Stonecrusher
Active Member
I just upgraded my Noe 246105FN 2-cavity aluminum mold to a 4-cavity brass. Only my second big brass mold and it is heavy! Bought it to speed up casting and was going to make it work with my bottom pour furnace. Tried dipping first and it wore my wrist out, but sure makes great bullets!
The "Mold Guide" on the 20lb Lee just doesn't cut it for me. So I made a nice shelf with adjustable guides on it, and it sure takes the weight off the wrists... Then I got lazy!
I cobbled together a foot control so I could use both hands on the handles and didn't have to hold my right arm up in the air for hours on end.
I pop riveted an piece of 1" aluminum angle with an 11/16" hole drilled in it onto the pot's handle strap below the knob so it is still usable that way. The push rod is a piece of steel tubing that used to be my neighbor's glider chair. He threw it out and I thought I might have a use for some scrap metal. The foot pedal is a hinge off my old garage door that I replaced and has another piece of the glider bolted to it. A cotter pin and a washer made from a piece of heater hose(just to keep it from making a tapping racket) complete the job.
Pictures are below. Don't laugh! I know it is ugly but it is hidden in the garage. The beauty is in the function. You wouldn't believe how much less effort it is to cast using a foot pedal! Takes at least two thirds of the work out of it just by not having to trip the lead flow with a raised hand. I could hardly make myself stop the first time I used it. I cast about 350 of the 246105's then about the same number of Lee 311-93 1R for the 30-30, and still hadn't had enough. So I dug out my 2-cavity 358477 and ran about half of a large coffee can of those. Hadn't used that one in a while as I have been on a wadcutter kick. Those 2-cavity molds do go a bit slower but that mold sure runs great. The wife finally made me quit!
Only thing I have changed is to add a riser to rest my foot on. The pedal sits a couple of inches off the floor and my ankle gets tired having to hold it at an angle. The riser keeps my foot flat and makes it much better.
The "Mold Guide" on the 20lb Lee just doesn't cut it for me. So I made a nice shelf with adjustable guides on it, and it sure takes the weight off the wrists... Then I got lazy!
I cobbled together a foot control so I could use both hands on the handles and didn't have to hold my right arm up in the air for hours on end.
I pop riveted an piece of 1" aluminum angle with an 11/16" hole drilled in it onto the pot's handle strap below the knob so it is still usable that way. The push rod is a piece of steel tubing that used to be my neighbor's glider chair. He threw it out and I thought I might have a use for some scrap metal. The foot pedal is a hinge off my old garage door that I replaced and has another piece of the glider bolted to it. A cotter pin and a washer made from a piece of heater hose(just to keep it from making a tapping racket) complete the job.
Pictures are below. Don't laugh! I know it is ugly but it is hidden in the garage. The beauty is in the function. You wouldn't believe how much less effort it is to cast using a foot pedal! Takes at least two thirds of the work out of it just by not having to trip the lead flow with a raised hand. I could hardly make myself stop the first time I used it. I cast about 350 of the 246105's then about the same number of Lee 311-93 1R for the 30-30, and still hadn't had enough. So I dug out my 2-cavity 358477 and ran about half of a large coffee can of those. Hadn't used that one in a while as I have been on a wadcutter kick. Those 2-cavity molds do go a bit slower but that mold sure runs great. The wife finally made me quit!
Only thing I have changed is to add a riser to rest my foot on. The pedal sits a couple of inches off the floor and my ankle gets tired having to hold it at an angle. The riser keeps my foot flat and makes it much better.
