Abstract: An apparatus and method for molding an article such as finished seal of known type, comprising a flexible member bonded to a rigid element. During conventional manufacture, the rigid element is clamped between upper and lower seal-forming molding elements and, in many instances, after engagement of the rigid element, continued traveling of the upper and lower molding elements toward each other is used to provide a "closed stroke". In the closed stroke operation of the present invention, the continued traveling in the closed stroke stage requires no substantial deformation or shaping of the rigid element.An apparatus and method is disclosed in which the molding elements include an outer movable, biased, annular casing engaging element, for example a ring, which is biased in an extended position. The ring is retractable against the bias during the continued travel of the molding elements in the closed stroke.