molds

Zonie said:

Actually, aluminum conducts heat almost as well as brass or bronze.
The 1000 series of aluminum has a conductivity of 135 BTU/ft/hr and 6061 aluminum has a conductivity of 125 BTU/ft/hr.

Wrought brass's have a conductivity of 135 BTU/ft/hr and pure copper has a value of 226 BTU/ft/hr. (Higher = more heat moves thru the material).

The thing is, the mass of the brass or bronze alloys is much higher than aluminum (brass/bronze is much heavier) so it takes more heat to heat up a brass or bronze mold.
Due to this, brass and bronze take much longer to cool down.

Beyond this picky information, I agree with everything else you said.

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Who cares about the hi tech manure if the mould makes good bullets use it.
Who cares what its made out of.

I don't think my brass mould is period correct for the mid 18th century, but at the time, many years ago, that is all I could get & afford. I am not going to give myself a hard time over it, I do what I can with what I have, & use wise it is no different to an iron or steel one. However, I would like to get a steel one sometime.
Keith.

I have the 3 different makes of molds and each one have it own way to cast with.As long the mold is treated right and take care of it will last longer then you do for how I see it.

Most folks run the sprue plate to tight, causing fill out issues as well as galling the mold blocks. Some sprue plate lube is something most don’t use or even know about but is a must IMHO. I have a lifetime supply of Bull Plate lube but probably some two stroke engine oil will work fine.

8 BORE said:

Who cares about the hi tech manure if the mould makes good bullets use it.
Who cares what its made out of.

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Well, if someone wants to be PC and HC, they would NEVER want to show up to a reenactment with an aluminum mold. If they wanted to be totally PC and HC they would never use a mold made out of aluminum at any time.

Although aluminum was suspected to exist as early as 1787, it wasn't until 1825 before the metal was actually extracted. (Aluminum is never found in nature in its pure form.)
Even then, only very small amounts of aluminum were available until 1854 and it was very expensive.

https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele013.html

(edit)
Please note: This post is for those who are generally interested in history. It does NOT say that anyone should not use aluminum molds to cast their round balls or bullets.
If anyone wants to use aluminum bullet molds, I think that's great.
I like mine and I will continue to use them to cast my traditional ammunition.

Make all the bullets at home before you go the Rendezvous, then nobody will give you any manure about moulds.

Better yet,
Stay home and no one will say anything about anything.... Im teasing you.

Shawnee Mike said:

Better yet,
Stay home and no one will say anything about anything.... Im teasing you.

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Unless you get in here then you opened up a can of worms

^^ LOL I like worms...

Zonie said:

Well, if someone wants to be PC and HC, they would NEVER want to show up to a reenactment with an aluminum mold. If they wanted to be totally PC and HC they would never use a mold made out of aluminum at any time.

Although aluminum was suspected to exist as early as 1787, it wasn't until 1825 before the metal was actually extracted. (Aluminum is never found in nature in its pure form.)
Even then, only very small amounts of aluminum were available until 1854 and it was very expensive.

https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele013.html

(edit)
Please note: This post is for those who are generally interested in history. It does NOT say that anyone should not use aluminum molds to cast their round balls or bullets.
If anyone wants to use aluminum bullet molds, I think that's great.
I like mine and I will continue to use them to cast my traditional ammunition.

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I’m building a gun as soon as my parts get in. I will use a modren drill motor to cut my holes. Is it on my couch while the boobtube plays mindless droning and hand sew a pair of breaches.
I have some good oldstyle molds byCallahand. I use at events and have cast ball at home. But also cast in Lee molds.
I make my ships bread in my electric oven too.

tenngun said:

I’m building a gun as soon as my parts get in. I will use a modren drill motor to cut my holes. Is it on my couch while the boobtube plays mindless droning and hand sew a pair of breaches.
I have some good oldstyle molds byCallahand. I use at events and have cast ball at home. But also cast in Lee molds.
I make my ships bread in my electric oven too.

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That's nice.

The reason I mentioned what I did about aluminum molds is some people here might not be aware of the history of aluminum and they might believe it was available to the average person in the days of the fur trade and earlier. If they read what I wrote above, they know now that it wasn't.

I have great respect for the people who want to be as period correct as possible when they are using their muzzleloading guns so I don't think people should belittle them.

I also think the HC/PC crowd should not expect the people who are not interested in such things to only use HC/PC things when they are hunting or shooting or just casting their roundballs for their muzzleloaders.

I see, I was missing your point

Yes Zonie is absolutely right.
Sometimes I tend to forget that not everyone is a primitive enthusiast. My enjoyment comes from doing as little modernly (is that a word ?) as possible.
Sometimes it's not completely possible. But I try to be as close as i can. It's a personal challenge, nothing more.

That does not negate nor does it detract from someone elses more modern approach. And i do not fault anyones idea of fun. even if i forget sometimes.

Humbly goes back to eating his worms...

Great to be among friends.

Welcome Slippy

8 BORE & Zonie, well put. I used to run balls the primitive way, scissor type mold when I went to a public event and for school groups.to educate them on how it was done in the old days. but at home it was good old LEE & LYMAN.

Le Loup said:

... I do what I can with what I have...

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IMO...
THAT... is period correct

40 plus years of casting for front stuffers and cartridge rifles and pistols and I can say that molds made by the better custom makers, Saeco, and RCBS are worth the money that you pay for them. If maintained and used properly they will last a long time. Lee, in my experience, is hit or miss (mostly miss) as far as size, centering, and construction and all of them that I have ever owned needed re-working right out of the box.

That being said, every mold that I own, no matter who made them needed the sprue plate flattened and de-burred, and all edges broken except the cavities, and if a mold comes with a split lock washer on the sprue plate screw, I replace them with spring washers whenever I can.

Brass and Mehanite are my favorite materials, but the sprue pivot needs to be kept lubricated and adjusted properly. Synthetic two-stroke oil works fine for this. I keep a very light and thin application of that oil on all of the outside surfaces except the top at all times, keeps little lead droplets from sticking as much. I also like to heat cycle new molds 3-4 times before casting with them.

I don't care at all what others choose to use, I just use what experience has taught me works best for me.

reddog said:

Lee, in my experience, is hit or miss (mostly miss) as far as size, centering, and construction and all of them that I have ever owned needed re-working right out of the box.

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Interesting how experiences vary. Lee moulds have always served me well with no work needed out of the box. However, the one mould I had the most trouble with was a highly touted Jeff Tanner. It had a ridge around the edges of both halves and balls just would not fall out. I had to have a machinist correct that issue.

The best moulds are neither Aluminium or Steel they are made from a cast iron called Meehanite. It's very pure, consistent and close grained making it ideal for moulds needing on polishing after the cut is made. With proper care an iron mould will last a life time.