parker bro
Inactive
Just ordered some new aluminum bullet molds. What's the best way to prep them before casting? Thanks for the help.
New aluminum bullet mold
- Thread starter parker bro
- Start date
FrankenMauser
New member
If not Lee molds...
Break it down.
Scrub with a (new) soft toothbrush in the hottest water you can stand, with some dish soap.
Shake off excess water.
Blot dry with soft cloth.
Blow out crevices and holes with compressed air. (I don't have an air compressor, but I keep canned air around for jobs like this.)
Reassemble.
Lube the sprue plate, alignment pins, and pivot pins as needed.
If it's a company that recommends "seasoning" their molds, do so according to their directions.
If they don't recommend the practice, then start casting.
If they're Lee molds, scrub what you can, and dry the mold. Don't bother disassembling.
Preheat (no more than 250-300 F) and wipe down the mold several times to remove as much oil as possible. Lee aluminum is incredibly porous and huge amount of oil needs to come out of the actual mold blocks before you'll get good bullets.
From there, you never know what you'll need to do. Lee molds are, "an adventure."....
Break it down.
Scrub with a (new) soft toothbrush in the hottest water you can stand, with some dish soap.
Shake off excess water.
Blot dry with soft cloth.
Blow out crevices and holes with compressed air. (I don't have an air compressor, but I keep canned air around for jobs like this.)
Reassemble.
Lube the sprue plate, alignment pins, and pivot pins as needed.
If it's a company that recommends "seasoning" their molds, do so according to their directions.
If they don't recommend the practice, then start casting.
If they're Lee molds, scrub what you can, and dry the mold. Don't bother disassembling.
Preheat (no more than 250-300 F) and wipe down the mold several times to remove as much oil as possible. Lee aluminum is incredibly porous and huge amount of oil needs to come out of the actual mold blocks before you'll get good bullets.
From there, you never know what you'll need to do. Lee molds are, "an adventure."....
chris in va
New member
I've had several Lee molds.
Scrub with Dawn and hot water thoroughly. Inspect pin staking to be sure it will retain pins. I had a couple where the staking was offset and the mold block fell off.
Lube sprue hinge, pins and mating 'ridges' for lack of the proper term. When casting, lay open mold FLAT on the table when closing mold after dropping bullets. I found out the hard way the steel alignment pins will round out the aluminum, so don't try to close it above the table.
Scrub with Dawn and hot water thoroughly. Inspect pin staking to be sure it will retain pins. I had a couple where the staking was offset and the mold block fell off.
Lube sprue hinge, pins and mating 'ridges' for lack of the proper term. When casting, lay open mold FLAT on the table when closing mold after dropping bullets. I found out the hard way the steel alignment pins will round out the aluminum, so don't try to close it above the table.
FrankenMauser
New member
I cup the mold with my right (gloved) hand, and carefully close it while aligning the blocks. Using a table, or other flat surface, never worked well for the horrendously misaligned Lee 429-200-RF that I have*. After a while, the habit crossed over to other molds....
*If you close that mold on a flat surface, the cavities and top of the blocks will be about 0.075" off ... which is much worse that closing it unassisted. But, of course, the only way to get it properly aligned, is by hand.
