Walt Melander was right

[beagle]

Just read on a "lube" thread that Walt Melander was right about about undersize bullets being the cause of leading. He was right about a lot of things in my opinion. Undersize bullets being one.
Another was about bullet size. He always told me make 'em big and size over size. Then the pressure of of the ignition would swage 'em down to what the bore wanted and achieve a good fit and give accuracy.
He also said that meehanite blocks cast bullets better and easier that aluminum. I found that to be true as well.
He also said that the majority of blocks were undersize for larger bullets. He would not make multiple cavities of heavier bullets in a single block. I once ordered a double cavity .375 mould and spoke with him on the phone personally. Said that ain't gonna work. Too much heat to dissipate for the size of the blocks. You'll get rounded bands and incomplete fill out with a normal casting tempo. I was wanting two different weights and he said one cavity at a time will work. Okay, you're the expert. While we were talking he was doing something on the computer. Finally said "Yep! That will work". That's the way we went. When I received the moulds, I said, "hogwash" and tried both. Walt was right about that too.
I think this was among the last moulds before his death. Probably the formula he used is lost to give him a GO/No Go on heat dissipation.
We as casters owe Walt a lot for his contributions to our hobby.
Walt was right about a lot of things./beagle

 

[358156 hp]

I always prefer to "pre-obturate" my bullets. Many a mould has found a new home if I couldn't get it to cast large enough with range scrap.

Powder coating has been very helpful to me in this regard.

 

[fiver]

all the Walt molds i have are open and shake affairs.
i got one side of one cavity that gives me a little issue depending on the mold temp,,, a little lighter soot straightens it right out so i don't even bother looking at it.

 

[Ian]

Walt was also right about bullet lube. If you haven't had the opportunity to use his repurposed and loooooong discontinued Texaco Taurak soda brick grease pistol lube, you don't know what you missed.

 

[Glaciers]

I have 6 or maybe 8 molds that Walt made and they all cast beautifully. They are some of the early molds I bought, couple Lyman couple of Ideal molds as well, but the NEI molds are not going where.

 

[Cadillac Jeff]

I have a couple also , going to have a shop day today. Good day to make a few up !

 

[358156 hp]

Walt really was a treasure trove for casters. I suppose this is one of the reasons I also used his graphite "mold prep" without question. One thing for certain, that stuff ain't never coming off.

 

[Ben]

Ha ! ! Mould release spray.
Many ( not me however ) would tell you that you have ruined your mould .

 

[Rick]

Ha ! ! Mould release spray.
Many ( not me however ) would tell you that you have ruined your mould .

Walt really was a treasure trove for casters. I suppose this is one of the reasons I also used his graphite "mold prep" without question. One thing for certain, that stuff ain't never coming off.

Enough said.

 

[Bret4207]

Ha ! ! Mould release spray.
Many ( not me however ) would tell you that you have ruined your mould .

There's a difference between the stuff Walt made and that crap Midway sells. As with the 2 or 3 Walt made NEI moulds I own, there's good stuff then then there's the rest of the crap!!! Walt knew what he was doing!

 

[CZ93X62]

Mr. Melander was a treasure, certainly.

 

[Glaciers]

I’ve got two bottles of his mold prep, one is still unopened and inside the bag it was pack in. The one I use has only been used for mold top, bottom of the plate. Never used it or found a need to use it in the cavities. Castings just would pretty much fall out with maybe a tap or two.