I casted my first boolits after 37 yrs

[Gundogblue]

Hey guys,
Well this morning I got up brite and early, went into the pole barn and fired up my brand new shinny Lee production pot. I cleaned my dads trusty old .45 mould, used kitchen matches and smoked the cavities and went to work: I was really surprised how much came back to me,I even found myself making the same movements I did 37 yrs ago. I’d say for the first time everything went ok,Im gonna have to recast the boolits though because my mould a Lyman, 454190 is supposed to throw a 454 boolit, but most are coming out at .4505,and the weight is between 248.6 and 250.0. I imagine the weight is OK for just shooting steel on my property, but the diameter is too small.
So I’d greatly appreciate any advice on what I could add to the alloy to make my boolits drop a little closer to .454. The lead I’m useing is cast boolits I got from a local guy, and they didn’t work in my gun. My heat setting must be OK because there’s no wrinkles, or frosting, the boolits are nice and shiny and all the edges are well defined.
Thanks Much
Paul

[prs]

Muscle memory sometimes work after we forg.. fo.. ???? Dang, I can't remember what I was going to say. ;-)

English is such an odd language. For what ever reason, the past tense of cast is cast. Not sure why that even stood out to me, probably because I catch myself saying casted on occasion.

Lyman has been accused of undersizing molds, but chiefly with newer editions and not the good old ones. That is way too small. If using pure lead, add some tin or pewter up to 2%; but even with that they won't grow that much. That is one of my favorite designs and do get the full diameter.

Now, go make more boolits!

prs

[Crash_Corrigan]

You can Beagle the mold to make a fatter boolit. Search it on this site.

[454PB]

Adding antimony will increase the diameter some. Another solution is powder coating, it will add about .002" to the diameter.

[runfiverun]

get the smoke out.
anything you put in the cavity's decreases the diameter.

if you need 452 diameter then powder coating would be great, if you need 454 then well you need more diameter.
adjusting the alloy will help with that.
and you can also lap the mold out and then powder coat to get to the 454.
you got options.

[Newtire]

+1 on the powder coating or the Beagling. I have a .44 cap& ball & it called for a .454 boolit but here lately I am seeing that at least some manufacturers are making the bores on .45 Long Colt pistols smaller (same as .45 acp) to avoid confusion?? Check out your measuring instrument on a known diameter jacketted bullet & see if it might be off and maybe try slugging the bore. If you can scrounge up some clip on wheel weights and cast a few using that alloy, it may be one way. So, good luck on your project.

[Crash_Corrigan]

I should also mention that using pure clip on Wheel Weights may give you a fatter boolit. So between Beageling, PCing and alloy change you certainly can get a fatter boolit. Also you are not limited to one coating of PC. You can do more and get a fatter boolit.

[Yodogsandman]

Lots of opinions and good suggestions on getting that mold to work for you. After trying a different alloy with more antimony, I'd sell it and get one that casts the proper size and have no more headaches. NOE molds and Accurate are a couple of semi custom mold makers that could set you up with something that works right, right from the get go.

[454PB]

I'll mention also that 454190 makes a good heavy boolit for 45 ACP, and since yours casts small, it could be a good fit. I've used it that way in front of Unique with good feeding and good accuracy.

[prs]

I'll mention also that 454190 makes a good heavy boolit for 45 ACP, and since yours casts small, it could be a good fit. I've used it that way in front of Unique with good feeding and good accuracy.

Hmmm. I load my 45ACP with bullets sized to .452". The new barrels are nominal .451", right? Should I consider a reduction, or leave it alone if it is working -- my guns are all more accurate than am I. Not saying much....

[David2011]

Hmmm. I load my 45ACP with bullets sized to .452". The new barrels are nominal .451", right? Should I consider a reduction, or leave it alone if it is working -- my guns are all more accurate than am I. Not saying much....

You want your boolits to be .001- .002 oversized to prevent leading. Don't change a thing. If you size your boolits to your bore diameter they will leave lead in the bore.

The .45 ACP bore has always been .451". Most .45 Colt barrels have been .451" for a long time. The original Colts and some early copies were .454" but all Rugers and most other late model .45 Colt firearms will have a .451" bore.

[454PB]

Hmmm. I load my 45ACP with bullets sized to .452". The new barrels are nominal .451", right? Should I consider a reduction, or leave it alone if it is working -- my guns are all more accurate than am I. Not saying much....

I do too. My point was that it's easier to get the size to .452" than to .454".

[Bama]

Hey guys,
Well this morning I got up brite and early, went into the pole barn and fired up my brand new shinny Lee production pot. I cleaned my dads trusty old .45 mould, used kitchen matches and smoked the cavities and went to work: I was really surprised how much came back to me,I even found myself making the same movements I did 37 yrs ago. I’d say for the first time everything went ok,Im gonna have to recast the boolits though because my mould a Lyman, 454190 is supposed to throw a 454 boolit, but most are coming out at .4505,and the weight is between 248.6 and 250.0. I imagine the weight is OK for just shooting steel on my property, but the diameter is too small.
So I’d greatly appreciate any advice on what I could add to the alloy to make my boolits drop a little closer to .454. The lead I’m useing is cast boolits I got from a local guy, and they didn’t work in my gun. My heat setting must be OK because there’s no wrinkles, or frosting, the boolits are nice and shiny and all the edges are well defined.
Thanks Much
Paul

You can always PC for added thickness.

[gpidaho]

There's a lot of advantages to powder coating and increasing the bullet diameter is just one. Truthfully, it's so easy to do that it's hard to mess it up. Read the stickies and see if the process might be for you. Gp