NEI custom molds?

[targetshootr]

I'm thinking about having a 6 cav 38-40 mold made by NEI but I'm not sure if that's what they do. I checked out their website http://www.neihandtools.com/ and called and emailed but haven't heard back. Anybody used them?

[BruceB]

All NEI moulds are special-order items, as they do not keep any stock on hand. Moulds are cut as orders are received. Just a couple months back, I ordered an NEI mould for my .404 Jeffery rifle, and I had the mould IN MY HANDS eight days after I phoned the order to them. Excellent service, and an excellent mould, too. Mine's aluminum, by the way.

Is there any special reason that you "need" a six-cavity mould? Gotta confess that I've never used such a beast, but I have found that four-cavity moulds use up the metal in my RCBS (22-pound capacity) furnace very quickly...I'd say that I could NOT use a six-cavity unless the bullets were rather small, and such a mould would require breaks in the casting to wait for the furnace to "catch up". This is not my style at all, being more of a "balls-to-the-wall" caster.

Four cavities can turn out one heck of a lot of boolits! Mine routinely deliver upwards of 800 per hour, and even my 2-cavity jobbies can run over 500 per hour if I'm "in the zone".

So, TS, tell us about that belt-fed .38-40, will ya??(grin)

[targetshootr]

That's a great turn around time. I'd settle for a four cavity but no one seem to make the one in 180 gr RN with a single lube groove. I never used a 6 cav but I thought it would speed up the process. My only mold so far is a four cav 44K which allows me to drop about 500 an hour from my RCBS pro-melt. Over in Group Buys, the seem to mostly offer 6 cav. I've started using up most of the lead in the pot and then adding a new batch of ingots because when I add to it as I go, the spout clog up.

[BruceB]

TS, good morning.

Down at the bottom of the page, there's a link to the Cast Boolit Articles. If you click on that, you'll find some good reading on a number of topics, including an article which explains the methods I use for "speed casting". You may find it worthwhile.

[chunkum]

In regard to NEI, go to their web sight and order a catelog. They do offer a lot of options and I've found it much easier to order from them if I get all my specifications lined out and then call in my order by phone. I've got four NEI aluminum moulds and all of them produce excellent bullets. They have been courteous in taking orders and though they have always told me the turn around time would be less than two weeks, it's always been a good bit less than that. As far as handles are concerned, the RCBS handles work well on the two cavity moulds I bought from them, though, with a little file work the Lee's can serve well enough. I like their service and their products.
Best Regards,
chunkum

[targetshootr]

I called and ordered a 6 cav 195 gr RN since it was the only one with a single lube groove or a crimp groove. He said two weeks and I'm already thinking up others I should probably get. If I scortch my credit card is there a Group Card we can use? Kidding, sorta.

[targetshootr]

Speed Casting was a good read, BB. I haven't been pre-heating ingots but that would increase output a great deal. My ingots are muffin shaped though. One thing I do differently is whack the sprue plate over the pot so the sprue drops into it which hasn't caused any serious burns so far and saves one small step in the process. Bought a mold recently from a caster who said wetting the sprue would cause the plate to warp but it hasn't caused any problem that I know of after 15k boolits since I started.


TS, good morning.

Down at the bottom of the page, there's a link to the Cast Boolit Articles. If you click on that, you'll find some good reading on a number of topics, including an article which explains the methods I use for "speed casting". You may find it worthwhile.