LBT Mould Questions.....Veral?

[krems]

Veral,
Thanks for the great bullet moulds. I received 3 of them last August  (500 linebaugh and 45 colt) and they all work beautiful.  I got a question for you if you wouldn't mind answering.  Why do you use Aluminum for your moulds instead of cast iron.  Have you ever offered other materials for your moulds. Just curious as I was led to believe that Aluminum moulds are fragile and more prone to warpage than cast iron.   Out of curiosity what grade of Aluminum can withstand the high temps and pounding that your moulds receive and still hold up.  Thanks in advance

Krems

[jhalcott]

  Pounding??? Please explain that remark!

[krems]

Pounding was a poor choice of words.  I know a few people that still knock the sprue plate off w/ a hammer.  I wear a glove and use my hand only.  If the bullet sticks I tap the mould handles.  I'm not sure about other peoples casting technique.  I'm sure Veral has seen it all and replaced a few moulds that were messed up by poor casting technique.

Krems

[calvon]

Veral explains in his book "Jacketed Performance with Cast Bullets" why he uses aluminum for his molds.

[Veral]

I use 2024 T351 aluminum for my molds, because it is warpage free, and takes a pounding as well as any other.

Pounding is the right word, and beating is good one too.  Better than any of the four letter words that also fit mould abuse..  Most casters don't beat them, and knocking sprues with a piece of wood won't hurt the molds if some thought goes into the blows.

If one can hear the mold go closed it is wise to slow the closing down a little till the sound is just a soft click.  If it cracks shut, it is getting pounded, and any metal will show the grief after some use.  So though cast iron or steel will stand more pounding than aluminum, it will still suffer, so why not use nice light warp free, and more corrosion resistant aluminum?