First mold was a B&M 311169 that I got off ebay, at least 10yrs ago, maybe more. You could get get molds relatively cheap on ebay back then, then all the rest of you guys came along!
Printable View
First mold was a B&M 311169 that I got off ebay, at least 10yrs ago, maybe more. You could get get molds relatively cheap on ebay back then, then all the rest of you guys came along!
My first mols was a Lyman full wadcutter.... Jeff
I started with a Lyman RB mold for my 1860 repop.
My first make of mold is Lyman .I got by mail order. for 30cal and 38cal..Still use them.
Bought a used h&g #50 6-cavity and was bright enough to buy a lee #10 pot to feed it. Learned about pre-heating molds real quick on a electric burner. Seemed like I'd just get into a rhythm and the pot would be empty. That lead to another lesson, namely having a large melt pot staged and ready with heated alloy to feed the lee #10 pot.
I still pre-heat my molds and stage #100 pots of alloy when I want to do any serous casting. The 6/8/10-cavity molds go thru a bunch of lead in a hurry. I also did switch over to a lee #20 pot for short runs/casting sessions.
Lyman .652 round ball single mold for a BP flintlock Tower pistol reproduction my father gave me for Christmas when I was 13.
IDEAL/LYMAN
My Dad passed down the single cavity molds I learned on:
#311291
#358446
#429251
#452460.
2 sets of small handles.
I found a small old 2 burner COLEMAN Stove with an ancient cast iron pot and dipper at a garage sale. Could still get WW in CALIF back in the mid-70's. Cast .38's & .45's for 6 months until I could afford a Lube-Sizer and sizer dies and top punchs. Still have all my original equipment except the #358446, loaned it out and never returned. Still using all of it too.
Of course my equipment has grown exponentially since then to include: RCBS, NEI, OHAUS, LACHMILLER, H&G. Even a few LEE. And a NOE on the way.
Single cavity, Lyman, 429244. Cast enough to let me know I really could do this. 10 lb Lyman cast iron pot on a Coleman stove. It wasn't long before I moved up to a 4-cavity 429421. I'm not sure Lee was making molds yet, this was 1973.
My very first mold was a Lyman 358156 2-cavity mold, my second mold was an RCBS458-405GC Single Cavity,
I just bought myself another, a Lee 311-41 six-cavity.
Over the years I've acquired several others, mostly round-ball molds in various sizes, including a 4-cavity Lyman #0 buckshot molds,
which I bought to cast round-ball for my .32 Remington Cap & Ball revolver.
and I do have one of those Lyman Shotgun Sabot Slug mold.
My 1st. mold was an Ideal/Lyman #401 88 (that was in 1960 before the 6 digit numbers). It was for my .38-40.
I still have it & it's a good mold.
Henry
New caster here and starting out I went with MP for my first four molds. Very happy so far.
First purchased an RCBS 500 M Minie mold in 1982. Still running it 36 years later. Casted up 90 pounds of minies for coming season.
First was a new old stock Lyman 452374 two cavity purchased at a decent price on GB.
My first mould was a Lyman 457125 for my Siamese Mauser converted to .45-70 back in the mid 70's. A Lee 405 gr. flatpoint followed shortly.
I've had a few Lee moulds over the years and while all seemed to cast reasonably well, the old style Lee moulds were a little less than stellar. I preferred my Lyman, Ohuas and RCBS moulds.
Not Lee bashing, I have and have had many Lee products over the years and tend to lean towards Lee products as they are (in my opinion) good value for my money. I have Lee dies, Lee turret press, Lee Loaders, Lee Challenger press and a few Lee moulds. Their old style moulds however were a little less likable to me than others.
Fast forward to now and I have a Lee Ranchdog .44 265 gr. that casts well, a Lee 12 ga. 1 oz. slug mould (old style) that I had to de-burr a bit, but it casts perfectly now, a Lee 12 ga. 7/8 oz. slug mould (new style) that casts well and a 00 buckshot mould that casts well.
I have to say that I am pretty impressed with the Lee new style moulds and that in my opinion the ones I have are not only good value for my money but they cast very well.
Probably more info that you wanted.
Longbow
Have no clue the brand or number - was back in early 70's and a friend let me cast some bollits for my hand gun with his assistance - 357 mag SWC 158 gr solid w/gc and 152 gr hollow point w/gc for the same handgun. both molds were single cavity.
I started with a 6 cavity Lee tl 124gr tc mold because the bayou 124 tc coated was close to the perfect 9mm bullet I had to load it so short due to the profile I never was always scared to load it very hot (my load was about 2 10ths below starting load when I got done with development) as I had pressure signs pretty early but with around 3.5-3.6 grains of wsf & 20$ s&b primers it was really accurate and cheaper than .22 at the time.
3 or 4 molds later I'm still hunting for a 124 gr tc mold that has a shorter bearing area like the bayou that I can load longer and hotter to make 125pf and Pass a case gage to ensure it will chamber in some of my shorter chambers.
Most of my molds are lee 356-125-RN, .277-130-F, 308-150(?)-RF. When I started casting for my Grendel I got the NOE mold .266-125. Then I got the Lyman mold for my .50 cal muzzle loader to experiment with (tried playing the TC bullets but they are expensive). Then I got the RCS .266 to play with heavier bullets in the .260 Rem.
Purchased a Lyman 311008 because a lot of reviewers claimed to be able to size down to .313. It was the last Lyman I purchased.
First gun to cast was for the 35 Remington, needed a .360. NOE had one in stock. Very happy with it also.
Civil war brass mold. Conical/Round ball combo. Given to me by my Dad, it was his Grandfather's, my Great grandfathers. Most likely late 1800's last time it cast anything.
https://s19.postimg.org/n9cnkjhqb/20140516_133059.jpg