I have been casting a long time and have a lot of molds. Some almost always drop the bullets out. Some not so much. Some release the bullet or bullets well some days and not so much the next time. I have been able to improve some by very careful stoning of the edges. Sometimes smoking seems to help.
What have you found as the best way to get bullets to fall out of the mold? All advice appreciated.
John
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Greetings,
FWIW, when I sometimes have a problem with sticking I tap the mold a few more times on the nut, on the handle of the offending side, the outside of the mold itself lightly, then tap the bullet if need be. I have never been able to isolate where the sticky bullets were in the run, nor even which mold offends the most. So far no major problems with sticking bullets. Also, FWIW, I have never smoked or otherwise treated the inside of my molds other than one time few years ago before I left for a while I wiped down the molds with 3-in-1 oil, then when I got back I wiped the molds out with alcohol then cast a handful of bullets right away. Didn't use the bullets, they were put into the re-cast bowl and used later.
My tapper is the head of an old hickory axe that a cousin of mine modified the handle of. He came to visit, said he loved splitting wood, grabbed the axe, and on the first swing managed to over swing and split the handle of the axe in the middle. Guess I should have asked which wood he loved to split, the firewood or the axe handle wood.
TK
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My mallet is the handle part of an old baseball bat that was split at the business end. It works great for the sprue plates. I have one mold that sticks just a bit sometimes, I've noticed it will begin releasing again after it cools a bit.
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Mine was sold by them, but working on the first can I bought about 1995.
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The bullet mold release product I find in Midway is Frankfort Arsenal brand. Is this the right stuff?
John
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The Midway brand can get thick if you let it, but normally just a little works.
David Reiss - NRA Life Member & PSC Range Member Retired Police Firearms Instructor/Armorer
-Services: Wars Fought, Uprisings Quelled, Bars Emptied, Revolutions Started, Tigers Tamed, Assassinations Plotted, Women Seduced, Governments Run, Gun Appraisals, Lost Treasure Found.
- Also deal in: Land, Banjos, Nails, Firearms, Manure, Fly Swatters, Used Cars, Whisky, Racing Forms, Rare Antiquities, Lead, Used Keyboard Keys, Good Dogs, Pith Helmets & Zulu Headdresses. .
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Re mould release: something different than NEI Mould Prep? I never could get that on thin enough.
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Yep, I have a partial can for when nothing else works and I can't sell the mould to someone else.
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One thing I didn't mention as to why I use the mold release, it is that I have tried all the other things suggested. It seems to me that sometimes you just get a stubborn mold that whatever you try just doesn't want to give up the bullet(s). The mold release spray works 99% of the time.
Besides I would rather cast bullets than chase a mystery I might never solve.
David Reiss - NRA Life Member & PSC Range Member Retired Police Firearms Instructor/Armorer
-Services: Wars Fought, Uprisings Quelled, Bars Emptied, Revolutions Started, Tigers Tamed, Assassinations Plotted, Women Seduced, Governments Run, Gun Appraisals, Lost Treasure Found.
- Also deal in: Land, Banjos, Nails, Firearms, Manure, Fly Swatters, Used Cars, Whisky, Racing Forms, Rare Antiquities, Lead, Used Keyboard Keys, Good Dogs, Pith Helmets & Zulu Headdresses. .
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When I read the above I was amazed to see that no one uses my method: beat the *&#$% out of it with a 3# hammer and curse a lot. Well, Jeff in NZ did half of it.
Besides the constantly sticking cavity(s), there are some moulds, some times, with some alloys will have one cavity that just won't quite give up its treasure every time its opened. Tap tap tap like a blind man on the back side of the hinge pin just before (or after) opening. If that doesn't work look for vent line intrusion of lead or something there that shouldn't be. Curse some more. Then, get an ink pen eraser and give a good rub down to mould edges on that cavity. If that doesn't work, do like Ric and others mentioned and gently lap the thing. Or, if it is a cheap mould, give it to a caster that you don't like. 
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What have you found as the best way to get bullets to fall out of the mold? All advice appreciated.
John
This WORKS for me. I simply mix a lube (like graphite, Molybdenum Disulphide, or BEST is the Tungsten Disulphide) with a light grease. Apply a thin layer to mold surfaces (not cavity) and heat the mold with a propane torch (burns off grease). Lead does not stick to it and the bullets drop out easily.
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Rog,
Mold release works for me, I say to each his own. But what the hell is "fynyat"? I googled it it but no luck. Does it come from the same dictionary that contains fubar?
David Reiss - NRA Life Member & PSC Range Member Retired Police Firearms Instructor/Armorer
-Services: Wars Fought, Uprisings Quelled, Bars Emptied, Revolutions Started, Tigers Tamed, Assassinations Plotted, Women Seduced, Governments Run, Gun Appraisals, Lost Treasure Found.
- Also deal in: Land, Banjos, Nails, Firearms, Manure, Fly Swatters, Used Cars, Whisky, Racing Forms, Rare Antiquities, Lead, Used Keyboard Keys, Good Dogs, Pith Helmets & Zulu Headdresses. .
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We're a sttange lot...my hinge tapper is a piece of broomstick inserted into a section of pvc, thereafter wrapped with duct tape.
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ink erasers, 0000 steel wool tightly wrapped around a plastic-tipped cleaning rod, and a plastic mallet works for me.
Sorry, David. Mold release is fynyat.
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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I check the edges of the cavities under magnification. I use Spindifts method but use bamboo skewers as they are very hard and do this with even new aluminum molds. Worst case I have used a 600 grit triangular stone but fortunately it has been needed very rarely.
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I use a file to take the rough edge off the mated edges of the mould. That's what's sticking.
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With a new mould, I scrape all vent lines and cavity edges with a viciously sharp wooden toothpick. I sometimes find small burrs, and keep harassing them with the toothpick until they fall of.
I always check carefully hollow point pins. They often require some light polishing with steel wool.
A regular graphite pencil is a good release agent. I keep one handy while casting. You can also use this to temporarily reduce flow in the vent lines, if you get whiskers.
Sometimes, sooting with a regular butane lighter is helpful. Particularily with aluminum moulds, I have found.
Interesting thread!
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Here is a light weight hammer that works pretty good.
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A tidy wee lapping as suggested above. And swearing. Lots of swearing.
Cheers from New Zealand
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I recall having one aluminum mold that was bored off-center of mold parting line. Bullets would consistently get stuck on one side and would not release no matter how hard I hit it. I called the maker and he said to use steel wool and dull the sharp parting edge of cavity of which bullets always stuck. Polished only the mold half the bullet sticks to. This did fix problem and he said it would have no effect on performance.
You said Molds (plural) as in more than one. It would be unusual for several different molds to be bore off center.
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jeff houck
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Aaron
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Wilderness
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Tom Acheson
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John Carlson
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sghart3578
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Spindrift
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alphabrass
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SkinnerD
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MP1886
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