MP Brass Cramers - Casting Characteristics?

[Bigslug]

My one brass mold to date is the MP hollow-base .455 Webley. I've run it once (not really one of my "volume" calibers), and not as a solid, so my experience is a little limited with the sliding pin Cramer style at this point. I'm in the queue for the 454423 group buy. I'm not terribly interested in expansion with a meplat like that, so am mainly after the mold to cast solids, but I'm getting all the pin choices anyway to give me weight management options in the ACP. I'd like to learn a little more about what to expect from them.

I have a couple of NOE aluminum tilting pin molds that I've run a couple times as both solids and HP's, so I've got them as a basis for comparison.

How does brass compare to aluminum for transferring heat to the steel pins? I'm guessing that the fat Cramer pins might have some advantage to holding their heat?

When casting as a solid, how do these pins do for maintaining a true flat nose and dropping the slugs free? I'm prepared for a little stickiness on the HP options, but want to be able to produce numbers on the solids. What's the fuss and bother factor on these compared with a simple, non-pin mold?

Since I received my PID from Frozone a few weeks ago, I've been finding the NOE's like a pot temp of about 760F for casting solid noses. I've been hearing on the one hand of needing HEAT for HP's but on the other the risks of warping brass molds. What's the skinny on that?

Thanks for the edjamacation.

[TheCelt]

I have become fond of brass molds. I have a lot of NOE aluminum molds that cast very nice HP Boolits and I do tend to run hotter (730-750) with these molds. The brass molds I have from Mihec I run at 710 in the HP configuration. The brass molds seem to fit my casting cadence well and produce HP Boolits at a phenomenal rate.

[Iron Mike Golf]

I like how the Cramer pins are flush with the bottom of the mold block. You get direct heating from a hotplate. If they get too cool, just a few minutes back on the hotplate gets them back up to temp. I have found that as long as I don't pause in casting, keeping the pins hot enough is no problem. I cast with a PID controlled pot set to 700 deg.

Tips for these pins:

1. Install the guide rods into the HP pins finger tight. You might need to back off on one or both 1/16 of a turn. You want them tight as you can get them without binding in the mold block. I like my Cramer pins to move under their own weight. Tilting the mold and a little shake gets the pins reset back into the block.
2. I only use one E-clip per Cramer pin.
3. Some folks like using spray on dry lube on the HP pins or guide rods
4. Penta pins end in a sharp point. I had one arrive with a peened over hook at the point.
5. Earlier runs of penta pins had lots of tool marks on the faces. Dressing with a fine stone seemed to enhance boolit release. The mold I got this week (452374) has the finest penta pins to date.

[longbow]

As already mentioned, you need to keep the mould hot. A slightly hotter melt helps but steady rapid casting is the key (I think anyway).

I have had very little trouble with my HP pins and sticking on the three Mihec Cramer moulds I have ~ H&G #503, 434640 and 316410.

A very light wipe with the sprue plate lube does help when getting up to casting temperature. I pre-heat the mould on a hot plate as well to make sure it is close to temperature. In fact I pre-heat until the sprue plate lube just starts to smoke. That works well for me.

I have only cast solids using my 316410 and it works perfectly. The other moulds have only been used to cast HP's so far.

Another trick I use when changing Cramer pins is to place a small disk magnet right under the clip I am removing so as soon as it pops off, if I do not grab it it the magnet does. I just leave them with the magnet while I muck around then put the magnet and clips back onto the mould as I re-install clips. That magnet keeps track of the clips better than I do.

I like my Mihec Cramer moulds! I am sure you will like yours.

Longbow

[Bigslug]

A very light wipe with the sprue plate lube does help when getting up to casting temperature. I pre-heat the mould on a hot plate as well to make sure it is close to temperature. In fact I pre-heat until the sprue plate lube just starts to smoke. That works well for me.

THAT is my golden tidbit of information for the day! I'd been wondering how to properly gauge temperature in warmup as the notion of having the cable from a digital thermometer dangling from a hot mold that needs to be constantly moved about and flipped over scares me, and laser thermometers just reflect off and don't read properly. Thank you!

Good idea on maintaining control of the C-clips. I didn't really give that any thought with the Webley mold, as I don't have any intent to ever cast non-HB's with it. This would have been an unanticipated problem - now it's planned for.

[rintinglen]

I have four now and my note is to watch carefully pre-heating temperatures to avoid warpage. Start low if using a hot plate and gradually raise the temperature, but no higher than medium heat. I usually balance mine on the top of the pot, and take care not to let the blocks touch the melt.
These molds will rain good boolits once broken in and up to temperature. My larger caliber ones==44 and 45 caliber don't need as much heat but the 38/9mm ones have to be run hot--I have not been able to run mine much under 750 and sometimes my scap-lead alloy needs to run even a smidge hotter.

[Bogone]

I have a mihhec mold and the penta pins stuck bad. I removed them and lapped them with a 400 grit diamond lap, one problem solved. I cast about 10 lbs. in an hour, now in am having problems with lead sticking on some of the sharp corners.......