In the last couple of days,there have been a few comments made about casting methods that I happen to use, and I think I'm gonna hold up my side of the discussion here.
In the thread about Bullplate lube on the Swapping and Selling forum, reference is made to "beating" and "clubbing" moulds. Now, I use a light plastic mallet to open the sprue plate on every mold I own, every time I do any casting at all. This "mallet" (my term) is about four ounces in head weight, and I suppose I've used it exclusively for about 15 or 20 years so far....a good third of the head is worn away.
I have moulds here that I've owned for twenty years or more, too, including some of the very earliest Lee aluminum jobs. I have NEVER, repeat, NEVER, "beaten" a mould into uselessness. Nor have I ever "worn out" a Lee mould. The energy applied to cutting the sprue is nicely calculated to ONLY cut the sprue, and has zero effect on the mould itself. If a "gloved hand" works for you for opening a mould, that's fine, but I can assure you that a judiciously-applied impact ALSO works without damaging anything.
Another notable point arising in the comments is the temperature of casting, and speed of production (a subject dear to my heart, as most here know). Bullshop has developed a technique for casting somewhere around 650 degrees or less with WW, and cutting sprues in the semi-solid state. It works for him, and his rate is impressive....about 250 boolits from a one-banger in an hour, I believe he said.
His is a very different method from mine, where I run the furnace at max temperature (870 degrees) and water-cool the sprue immediately once it has solidified. Using this method for a timed thirty minutes with a Lee single-cavity mould, I made 159 good bullets....highly comparable to Bullshop's lower-temp 250-or-so in an hour, I'd say. 400 to 500 per hour (or more) is easily accomplished with a 2-cavity mould.
Part of the reason behind this post was the lead-smearing topic. There is simply NO smearing of lead in any of my moulds when operated as I do. One of my moulds is a single-cavity Ebay Lyman 429303, and some previous owner opened up the sprue hole with (I swear!) a 5/16" drill bit and a 60-degree countersink...it is FUGLY. Even with that extreme-diameter sprue-hole, I get no smearing under the plate or on the mould. Works for me.
I reckon it just goes to show that there are different ways to the same end. I'm quite happy with the quality of the bullets I produce, and those to whom I've sent trial lots of various designs also seem satisfied with my results. Looking at Bullshop's photos, I'm sure he'd say exactly the same thing about his, because they sure do look fine.