using 2 molds

[686]

i was casting with a lee 6 cav. mon. i use a fan blowing on the box of bullets where i rest the mold to cool before opening. a 20 sec. turnaround if hard to keep up. count to 6 for spur to cool good-nock out bullets then counc to 6-8 with mold open with fan blowing on it. close and pour again. i was thinking i could use 2 molds.#1 mold pour lay down on box in ft of fan. pick up #2 cut spur open nock out bullets then pour. lay it down, pick up #1 start over again. i figured it should 10-12 sec cycle per mold. that would be twice thr number of bullets. i would be using 2 different bullets and 2 boxes. QUESTION does any one do something like this?/ thanks

[UweJ]

Hey 686
I´m working with 4 molds simultaniously and that keeps me in line.I placed 2 kitchen tiles next to my bottom pour to lay my molds on.I work with three doubles and one triple mold.By the time I have filled the last one I can open the first,drop em and refill then the second and so on.The timing is just right and I get lots of nice shiny boolits.
Uwe

[cbrick]

Wow, four moulds. I frequently use two at a time and that keeps me plenty busy. Four kinda sounds like that one armed paper hanger guy.

Rick

[ktw]

I tend to overheat the molds if I only use one at a time. I haven't tried fan cooling them yet.

I did try using the wet cloth method a couple of times with the Lee 6 cavities but we have pretty hard water here and it led to a fair amount of something building up on the molds.

-ktw

[BruceB]

We have hard water here, too. It's drawn directly from our own well, and I have to replace the batts in our swamp cooler every year due to the heavy load of "whatever it is". I'd estimate that the batt from the cooler weighs about forty pounds (dry) when removed, compared to maybe four or five pounds when new.

I also notice the buildup on the outside of my moulds when doing my speedcasting routine. It comes off easily with steel wool or a brass brush, but lately I've just been buying plain drinking water in disposable jugs from the grocery store. A gallon lasts for many casting sessions of mould-cooling, and the moulds at least "look better".

On the limited number of occasions that I tried using multiple moulds, I found that the process slowed me down a LOT, compared to using just one, fast and hot with water-cooling of the sprue. Too many extra hand motions for me, and I did give it a fair try. I'm quite content with the production rate and the quality. I inspected, sized, lubed and gaschecked about 700 Loverin 311466s today, and rejected six bullets for flaws detected under an illuminated magnifier. These were cast from a 2-cavity mould at a rate of over 400 per hour.

[Sundogg1911]

I seem to get my rythm down perfectly with 3 molds. I usually drop bullets from each mold twice, then set the mold down and pick up the next. 4 molds never works quite right for me. I have a piece of Diamond plate aluminum that I set the hot molds on, on my workbench. I have 4 boxes. one to the right for sprue cuts, and 3 to the left (one per bullet mold) If i'm using two of the same mold ( I have some mold doubles for speed) it's just 2 boxes. 1 per bullet style/caliber. the boxes are made of plywood and each one fits into another for storage. I have a towl hanging over one side of the boxes to catch the bullets, and they gently roll down hill to the end of the box into a pile. The Sprue box is just a cardboard box. I use a pair of needle nose pliers to put the sprue back into the pot. also the little silver casting spiders that devlop under the lee bottom pours (and rejected bullets) I use 2 bottom pour pots. one feeds the other, so I dont have to wait for the alloy to heat up. my typical afternoon casting session is about 3000 to 4000 projectiles depending on the molds. (some jump from the molds like magic, some others need a little love tap to make 'em drop) I know people that are a lot faster, but this is about my pace. I have everything aranged on my garage workbench (aka. the bullet barn) and it's all done under a range hood ventilation fan, with music playing in the background (anything from Simon and Garfunkle to White Zombie) I seem to cast the fastest while listening to Black Sabbath. (I guess my molds like them) That's my setup. I'm sure it's not a system that will work for everyone, but it seems to work for me.

[rmb721]

I agree with Bruce B. Before, I always used three moulds, but now I use one and make a lot more bullets in the same amount of time. Thank you Bruce for sharing your method.

[Lon]

Do any of you gents using multiple molds have the hot-just-filled mold "spring" apart slightly when you set it down giving you out of round boolits?

[Sundogg1911]

I never set them down if they're full of Alloy. I don't see any reason to do that. When they Hit my bench they are empty, and i'm grabbing the next one.

[jdhenry]

3 and 4 molds WOW and I thought I was doing good with 2 oh well guess the lead lasts a little longer that way.....

Jeremy

[Lloyd Smale]

IVe ran as many as 5 at a time if they were all steal but rarely cast with less then three. You can do one at a time with small bullets by cooling the spruce plate but with large bullets like the 475 and .500s if you get the center of the mold hot between the cavitys you wont get good fillout. Ive played with dipping them in snow to cool them but then your getting to big of a temp swing with the molds and bullet weights start varying to much. So i run at least three and if one is an aluminum mold i put it in the middle and just cast back and forth from side to side and the middle one stays hot.

[Sundogg1911]

I'm kind of afraid to cool the molds with a wet rag or something similar. That quick drastic change in temp. can't be good for a mold. I know a lot of people do, and if it works for them, Great, but I think i'll stick to 3 molds. I'm sure I won't be as fast, but it seems to work for me

[rmb721]

In my opinion, the Bruce B. method does not cause a drastic change in the temperature of the mould, just the sprue. You hold the mould upside down on a wet rag only for a very few seconds. This also eliminates smearing of lead with the sprue plate. I will not go back to using three moulds.

[9.3X62AL]

I run two molds at a time most of the time. I let the sprue "go galvanized" before setting the poured mold down and grabbing the emptied one. This goes for 1-, 2-, and 4 cavity molds--the Lee 6-bangers get run solo.

[Sundogg1911]

rmb721,
I think it's great that it works for you. I've tried that method, and was droppin' pretty lousy bullets (very inconsistant in weight) I think i'm the "Old Dog that cant learn new tricks" so I just try to improve on my old ones.

[Springfield]

With the bigger bullets, 250 grains or larger, I mostly run 2 moulds. Any smaller than that and the Bruce B method works better. The smaller moulds cool too fast for me to use 2. I pretty much use only LEE 6 cavity moulds. With 1 mould I can turn out 8-900 an hour. Might be a little faster with the new Magma 2 spout, but haven't tried it yet, just set it up yesterday.