November 7, 2015

Scored three nice enough Winchester tools last weekend in San Marcos; a 38WCF loading tool and moulds marked 45 Gov and 40-72. I’m in the process of getting the caked-on gunk off the moulds but the loading tool is remarkably clean. All three appear to be in good working order. I wasn’t able to find any Winchester firearms I wanted at this show but was pretty tickled to find these at the next table. In case you’re wondering, I don’t have a rifle chambered in 40-72. Yet.
Mike
November 7, 2015

tim tomlinson said
Mike, How are you trying to clean up the moulds? Particularly, the cavities? Tim
Tim-
Soft brush and LCP on the mould faces and cavities. I let them soak overnight after an initial brushing, will wipe them off in a little while. Cavities actually look quite good but the mating faces have some gunk and the exterior has some old oil and dirt caked on them. Somebody wiped them down with oil before retiring them years (or decades) ago and that oil has protected them fairly well but has also attracted a bit of dust & dirt. I’ll leave the patina but I think it’s fun to cast at least a handful from these fine old moulds before I retire them again. The 40-72 mould is a bit rough but I think it will clean up enough to cast a decent bullet.
Mike
November 7, 2015

As it turns out the better looking of the two moulds was actually in the poorer condition. The 45 GOV mould (left) showed signs of abuse after a little cleaning while the 40-72 (right) cleaned up pretty good. Unfortunately both moulds showed a fair bit of light. Apparently someone tried to dress up the 40-72’s mating faces without removing the pin. I suppose they’re good for what I bought them for; eye candy.
Mike
Back to Mike, yeah, think they are eye candy only, now. I have a mould for the .45-75. Outside is rough. The cavity is nice, though, and I have cast fairly decent bullets with it. I lucked out on that one. Bound to go the other way some time as well. Too many folks used metallic items to knock cast bullets loose, rather than a hammer HANDLE or dowel, etc. applied to the pivot of the handles. Surface grinding might true up your block IF done very, very lightly, but I doubt it. Might be clean surface yet have an oblong cross section for the cast bullet. Darn it! Tim
November 7, 2015

Tim-
I can see a fair bit of daylight when looking through the cavity so feel pretty sure any bullets I cast would be finned at least at the top. I’ll give them a try next time I melt some lead. My Money mould developed a similar gap when they used too short a mould block but my rifle didn’t like the bullet anyway.
Mike
M
TXGunNut said
Tim-I can see a fair bit of daylight when looking through the cavity so feel pretty sure any bullets I cast would be finned at least at the top. I’ll give them a try next time I melt some lead.
Mike
Mike,
If you want to send me just the blocks with the pins removed, I can run them across the surface grinder for you. I would take just the minimal amount of material off the mating surfaces to true them up.
Erin
November 7, 2015

Erin Grivicich said
Mike,
If you want to send me just the blocks with the pins removed, I can run them across the surface grinder for you. I would take just the minimal amount of material off the mating surfaces to true them up.
Erin
Thanks, Erin. A surface grinder will allow for better venting than a file. Blocks are not removable and I don’t want to disturb the sprue plate or hinge bolt. I’ve decided I like them just the way they are, the abuse they endured is part of their story. I have some very good moulds for the 45-70 and 45-90 and I’m fighting the urge to hunt down an 1895 or Single Shot in 40-72. Sold my rough 1895 in 30 US last weekend and it left a hole in my collection. I still think I may be able to get some decent bullets out of these moulds, I just want to look at and maybe measure them. I’ve been studying modern lead bullet design for the last several years and quite frankly these old moulds intrigue me. My grip is still pretty good but there’s a vise on my “casting”bench just in case, lol. I’m betting I get a few decent samples to display with the moulds.
Have you made bullet moulds?
Mike
TXGunNut said
Thanks, Erin. A surface grinder will allow for better venting than a file. Blocks are not removable and I don’t want to disturb the sprue plate or hinge bolt. I’ve decided I like them just the way they are, the abuse they endured is part of their story. I have some very good moulds for the 45-70 and 45-90 and I’m fighting the urge to hunt down an 1895 or Single Shot in 40-72. Sold my rough 1895 in 30 US last weekend and it left a hole in my collection.
I still think I may be able to get some decent bullets out of these moulds, I just want to look at and maybe measure them. I’ve been studying modern lead bullet design for the last several years and quite frankly these old moulds intrigue me. My grip is still pretty good but there’s a vise on my “casting”bench just in case, lol. I’m betting I get a few decent samples to display with the moulds.
Have you made bullet moulds?
Mike
Mike.
Nope, I’ve never made a bullet mould but trueing up one side of a square is as easy as it gets on a surface grinder. I hope they cast a usable slug for ya, keep us posted as you continue your venture with them.
Erin
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