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Old July 9, 2012, 08:16 PM   #1
snuffy
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New Miha mold

MP-432-640 is a RNFP,(Round Nose Flat Point). 271 grains solid, 249 HP. Now, it has 3 pin designs available, PENTA, SMALL ROUND HP, AND LARGE ROUND HP. I got all three. Then you simply turn the pins around to cast a solid.









There simply is nothing else like casting with one of these brass molds. These cramer style HP molds need to be run real hot. I pre-heated the mold (after washing the preservative grease off), on high on top of my hotplate. Even then I had poor fill-out. I had to bump up the alloy temp to further heat the mold, and cast as fast as I could to get decent fillout. Next time, I'll increase the temp, I was casting at 750, might have to bump that up to 775 and maybe add a bit of tin.

That alloy is range lead from an indoor range I cleaned out 3 summers ago.
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Old July 9, 2012, 08:31 PM   #2
Super Sneaky Steve
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Where did you buy this mold? I'm looking at trying some cast HP's.
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Old July 9, 2012, 08:59 PM   #3
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Those are nice!!! I have seen some pretty bullets come out of the Miha molds. I'm on one of the eternal waiting lists for one.
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Old July 9, 2012, 10:13 PM   #4
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Quote:
Super Sneaky Steve
Where did you buy this mold? I'm looking at trying some cast HP's.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/index.php

Over on the Cast Boolits forum, they do group buys.
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Old July 9, 2012, 11:06 PM   #5
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http://www.mp-molds.com/index.php?pr=Molds

Take a look around Miha's website, he often makes extra's when he's making a group buy.

This one cost $156.00 each set of four pins costs $16.00

Here's the discussion on this group buy. I can take up to 18 months to get your mold, sometimes even longer if the interest isn't high. Most times there's a threshold, or minimum order level that has to be attained. If there's little interest, it may never make it, or take a long time.

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/...d.php?t=123375
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Old July 10, 2012, 06:00 AM   #6
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There's nothing quite like a quality brass mold. Though, I must admit, I haven't tried a Miha mold yet.

Running a brass mold is just so smooth and sweet.


...even though the first time you pick one up and feel the weight, you'll wonder what you have gotten yourself into.
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Old July 10, 2012, 12:56 PM   #7
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...even though the first time you pick one up and feel the weight, you'll wonder what you have gotten yourself into.
You got that right Frank! It must weigh 2#, then suspend that on the end of the lee 6 cavity handles. It gets heavier as the session gets longer.

But that extra weight means it holds heat much better than aluminum. The other side of the coin is that it takes longer to reach casting temp. Another + is it won't rust! The sprue plate and guide bushings and pins are steel, they need to be kept dry.

Edited to change the 2 to a 6 on the handles.
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Old July 10, 2012, 05:23 PM   #8
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How do you clean/adjust the sprue plate and the mold face?

Is adjusting the alignment pins pretty much like tweaking the H&Gs?

sd.
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Old July 10, 2012, 05:53 PM   #9
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The sprue plate adjustment is handled by a hex-drive screw with a spring washer under it (serving as the hinge pin). It is locked in position by a hex-drive set screw found on the side of the mold block.
-The allen wrenches shown in the photos on the MP website come with each mold, and are for that very purpose.

I don't know anyone that has had to adjust alignment pins in a Miha mold. But if it was needed, they just use an interference fit.
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Old July 10, 2012, 08:48 PM   #10
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Nice mould and nice bullets for sure. Have seen pics of recovered pentas from these moulds. They are truly SHREDDERS . would be my choice for the BGs'.
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Old July 11, 2012, 12:44 AM   #11
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Those are nice boolits! I like the weight, a bridge between the 245s and 300s. A 270 gr hardcast solid would be a dandy woodswalking round, and plainbase to boot! Some 250 HPs for around the house...One mould does all!

I have one MiHa mould, a 4 cav .452 with the HP pins and it feeds as well as ball. I too, have to run this brass mould a little on the warm side so they wouldn't stick on the pins. I had a little trouble with fill-out around the nose also, and a little tin fixed that in short order. I was up and casting pretty quick with few rejects.

Enough good can not be said about MiHa Moulds. I have casted with many different brands of moulds over the years both steel and aluminum and Mihas brass mould easily became my best mould. Ease of use, lots of nice boolits in a hurry, convertible, and a very nice looking mould. The man is an artist that makes these moulds. 156 bucks is a bargain for this mould.
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Old July 11, 2012, 08:29 AM   #12
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Quote:
How do you clean/adjust the sprue plate and the mold face?

Is adjusting the alignment pins pretty much like tweaking the H&Gs?
The sprue plate should never need cleaning if you're running the mold using bull plate sprue plate lube. It was sold by a guy in Alaska that has since gone out of business. It's simply synthetic 2 cycle motor oil. Sprue plate is put on a hot mold in places you want a thin film to prevent lead from sticking. The hinge for the sprue plate, guide pins and under the sprue plate and on the top of the mold. Miha provides a small bottle with each mold. It's a high temp lube that does NOT oxidize, but prevents lead build up and lubricates too.

He also provides a top punch for Lyman and RCBS lubrisizers. It fits the top of the bullet precisely.

As for the guide pins, Miha is using a new design. The old pins were a round nose design that slid into a precise hole in the opposing block. The new ones are a more truncated cone type that align precisely with a tapered hole in the other side. Lock-up is positive. If they ever were to wear,(the lube should prevent that), I'm sure a nudge on the back of the pins would make them tighten up.
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Old July 11, 2012, 11:43 PM   #13
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I agree these molds are works of art. I have 2 right now and wish I could get another. The first mold I bought was a 359640. It has the same design as the one pictured in this thread but is (obviously) for the .357mag. It casts 158gr HP and 170gr Solid. The penta pins for it are a little small for my liking but the round pins cast like a dream. The boolits practically jump right out of the mold. I have yet to even need to tap the mold to get the boolits to release with the round pins in.

The second mold I got was the 402-160. It is pretty much the same design as the -640s and it too casts wonderfully. I have only ever cast it with the penta pins but they work great and look great.

I was hoping to be able to pick up a 2-cav of that 432-640 for my .44mag. Hopefully my mold funds will be replenished fairly soon. There are just too many group buys happening that I really want to get in on. I should be getting my NOE 429421 mold sometime in the next 5 or 6 weeks.
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Old July 11, 2012, 11:49 PM   #14
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Snuffy, I may have to twist your arm some and work out some kind of swap for some of those hollow points.

Frank, if you are in the SLC area, I might be able to work things out to let you try one of my MP molds. Like I said, I have one for the .357 and one for the .40. Both cast extremely well. Neither are for sale though.
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Old July 12, 2012, 09:10 AM   #15
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Stick, I am on the new group buy for the 358156 that's going on right now. It'll be 360 with gas check and just the plain round pins. I know it'll be this fall before it's ready.

This 44 mold is number four, the 356156 will be #5. My first was the 700 grain "grand canyon" mold for the 500 S&W. I also have the 200 RNFP-HP, and the .452 H&G #68 SWC. They did a run with the H&G 68 in a HP design as well, but one HP .45 mold is enough.

I could send you a batch of these, but not just yet. See, it's been darn hot out, I stay comfortable inside with the central air on, but I don't like casting with it on. Why add more heat, while it's fighting to withstand the onslaught from old sol.

I also have to figure out what this mold wants to cast acceptable boolits. This first run had at least a 50% reject rate, I'm real happy with 10%. That's what I strive for, but I'm real picky during inspection. Complete fill-out, no wrinkles and sharp bases and driving bands. It could be as simple as adding 1% tin, that would aid in fill-out and lower the temp for casting as well. Not bad for a first run though.
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Old July 12, 2012, 10:05 AM   #16
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On my 402-160 mold, I found that adding about 1% tin to my 50/50 COWW/SOWW alloy and then running at about 720* will give me excellent results with a reject rate well below 10%. The mold does like to run hot, generally bordering on frosting the boolits. The 359640 is showing signs it likes things the same as the 402-160. Both molds are 2-cav but I have just started to cast with the 359640. There is a little bit of a learning curve with each mold but once you get them running they don't want to stop.
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Old July 12, 2012, 11:30 AM   #17
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Snuffy, post # 12

The lube, synthetic 2 cycle oil, does not wick to the face/cavity or cook off the pins and plate?...if so, does it need to be reapplied occasionally?

I ask because I have apparently just plain, flat ruined a H&G and do not want to repeat that same mistake.

I got out of casting for a bunch of years and slathered a bunce of wheel bearing cup grease on the H&G before putting it in the closet. Its never been the same since.

Convoluted logic directed me to Miha and his no oxide blocks. Now I understand that they need lube to 'run'?

Suggestions appreciated.

thanks,

salty
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Old July 12, 2012, 01:36 PM   #18
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Salty, no it doesn't wick or spread all over. When I say "film", I mean you can hardly see that you're putting any on the sprue plate or top of the mold. I use a Q tip that I scrape the excess off on the top of the bottle. Then I lube the sprue pivot point and the guide pins, doing the underside of the sprue plate next, then the top of the mold last.

It does not burn off, I may do another coating each time I use the mold, never during use.

Lee suggests you use their 50/50 alox/beeswax lube to lubricate the guide pins. It migrates into the cavities causing wrinkles and poor fill-out. Then it oxidizes into a black-baked on crud that's nigh on impossible to get off.

Quote:
Now I understand that they need lube to 'run'?
Any mold needs lubrication. The sprue plate hinge/pivot point being the the most important. Guide pins on some molds can wear quickly if not kept lubed.

As for that ruined H&G, try submerging it in boiling water with lots of dawn or joy in it. Boil it for ½ hour, then let it flash dry after rinsing in very hot tap water. If it's grease in the pores, that should remove it.
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Old July 12, 2012, 03:45 PM   #19
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Saltydog,

If you have gummed up iron or steel, you can buy liquid paint stripper and let it soak in that for a couple of weeks in a glass or metal container (but it must have no plastic or rubber lid seal; card stock only). That should rid you of any trace of trace of remaining hydrocarbons and grease. If you burned the stuff during casting attempts with it, actual hardened carbon will be present. Probably the fastest way to get rid of your problem is Slip 2000 Carbon Killer. I expect it will remove hydrocarbons and grease, too. It smells a bit like Berryman's carburetor cleaning solution.

If you are more patient, just get a small spray bottle of Gunzilla BC-10 CLP and wet it with that and let it sit for a month under cover. That stuff actually breaks the bonds in the carbon, gradually turning it into a kind of soft sludge. Much of the carbon then falls off or may be wiped off.

Boretech also has a good carbon remover called C4. I've not tried it on baked-on carbon, but it may do the job. A fellow who shoots black powder told me that he cleaned his bronze cap nipples with it and it made them bronze-colored again for the first time since he'd bought them. So it takes off some kinds of old carbon well.
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Old July 12, 2012, 06:07 PM   #20
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I've never tried the Slip 2000 Carbon Killer, but Berryman's carb cleaners are the only products I'll touch for carburetor and carbon cleaning, now.

If you can't locate any of Unclenick's suggestions, I'd recommend Chem-Dip Carburetor and Parts Cleaner (the Berryman's carb cleaner Unclenick referenced). Buying the 96 ounce pail at retail will set you back about $30 - maybe a few $$ less.

Even though I am an absolute fan of Berryman's B-12 Carb Cleaner (spray can) for carbon removal, I think it would be a very poor choice for this application. The primary ingredients in the spray can are: Acetone, MEK, and Toluene. All will leave you feeling "stoned" if proper ventilation is not used. All are very volatile and will evaporate before a decent soak time is attained. And, many people seem to have serious reservations about working with any of those chemicals in today's world. (Obviously, I'm not one of them. )


Whatever you do.... I would definitely try boiling it, first.
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Old July 13, 2012, 01:09 PM   #21
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Miha has some extras of this mold. If you're interested, you should NOT wait. His post on the cast boolit forum, the Closed Buys/Waiting for delivery/in shipment forum, he said to PM him from there,(cast boolit forum). I'm sure you could get ahold of him through his website;

http://www.mp-molds.com/index.php?pr=Molds
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Old July 13, 2012, 03:45 PM   #22
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Good looking boolits there Snuffy.

I know how you feel pouring through those MP's for sure.

I got into casting my own early last year using the Lee 6 bangers.

Then I jumped in on the tail end of one of the MP group buy;s just in time to get my first, in only about a month's time. After that I was hooked.

I have 4 of them now, the 258 for the 41, the 503 for the 44, and the 452-640 and 45-270 SAA for the 45, if you ain't got his 45-270 SAA version I gotta tell ya you need to get one. MAN-O-MAN, what nice bollits it does throw.
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Old July 14, 2012, 09:48 PM   #23
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Snuffy, I don't know whether to thank you or to cuss at you. After seeing those pics and thinking about it a little while, I now have a serious need to get rid of my RCBS 44-225 SWC GC mold. If I can sell it, it will make 3 molds sold to raise most of the funds needed for the new one from Miha. Ordered the mold yesterday for a hunting load and for use in a (hopefully) new levergun some day in the not too distant future.

Taking stock of the molds I have and which ones I use (and want to keep) vs the ones I have but don't use. 2 Lyman molds for the .357mag sold today. May need to start looking at selling off some brass too.
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Old July 15, 2012, 06:19 AM   #24
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I see you were running your temps a bit hotter than what I and a friend are pouring at. Of course the alloy will make that the deciding factor as well though. We're at this time using mostly either range lead or 1/3/96 or 2.5/2.5/95 Iso alloy. So far we have both found that right in the 725 - 735 degree area, depending on which caliber mold we're pouring, is the sweet spot for these alloys. We both have the same molds I listed above.

I am hopefully going to put some other 16-1, or similar together in the upcoming weeks to see if I can keep my noses from blowing off at the velocities were shooting. The alloys listed above do good, but we haven't been able to find any hogs to test expansion out on just yet. In soft sandy loam which is what I pack my recovery buckets with, they are showing excellent expansion but I get rings and half rings whee the noses separated form the bases. Not sure just how this will be on a decent sized boar hog of around 200# up close and personal. I would much rather have the full boolit shreading through as much as possible over leaving the nose shed int he shield.

Stick_Man,

Your in for a treat for sure. Just be sure to preheat before you start casting with that big chunk of brass. It makes all the difference in the world.

When I got mine, I did the usual soapy scrub out, followed up with a heat up to get everything dried off. Once I had everything good and warm I used a Q-tip and applied just a touch of the included oil to the top of the mold, and bottom of the sprue plate, then after inserting the pins I wanted to use, I took the Q-tip and swabbed it along all of the pins where they stuck out the sides, then pushed them through and did the other sides. Just enough that I could see there was a film on them while holding the mold where the light would shine on the light oil verses the dry pins. It don't take much.

Once up to temp those pins will slide through like they are on bearings. I also found that if I alternated front to back, then back to front pours I kept the pins up to temp a lot easier. Don't get frustrated with the penta pins, they simply need to be kept hot, period. If you have boolits that stick, just bump up your alloy temp a smidge, and reheat your mold on the hot plate a minute or two. Once you get there they will fall off like they were greased.

One last thing, you might want to pick up a cheap cookie sheet to use to drop these on. I have had some, which once I was in a good rhythm, were deforming the noses and some of the driving bands as they dropped due to still being a bit soft. The larger sheet will allow you to dump them in a larger area and roll them out of the way once they cool down a bit. Thus reducing any chance of denting the noses or driving bands. Trust me when I say, once you get it up to temp and are dumping those fine HP's out you sort of get lost in the process, and are simply just pouring and dumping. I emptied my 4-20 in a heartbeat, and was almost shocked when I raised the handle and only got a dribble. LOL

Good luck with yours you will enjoy it for sure.
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Old July 15, 2012, 11:46 PM   #25
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Mike, I totally agree with everything you just said. This will be my third Mihec mold. I am looking forward to it. With my .402-160, all I ever cast is with the penta pins. Haven't tried the round hollow points with it yet. I find the round hollow points drop better with my .359640 though plus the penta pins look like they are just a touch undersized for the meplate. The round hollows drop from the mold without even needing to bump or tap the mold at all.

I find that 700-730* works very well with my brass molds. Warming the molds up on the melting pot while the lead is heating up does the trick to where I am getting keepers on the second pour and often on the first pour.

I clean the molds first, lube them same as you do, heat them up and cool them a few times, then start the magic. No smoking the cavities, no release agents, just run the cavities naked and am getting great results.

Here is a pic of some of the .402-160s with the penta hollow points.
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