould likes in the way of heat, alloy temperature, pour speed, etc. And once I figure that out for this mould, I expect to be getting some great boolits out of it.

Hope this helps out.

sleeper1428

[Blammer]

for the bases not being filled out, I'd suspect that you got some bullplate in them. I've done that and immediately noticed that the bases were not filling out. I had to clean them again, or at least the base area, then back to normal.

[Johnch]

Mine arived last night
But I am working 7 - 12's
So maybe I will put off sleep a hour or 2 tonight and cast a few

John

[sleeper1428]

for the bases not being filled out, I'd suspect that you got some bullplate in them. I've done that and immediately noticed that the bases were not filling out. I had to clean them again, or at least the base area, then back to normal.

That's very possible although as I stated, I was able to get well filled out boolits once they started coming out frosted. But as soon as I backed the heat on the pot down from a setting of 10 to 9 or 8.5, back came the incompletely filled bases. I am, however, going to to clean the mould again and this time I'll probably soak it in mineral spirits for a couple of days before using the brake cleaner/toothbrush routine a second time. And when the Bullplate goes on the second time, it will be put on in a much more sparing amount so as not to get into the cavities.

Thanks for the suggestion.

sleeper1428

[sleeper1428]

Woke up this morning with every intention of spending the better part of the day trying to get the new NOE mould working properly. However, that sneaky fella Murphy stepped in and generally screwed up my plans. While checking my email, one of my four external hard drives started clattering and clicking and then promptly quit. Fortunately, this one was an older 250GB unit that I was using to store a few old AVI files from my son's video camera taken a couple of years ago and awaiting being processed and turned into DVD's when I got around to doing the work. Also on there were my Disk Image files done just after I'd loaded all my other software in order to make restoring and reinstalling the OS a whole lot easier. Anyway, once I got the drive unhooked I bagged it up in a big Ziplock bag and stuffed it into the freezer. According to several sources that I contacted, a 24 hour stay in a deep freezer and then a quick reconnect will often restore the ability of a HD to be read, at least for a short period of time that varies between a few minutes all the way up to several months. No one really has a good reason why this works but I'm hoping that in my case it does work so I can retrieve those now inaccessible files.

Once I had that taken care of, my wife found several other things for me to do so I didn't get to cleaning the mould again until around 6:30PM. Once again I cleaned it with copious amounts of brake cleaner and a trusty toothbrush - I decided to bypass the immersion in mineral spirits for the time being - and then perched it on the Lee 20lb Leak-O-Matic to heat up. After at least a half hour warm up, I began casting and this time I got good base fill on the fourth pour at which point I put just a couple of tiny dots of Bullplate on the mould's sprue surface and the underside of the sprue plate. Then I used a Q-tip to distribute these small dots of lube all over the surfaces, making sure to stay well away from the actual openings of the mould cavities. After that, casting seemed to go fairly well with 85-90% of all boolits filling out completely, including the bases. However, the same problem remained in regard to getting the boolits to drop free of the mould halves and it still required some rather hard whacks of the wood mallet to get them out. I had lightly smoked the cavities before I began heating the mould but that didn't seem to make any difference.

Anyway, I was on about my 10th or 11th pour when, after whacking the handle joint bolt five or six times to get the last boolit to drop out, one half of the mould suddenly dropped into the sprue box! You guessed it - the end of one side of the Lee handles had broken right through the mould retention screw hole. The metal is quite thin right at that point and I guess it just couldn't take the hard whacks that were necessary to get the boolits to drop from the mould. Fortunately, when I got on the Internet and went to Midway, it turned out that they had the handles in stock so now I've got a couple of them coming to me so I should be back in business within a week or so. During that time I'm probably going to Leement those NOE cavities and hope that takes care of the difficulty with getting the boolits out of the mould.

So as I said, it's been kind of a bad day, what with a blown HD and now a broken and useless set of mould handles. Guess I won't try to do anything else of any import this evening since it appears that whatever I touch today turns to you know what!!

sleeper1428

[SwedeNelson]

sleeper1428

Sorry to hear about your bad day.

My offer still stands if you cant get your mould to perform
as it should we will send you out a new one.

I hate to think we sent out a bad mould - but it could happen.

This offer goes out to any one that is not happy with a mould.
And we do offer a 100% money back guarantee.

Please keep me posted.
Swede Nelson

[rmaster14145]

just test drove my mould.

i did what the inst. said to do first. then began to pour. i noticed my boolits were not filling out also. i was running the pot fairly cool. i figured may as well crank up the heat. after this the boolits filled out much better. the boolits were now dropping , stubbornly, a bit frosty. too bad because thats when it cast the best. at this point the boolits began sticking to the mould. i figured it was just too hot.

before i cast again im gonna smoke the mould. boolits sticking was my biggest problem...BUT i think it was my fault for not smoking the mould.

i gotta hand it to you SWEDE that mould is a work of art. now if i can do my part and get it to cast as good as it looks.

rm

[captain-03]

OK -- gonna give mine a try tomorrow .... will let ya'll know how it goes --

rmaster - BTW, what alloy are you using ??

[sleeper1428]

just test drove my mould.

i did what the inst. said to do first. then began to pour. i noticed my boolits were not filling out also. i was running the pot fairly cool. i figured may as well crank up the heat. after this the boolits filled out much better. the boolits were now dropping , stubbornly, a bit frosty. too bad because thats when it cast the best. at this point the boolits began sticking to the mould. i figured it was just too hot.

before i cast again im gonna smoke the mould. boolits sticking was my biggest problem...BUT i think it was my fault for not smoking the mould.

i gotta hand it to you SWEDE that mould is a work of art. now if i can do my part and get it to cast as good as it looks.

rm

Although I'm sorry that you're having the problems you describe, at least you've confirmed to one extent or another that I'm not completely crazy. As I'm sure you've noted from my earlier posts, I had precisely the experience that you've described - a need to heat both the mould and the alloy VERY high - to a point where the boolits are coming out well frosted - before you were able to get consistently complete fill out of both boolit grooves and base on all cavities. And I note that you've also experienced the reluctance of the mould to relinquish its grip on the boolits, a reluctance that necessitated the use of many rather hard blows with the wood mallet to not only open the mould halves but also to get the boolits to drop from the mould. And as you may also have noted, the force of the blows required rather quickly led to the breakage of my Lee mould handles!

I'm also going to try smoking the cavities fairly heavily and I may even try spraying them with Frankfort Arms Drop-Out, a graphite spray that has, on occasion, helped with this problem on one or two of my Lee moulds. If these measures don't solve the problem, Leementing, or in this case NOEmenting, will be the next step and it's my bet that doing so will solve the problem once and for all.

As you say, the mould is such a beauty that it just begs to be worked on until it's dropping beautiful boolits. Let us know if your smoking of the moulds clears up the 'sticking' problem. I'm sort of on hold right now, waiting for my new Lee mould handles to arrive, so I won't be doing any real experimenting for at least a week or so.

sleeper1428

[SwedeNelson]

sleeper1428

After reading yours and rmaster14145 post I had to see what was going on.
Got a new in the box mould (all I had was a three cavity) cleaned it with hand cleaner
that the wife keeps on the back of the sink for the kids to clean with and a old tooth
brush.
Fired up the pot and reread your post as it heated up.
Set mould on top of pot to heat as things came up to temp.

First four pours at 600 deg to get blocks hot.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i80/swedenelson/314SP-129Gr001.jpg

Lightly smoked cavity's
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i80/swedenelson/314SP-129Gr002.jpg

Temp was about 710 to 720 deg.
Cast this pile in just a few minutes
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i80/swedenelson/314SP-129Gr003.jpg
Not all perfect but usable.

[Side note: This bullet does have a very deep lube groove and will hang up.
If you get a stubborn one try closing the mould and opening it again. Some times this
will release it.]

In conclusion I would have to say we have a problem with your moulds
and if you would send them back we will find out what is going on and replace
them.

I hope this is agreeable with you.
Swede Nelson

[captain-03]

Swede -- what alloy did you use?

[SwedeNelson]

captain-03

We spec our mould with wheel weights so that's all I keep on hand.
I use it so I can check the shop on machining tolerances.

Swede Nelson

[rmaster14145]

cptn, im using WW.

i smoked my mould today but have not tried it again.

swede, in your post above pic #1 is exactly what i was getting when my pot was set to the lower temp. the only problem i have now is the boolits sticking to the mould. i think that will go away the next time i use the mould.

the boolits i cast with the temp turned up are great looking. they are not bright and mirror like. they really do not look too frosty ( i just went and looked ) they look like....well lead boolits.

ill report back when i cast again...maybe next weekend.

rm

[inuhbad]

That's an incredibly generous offer, Swede!

However, I've not yet had enough free time yet to cast up some of these boolits yet... I feel that I cannot simply send it back in unless I'm surely experiencing problems with my boolit mould!

I'm going to do the same thing I always do with my boolit moulds - I'm going to degrease it really good, put a little kroil or militec in there, and then heat up the mould! I'll degrease it again, then smoke the mould and star up with some casting!

I LIKE that the bullet lube grooves are so deep - this makes it much more suitable for sizing & lubing over a wider range of diameters...

I can't get to casting tonight because tonight is 'date night' where I have to take the wifey out on the town for some R&R. Tomorrow night I should be able to heat up the casting pot & give it a good run though!

Thanks again Swede! I'll let you all know how they cast up! :)

[sleeper1428]

Thanks for the offer to repair/replace the mould, Swede. But after looking at your results I'm inclined to think that it must be something I'm doing that's causing the problems and not a problem with the mould itself. I won't be getting my new Lee handles until the end of the week so I won't be able to get back to testing out the new mould until then. I was particularly drawn to the photo of your lightly smoked mould - it looked precisely the way mine did before I began casting the second time. And as I reported, that amount of smoking, at least in my hands, didn't seem to do much to reduce the difficulty in getting the boolits out of the mould.

So rather than send back the mould, I'm going to try a few other things first, things such as heavier smoking, the use of Frankfort Armory Drop-Out spray, Leementing, or rather NOEmenting the mould and perhaps even increasing the percentage of tin in my alloy from its present 2% up to 3 or 4%. That really shouldn't make a big difference but I may just try it to see if it has any effect. As I said in an earlier message, I've used my own version of 2-6-92 for over 20 years and have never had a real problem with inadequate fill-out of cavities or bases but this may just be one of those moulds that requires a higher percentage of SN in order to fill properly.

I'll let you know the results of my experimentation.

sleeper1428

[Clyde]

64093 - Mine arrived while I was out of town; it looks great but it will be some time before I can test drive it. I am pleased to see the mould properly identified.

Thanks for a great product.

[bgokk]

64093 - Mine arrived while I was out of town; it looks great but it will be some time before I can test drive it. I am pleased to see the mould properly identified.

Thanks for a great product.

Ditto the above comments. Don't know when I will be able to give it a test drive.:cbpour:

[dromia]

Mine arrived today Al at DH3 2AY, another fine looking mould.

[Gun Junkie]

Got my 5 cavity in and cast up some boolits on Labor day to try it out.

I cleaned and heavily smoked my mould. Warmed it up on top of my electric pot. Used the bullplate as instructed. The first few castings weren't real good...of course, and I was having a little trouble getting them out. I had read the earlier posts and was a little concerned, then about the 4th or 5th pour, good boolits! I also had some problems with the bottoms not filling out but that cleared up when I did a continuous pour and made sure to have a thick one piece sprue across all 5 cavities. Yeah, sometimes I gotta tap to get them all out, I do lite taps and they always eventually come out. Very few of my moulds let a boolit just drop out and come to think of it most of the ones that do are single cavity moulds or very shallow lube grooves.

I'm very pleased with the NOE mould. Great job Swede and great turn around time! Thanks for your hard and accurate work. This has been a great group buy.

For you guys that haven't gotten to use your mould, I think you're all gonna be real pleased. I am.

[sleeper1428]

Digging around in my corner of the garage, I discovered a second pair of Lee 6 cavity handles to replace the pair that broke the other day. So this afternoon I did some more casting, trying to figure out what works with this particular mould. First off, I coated the 4 cavities with some NEI Mould Prep that I've had in the cabinet for many, many years and then once again I fired up the Lee 20lb Leak-O-Matic bottom pour pot, filled with my usual 2-6-92 alloy. Perched the mould on the top of the pot and left it to heat for over 45 minutes and then, before beginning to pour, I stuck the corner of the mould into the melt for half a minute or so just to try to get the mould up to proper temperature.

The first four pours were much the same as before - wrinkled boolits and bases that weren't filled out. But they did drop out just a bit easier, although not a whole lot better than before. Anyway, then I started doing some serious casting and over the course of casting over 150 boolits I discovered a very interesting thing about this particular mould. If I let the silver stream hit the countersunk area of the sprue plate and then cascade into the cavity, I could almost be sure that I'd get a boolit with an incompletely filled out base. However, if I directed the stream directly into the sprue hole and thus directly into the cavity, 95+% of the boolits came out completely filled out, including the bases. As before, the pot was set to maximum temperature (10 on the dial) and the melt temp as I was casting was a bit above 920F, as indicated on my Lyman casting thermometer, which should be more than adequate. But what was interesting was that even at that temperature I didn't get a single frosted boolit during the entire casting session. I don't have a thermometer with a small enough shaft to fit into one of the mould cavities so I can't tell you what the mould temp was at this time but my guess would be that it was below 600F since, as I said, I was getting no frosted boolits.

Unfortunately, I still had basically the same problem as before in regard to the difficulty in getting the boolits to drop out of the mould. Lots of whacks with the wood mallet were necessary on each pour so I guess my next step will be to try the Frankfort Arms Drop Out spray and see if that helps to alleviate the problem. And if that doesn't do it, the next step will be to NOEment the mould cavities using either toothpaste or Bon Ami as the abrasive agent. But one way or the other I'm going to get this beautiful mould working. It's just too pretty to give up on!!

Oh, one final thing of note. While I think that the sprue plate pivot screw and the sprue plate stop screw were probably adjusted properly before the moulds were shipped, I've got a feeling that the set screws for these adjusting screws were NOT tightened to any great extent. I say this because I've had to adjust both of these screws and then tighten the set screws before they would hold their position. Not a real problem but just something to think about before you begin casting.

sleeper1428

[captain-03]

I broke out the new mould yesterday afternoon. Began by placing it in the oven at 450 to heat-up and then cook back down to room temp. Did this 3 times. Took some mineral spirits and cleaned the mould really well with a toothbrush.

Melted down 10lbs of WW (no tin added) and started casting a few. Keep the temp around 650 and all the boolits were coming out with wrinkles - lots of wrinkles. Cast about 100 and could not get a good cast. On a good note - they were actually dropping from the mould pretty well. The grandson came over about that time so I quit for the evening.

Decided to give it another try today. Re-melted all the boolits from yesterday and cranked the Lee pot up as high as it would go (using a 10lb pot full) ... placed the mould on the top until the melt temp was about 800. Then tilted the mould so that the top third was sitting on top of the melt. Let it stay there for about 5 minutes. The started casting again. The first couple of cast were had a couple "little wrinkles" in. After the first 3 or 4 drops, the boolits began to look pretty good - they were frosted a little. I kept on casting but turned the temp control down. When the temp reached around 750 the frosting disappeared and the boolits were looking good. They all dropped from the mould pretty well with a couple raps to the handles and then a little shake of the mould - I did nothing to the mould to help with the drop - I DID NOT SMOKE IT OR USE ANY AGENT TO ASSIST WITH THE DROP-OUT. May try smoking the mould on the next session even though drop-out was not a major problem.

I cast-up a little over 400 with very few rejects. BTW, I am using the 4-cavity mould.

The only problem I experienced was the loose sprue plate screw … it wants to loosen up after 8-10 pours. Tried tightening the set screw but it seems pretty well tight. Will work on that later.

My best results came from starting with a really hot mould and melt. I gradually decreased the heat until the spruce took about 2 to 3 seconds to harden.

I measured about 20 of the boolits and they all came out at .315 at the driving bands. They weigh between 133.2 to 133.7. To say the least, I am very, very pleased with this mould

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss241/captain-03/IMG_2308.jpg

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss241/captain-03/IMG_2312.jpg

[sleeper1428]

Although I know that it made Al 'cringe', I went ahead and NOEmented my four cavity mould using Crest toothpaste as the abrasive agent. I'm fortunate enough to have an old Atlas lathe so I just chucked up four or five well filled out boolits, bored a half inch deep hole in the base of each with a #38 drill and then screwed a small hex head sheet metal screw into each boolit. Rather than using a drill to turn the abrasive coated boolit, I chose to turn the boolit with a 1/4" socket and T-handle, basically because I was holding the mould halves in my hand and I felt I would get a better feel for the action of the abrasive if I did it by hand. I'm sure that others who are more skilled are able to get equally good results using the slow turning drill method.

I turned each boolit until the mould halves came together and then once I'd done all four cavities, I cleaned up the cavities and then repeated this NOEmenting a second time, using a new abrasive coated boolit. When I finished this pass, I again cleaned up the mould halves and then using another new boolit, I did a third NOEmenting pass, this time using silver polish to give a nice finish to the cavities. A final soap and water scrubbing followed by a thorough brake cleaner wash and toothbrush scrubbing and I was ready to try casting again.

I put the Lee 20lb Leak-O-Matic pot on maximum - same alloy 2-6-92 - and set the mould on top of the pot for over an hour to heat up. When I finally started casting it took only two pours before I was getting well filled out boolits, including the bases, and after a couple of these pours I put a very skimpy amount of Bullplate on the top of the mould surface and on the underside of the sprue plate. After that I got down to some serious casting in the short time I had left.

Considering that I had a limited amount of time, I was still able to cast over 100 boolits, with 90-95 of them coming out perfect as far as I was concerned. And the best thing was that it took only a few moderate raps on the handle bolt to get the boolits to drop out of the mould, quite a difference and a decided improvement over the multiple hard whacks that it had taken to achieve that same result before the NOEmenting.

I've included a photo of some of the boolits that came out of this last batch and as you'll notice, there is very little if any frosting even though my pot is set to the maximum setting and remained there for the entire casting session. As I told Al, my Lyman thermometer's shaft is too large to fit into one of the cavities so I wasn't able to measure the mould temperature but considering that the boolits are NOT frosted, I'd be willing to bet that the mould temp was not over 600F and probably was somewhat less.

Now please remember, this is what worked for me and I'm not suggesting that anyone else do what I did. These moulds are beautifully done and it may just be that my particular mould had some problem. I could have sent it back to Al but I just decided that I'd try what had worked for me on numerous NEI and Lee aluminum moulds. And as it turned out, I was right this time. But please, try out the mould and follow Al's instructions before you even think about doing anything to your mould. Chances are it will work just fine for you and you'll have saved yourself a lot of headaches.

sleeper1428

[captain-03]

Well I have finished casting with this mould for awhile - got about 1500 ready to go. What is the best way to store this mould for - let's say - a 6-8 month period before the next use?

[mag44uk]

All 3 moulds made it here,RG6 7LE UK,in VERY good order.
Thanks for your efforts on these moulds.
Now looking forward to having a casting session.
Regards,
Tony

[inuhbad]

WELL, I got MY MOLD up & running GREAT!

I didn't do NEARLY half the prep work the rest of y'all are doing!

I just dunked mine in Acetone for about 3-5 minutes, pulled it out, and just blow on it so the acetone quickly 'evaporates' away!

Then once I was 100% SURE the acetone was gone after waiting a couple minutes, I took some strike anywhere matches, and just lightly smoked the mold. Set my pot up between 8&9 (about 8.25 if I could be so precise) on my 20# Lee Drip-O-Matic, and set the mold on top of the pot...

Once all was melted, I cast about 30 'warm-up' bullets, and after that all the wrinkles were gone, the mold was up to heat, and she was turning out some REALLY NICE bullets!!!

I agree, I had a little 'fuss' getting the sprue plate screw tensioned & tightened good at firse, but once it was locked in tight it did a fair job of staying locked - unlike some other LEE molds I've tried...

I only cast about 100 boolits, because I don't have much brass yet to load anyway - then I went back to casting 45 Boolits...

Sorry I don't have pics, all i have is my crummy cell phone - but these are turning out GREAT!

THANKS FOR THIS EXCELLENT GROUP BUY, SWEDE!!! I'll DEFINITELY be buying another NOE MOLD IN THE NEAR FUTURE!!!

[Daryl]

Too bad I missed this group buy - I'd go for one of these. Anyone have one they want to part with or start another GB

[SwedeNelson]

Daryl

We have a small buy going that you can get in on.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=65839
Its listed as closed but we can get you in.

Swede Nelson

[Wayne S]

Al, check will go out tomorrow for a 5 cavity SP

[kbstenberg]

Swede when you started the thread for the .314 129gr boolit you had stated that you were going to make the same boolit in .311. Are you going to start a thread soon for the .311. I just don't want to miss it.

[Wayne S]

Kbestenburg,
Look at the projected delivery date on the NOE delivery schedule for the 7 Hunter, that GB went into order mode about 15 Dec.
Now look at a caliper and see what .004 is, ie; .314 - .310, Thats what I did, as I to wanted a .311 copy of this mold BUT I didn't feel like waiting and from a question I asked about "excessive" sizing, everyone said .004 ain't squat, and I got some good ideas about sizing.
Just my $.02.

[Wayne S]

Could someone this has this mold tell me what the spru plate hole I D is ?? , IE; the what is the ID of the hole in the spru plate ??