I have been watching, but any of them that I want are going for 90% of full price.

I would be very wary about buying used molds off E-Bay. A lot of people screw up molds and do not even know it.

If you are looking for some good deals on used equipment, then I would recommend looking on the "Cast Boolit Forum". There are a great bunch of guys over there. They are full of knowledge. They are willing to help with any problems. And you can find a lot of good used equipment over there. I just bought a used RCBS mold for my 44 magnum from a guy over there. I got a great deal, on an almost unused mold. Tom.

So what should one look for on used molds? How does a person screw one up? I figured lead would be so soft, you should mess em up?

Thanks

There are a lot of things you can do to mess up a mold.
1. The hinges.
2.Sprue plate
3.Sprue cutter too loose
4. Overheat a cheap mold(especially the aluminum ones)
5.Use the wrong cleaner
++++++++++++++

It is difficult to tell a mold is bad from a picture. You have to trust the seller. That is why I recommended the Cast Boolit web site. Tom.

Lee production pots are good, especially when you consider the price.
There are a few caveats and tweaks to using the pot to make it work the best.
-Remove the valve and lap it to its seat at the bottom of the pot- you won't get any drips after doing this, but you are likely to get drips otherwise.
- Render your lead (ie W/Ws) in another pot to keep grit an debris out of your castingpot. A small cast iron dutch oven on a turkey cooker works good, Walmart also sells $8 hot plates that will get hot enough to melt lead (though it will take some time).
-Never run the pot empty. The grit/garbage/ash floats on top of the melt, if you run the pot empty, the grit/garbage/ash is now in your spout/valve. Leave at least 1" of lead in your pot.

Lee moulds range from frustrating to very good. Most of them start out somewhere in between. They need work to get them right- clean out the ventlines, lap and debur the cavities (search for 'leementing' thread on the cast boolits website), and keep the sprue plate lubed ( an alox lube stick touched to the hot mould is plenty). The single cavity moulds are more problematic, the 6 cavity moulds are of much higher quality. The biggest problems I've had with the moulds is them not filling out (can be fixed), bullets sticking badly (can be fixed), and undersized bullets being cast (no easy cure for this one, but it can be helped a bit by judiscious application of aluminum duct tape strips around the cavity to open it up a few thou.).

I have two young ones at home. I do all of my casting in the garage and do a thorough cleanup afterwards. I do most of my casting during the winter months- the air is dryer, and its not as uncomfortable to wear pants, boots, jacket, hat, and welding gloves as it is in warmer months and I can drop my bullets into a bucket of snow. Cover up as much of your exposed skin as possible- burns are no fun. A wide brim hat will give you protection from the inevitable 'lead geyser' if you accidentally introduce moisture into your pot (happened to me once using Marvelux, no longer use that crap with the amount of sawdust I have handy), the hot lead goes nearly straight up and then rains down on you in a blink of an eye.

I have a Lee production pot. Works fine for the most part. Just have to keep the valve clean.

I have a mixture of molds... Lee Aluminum, RCBS and Redding... The steel molds need to be lubricated when not in use due to corrosion. The aluminums dissipate heat quickly whereas the steel will get hot enough to a point of having to stop casting for a bit. It is for this reason many casters will have multiple molds of the same bullet to hop scotch as they are casting to allow cooling.

I recommend a good thermometor or thermocouple to attempt to maintain a constant melt temperature.

I cast with the base material being wheel weight lead. I will add a few % pure zinc to help with mold fill and I water drop out of the mold (lay a towel in the bottom of the bucket) to harden them somewhat. The more antimony you add the harder a bullet will become but at some point (I forget % off the top of my head) the bullet will become brittle.

Wheel weights are getting more difficult to find "cheaply" with the high scrap prices and such... I have a few thousand lbs that I have not melted into ingots and maybe 500 lbs cast into 1# ingots. I am set for a while.

Get yourself a good guide such as the Cast Bullet Handbook from Lyman...

Vapors from lead melt can be harmful if inhaled or concentrated in an enclosed area. Molten lead is also very volitile. If you get so much as a drop of water in the hot melt it'll literally explode all over the place. If it gets on your skin or clothing you'll be pulling it off along with the skin. Very painful... Ask me how I know.

Therefore do not have young ones around. Be in a well ventilated area... wear safety glasses... keep your wits about you and food and drink away from the area...

You must have had a brainfart and meant Tin. LOL.

I sure as heck did....

Talk about a meltdown. Pure zinc would be cool to see.

Thanks guys.