Gavin Dinghams 44 mould

[Nuclearcricket]

Kurt, I have not played too much with different alloys but what little I have played I have found that it made a little bit of a difference. Linotype will definitely cast a bit larger. I have also found that if you run the temp up you will also get a bit larger bullet from an aluminum mold. I am not sure if it will make a difference in an iron mold or not. I only have a couple of rifle molds in iron, the most are aluminum.
Sam

[J.B.]

Both the 400B & subsequently the 480S I ordered through Tom were brass moulds. The photo in the original post is from that brass mould. Cant fault them and the internal finish throws a bullet that almost looks polished ! I did get one aluminium mould through Tom when I specified a design for my 50/70 ( 51/ 465 S ) and whilst I've had no problems whatsoever, I would probably steer towards brass again for my next. Keep wanting to order a steel mould from him but cant fault the brass. Good guy to deal with too.

Gavin.

ps. did I mention they both shoot really well in the 1/19" Shiloh ..

[Nuclearcricket]

JB, it sounds like you really like your brass mold. I have often wondered about them and would like to ask if you do anything different with a brass mold than you do with any others? I know with my aluminum molds I get the best out of them by smoking the cavities with a butane grill lighter. Anything like that need to be done with the brass or is it just give it a wash, warm it up and cast away till your pot runs dry?
Thanks
Sam

[J.B.]

Sam , I've been very pleased with every mould I've ordered through Accurate Moulds but steered away from aluminium... mainly from some less than stellar performances from a production ( ie. not Accurate ) aluminium mould I purchased years ago. Bad experiences seem to leave a lasting impression. The only issue with the brass is obviously it's not quite as robust as iron...but ..for me at least, I find the temperature easier to maintain than with the aluminium. Also , as I was experimenting with designs... the less expensive option ( ie. not steel ) made sense until I found if the bullet worked. The brass is certainly easy to live with and just gave it a once over with some Shellite and went to work. The finish on the brass cavity is a work of art. The aluminium mould has been great too but requires I adjust my casting tempo a fair bit... and I'm a creature of habit. Not that it's essential for many designs but if Tom ever ventures into radiused meplats.. I think he'll be flooded with orders .
Gavin.

[Caprock]

I asked about the aluminum mold out of curiiousity but I already have a 38-55 Accurate thats brass. Probably the best mold I've ever cast with.

[Nuclearcricket]

Gentlemen, thank you for your responses. As I have stated I have not had any problems with my aluminum molds (NEI and Accurate) but I think my next mold from Accurate I will give the brass a try. And yes I agree that if Tom ever changes his programs or tooling to allow a radius nose bullet he will be swamped once the word gets out. Also incase you have not been on his site of late, he has added a bunch of new designs. I don't know how many pages used to be there but I was on the other day and noticed that he was up to 21 pages of mold designs. That is a bunch of mold designs.
Sam