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Nose pour mold troubles (Read 1062 times)

gunlaker Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 2428 Location: lower mainland, B.C. Joined: Dec 13^th, 2010	Re: Nose pour mold troubles Reply #15 - Oct 2^nd, 2025 at 3:57pm	Print Post
	Once you get the mold hot enough, you should be able to get the reject rate down really low. The last batch of Hoch bullets I cast ( 322205, base pour not a nose pour though ) had the last 93 bullets come in from 208.0 to 208.2gr with no rejects. That mold also likes to be run hot at quickly, but not quite as much as my 322200D which is a nose pour. I also find that ambient temp in my casting shed has a pretty big effect. If it's anywhere near freezing out, I don't even bother with nose pour molds. It's interesting how different the little Hoch molds act compared to my Buffalo Arms molds which use heavy Saeco blocks. With those, depending on temperature, I wait 20-25 seconds after the sprue has frozen to drop the bullet. With the Hoch nose pour molds if I tried that I'd never get a single decent bullet because the mold cools so much faster. I'm glad your having some success. When I first used those molds I found them frustrating. Someone here recommended more heat and speed and suddenly these became my favorite molds to use. Chris.


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bpjack Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 3339 Location: East Olympia, WA Joined: May 18^th, 2008	Re: Nose pour mold troubles Reply #16 - Oct 2^nd, 2025 at 4:55pm	Print Post
	I have a few Hoch nose pour moulds and have never experienced these issues. I cast 20-1 at 820 degrees and smoke to cavities with birthday candles. I cast fairly quickly and cut the sprue as soon as it hardens. Jack

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bpjack Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 3339 Location: East Olympia, WA Joined: May 18^th, 2008	Re: Nose pour mold troubles Reply #17 - Oct 2^nd, 2025 at 7:56pm	Print Post
	I also pre heat on a hot plate.

	ASSRA # 11318 There are more hydrogen atoms in a single molecule of water than there are suns in the entire solar system.
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4570mike Senior Forum Member Offline Posts: 430 Location: On the Peninsula Joined: Apr 11^th, 2013	Re: Nose pour mold troubles Reply #18 - Oct 3^rd, 2025 at 5:26pm	Print Post
	I have a Hoch, .38 cal. Nose pour mold for my 38-55 CPA. Paul recommended it when I ordered the rifle several years ago. Unlike Lyman and other molds, it has more hardware to heat up before it yields good castings. Contrary to some comments here, I use a bottom pour Lyman casting furnace with much success. I think it requires techniques maybe a bit different than a ladle. Like some others, I preheat the mold on a hot plate. I make sure both the top and bottom plated are “hot”. When dropping the melt into the mold, I leave generous blob on top of the sprew plate to insure the nose gets well filled. I cast with 20:1 alloy and set the furnace temp to 800F. If the mold is preheated sufficiently, good castings usually begin to appear after several initial pours. Mike.


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Schuetzendave Frequent Elocutionist Offline Retired Ex-Shooter Posts: 4175 Location: St. Albert, Alberta Joined: Jan 28^th, 2005	Re: Nose pour mold troubles Reply #19 - Oct 3^rd, 2025 at 10:01pm	Print Post
	I ladle pour 20:1 alloy at 826 degrees to obtain the best quality bullets. I do not get frosted bullets. I adjust the time I hold the ladle on the mould to ensure enough weight of lead fully fills the mold but not too long that it starts to drive too much lead resulting in lead whiskers where the mold meets together. Ladle pouring always results in bullets with less weight variation compared to bottom pouring.


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westerner Frequent Elocutionist Offline deleted posts and threads record holder. Posts: 11900 Location: Why, out West of course Joined: May 29^th, 2006	Re: Nose pour mold troubles Reply #20 - Oct 3^rd, 2025 at 10:53pm	Print Post
	cellargun wrote on Oct 1^st, 2025 at 5:39pm: I've had a Hoch nose pour 38/55 mold for nearly 20 years. A random conversation with a friend made me think of it and get it from the depths of my safe. I fired up the Lyman melt pot last night, cast 3 dozen, had 5 that weren't total junk. Tried again today with various lead temps as the PID control on the Lyman makes it easy. 720, 750, 780, with only a few keepers. If the base is flat, the bands are rounded, or only rounded on one side of the mold. If the bands are decent, the base isn't good, or the nose is bad, or combinations of all the above. Now I remember why it's been forgotten in the safe. The lead is 1/20 certified alloy that casts very well for other, albeit smaller, bullets. I heated the mold on the pot rim, tried more heat with a propane torch, all to no avail. Faster pour rate, slower pour rate, the mold tight against the spout, still issues. I even tried pouring some with a ladle with the same less than stellar results. I'm stumped. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks. Think I have the same mold. Number 375-310? Had lots of trouble with mine. I fixed it but don't remember what I did. Works good now. Did that help? Probly not, sorry. Wait, ... , it's, it's, it's coming back to me.... The plates didn't fit the mold blocks tight enough. I shortened the spacer tube and vented the mold. I remember a lot of cussing and other bad language. It was a stubborn pain in the butt but I finally won. Perty sure it was a late production mold for CPA as it casts about .375-6. If it were mine I would look at venting and sprue hole size. Vent it at the nose end. A small bevel with a file across the edge of the mold is all that's needed. You gotta let the air out as the cavity fills with lead.
	« Last Edit: Oct 3^rd, 2025 at 11:06pm by westerner »
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Schuetzendave Frequent Elocutionist Offline Retired Ex-Shooter Posts: 4175 Location: St. Albert, Alberta Joined: Jan 28^th, 2005	Re: Nose pour mold troubles Reply #21 - Oct 3^rd, 2025 at 11:24pm	Print Post
	Agreed I vent all my molds to ensure a sharp square base. Trapped air under the sprue plate reults in rounded base edges since not all the lead can perculate to fully fill the mold. Do not remove too much or you will end up with whiskers off the base of the bullet if the venting is too aggressive.


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Smoke Oldtimer Offline Posts: 785 Location: San Diego Joined: Feb 24^th, 2013	Re: Nose pour mold troubles Reply #22 - Oct 4^th, 2025 at 1:43am	Print Post
	One thing I haven't seen mentioned above is how difficult it can be to get the base filled in properly. Someone, in another post, mentioned that it can be hard to get the base plate to retain heat. I have a .32 mold that I could not get the base to fill in properly. A friend made me a thicker base plate. It retains the heat better, problem solved.

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westerner Frequent Elocutionist Offline deleted posts and threads record holder. Posts: 11900 Location: Why, out West of course Joined: May 29^th, 2006	Re: Nose pour mold troubles Reply #23 - Oct 4^th, 2025 at 8:58am	Print Post
	Smoke wrote on Oct 4^th, 2025 at 1:43am: One thing I haven't seen mentioned above is how difficult it can be to get the base filled in properly. Someone, in another post, mentioned that it can be hard to get the base plate to retain heat. I have a .32 mold that I could not get the base to fill in properly. A friend made me a thicker base plate. It retains the heat better, problem solved. I have 15 Hoch nose pour molds and none have had a problem filling the base. Not a common problem?

	A blind squirrel runs into a tree every once in a while.
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Smoke Oldtimer Offline Posts: 785 Location: San Diego Joined: Feb 24^th, 2013	Re: Nose pour mold troubles Reply #24 - Oct 4^th, 2025 at 10:47am	Print Post
	westerner wrote on Oct 4^th, 2025 at 8:58am: I have 15 Hoch nose pour molds and none have had a problem filling the base. Not a common problem? Don't know. But it solved mine. The mold is .316" x 220 gr.

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Schuetzendave Frequent Elocutionist Offline Retired Ex-Shooter Posts: 4175 Location: St. Albert, Alberta Joined: Jan 28^th, 2005	Re: Nose pour mold troubles Reply #25 - Oct 6^th, 2025 at 12:00am	Print Post
	My Hoch mold was a bottom pour mould.


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Schuetzendave Frequent Elocutionist Offline Retired Ex-Shooter Posts: 4175 Location: St. Albert, Alberta Joined: Jan 28^th, 2005	Re: Nose pour mold troubles Reply #26 - Oct 6^th, 2025 at 12:02am	Print Post
	My Hoch mold was a bottom pour mould I used when I first started Schuetzen but I then converted to only using Paul Jones moulds which had thicker sprue plates which retained heat better.


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