Casting: the new drug
- Thread starter novalty
- Start date
fredj338
Member
Casting is a great hobby unto itself. If you have access to cheap/ free alloy, then even better as your shooting will be way cheaper. In some guns, it's all I ever run. Whether it's 45acp @ 750fps or 44mags or 45-70 to 1500fps, lead bullets will do anything jacketed will do & do it cheaper.
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I agree that casting is a hobby unto itself. For me, I've taken it a step further, and collecting molds that I want is a hobby unto itself. I tend to like collecting the rare, or at least hard to find molds for the calibers I really like.
The guns I seem to collect religiously are .32 revolvers, as a result, I also collect .32 molds religiously. Many of the .32 designs are hard to find, or even downright rare. There are a number I'm still looking for, but over the years, my collection has grown to over 35 molds for the little .32 revolvers!
I also swage bullets for some calibers, but that's a whole other can of worms...
The guns I seem to collect religiously are .32 revolvers, as a result, I also collect .32 molds religiously. Many of the .32 designs are hard to find, or even downright rare. There are a number I'm still looking for, but over the years, my collection has grown to over 35 molds for the little .32 revolvers!
I also swage bullets for some calibers, but that's a whole other can of worms...
gwpercle
Member
There is no such thing as having TOO MANY bullet moulds. That's like having too much money, too many wheelweights or too much spare time to go shooting.
You NEED at least three or four for every cal. to cover all the shooting bases.
I have even bought moulds for bullets I don't have guns for, who knows...one day I might get one and I'll already have the mould. Or, I have this mould, now I need to buy a gun for it. Sounds like a good story to me.
Gary
You NEED at least three or four for every cal. to cover all the shooting bases.
I have even bought moulds for bullets I don't have guns for, who knows...one day I might get one and I'll already have the mould. Or, I have this mould, now I need to buy a gun for it. Sounds like a good story to me.
Gary
Ivan the Butcher
Member
On the other end of the price range; My best friend bought a used Lee mold, a 45 SWC in 185 or 200 grains. It was $5 or $10 in 1984 and has cast around 10,000 between us. We like wheel weights. This was the first cast or jacketed bullet we found (in 45) that would go through a car door, went in 45 cal and came out around 9mm BUT it went through! Ivan
I bought one of Mihec's 4 cavity moulds that throws a 275 gr. solid for my 45 auto rim. That mould is a handful. And it is addictive. Good to put up a stash of bullets.
Beruisis
Beruisis
OP
novalty
Member
Well my Mihec 4 cavity 200gr. SWC (HG68 copy) came in the mail yesterday. Have to get it cleaned up.
Tonight I tried out my Mihec 359 125HP mold again--after having loosened the pins and worked them in the mold a little. Got a lot more keepers, found my RCBS Pro-melt needs to be set somewhere near 725-750 on the dial. Still pre-heating the mold on a hot-plate on medium setting. Experienced some sticking on the solid flat nose cavities, so haven't gotten it completely figured out. The HP cavities were dropping the bullets nicely, just by gently tapping the pins in. Overall, it was good to see I got some keepers, although some are frosted.
Here is my work around for the mold guide to clear the penta pins that stick out the bottom of the mold.
Tonight I tried out my Mihec 359 125HP mold again--after having loosened the pins and worked them in the mold a little. Got a lot more keepers, found my RCBS Pro-melt needs to be set somewhere near 725-750 on the dial. Still pre-heating the mold on a hot-plate on medium setting. Experienced some sticking on the solid flat nose cavities, so haven't gotten it completely figured out. The HP cavities were dropping the bullets nicely, just by gently tapping the pins in. Overall, it was good to see I got some keepers, although some are frosted.
Here is my work around for the mold guide to clear the penta pins that stick out the bottom of the mold.
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forestswin
Member
Novalty
I'm sorry - I can't follow this thread anymore.
Its not just the pictures - (you got your H&G 68 mould
) its also that it makes me want to buy moulds and casting stuff. I just don't need another addiction now. I'll go back and read it as an old post next year. and "keepers" makes me think of crabbing on the bay - I know how exciting "keepers" are)
I'm sorry - I can't follow this thread anymore.
Its not just the pictures - (you got your H&G 68 mould
) its also that it makes me want to buy moulds and casting stuff. I just don't need another addiction now. I'll go back and read it as an old post next year. and "keepers" makes me think of crabbing on the bay - I know how exciting "keepers" are)
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OP
novalty
Member
Forestswin,
If it makes you feel any better, now I have to run them through my RCBS Lubrasizer, and have to do test loads to figure out what sizing works best, seating depth, and powder charge amounts. Sounds exciting donut.
If it makes you feel any better, now I have to run them through my RCBS Lubrasizer, and have to do test loads to figure out what sizing works best, seating depth, and powder charge amounts. Sounds exciting donut.
OP
novalty
Member
My picture taking skills have dwindled, but here is a pic of the new Mihec HG 68 Copy.
Nice mold!!!
You're going to love the 68 clone, mine casts beautiful round consistent bullets.
Something to think about:
I also use a hotplate to preheat my molds. The hotplate I use has setting that go from 1 to 6. I use the hotplate to preheat my mihec molds with it set of 5. The mold is hot enough that the lead takes awhile to solidify (around 15 to 20 seconds) & then slowly let the mold cool down as I cast until I get/find a speed that the mold will cast good bullets & that I can also live with. Hot pins are happy pins, if the bullets are sticking to the pins than they are too cold. I also use a synthetic 2 stroke motor oil for mold lube & I lube the points of the hp pins, flats on the solid point pins, sprue plate, pins & handles with it also.
When I 1st started casting with the Mihec molds I was afraid of warping the mold so I kept the preheating low & the lead high, frosting everything I cast, had low cast #'s & a high rejection rate. Slowly I brought the preheat up & the lead down (5 or 6 casting sessions) until I got to the point that I could just preheat & run good bullets. The 200gr hp's pictured above took 1 1/2 hours to cast, were from 3 pots of lead from a lee IV 10# pot & produced 16# of good bullets or 500+ bullets.
I now preheat, lead temp (690), lube all my Mihec molds the same & they all produce good bullets with no sticking to the pins/inserts. When the temp drops in the pins bad things happen. The only mold that still gives me fits is the Mihec ness safety slug for the 30cal, this mold is all hp pin. The hp pin cools off rather quickly & the bullet will stick to them. So after the 3rd casting session with that mold I found that I have to:
Preheat the mold till the lead takes 15 to 20 seconds to solidify on the sprue plate.
Cast 20 to 25 sets of bullets or until the bullets start sticking to the hp pins.
Once the bullets even give the slightest hint of sticking to the pins (even lubed pins), stop casting & preheat the mold again.
The ness bullets shot into wet newspaper & milk jugs of water @ 50yds.
A little eye candy, cast hbwc's (I have the 38 & 44 molds), these are 220gr hbwc cast bullets for the 44spl/mag.
You're going to love the 68 clone, mine casts beautiful round consistent bullets.
Something to think about:
I also use a hotplate to preheat my molds. The hotplate I use has setting that go from 1 to 6. I use the hotplate to preheat my mihec molds with it set of 5. The mold is hot enough that the lead takes awhile to solidify (around 15 to 20 seconds) & then slowly let the mold cool down as I cast until I get/find a speed that the mold will cast good bullets & that I can also live with. Hot pins are happy pins, if the bullets are sticking to the pins than they are too cold. I also use a synthetic 2 stroke motor oil for mold lube & I lube the points of the hp pins, flats on the solid point pins, sprue plate, pins & handles with it also.
When I 1st started casting with the Mihec molds I was afraid of warping the mold so I kept the preheating low & the lead high, frosting everything I cast, had low cast #'s & a high rejection rate. Slowly I brought the preheat up & the lead down (5 or 6 casting sessions) until I got to the point that I could just preheat & run good bullets. The 200gr hp's pictured above took 1 1/2 hours to cast, were from 3 pots of lead from a lee IV 10# pot & produced 16# of good bullets or 500+ bullets.
I now preheat, lead temp (690), lube all my Mihec molds the same & they all produce good bullets with no sticking to the pins/inserts. When the temp drops in the pins bad things happen. The only mold that still gives me fits is the Mihec ness safety slug for the 30cal, this mold is all hp pin. The hp pin cools off rather quickly & the bullet will stick to them. So after the 3rd casting session with that mold I found that I have to:
Preheat the mold till the lead takes 15 to 20 seconds to solidify on the sprue plate.
Cast 20 to 25 sets of bullets or until the bullets start sticking to the hp pins.
Once the bullets even give the slightest hint of sticking to the pins (even lubed pins), stop casting & preheat the mold again.
The ness bullets shot into wet newspaper & milk jugs of water @ 50yds.
A little eye candy, cast hbwc's (I have the 38 & 44 molds), these are 220gr hbwc cast bullets for the 44spl/mag.
OP
novalty
Member
A little eye candy, cast hbwc's (I have the 38 & 44 molds), these are 220gr hbwc cast bullets for the 44spl/mag.
Thanks for the tip, I'll try increasing the temp on my hotplate. What I had done is put the mold on the hotplate and set to "Medium" and turn on the RCBS Promelt--so the mold is heating the entire time the pot is coming up to temp.
Your last picture got me wondering. I have my mold in my handles the opposite way with the extended portion of the sprue-plate facing away from me. As I am still learning about casting with the mold, I have been able to sometime open the sprue plate by hand, other times I have let it cool a little too much, and had to use the rubber mallet to gently tap the end of the sprue-plate to cut the sprue. Do you find it easier with the sprue-plate facing that way?
On a separate note I have to stop looking at Mihec's molds, as I see that he has some of the 452-200 HP molds available.
Do I sell my Lyman 452374? 
hmmmm Do I need yet another 45 mold, when I haven't even tried the HG68 Clone, or maybe his 360640 (38/357) mold--so I have a Mihec mold for all of the handgun calibers I reload for?
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varmint243
Member
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It has been my experience that the bullet base is most important to accuracy in my handguns.
I prefer flat base bullets and the molds I have purchased all make flat base SWC bullets.
I am confused as to why molds have the bullet nose down ?
I would think that a better bullet would be produced with the nose up, pouring thru the nose and cutting the sprue at the nose.
Has anyone tried this, or it is just generally known not to work well ?
I prefer flat base bullets and the molds I have purchased all make flat base SWC bullets.
I am confused as to why molds have the bullet nose down ?
I would think that a better bullet would be produced with the nose up, pouring thru the nose and cutting the sprue at the nose.
Has anyone tried this, or it is just generally known not to work well ?
OP
novalty
Member
I would think that you wouldn't want the base down/nose up, as you would be cutting the sprue on the nose of the bullet. Could be wrong, but that is my thinking. I also prefer flat base bullets as well, and all my molds are that way too.
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To me it's just easier to have the end of the sprue plate facing me, less pressure is needed to "cut" the sprues off & there is less felt resistance on your hand. You're on the same side of the scissor bolt & closer to the center of the pivot with that type of mold handle. The further from the bolt (same rules as a lever), the greater the force.
Something else I do with these Cramer style pined molds:
Fill the cavities front to back & then back to front on the next pour. This help keep the heat even in the cavities.
After the lead is poured I wait & watch the lead turn color as it solidifies & then a sink mark will appear. After the sink mark appears I wait another couple of seconds & then tap the sprue plate with a plastic hammer or use a gloved hand to open the mold.
You want the sprue plate to cut the sprue off not tear it, the cutting action leaves a clean flat base to the bullet.
After the sprues are cutoff I wait another couple of seconds & then tap on the bolt on the handles to vibrate the mold open. There's a little bit of slop in the mold handles so I put pressure (push down) with my thumb on the right mold handle (mold handles in left hand) to help keep the mold halves even as they open.
After the mold is open I turn the mold upside down & push the 2 little side pins out. The bullet fall off the pins when everything is the correct temperature. If they don't fall off I gently tap on the mold handle bolt a couple of times until they do fall off. If the bullets take more than a couple of taps to fall off or stick to the pins, the molds too cold
As to turning the bullets around in the mold cavities. The large square flat edge of the base of the bullet would be hard to get out of the mold. They found that out with the old square cut lube grooves. Then they went to a 10* angle sq cut & then rounded lube grooves. A bevel base yes, sq no.
I also have the 359640 mold & all the pins. It's a fantastic mold that casts beautiful bullets. The 158gr hp's are the cat's meow & the 170gr sp's are real thumpers. The double crimp groove on these bullets is a nice feature, the bullets can be moved in or out or loaded in the shorter cylinders of some revolvers.
I sold off all my molds I wasn't using that often & the molds that the superior Mihec molds could replace. I just wish I was able to buy the Mihec molds 30 years ago when I 1st started casting bullets.
Something else I do with these Cramer style pined molds:
Fill the cavities front to back & then back to front on the next pour. This help keep the heat even in the cavities.
After the lead is poured I wait & watch the lead turn color as it solidifies & then a sink mark will appear. After the sink mark appears I wait another couple of seconds & then tap the sprue plate with a plastic hammer or use a gloved hand to open the mold.
You want the sprue plate to cut the sprue off not tear it, the cutting action leaves a clean flat base to the bullet.
After the sprues are cutoff I wait another couple of seconds & then tap on the bolt on the handles to vibrate the mold open. There's a little bit of slop in the mold handles so I put pressure (push down) with my thumb on the right mold handle (mold handles in left hand) to help keep the mold halves even as they open.
After the mold is open I turn the mold upside down & push the 2 little side pins out. The bullet fall off the pins when everything is the correct temperature. If they don't fall off I gently tap on the mold handle bolt a couple of times until they do fall off. If the bullets take more than a couple of taps to fall off or stick to the pins, the molds too cold
As to turning the bullets around in the mold cavities. The large square flat edge of the base of the bullet would be hard to get out of the mold. They found that out with the old square cut lube grooves. Then they went to a 10* angle sq cut & then rounded lube grooves. A bevel base yes, sq no.
I also have the 359640 mold & all the pins. It's a fantastic mold that casts beautiful bullets. The 158gr hp's are the cat's meow & the 170gr sp's are real thumpers. The double crimp groove on these bullets is a nice feature, the bullets can be moved in or out or loaded in the shorter cylinders of some revolvers.
I sold off all my molds I wasn't using that often & the molds that the superior Mihec molds could replace. I just wish I was able to buy the Mihec molds 30 years ago when I 1st started casting bullets.
OP
novalty
Member
I also have the 359640 mold & all the pins. It's a fantastic mold that casts beautiful bullets. The 158gr hp's are the cat's meow & the 170gr sp's are real thumpers. The double crimp groove on these bullets is a nice feature, the bullets can be moved in or out or loaded in the shorter cylinders of some revolvers.
I sold off all my molds I wasn't using that often & the molds that the superior Mihec molds could replace. I just wish I was able to buy the Mihec molds 30 years ago when I 1st started casting bullets.
You aren't helping here Forrest r
How am I supposed to fight this addiction when you go an post something like that? Serious this close to :
on another Mihec mold.
Hmmm...
This
or this
(The Mrs. being on the left
)
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OP
novalty
Member
Well I am leaning towards the 452-200 HP mold, as I would sell my Lyman 452374. What my father and I shoot for 38/357, I can keep up with my 2 cavity Lachmiller 162gr. SWC--which is a great casting mold and I just can bring myself to think about parting with. Plus I think I'd like to have Mihec's 358146 mold for 38/357--instead of his 360640.
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Engieman
Member
H&G 68 (200g), and 130 (185) are the 'classics' for accuracy and target work. I know Redding-Saeco makes those styles. Saeco's are a bit expensive, but in my opinion worth it. Great molds.
bbqncigars
Member
I used to cast w/Lee molds, and the custom molds I have are far easier to use. I've got a couple of NOE molds (including the 850gr GB) and am eagerly awaiting delivery of the Mihec 68 clone. Casting is every bit as addictive as shooting, as my bank account can attest to.
