RCBS Alignment Pins-Should I adjust?

[drobinson]

I had to return my RCBS 45-405 because the gas check shank was too small to hold a gas check. I received its replacement last night. I took the mold out of the box and found that I could not open it with just my hands, I had to attach the handles to separate the mould halves.

The bottom of the mould will not close without extreme effort. When I close them the way I am comfortable with, there is a large gap in between the mould halves. Per the instructions that came with the mold I am to use a wooden mallet to strike the side of the mould to close it, and that it is good practice to do this on a regular basis while casting. Is this right? I thought if alignment pins were sticking that was a bad thing and would hollow out the female side of the alingment pins causing alignment problems.

I will sit tight and wait for a response before I break somthing.

Thanks
Derek

[Ben]

I've had molds that did this for their first few attempts at casting. One thing to look at is the female pin opening in the block faces. Be certain there are no burrs. I thin film of Bullplate on the pins may help, or use the point of a tooth pick and place some high temp anti - seize compound on the pins ( don't over do this....a tiny film is all this is needed )

Many times after the blocks have been opened and closed 40 - 50 times, things improve and everything begins to work much smoother.

It is important that your blocks close properly and you cannot hold them up to a bright light and see any light coming though the 2 halves.

[HORNET]

It's not unusual to need to adjust the pins just a bit on either Lyman or RCBS molds. Make sure there's no burrs and move them in or out as needed so they just close completely when you put a moderate squeeze on the handles and don't have any play when you try twisting them together. Recheck and re-adjust after you've run a small batch and check them before each run after that. Also check for burrs- I ran about 6 pounds of .270's 2 weeks ago and then noticed that a small burr had popped up near one hole that held the blocks open just a hair. Had to re-melt and re-cast the whole batch 'cause the bore ride nose wouldn't fit into the bore....

[drobinson]

Thanks for your help guys. I had to push the pins in a little with a brass punch and it now works great.