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10mmShooter
05-27-2009, 08:03 PM
:mrgreen:

Hello Gentlemen:

I've new to the forum and am a newbie to lead casting, I did some searches and you guys are definitely in know when it comes to casting. I'm patiently waiting for my Lyman 4500, punches/sizers, molds and pot and goodies from Midway. Although new to casting, I've been reloading for 10 years. Everything I seem to like for casting is on backorder, I had to get creative tracking down handles for the two molds I ordered, Midway was out.

I shoot 10mm and 44, I keep velocities for lead rounds in both calibers in the 900-975 fps with WW-231. My first two molds I have coming are the Lyman 4 cav , #429421 (.430 245-SWC) and a Lee 6 cav aluminum #90690, (.401 175-TC).

Are there any special tricks I need to do make sure I get quality bullets out of the molds, I really need them to size at .430 for the .44 and the 10mm to size at .401. What temp should I cast at?? I'll be trying my first run with just wheel weights, since my velocities are low is safe to assume I will not have any leading issuing???
I'll be following Lyman instructions using Lyman "ideal lube" Any pointers on how to handle the fact that one mold is heat treated steel and other is alumiun, I'm assuming the Al mold will heat quicker and cool quicker than the steel mold:confused:

Does anyone have experience with these molds in .430 and .401. I'll be so diappointed if my bullets cast undersize. I'm hoping the machinist was having a good day when he cut my molds. Can Sn, Sb content effect the cast dimensions??

Thanks for reading my long post, I cant wait to get started.

ept000
05-27-2009, 09:06 PM
There is a ton of good information here. The first tid bit I will give you is order som Bull Shop lube for your mold. It will save you a lot of headaches (link at bottom of page). Check out all the threads asking "what am I doing wrong ". You will find many, many pictures of boolits, what went wrong, and what to do to fix it. Also, remember this is a hobby and should be fun. Don't take it too seriously or you will get frustrated. Enjoy.

Le Loup Solitaire
05-27-2009, 09:13 PM
I can supply some info for some of your questions. I cast Lyman 401043 for the 38-40 which is supposed to be .401. The mold that I have drops them as cast with WW metal at .403. That is not a prob for me as I am shooting some of them out of an old Winny 73. The others go out of a Ruger Blackhawk and have to be .401 so they get sized to that. If you use Linotype or mix in a bit of tin with WW which has antimony (about 4%) in it, you get a slightly larger diameter bullet that is also about/approx 6 % lighter. This info comes from 2 sources; old H&G catalogs and Saeco who used to list a reference called the "Terracorp formula". They both said the same thing. You probably can run that info down in a google search. You are correct; Aluminum molds have to be run hotter as they lose heat faster. You'll have to play with the temp to find out which molds like what; They all have their "Individual Personalities". If you run the melt hot enough to please the aluminum mold and use the iron mold at the same temp then the iron one may give you slightly to fully frosted bullets. The frosting means nothing and in no way affects the accuracy. Some folks get wigged out by the frosty appearance , but it can be removed with some #0000steel wool. You should not get leading with straight WW as long as the velocities are moderate to moderate+ and not hot. I myself would be loading 10mm for the Ruger pistol as it came with a spare cylinder for 10mm, but I have yet to run down some 10mm brass. Midway for the past year and one half has been running an ad for once fired 10mm, listing it as seasonally available, but has yet to come up with it. I suppose that one of these days it will happen. Anyway I hope that this has been of some help. LLS

10mmShooter
05-27-2009, 09:29 PM
Thanks guys for the info I'll keep reading.

Le Loup, good luck with the 10mm brass, heres a few links. Smith is making the Model 610-4 & -6 revolver again and a new Model 310 and they are available, its good to see 10's are back in production again.

http://www.dominionshootingrange.com/brass.html

http://www.brassworldeshop.com/10mmautofc.aspx

In general brass of many calibers seems to be in short supply, even 44 brass is getting pricey.

I think everyone is spooked and are buying everything in sight, hopefully the reloading component market will clam down later this year to early next.

454PB
05-27-2009, 09:39 PM
Welcome to the forum!

The trick to using two different types of moulds at the same time is to run the alloy temperature for the colder mould (usually the aluminum mould) and keep a damp towel or sponge nearby to control the temperature of the hotter mould. In my use, I've found I like to cast around 725 to 750 degrees with WW alloy. As an example, I may be using a double cavity Lee aluminum mould and a single cavity Lyman steel mould. The Lyman mould will overheat quickly at those temperatures, so about every third or fouth fill, I touch the bottom of the mould to the wet towel. Be careful, you don't want any moisture entering a pot of molten alloy. I keep the wet towel on the side of my boolit pile opposite of the casting pot.

As Le Loup has already said, higher levels of antimony cast larger diameter and light boolits. For maximum diameter in a given mould, linotype or monotype is the best alloy. However, the resulting boolits will also be very brittle.

blackthorn
05-28-2009, 10:23 AM
If you dont already have it, get the Lyman cast bullet handbook, also look for the RCBS casting book (out of production) and read the "stickies" on this site! There is a book and a video compiled by Joe Brennan called Cast Bullets for beginner and expert that is available, and you can find out how to get it if you do a search on this site. Welcome to the assylum and have fun.

sqlbullet
05-28-2009, 10:35 AM
I cast for the 10mm using a lee 175 gr SWC TL 6 cavity mold. I also have a two cavity of the same design, but it rarely gets used.

I use isotope lead similar to WW in alloy and hardness. The bullets fall from the mold .401-.402 and weight 172-173 gr. Initially, I sized them to .401, but lately have stopped sizing them, but now seat and crimp in separate steps. I use LLA for lube.

I had some initial leading issues with light loads with Blue Dot. The leading was light, but present none-the-less. These were resolved by switching to Unique for the same velocities (about 1,000 fps based on the manuals). I believe the difference was the faster powder created a little higher pressure spike, resulting in better obturation and bore seal.

With WW-231 you should be getting sufficient pressure as well, but keep in mind that too hard for the pressure peak can be as bad or worse than too soft when it comes to leading.