This looks like a very bad idea from RCBS on the new hinge pin retention system ,if the pin is not part of the grub screw and is also in a blind hole, how can you get the pin out when it has been in use for even a short while ? The only way would be to drill the hole right through the block, (with a slightly small drill so the pin does not drop through). The RCBS blocks can easily be modified to fit the Lee handles by milling out the slot wider on your Milling machine.
Tks for the video. The mineral spirits works well in fact I use the same technique when ever I want to clean up an old mil surp firearm. I take the gun apart and submerge all the metal parts in mineral spirits. This totally dissolves the cosmoline. At that point I give the parts a light coat of oil and reassemble. On another not if you want to use the lee handle for the RCBS mold you could simply grind down the jaws to fit. Its easy to do with a bench grinder. Keep up the good work and thanks again.
Jack Debrot - Good excuse to get a bench grinder...Might just do that as the RCBS handles are not as good as the Lee (and the RCBS handles cost 3x the Lee). Best to ya, FC
Steve.. I also Believe that the enjoyment of life is is the best gift you can give. I hope you get many years of enjoyment with that Mold design. Too many times we center ourselves and struggle with things here and there, and That's Life or the saying go's. so with that being said, It makes me Happy that the Mold is a hit with you. More that Having that Mold to myself. Good casting to Ya, and we will see the Bullets here on the channel soon. Dave.
Thorsaxe777 - Yes, thanks again, Dave - that's a great mold for sure...solid design - looks like they are ready to take on some borregos and guajalote..!! Have a great day, FC Steve
What a nice gift and truly one that will continue to give! BTW...all my moulds are Lee aluminum, but recently purchased an RCBS two cavity mold for .223 bullets. Great mould, but i am amazed at how i got so used to a light aluminum one and found how heavy an iron one is!
Alan Bycroft - That weight thing goes mega for the iron 4 cavity molds - But when the mold casts great bullets, doesn't matter if it's a Lee aluminum 6 cav, or an iron 2 cav - I like 'em all. Best to ya, FC
Hey FC, I like the brake cleaner and Lee molds. Last time I even cleaned my new 105 grain 358 mold with the brake cleaner and forgot later to clean with some soapy water and it still worked like a champ !!
IDK FortuneCookie, I'm thinking that steel molds are not worth the hassle of working with over aluminum molds. All the concern over rusting and such means you'd have to clean the steel mold blocks before you cast with them every time. Doesn't sound like it's worth it considering they also cost 2 to 3 times more than Lee's aluminum molds.
Lee are semi disposable if you cast a lot. Theyre good for learning the ropes, so you can beat it up while you learn how to care for a real mold. I used to think like you a few years ago, but the bullet quality of steel over aluminum is leaps and bounds in terms of grain weight variation, fillout, and bullet release.
***** Cool, they're disposable so they don't cost much. I'll take that over having to do all the work and effort dealing with a steel mold. Which btw, a 6 cavity steel mold will cost 4 times what a Lee mold will.
lol chill on the butthurt. theres a reason steel molds are more expensive, and lee while merely good is dirt cheap. i used lee molds for years with the same attitude where everything else was expensive crap. treat yourself bro, and try a steel mold. the extreme effort you describe is putting it in a sealed box with VCI paper.
superswaglord1945 - This is a difficult discussion in that aluminum vs iron mold, both have advantages and disadvantages. Plus - there is the wild card as every individual mold has its own personality. - some are racehorses; others are prima donnas. And there is the shooting factor where the output of a particular mold shoots lights out further endearing that particular mold to the caster - and the reverse would cause a shooter to shun that mold no matter how well it casts. And casters vary on their preferences - it's completely OK to have them. One thing though is that the Lee 6 cavs are four steps up in quality and performance over their 2 cavs. Just the employment of the Lee steel mold block handles (great value) raises the casting experience all by themselves. (single throw shotgun slug molds are not in this discussion) Have a great day, FC
Dick Tickles: The aluminium mould blocks are very good for trying different weight bullets when you are not sure how your caliber will perform, but the way to go is to buy a brass mould, these are usually a step up in price from the Iron moulds, but do not have the same corrosion potential that the Iron, or indeed the Aluminium blocks have.
hello f 45 lc , the reason that RCBS did use the pin mounting ,is heat transfer ,the block looses not as many heat now tru the handle, and i do use the lee handles on rcbs moulds. and also do some tuningwork at the blocks ,the spru plate is not always flat and sharp at the spru cutter ,heat blueing after that ,do it on a glasplate with some grindingpaste. and the alignmentpins can also be tuned by driving them in or out ,they must keep just enough tension to hold the mould halfs together with some resistance
peteralexben - I thought of milling down my Lee handle to allow fit on RCBS blocks, but since I have some RCBS handles already, it was easy to just switch 'em over. Waiting for a good day to do some casting with the new mold - we'll see how that sprue plate works out - thanks for the tips that may come in very handy... Best of 2017 to ya, FC
Dear Fortune Cookie: What a nice gift! Looks like a good procedure for cleaning the oil out of the mold. It is probably safer than my method of dunking my mold into Coleman Fuel, letting them soak and brushing them out with a toothbrush. I do this for every casting session as I use Ballistol on the molds when I put them away. The Mineral Spirits are not quite as dangerous as the Coleman Fuel, but should probably still be used out of doors. Some casters use acetone to clean prior to casting, I suppose it doesn't matter s long as the mold gets lubrication on the proper points with an appropriate lubricant, I used beeswax, but now use a preparation marketed by Big Lube Bullets, when I am done with the casting session, the molds get an application of Ballistol as a preservative.
Donald Denison - Always great to get your comments, Don - Did you notice how controversial the video was on the DA shooting with SA guns? I'm expecting a lot of dislikes on that one...sorry my reply to you was on the argumentative side... I like the Ballistol also to clean, coat and store...it is a snap to clean up for the next casting session also... Have a great day, FC Steve
Dear Steve: The system has refused to post replies, I detect Big Brother, or Big Stupid, it amounts to the same thing doesn't it. I hope this gets through, I have been experiencing lots of, " message failed to post", responses. Don
Donald Denison - No problem, Don - I got this one, and enjoy getting each and every post from you -- always interesting with lots of wisdom, knowledge and experience. Google does at times do strange things - the most recent is that the total views on my channel just dropped by 300K. Was way over 10 million, now down below into the 900Ks and having to work back up over the magic 10 mill barrier again. Don't see how a channel can lose views - either they happened or didn't...oh well, no problem really... Best to ya, Steve
FLT - Thanks for dropping in, Mike..!! Thor's Axe777 sent me that mold...and that is one tack driver bullet. It would be a nice bullet for that range of yours - the silhouette shooters really like this bullet...Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to ya, FC Steve
I am looking to purchase a .445 round ball mold. What mold brand would you prefer to buy. Most are 2 cavity molds, but there is a 6 cavity made by lee. Should I be buy a Lee, Lyman, or RCBS. Thanks Kirk
I think the aluminum molds by Lee are going to be the best value and probably easiest to work with. I remember seeing a video that FC did that was supposed to be a 18 cavity 000 buckshot mold, but he was having issues with the aluminum mold casting the bottom two rows of the mold and only the top 6 cavities would come out good, so I'm going to assume that if you get any round ball molds that are greater than 6 cavities to avoid the Lee aluminum molds. But you're asking about a 6 cavity mold and I would think the Lee would work fine.
Dicks Taxidermy - Perfect mold for you is the Lee 2 cav - Here is a link to this mold out of MidwayUSA: www.midwayusa.com/product/792631/lee-2-cavity-bullet-mold-445-diameter-round-ball I've used Lee round ball molds before and you can cast a scad of 'em even with a 2 cav because they will drop as fast as you can open the mold. If a tap is required, it will only be one. If shooting BP, you won't even need to quench them as you want soft, not hard. And you can use anything from pure lead to range scrap just fine. For RB, the Lee is the way to go no ifs ands or buts...Best to ya, FC
Well just ordered a lee melting pot ansd bullet mold ! Question. 1. How come the mold size comes smaller than the bullet sizer. Mold 452 and sizer 454 ? Did I by the rite one ? Help if 45 acp semi wad cutter Great timing video.
Brian Meier - Lee TL molds cast much closer to the advertised size (oftentimes right on)...but bullet molds casting bigger than the rated size are the rule rather than the exception. That allows casters to size to the desired diameter. Molds that cast smaller than the caliber are horrible to shoot as is, but great for powder coating or paper patching up to the desired diameter. Good castin' to ya, FC
Only if he plans on living for 150 years, lead melting outside in the amount home casters do has almost no effect on lead levels over normal background amounts.
Why it? - Yes, and they are elevated (not alarmingly), but I've been around lead, cigarettes (2nd hand big time), asbestos all my early and middle life. Our time on this earth is fleeting - the young will find that out, and it won't take long. As Hickok says - Life is good..!! Best to ya, FC
This looks like a very bad idea from RCBS on the new hinge pin retention system ,if the pin is not part of the grub screw and is also in a blind hole, how can you get the pin out when it has been in use for even a short while ? The only way would be to drill the hole right through the block, (with a slightly small drill so the pin does not drop through). The RCBS blocks can easily be modified to fit the Lee handles by milling out the slot wider on your Milling machine.
Englishman French - Or the mold handles can be ground down to fit the slot - a fix either way though... Have a great day, FC
Tks for the video. The mineral spirits works well in fact I use the same technique when ever I want to clean up an old mil surp firearm. I take the gun apart and submerge all the metal parts in mineral spirits. This totally dissolves the cosmoline. At that point I give the parts a light coat of oil and reassemble.
On another not if you want to use the lee handle for the RCBS mold you could simply grind down the jaws to fit. Its easy to do with a bench grinder.
Keep up the good work and thanks again.
Jack Debrot - Good excuse to get a bench grinder...Might just do that as the RCBS handles are not as good as the Lee (and the RCBS handles cost 3x the Lee). Best to ya, FC
Steve.. I also Believe that the enjoyment of life is is the best gift you can give. I hope you get many years of enjoyment with that Mold design. Too many times we center ourselves and struggle with things here and there, and That's Life or the saying go's. so with that being said, It makes me Happy that the Mold is a hit with you. More that Having that Mold to myself. Good casting to Ya, and we will see the Bullets here on the channel soon. Dave.
Thorsaxe777 - Yes, thanks again, Dave - that's a great mold for sure...solid design - looks like they are ready to take on some borregos and guajalote..!! Have a great day, FC Steve
What a nice gift and truly one that will continue to give! BTW...all my moulds are Lee aluminum, but recently purchased an RCBS two cavity mold for .223 bullets. Great mould, but i am amazed at how i got so used to a light aluminum one and found how heavy an iron one is!
Alan Bycroft - That weight thing goes mega for the iron 4 cavity molds - But when the mold casts great bullets, doesn't matter if it's a Lee aluminum 6 cav, or an iron 2 cav - I like 'em all. Best to ya, FC
Well, Thorsaxe777 is a fine gentleman .From what I know, that is a fine mold.
E.Kent.D - Yes, he is!! Just casted the first session with it - makes great looking bullets. Best to ya, FC
Hey FC, I like the brake cleaner and Lee molds. Last time I even cleaned my new 105 grain 358 mold with the brake cleaner and forgot later to clean with some soapy water and it still worked like a champ !!
Nick J - Thanks for posting...good to know... Best Regards, FC
IDK FortuneCookie, I'm thinking that steel molds are not worth the hassle of working with over aluminum molds. All the concern over rusting and such means you'd have to clean the steel mold blocks before you cast with them every time. Doesn't sound like it's worth it considering they also cost 2 to 3 times more than Lee's aluminum molds.
Lee are semi disposable if you cast a lot. Theyre good for learning the ropes, so you can beat it up while you learn how to care for a real mold.
I used to think like you a few years ago, but the bullet quality of steel over aluminum is leaps and bounds in terms of grain weight variation, fillout, and bullet release.
*****
Cool, they're disposable so they don't cost much. I'll take that over having to do all the work and effort dealing with a steel mold.
Which btw, a 6 cavity steel mold will cost 4 times what a Lee mold will.
lol chill on the butthurt. theres a reason steel molds are more expensive, and lee while merely good is dirt cheap. i used lee molds for years with the same attitude where everything else was expensive crap. treat yourself bro, and try a steel mold. the extreme effort you describe is putting it in a sealed box with VCI paper.
superswaglord1945 - This is a difficult discussion in that aluminum vs iron mold, both have advantages and disadvantages. Plus - there is the wild card as every individual mold has its own personality. - some are racehorses; others are prima donnas. And there is the shooting factor where the output of a particular mold shoots lights out further endearing that particular mold to the caster - and the reverse would cause a shooter to shun that mold no matter how well it casts. And casters vary on their preferences - it's completely OK to have them. One thing though is that the Lee 6 cavs are four steps up in quality and performance over their 2 cavs. Just the employment of the Lee steel mold block handles (great value) raises the casting experience all by themselves. (single throw shotgun slug molds are not in this discussion) Have a great day, FC
Dick Tickles: The aluminium mould blocks are very good for trying different weight bullets when you are not sure how your caliber will perform, but the way to go is to buy a brass mould, these are usually a step up in price from the Iron moulds, but do not have the same corrosion potential that the Iron, or indeed the Aluminium blocks have.
hello f 45 lc , the reason that RCBS did use the pin mounting ,is heat transfer ,the block looses not as many heat now tru the handle, and i do use the lee handles on rcbs moulds. and also do some tuningwork at the blocks ,the spru plate is not always flat and sharp at the spru cutter ,heat blueing after that ,do it on a glasplate with some grindingpaste. and the alignmentpins can also be tuned by driving them in or out ,they must keep just enough tension to hold the mould halfs together with some resistance
peteralexben - I thought of milling down my Lee handle to allow fit on RCBS blocks, but since I have some RCBS handles already, it was easy to just switch 'em over. Waiting for a good day to do some casting with the new mold - we'll see how that sprue plate works out - thanks for the tips that may come in very handy... Best of 2017 to ya, FC
Dear Fortune Cookie:
What a nice gift! Looks like a good procedure for cleaning the oil out of the mold. It is probably safer than my method of dunking my mold into Coleman Fuel, letting them soak and brushing them out with a toothbrush. I do this for every casting session as I use Ballistol on the molds when I put them away. The Mineral Spirits are not quite as dangerous as the Coleman Fuel, but should probably still be used out of doors. Some casters use acetone to clean prior to casting, I suppose it doesn't matter s long as the mold gets lubrication on the proper points with an appropriate lubricant, I used beeswax, but now use a preparation marketed by Big Lube Bullets, when I am done with the casting session, the molds get an application of Ballistol as a preservative.
Donald Denison - Always great to get your comments, Don - Did you notice how controversial the video was on the DA shooting with SA guns? I'm expecting a lot of dislikes on that one...sorry my reply to you was on the argumentative side... I like the Ballistol also to clean, coat and store...it is a snap to clean up for the next casting session also... Have a great day, FC Steve
Dear Steve:
The system has refused to post replies, I detect Big Brother, or Big Stupid, it amounts to the same thing doesn't it. I hope this gets through, I have been experiencing lots of, " message failed to post", responses.
Don
Donald Denison - No problem, Don - I got this one, and enjoy getting each and every post from you -- always interesting with lots of wisdom, knowledge and experience. Google does at times do strange things - the most recent is that the total views on my channel just dropped by 300K. Was way over 10 million, now down below into the 900Ks and having to work back up over the magic 10 mill barrier again. Don't see how a channel can lose views - either they happened or didn't...oh well, no problem really... Best to ya, Steve
Hey FC, always exciting when a new mold shows up, eh?
FLT - Thanks for dropping in, Mike..!! Thor's Axe777 sent me that mold...and that is one tack driver bullet. It would be a nice bullet for that range of yours - the silhouette shooters really like this bullet...Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to ya, FC Steve
I may have to try it sometime. Dave is a great guy!
I am looking to purchase a .445 round ball mold. What mold brand would you prefer to buy. Most are 2 cavity molds, but there is a 6 cavity made by lee. Should I be buy a Lee, Lyman, or RCBS.
Thanks
Kirk
I think the aluminum molds by Lee are going to be the best value and probably easiest to work with. I remember seeing a video that FC did that was supposed to be a 18 cavity 000 buckshot mold, but he was having issues with the aluminum mold casting the bottom two rows of the mold and only the top 6 cavities would come out good, so I'm going to assume that if you get any round ball molds that are greater than 6 cavities to avoid the Lee aluminum molds.
But you're asking about a 6 cavity mold and I would think the Lee would work fine.
Thanks....I will buy the Lee 6 cavity mold and see how it works Thanks again
Dicks Taxidermy - Perfect mold for you is the Lee 2 cav - Here is a link to this mold out of MidwayUSA:
www.midwayusa.com/product/792631/lee-2-cavity-bullet-mold-445-diameter-round-ball I've used Lee round ball molds before and you can cast a scad of 'em even with a 2 cav because they will drop as fast as you can open the mold. If a tap is required, it will only be one. If shooting BP, you won't even need to quench them as you want soft, not hard. And you can use anything from pure lead to range scrap just fine. For RB, the Lee is the way to go no ifs ands or buts...Best to ya, FC
Thank You ...I will go there
Well just ordered a lee melting pot ansd bullet mold ! Question. 1. How come the mold size comes smaller than the bullet sizer. Mold 452 and sizer 454 ? Did I by the rite one ? Help if 45 acp semi wad cutter Great timing video.
Brian Meier - Lee TL molds cast much closer to the advertised size (oftentimes right on)...but bullet molds casting bigger than the rated size are the rule rather than the exception. That allows casters to size to the desired diameter. Molds that cast smaller than the caliber are horrible to shoot as is, but great for powder coating or paper patching up to the desired diameter. Good castin' to ya, FC
Do you have any videos on casting 45acp ?
Brian Meier - Yes, but it is that Lee long nose 200 SWC copy of the H&G 68. Great bullet. Have a fine day, FC
do you ever have your doctor check you for lead levels?
Only if he plans on living for 150 years, lead melting outside in the amount home casters do has almost no effect on lead levels over normal background amounts.
Why it? - Yes, and they are elevated (not alarmingly), but I've been around lead, cigarettes (2nd hand big time), asbestos all my early and middle life. Our time on this earth is fleeting - the young will find that out, and it won't take long. As Hickok says - Life is good..!! Best to ya, FC