Need help quick on noe mould

[280Ackley]

I've got the pots fired and am sitting on the porch trying to cast with the new NOE 311 165. I know I must be doing something wrong and I don't want to damage this mould. I followed all the instructions for preping the the mould and preheated it and let it cool several times before starting. But when try to seperate the mould halves they are hanging up on the pins. They are moving on the Lee 6 cavity handles I have attached and when I try to open them they seperate at the back, but hang up on the front pin. Help!!!!

[frank505]

tap lightly on the hole side of the blocks with a nice fitting pin punch, probably just need to move the pin back a few thousands

[Nrut]

If you haven't done it lubricate the pins and bushings they go into...I use a wax graphite stick from LBT or more recently BullPlate from Bullshop...
I just got a Lee 7 mm Soupcan in the mail yesterday and it has the same problem..after observing it a bit while opening and closing it appears that the pins need to be reset further out...
Now to your NOE...I had the same problem last week with my new NOE 311407 mod. .. after watching carefully while opening and closing the mold (on Lee 6 banger handles) I removed the mold from the handles, flipped the handles over, reattached the mold, problem solved...
Try the above and see what happens and good luck..

[SwedeNelson]

280Ackley

We hold our tolerance very close on the pins. This is the only way
we can hold the roundness tolerance every one wants.
Try a little bullplate lube on then and give them a chance
to work in. It should work in as you go.

Swede Nelson

[dragonrider]

While holding the mold open with one hand, grip the front that is open with the other hand and squeeze slightly, it should open up, had the same problem. And of course you are wearing gloves.!!!!!!!! the problem will deminish with use.

[jforwel]

My mold was the same but as Swede said we want close tolerances. After a couple hundred boolits and Bullplate lube the mold worked fine. Next time I'll try flipping the handles like Nrut suggested.

[280Ackley]

Thanks for the quick input. I don't know if it was reversing the handles or the bull shop on the pins, but one of the two worked. I just finished casting about 20lbs worth. Beautiful boolits. Thanks again.

[GLL]

Interestingly I had the same "problem" using LEE handles.

I switch over to the KAL (Red River Rick) 6-cavity handles and the "problem" disappeared !
There may be just a small amount of "slop" in LEE handles to cause this.

Jerry

[Nrut]

Interestingly I had the same "problem" using LEE handles.

I switch over to the KAL (Red River Rick) 6-cavity handles and the "problem" disappeared !
There may be just a small amount of "slop" in LEE handles to cause this.

Jerry

Funny thing Jerry while having the the mold sticking shut on me with the Lee handles I thought since I have a tight tolerance mold I should order some of RRR/KAL handles but not having any I just flipped the Lee's and hoped that would work...When I get my first pension check I'll be order some KAL handles and a thick Lyman sprue plate for my 358156 ...

[Dragon 31]

Have the same problem with the 311-165 but not the 358-180. It was driving me to drink. Now I can try some of the solutions suggested.

[James C. Snodgrass]

I'm glad you mentioned the lee handle problem . I have several and change from mold to mold indiscriminately, and have had similar problems maybe a person should mark em so you which ones are the offenders ? James

[Dale53]

I had the same problem with a Lee six cavity mould when it was new. Lubing with Bullshop's Sprue Plate lube cured it in one session. New moulds sometimes require just a bit of "break in".

Regardless of the brand of handles you are using, examine the handles carefully after installed on the mould blocks to be sure that they are not binding. Sometimes the handles need a little "relieving" either where they fit in the blocks or the mounting holes.

Dale53

[Buckshot]

.............Besides the accurate fit of the alignment pins it's probably mainly simple slop in the Lee handles. With handles that would pull both block halves away from each other without allowing them to tip on the long axis there would be no problem.

I'd written up a review at NOE's Vendor Sponser forum here: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=56593 on a mould I'd been sent for that purpose. The alignment pins are of substantial OD, the same or larger then those on RCBS or Saeco blocks. That's a good thing, but the part that does the actual aligning is the exposed amount of parallel OD that fit's into the receiving block half.

Compared to other moulds the amount of true alignment surface on NOE's pins is simply enormous. Without doing all the measuring and then figureing out the surface area of a cylinder, I'd say the NOE's must have 4x that of RCBS or Saeco. Lyman's 2 bitty pins? Gotta be 10x. When opening, if the NOE blocks want to 'hinge' (open in a 'V') on your handles, then the narrow end pin IS going to hang as it binds in the hole.

Once you just break the blocks open, keep light opening pressure on them and give the handle hinge bolt the lightest tap and they'll open right up. Since all mould handles open in a V, the end farthest away will open first as it describes the shallowest arc.

I have made alterations to one set of Lee handles to eliminate this, which was to drill and tap holes through the handes in front of and behind the block bolt hole. These take setscrews which bear against the block so the rear of the blocks (closest to you) see opening pressure first. But since the NOE blocks are aluminum I don't think the nose of a steel setscrew bearing against it would be best. I doubt the legs of the handle would get hot enough to bother nylon sockehead screws but I haven't tried them.

Other members have described other methods.

..............Buckshot