New mold break in

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  • Last Post 06 May 2018
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BigMan54 posted this 05 May 2018

Got a new 5cav aluminum mould from ACCURATE this morning.  Scrubbed cavities with DAWN & boiling water rinse, then scrubbed entire mould with acetone & now sitting out on patio with hot plate. "Seasoning" it. Heat up to almost 400degrees then cool down, repeat 4 times. Using my Infrared Thermometer I get a reading of almost 400degrees on the blocks, but 500degrees plus on the sprue plate. Now I've only done this "seasoning" once before on  N.O.E. mould in JANUARY  & I didn't have Infrared Thermometer then. Just turned up hot plate full & let mould sit for 10minutes. Then cool down & repeat. Cast over 1500 bullets with the N.O.E. with a 4% rejection rate. Best casting mould I've ever owned.  

Is this normal for the steel sprue plate to be 100degrees hotter then the mould halves ?

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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RicinYakima posted this 05 May 2018

Well, aluminum dissipates heat much faster into the air. The steel gets hot and stays hot. That is why you cast at lower temperatures with iron moulds.

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BigMan54 posted this 05 May 2018

Ric,

Thank you. In the year & a half that I've been using muli-cavity aluminum moulds, my knowledge continues to expand. It's a lot different then using 4cav SAECO & LYMAN moulds.

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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OU812 posted this 05 May 2018

Smoke the aluminum mould surface before taking infra red reading. Maybe the shiny surface is giving false reading.

Cheap CRC electrical spray cleaner from Walmart works good to clean mould. Its cost way less than Gun Blaster spray solvent.

Small spray cans of compressed air come in really handy also.

 

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BigMan54 posted this 06 May 2018

OU812,

When I run out of Brake Cleaner I use the same Electrical contact cleaner that I use on the contacts on my old three wheel scooter. When ever I take it out to the rifle range it'll need a "spray down" after 4-5 trips down to the 200yd target stands. And I've had a can of spray air on my bench ever since it came out. And I buy acetone by the gallon. I have to refill the nail polish remover bottles for 5 different women. But I'm going to try smoking a mold corner before I put it on the hot plate. 

Thanks for the idea's.

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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