Mihec hollow point setup

[RedHawk357Mag]

So I got around to finally opening my new Mihec molds and I ordered them with all the pins and when I opened the box I was once again stunned by the craftsmanship of these molds. Then I saw the bag of pins and c-clips. Both molds are four cavity brass molds, 359640 and 434640. I have never seen hollow point molds before let alone set them up. Looked on u tube and saw a couple videos I could not bare to watch, one guy was wacking the be Jesus out of mold with some type of log impersonating a sprue plate mallet. The next guy I could barely hear but I absolutely and clearly heard the mold faces clanking together after he dumped the bullets. Sooo...is there any older posts that anyone might be aware of that walks somebody through setup and best practices with the Mihec hollow point molds? Thanks and much appreciate personal observations using these fine molds. Thanks again.

[longbow]

Not sure about videos on mould use but I have several Mihec moulds and they are indeed works of art.

My technique is to preheat the mould until the sprue plate lube just starts to smoke then start casting. That is actually slightly hot but the mould settles down after a few casts then I set my casting cadence and go. Do not overheat a brass mould!

I use a wooden dowel to tap the sprue plate open then I invert the mould and use the dowel to slide the pins over and if the boolits do not drop out I give the hinge a rap with the dowel. That usually does it. Then slide pins back over with the dowel, close the sprue plate and repeat. I do not use the mould to make the pins slide back by simply closing the mould.

I think you will find that the Mihec moulds cast very well but you may find that boolits hang up on the penta HP pin if you have one. Not quite sure why but my experience is that keeping the mould and pin hot is the key. Cast at a steady cadence and don't stop to check boolits. You can see if they are wrinkled and if so then stop and pre-heat the mould more and/or more heat to alloy, then go again. Once you are casting keep going steady.

If it is brass mould then it will want even higher heat and steady casting to keep the pins hot.

Many people seem to have problems with tin oxide building up on brass moulds. I have never experienced this but do not add tin to my alloy. If I am getting wrinkles, I heat the alloy more and/or cast faster to keep things hot. If your mould isn't brass you can ignore the brass comments.

Treat that mould gently and well and it will cast perfect boolits for the rest of your life... and probably your children's and grandchildren's lives.

I hope that helps.

Longbow

[VHoward]

Brass should be cleaned with soap and water with a tooth brush. Towel dry. Then set the mold on a hot plate and heat it up to around 350 degrees, then let it cool. Repeat the heat and cool cycle 2 or 3 more times. When installing the hollow point pins, insert the shafts into the mold and then screw the shafts into the pins until they stop screwing in then back off a turn so they are loose. Then install the c clips. M-P Molds used to include a sample of lube oil. After the mold is warmed up on the hot plate and you pour your first bullets, Cut the sprues, then before you open the mold to dump the bullets, take a cotton swab with some of the lube oil on it and lube the bottom of the sprue plate, lube the shafts that the hollow point pins are installed on, then open and dump the bullets and lube the alignment pins. Some also put a little lube oil on the tips of the hollow points.

Brass molds like to be run hot. Some will tell you that a hot plate to pre heat the mold is optional, but I have found that one is needed. If you pre heat the mold prior to casting with it, you will get good bullets from it right away instead of after 10 or 15 casts. Being that brass molds are heavy, you will appreciate not having to waste time trying to heat it up by casting with it. New hot plates can be found for $15 or less and many times you can find one in a thrift shop for much less.

That should get you started.

[L1A1Rocker]

[RedHawk357Mag]

Thanks for the information so far the effort to write all that out is appreciated and I hope the title catches the search stuff for others to find. I have several brass molds from Mihec and agree with everything said here. Tinning bit me in the butt with a couple molds that I didn't heat cycle enough. Once I got them cleaned up and heat treated with more thoroughness no more problems. I am a believer of the heat treating and the use of a quality hot plate for preheating. Very sound advice as I have experienced with brass molds from Mihec, Accurate, and NOE. seems like I read something about polishing the pins. I am guessing that the connecting pins that run through the blocks should also move freely? Seems I might have read something about people heating the pins maybe with a torch or something. Again thanks for the info.

[RedHawk357Mag]

That's a much better video than I came across. Thanks for linking it.

[VHoward]

If you don't leave the pins loose on the shafts, then they will bind in the mold block and not move correctly. The pins that benefit the most with polishing are the penta pins. They seem to have been cut roughly and MiHec has not corrected it.

[longbow]

Yes, I use sprue plate lube on the Cramer pins through the mould as well, you do want them to move freely. Wiping a film of sprue plate lube on the HP pins may help release some too. Generally I find keeping things hot works just fine though. A little careful polishing of the HP pins should also help.Longbow

[white eagle]

use Bull plate lube on the shafts of the pin rods
slicks em'up real nice