Which mould?

[sumoj275]

I have a .54 cal rifle on its way and should be here next week. I don't have a .54 cal but a .50cal, .45 PH Volunteer, .45 pistol, .44 revolver, and a .36 Twist brl. I will be getting or building a Trade Gun this summer, and hopefully a .32/.36 cal before years end. Now instead of buying balls all the time, I have a 100 lbs of 1/40 lead so I want to make my own. So here is the question---which moulds to use? I see Lee is the best priced, but aluminum. Lyman/RCBS are not too bad and are steel. Is the Lyman/RCBS really worth the increased price? Anything to worry about one or the other? Any help/thoughts/insight would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[bpd303]

I prefer the Lee molds. They heat up quicker and if you take care of them they will last a long time. You have to follow the directions that come with them and don't abuse them, but I always get good boolits with them and you don't have to worry about rust. I don't think the Lyman/RCBS are worth the extra cost. I cast 48 different types and about half my molds are steel the rest are Lee, some over 20 years old. I'm sure some will disagree with me.

 

[tenngun]

Have used both lee and lyman.Lees heats up quiker I cast about 10 balls droping them in to the pot.Then cast getting abou8 good balls per 10 cast.It willover heat easy but cools quikly.I like the lee and for my shooting it works great.Lymen is good and solid and I have no complaints.

 

[Billnpatti]

Lee makes a great mold. I have used other brands but most of my many molds are Lee. They work great and I never could see the need for spending more money for one of the other significantly more expensive brands. My recommendation is to go with Lee.

 

[Dphar]

I have a .54 cal rifle on its way and should be here next week. I don't have a .54 cal but a .50cal, .45 PH Volunteer, .45 pistol, .44 revolver, and a .36 Twist brl. I will be getting or building a Trade Gun this summer, and hopefully a .32/.36 cal before years end. Now instead of buying balls all the time, I have a 100 lbs of 1/40 lead so I want to make my own. So here is the question---which moulds to use? I see Lee is the best priced, but aluminum. Lyman/RCBS are not too bad and are steel. Is the Lyman/RCBS really worth the increased price? Anything to worry about one or the other? Any help/thoughts/insight would be appreciated.
Thanks

Aluminum moulds are very, very easy to damage and require coating (and recoating and recoating) with something like mould prep to keep the sprue plate from eating the top of the mould.
I consider them throwaways. I have one I bought to try a heavy bullet in a 44 mag. The rest of my moulds are Lyman, RCBS or customs made on iron blocks. They last forever.

Dan

 

[M. De Land]

I use Lee for all my balls and mini's and particularly like the short sprues on them that will swage off by rolling them in a tumbler.
Steel is not used in mold making generally but rather a fine grain cast iron known as mehannite (spelling incorrect)but how it sounds.
Clean them out well with acetone or brake cleaner and give them a film of smoke from a wood match and your good to go. They do not have to be smoked black, just a very thin,almost invisible coating of smoke is what is needed and preferred. Also if you will dip a corner of your mold in the melt after it is brought up to casting temperature it will be the right heat after a count of five. Iron molds take a bit longer maybe a count of ten and you can cast good balls almost from the beginning.
One of the secrets of good casting is to reach and maintain the temperature through out the casting session for consistency of diameter and weight. For this to be accomplished requires a good lead thermometer.I like to cast at 750 degrees F. for balls and a bit higher for long and heavy bullets.
Casting good bullets for long range black powder cartridges that are often nearly 1.5 inches long and weigh over five hundred grains and be with in 3/4's of a grain variation will teach one something about proper casting technique. Balls and short bullets are very easy to cast when good casting technique is followed.
Also what Dan said about scuffing from the sprue plate is correct but easily remedied. The plate corners need to be stoned to break the sharp edge and then both the under side of the plate as well as the top of the mold gone over with a carpenters pencil. This graphite coating will make them last for many years of continual use along with keeping lead from sticking on them. I usually remove the plate from all molds as soon as I get them, stone them perfectly flat and break the corner edge all around with the same stone or emery paper on a piece of plate glass. Much of the scuffing is usually caused from the fill hole bottom which is corrected by stoning them flat before first use. MD

 

[mooman76]

I have allot of moulds, mostly Lee and Lee work just fine. Just take care of them like you would any tool and lube them and they should last a long time. RBs are fairly simple also, they are just a RB so there is even less need for a heavier mould material.

 

[Rifleman1776]

IMHO Lyman's are preferable over the Lee. The Lymans hold the temp more evenly. They do take a bit longer to heat but they produce more consistent results.
That said, these days the Lymans are budget busting expensive and Lee is usually the hands down 'no brainer' choice for most of us.
I lost about a dozen Lyman moulds in a move years ago and am still crying over it.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I use both lee and lyman molds, most bought second hand. Both will work well for thousands of balls if properly cared for/. I do most of my casting using a modified Dixie "hair curler " mold I bought for $19.00 back in the early 70's.Since I shoot my target rifle more than all of the others combined. :idunno:

 

[George T.]

I have both and have used both. If I was looking a high volume over many years I would buy the steel. My 2 Cents. Geo. T.

 

[jamesthomas]

So far I made over a 1000 .490 rbs with my Lee double mold, No problems. When ya get it going at a good pace it will do just fine. I can usually keep them within 2 grns. Plus they come with handles, with Lyman you have to pay extra to get a pair handles.

 

[mooman76]

Some of my Lee moulds I have also done thousands of bullets and some I bought used. I have yet to wear one out and don't think I will but I could buy 3 Lee moulds and still not have into what a Lyman costs and the Lee comes with handles.

Another point Lee is the only one that comes duel cavity for the 54.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I have Lyman, Lee, and RCBS. The Lee is good for folks on a budget, and who might want to cast about 50 bullets or less a year. I think you will get better results from properly hand cast bullets than store bought. The aluminum though is less durable.

The Lyman and RCBS molds that I have are made to last, and to produce large amounts of cast bullets year after year. Plus, the handles are much longer so less heat on my gloved hands. So it would be better for a person who is going to wear out an aluminum mold every three years or so, to go ahead and spend the money to get the more durable mold, if you have the budget for it.

LD

 

[sumoj275]

I appreciate the info guys. I will probably look and get a Lee just because I am on a budget right now--new baby and on a single income at the moment. Momma about blew a gasket when I told her I bought a used .54 rifle, even though I sold an AR to get it. Kinda funny how something that did not bug her for 15 years now gets me a chewing :idunno:

 

[FPDoc]

I have Lee moulds Ive been casting with for well over 30 years. Iron rusts, aluminum is soft, pick your poison. I dont have any argument with the plusses of Lyman, RCBS, H&G etc. and have used them all but Lee is very affordable. If you ever "need" a better mould you will know it and you will know which manufacturer you need to purchase from and you will know why no other will do (so you can explain it to your wife), if you dont, Lee is a good choice and will serve you well. Now.. .530 or .535?

 

[M. De Land]

After one has cast with a good custom lathe bored mold they will spoil you for cherry cut molds. I have many Lee and Lyman,several RCBS and several custom from Brooks and Jones.
Lyman has gotten pretty sloppy over the last ten years or so and many of my bullets from their molds are out of round several thousands. I've even seen some Lyman molds that were out of line as well. Mike D.

 

[Many Klatch]

No one has mentioned Jeff Tanners Moulds yet. http://www.jt-bullet-moulds.co.uk/ Jeff makes his moulds of brass. He sells his moulds for about $50 and they arrive at your door from England in about a week. The moulds are custom made and can be in any size that you want.

You will need to buy Lyman handles to use a Tanner mould, he doesn't include handles. His moulds also do not have a sprue cutter, but I have found that sidecuts do a pretty good job after the balls have cooled.

Many Klatch

 

No one has mentioned Jeff Tanners Moulds yet. http://www.jt-bullet-moulds.co.uk/ Jeff makes his moulds of brass. He sells his moulds for about $50 and they arrive at your door from England in about a week. The moulds are custom made and can be in any size that you want.

You will need to buy Lyman handles to use a Tanner mould, he doesn't include handles. His moulds also do not have a sprue cutter, but I have found that sidecuts do a pretty good job after the balls have cooled.

Many Klatch

I recently started using a Tanner mold and discovered a plus I wasn’t expecting.
I use a bottom pour furnace, purchased after a succession of “not up to the job” hotplates. With Lee and Lyman molds the sprue consists solely of the countersink in the cut-off plate. I keep a piece of wire handy to push it free because it practically never just falls off. Since sprue and ball remain together with a Tanner mold, that problem doesn’t happen. Another problem that goes away is the occasional hollow point caused by not having enough lead above the cavity to fill it as the lead cools. The design of the Tanner mold provides a lot more molten lead above the ball and (so far) the hollow point problem has not happened with the Tanner mold.
About a half an hour or so with the world’s most expensive rock tumbler takes care of the sprue left after cutting off the waste.
Another Tanner mold in .590 or .595 might be in my future.
One more thing.
The Tanner mold I have now was a snug fit with Lee handles. I don’t think they would fit the older Lyman handles that were cast instead of stamped.

 

[VEARL]

I bought a Tanner mould in .570 Diam.
Am very happy with it.
And yes they will fit Lyman handles. Bought a set of extra long handles from TOTW for around $ 19.00.

 

[M. De Land]

I like the looks of those molds. How are the sprues removed in a consistent manor? Mike D.