Round Ball Mold

[Scout]

I have a mold that appears to be fairly old. It has a #76 on it and what looks like 2 coats of paint, what is left of the paint is one coat of black with some red here and there. The handle part is pitted but the mold is in good/good+ condition. The mold needs to be tightened up so that the two halves will meet  and seal like they should, even when I hold the handles just right there is still some gap. The inside of the mold is in very good condition.
I think that the handles could be tighten if I "hammer" the pivot joint causing it to mushroom.
Should I leave the mold in its' present condition, it does appear to be old, or is its' value enhanced by "repairing" it and making it usable again? Would this damage something that should be appreciated in its' present condition?
I did try to add a photo but I could not get the job done. Any advise on loading a photo is appreciated.
                                                                                                                                                                            Thanks for any help/advise you are willing to give.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Joe

[bmtshooter]

A photo would definitely help.

[Papa]

It sounds like you have an old bag mold. The 76 is the number of balls it will cast from a pound of lead. They have some moderately value but are best left alone. "Fixing" it will not increase the value and the old metal may break when hammered.
Mark

[Scout]

btmshooter,
I will try again to post a photo of the mold. The first time I must have done something wrong because neither the written post or the photo made it on to the board.

Papa,
I thought this might be the case. That is why I posted here in the hope that someone would have experience / knowledge in this area. I do not need the mold but just thought that it would be great to get it into "running" condition again.
I will try to post a photo so you can see what I have.

                                                                                                                                                                                Thanks for the replies.
                                                                                                                                                                                                          Scout
Also, is there something different that I need to do when attaching a photo to a existing post?
                                                                                 

[Scout]

I tried but I can not load the photo. It is too large and I do not know how to reduce the size of the photo.
                                                                                                                                            Scout

[hotfxr]

I have MS10 and edit all my photos right in the folder. Right click on the photo and choose "properties" to see how big the photo is, then clear that and right click again and choose edit. When that window comes up choose "resize" at the top toolbar and it will show a window that has a couple of boxes with 100 in them. That is the size percentage. I click on the top one and enter 50 wich will also change the number in the lower box. Save that and your photo is resized and should attach. Good luck.

[Scout]

The photo is now posted, only because a member offered assistance.  I could not figure out how to get the job done but hotfxr did. Thank you for the help.

You can tell by the photo that the handles are rough but I was able to clean off the rust and scale that had covered it.
Most likely I will not try to tighten up the pivot point and just leave it as is.
Papa, stated above, that the number 76 is the number of round balls per pound this mold will produce. Which should be a 40 caliber round ball. Thanks for sharing  the info.

Comments, opinions etc. offered to help ID the age etc. are appreciated.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                Scout

[Papa]

Scout,
Your mold is a little rough but don't forget, these were used and abused, heated and cooled, thrown in a bag and probably never cleaned. A gunmaker would make a barrel and then a mold to fit the barrel he created. Barrels didn't come in specific calibers as we know them today so each mold was custom to a rifle/pistol. These molds will usually run from $15 to $50 depending on condition and caliber. Commercial molds are a different breed.
Mark