Third range trip with my cast boolits. Leaded up again.

[jamesp81]

Took the STI Trojan. Leaded the barrel again but I think I know why. Last time it was due to poor fill out in my casts and boolits being undersized. They were undersized again but for a different reason.

I ran my boolits through my new Lee .452 sizer. They all came out .451 and thus undersized. Leading was less this time I think due to better boolits but clearly I need .452 diameter boolits with alloy this soft. I can get away with .451 with very hard commercial cast boolits (18 BHN) but it isn't going to fly with air cooled wheel weights.

I am already shipping a Lee 6 cavity .452 mold back for having out of spec alignment pins. I'll be throwing the .452 sizer in the package too it would seem.

I did end up using too much 45 45 10 tumble lube...it was visible and slightly tacky. I doubt that caused my issues.

Once I can reliably not lead my barrel with tumble lube I'll go to powder coating.

[runfiverun]

umm.
once you got it working one way why would you change to a slower method?
clean is clean.

it would take about 10 minutes to make that 451 sizer into a 452 size die.
a little wet type sand paper a dowell and some oil would fix it right up.

[jamesp81]

umm.
once you got it working one way why would you change to a slower method?
clean is clean.

it would take about 10 minutes to make that 451 sizer into a 452 size die.
a little wet type sand paper a dowell and some oil would fix it right up.

I'm fairly sure none of my dowel rods are exactly .452 diameter. I don't see how I could hone it out and keep it round. Maybe if I wrap a towel around a small dowel with sand paper on top of that, so it's flexible. Maybe that would work? What grit should I use?

Maybe I should also consider my lube arrangement. 45 45 10 works for many people, but I'm also starting to wonder if it's not effective in non-tumble lube designs. Maybe I should give pan lube a try? I'm going to resolve my sizing issues first and if that doesn't work, I'll consider this.

To answer your question about powder coating...I want to learn to do this without it because it feels like I'm not learning if I use PC as a crutch to solve my issues. Im considering going to it for 357 magnum when pushing to higher velocities in full house loads. I figure it's probably cheaper than gas checks.

[Walter Laich]

I move the sprue plate out of the way and put a large nut over the cavity. Cast up to the top of the nut.

once cool I'll open the mold and I have a bullet with a big nut on the base which is the top of the mold.

Put a bit of 600 grip grinding compound on the bullet and put it back in the mold. Now I can turn the bullet using the nut and lap the cavity.

After I use it a bit I can rotate it my hand and push against each of the sides of the mold. I'll not worried if the mold is perfectly round as the sizing die will take care of that.

[Bird]

James, you do not need an exact fit dowel. I use a socket extension and 400 to 600 grit wet and dry paper.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEa2jeV-BKs

[Bzcraig]

Check the stickies, Buckshot did a write up on opening up sizers.

[runfiverun]

fair enough.
I learned how to P.C. just cause I wanted to. [shrug]

I doubt it's your lube coating causing the problem.
I use 45/45 lube but only in a couple of rifles and no handguns.

leading is a boolit fitment issue or a mechanical issue with the gun.
the throat or lack of [or a poor chamber finish where the case mouth sits] can cause everything you do end up being a leading mess in a pistol.

[jamesp81]

James, you do not need an exact fit dowel. I use a socket extension and 400 to 600 grit wet and dry paper.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEa2jeV-BKs

I followed this method. Seems to have worked. I tested it by running a boolit known to be .452 diameter, a hard cast commercial boolit I had laying around. It came out with almost no sizing at its original .452, so I'd call that a win.

Found out that many of my unsized .452 boolits from my current batch, however, dropped from the mold at .451. So I have two problems...I'm still not getting optimum fill out. Might be time to think about a thermometer and experimenting until I find a good casting temperature, rather than just guessing at it.

[runfiverun]

100-F above the melt point of your alloy is a pretty good place to be.
the temperature of your mold will have a higher influence on the outcome though.

[jamesp81]

100-F above the melt point of your alloy is a pretty good place to be.
the temperature of your mold will have a higher influence on the outcome though.

is this a case that aluminum molds are harder to regulate temperature wise? It's easy to tell when it's too hot (frosted undersized boolits) and when too cold (poorly formed, undersized, and wrinkled). Hard to tell what the happy medium is visually.

maybe I would achieve better results by adding more tin? I could melt in some solder I suppose.

[243winxb]

I can get away with .451 with very hard commercial cast boolits (18 BHN) but it isn't going to fly with air cooled wheel weights. Add antimony, making diameter larger and bullets harder. Problem solved.

After correcting the Lee sizer.

[jamesp81]

Add antimony, making diameter larger and bullets harder. Problem solved.

After correcting the Lee sizer.

i was under the impression that tin makes the mold fill out better. Am I mistaken?

[popper]

Just beagle the mould. Put some tape on the ends of the mould half - I used painter tape but copper foil tape or thin masking tape will work. Do not use plastic tape, it will melt.

[Toymaker]

Like popper says. Just Beagle the mold. Simple, easy and works great.

[AlaskaScott]

Wheel weights should already have plenty of antimony, balance the alloy by adding some tin to take full advantage of both and you should see a nice bump in hardness

[TexasGrunt]

Air cooled wheel weights should be plenty hard enough for .45 ACP. I use air cooled COWW and pure lead. 50/50. No problems. However I use a NOE sizing die and it's right on. I either PC or Hi-Tek. Either one works just fine.

[Larry Gibson]

I have shot a bajillion cast bullets in numerous 45 ACPs, commercial and military, over the last 45 years. I competed heavily in IPSC back in the day. I cast all the bullets back then of COWWs and sized them .451. Used Javelina and Tamarack lube and never got any leading. AC'd WWs are not too "soft" for the 45 ACP cartridge.

Suggest you add 2% tin to your COWWs and cast at 715 - 725. TL with straight LLA giving the bullets a light coat. Let it dry over night. Size them in the Lee .452 sizer then lube a gain with another light coat of straight LLA. If the LLA is too "gooey" put the bottle in a bowl of hot water for 10 - 15 minutes before use. Use light coats, espial if the bullet is a TL design. Let them dry thoroughly then load.

Larry Gibson

[kiwi]

Dump the Lee mould and buy one from NOE I have their 452-230 grain RN 4 cavity it drops boolits like shelling peas most accurate boolit in three .45 A.C.P's,
also buy a lube sizer either Lyman RCBS or SAECO and use White lube Co Carnauba Red, I cast out of 50/50 WW/Lead + 2% tin no leading up to 2100FPS
I mostly shoot a 586 .357 mag have not used anything other than a patch with Hoppe's No9 to clean the barrel of powder fouling never any lead in five years
load is 7.3 grains Unique with a 135 HP cast velocity is 1200 Fps a couple of friends shoot the 452 230 NOE in their 1911's no leading in their guns either,
you can't beat using quality gear.

[243winxb]

i was under the impression that tin makes the mold fill out better. Am I mistaken?

Tin melts at a lower temperature, better fill.

I add linotype, this solves flow and hardness problems at the same time.

A cast alloy bullet cant be to hard, as long as its the correct diameter.

A cast bullet can be to soft, resulting in feeding problems with a 45 acp.

I learned this by doing my own testing.

Others will not agree.

[Bird]

James,
The largest bullet you will be able to cast is done this way.
Get your lead alloy in the pot to around 700 to 720 deg. Start filling your mold and repeat until any wrinkles on the bullets are gone. Stop and take measurements. Measure both the wrinkled and non wrinkled bullets, these should be the largest bullets you will get from that mold with your alloy. Mold temp is critical.
To save time I always cast a new mold with lino type to give me the largest bullet that a mold will produce. If a .452 mold gives me .453 with lino, then clip on wheelweights should give a dia of .452, and more pure lead added to the mix will give me less than .452. I then adjust my alloy to give me what size I need. In the above example if I wanted .452 bullets, I would mix 50/50, or 1 to1, with lino and wheelweight, which should be just over .452 dia., and should be around 17 bhn air cooled.
If you are sure your alloy will work for you, then your only other option is to lap or beagle the mold. Adding tin can help fillout, but may not add any significant diameter to the bullet.

[DougGuy]

I'm with run5, you got a fitment mismatch there going on. 95% of the problem is a boolit too small and not a prob with the lube. IF and I say IF you get to pushing genuine.452" into the barrel and they won't plunk because now you got too tight of a throat or not enough freebore, have the barrel throated you can shoot any style of boolit that will feed through the magazine, at .452" which will cure your leading even with the same lube you are using now. Most 1911 barrels the rifling runs right down to the end of the chamber, and there basically is no throat at all, or if there is any freebore, it's less than .452" in diameter and now you gotta seat deeper which just causes more problems. Throated barrels run like singer sewing machines, they shoot lights out and don't lead up. Unless you just shoot undesized boolits through them..

[runfiverun]

that is a lot of information to sort out.

the mold temp thing is pretty much going to have to be done by you using visual clues.
I like to run mine so that the boolits turn a light grey color as they cool from the mold.
or right where I see a slight amount of galvanized look to just the middle of the boolit as I open the mold.

the trick is to keep the mold within that window on a consistent basis.
wet the bottom on a rag or increase/decrease my casting speed for a couple of pours.
I have also just left the mold open and waved it in the air between pours to drop the temp about 10*.

Tin will give you better fill out of the mold.
but it does it by allowing more alloy to flow through the dendrite walls trying to form on the surface of the alloy as it cools in the mold.
think of it as a flow agent or surface wetter type thing.

if you want diameter you need antimony.
or you need more room inside the cavity's.