Saturday, September 4, 2010

Product review...MIll Creek Trading CO. Soapstone molds

Bar lead and molds....bars are based of Ligonier example...yes I am that geeky..but not as Geeky as Travis crowder who made the bar lead molds

Inside view of soapstone molds....the middle mold was used almost every day for 2 months this summer
top view of the molds


One of the most important pieces of gear for any hunter IMHO is a good bullet mold. For years I simply bought round ball/shot from the local black powder shop and looked in vain for a good mold. From what I’ve seen rapine makes really nice molds but I was looking for a soapstone mold (not sure why just thought they were cooler lol)
Well after years of looking I ran into to Denny Hevener of Mill Creek Trading Co. I’d known Denny for years and he was always really good at picking up 18th cent tools/molds and he decided to start making soapstone molds after getting some cherries to make the molds. SO I picked up two .60 cal molds for a smoothbore I owned (I bought two because you never know when someone making kewl stuff will quit making it) the .60 molds also had two .32 cal cavities on it for making shot for buck and ball loads.
I tried the mold out a few times and was really pleased with it. Since there is no “sprue cutter” on a soapstone mold you have to cut off the sprue (I use mu tomahawk and a billet of wood). I then ordered a double .49 cal mold and a gang mold of .32 (5 cavities). I picked them up this past spring and have used them both A LOT. I worked at a “lead mine fort” site all summer long so I did a bullet making demo for the public so…I made a lot of shot/ball and the molds held up great. Denny has a wide selection of mold sizes. He has even made a pretty sweet soapstone ink well. If your interested in getting Denny’s contact info drop me an email or try contacting him thru the frontierfolk message board.

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