Last year I purchased some odds and ends from a local old boy. Several rolls of 50/50 solder and a rusty pair of unvented Ideal 454190 blocks were included.
I used Evaporust to clean the blocks and borrowed handles and the other hardware from another Ideal (round ball) mould. I am pleased with the results. Everything looks like it was made ca 1950, just a little older than I am. This is the first Ideal conical mould that I have used and I was intrigued to see how well it worked without the vents that were added later in the 1950s.
Now that I am tin-rich, I thought why not try the classic binary 30-1 ratio of lead and tin in this classic 45 Colt mould and cartridge.
My first electric melter, a 5# LEE was called to action. Slow, but sure, shiny 250 grain bullets were collecting in the pan.
Running my melt at 750-800 with a hot sprue plate made casting child's play. Boolits dropped in the .454-.456 range with sharp bands and no wrinkles at all.
My next casting session will find the Ideal getting filled with my typical 1-2-97 Cowboy alloy. If they cast half as well, I'll be happy.