Brass moulds

[Maven]

I have two Cast Bullet Engineering (Jim Allison) moulds: heavy, need a bit more heat, but cast very well. Also, several Tanner [round] ball moulds for my muzzleloading long guns, which cast quite nicely with pure Pb when up to temperature.

[WestColoDave]

One brass mold, a few iron and many aluminum molds. Brass one becomes so heavy that I can't doing as much casting compared to all the others in one session. But then I am old codger!

[xringshutr]

I love my brass molds......but I see periodic "tinning" on the mold faces at the edge of the bullet cavities........easy to remedy with a toothpick or other small wooden object, but can be annoying when you are in an intense casting session that is raining boolits......until some slight finning or whiskers start showing up. This tinning could be a product of higher temps needed to run the brass mold or other? Anyone want to weigh in on this?

[PaulH]

I have about 2 dozen brass molds in 22, 30, 35, 45, 475, 50 and 51 calibers. Mostly MP molds both hp and flat point and one Mountain mold.

Personally, my favorite mold material is cast iron, followed by steel, aluminum and then brass. I find brass is the most sensitive to temperature, it's like the goldilocks material that doesn't like to be too hot or too cold but wants to be just right. Also as mentioned it is dense (heavy) especially the four cavities. That being said, MP makes IMHO to highest quality multi cavity molds produced today, and so I deal with brass because that is the primary material MP uses to make their outstanding molds.

The one tip I'll add is prior to casting with brass, clean them with a toothbrush and mild detergent (like any mold), then bake them in an oven at 350 deg for an hour or so. This will develop a patina (oxide layer) and this will prevent the mold surface from picking up lead alloy (tinning).

I won't hesitate to buy more brass MP molds, as good as it gets IMHO

[Echo#154]

I have both brass and aluminum molds from Noe and Accurate. I cast kinda slow “slow is fast, smooth is speed”. I like brass because it holds temperature better with my casting style, especially during cold winter days in the garage (I have a vent fan connected to a dryer hose that is near the top of my pot)….but I’m not a fan of the weight over aluminum as I get older! My last two were aluminum four bangers. I have one brass four banger the other ones in brass are only doubles. I get good bullets out of both…I just have to move “smoother” with the aluminum molds.

[bangerjim]

Started with Al Lee molds - probably 30 of them.
Then I switched to brass about 7 years ago (currently 12 of them) and will never go back. The quality of the boolits is far better than with Al due to the heat factor. You just gotta practice and get used to it.

Now I have dups of all my popular cals/sizes/weights in brass and Al.

They weigh more so those casters with physical impairments may struggle on long casting sessions.

And they don't damage easily like Al does.....all while looking VERY impressive on the shelf.

Brass all the way for me, baby!

banger

[lightman]

I have considered buying a brass mold but have resisted. They sure look nice! Most of my molds are iron with a few recent Accurate aluminum molds added to the stable.

I have enjoyed everyones replys. Thanks!

[405grain]

Something that I haven't seen pointed out yet is that brass molds need to be prepped prior to use. Lead alloys will solder to brass and copper, but not if those metals have an oxide coat. There's prep work on any new mold (brass, iron, or aluminum) before it's ready for use. This might be as simple as removing any rust preventative oils, or could be more complicated based on the molds design and materials. On brass molds the mold blocks need to be heated until they take on a patina. This will be noticed as a small change in color of the surface of the brass. The patina is an oxide coating, and once formed the lead should no longer adhere to the brass surface. The one brass mold that I own works flawlessly, and perfect bullets fall easily from the mold. That being said, I prefer iron molds above both aluminum and brass.

[PaulH]

I did mention when you get a new brass mold, bake it in your oven at 350F for an hour to form a patina to prevent tinning. If you look at the molds on the lower left you can see the difference in color between a new(er) mold and a used brass mold. mold mess.jpg

[braddock]

I have more aluminum than brass molds TBH I only have 6 or 7 inall.
Now I've got the hang of it I get good bullets with minimal wastage.
I don't think I'll buy another brass mold mainly because of the weight of the mold, i'm 82 and an hour or so casting with the brass mold is very tiring compared to casting with the aluminum ones.
If I'm honest the brass mold turns out better bullets than the Lee molds straight from the mold, but not that much better that they are any different after gas checking and powder coating and sizing.
If your devil is in the detail then you'll probably feel a wee bit more smug using brass molds; I like the simplicity and value of the Lee product.
I've never used a cast iron mold so won't comment.