What to do with sprue cut on round balls.

[ozymandias]

I just started casting lead round balls for my cap & ball revolver using a Lyman single-cavity mould. The diameter of the balls the mould drops is perfect for my pistol, but there's a somewhat elevated & flat sprue cut on them. My question is; Should I attempt to 'whittle' them off, or simply position them 'down' as I position them on the chamber mouth? Also, how much effect would they have on accuracy?

[Muddy Creek Sam]

I turn them to the side and let them cut of when chambering.

Sam :D

[hoosierlogger]

Sounds like a good way to whittle away at your fingers too. Just leave them alone they wont hurt anything.

[curator]

Lyman moulds do have a pronounced sprue left on round balls. If ther
e is a void or "spongy" area on the ball it will be under the sprue. You may find you get the best aaccuracy by centering the sprue up (where you can see it) That way the ball will be rotating around any imperfection instead of having it contribute to instability by being off center. For most cap & ball revolver shooters it doesn't matter much as they shoot at close range with poor sights, and minor problems are difficult to detect.

[DLCTEX]

I have trimmed them with side cutters, but mostly just load sprue up. Most of my RB moulds are Lee and they cut the sprue off smoothly. Some have reported tumbling the balls in a tumbler to smooth them.

[qajaq59]

I just load them sprue up and centered.

[osage]

Balls from my old brass RB mold were loaded spur up. I have since switched to Lee RB molds and don't worry about the cut any more.

[jlchucker]

Balls from my old brass RB mold were loaded spur up. I have since switched to Lee RB molds and don't worry about the cut any more.

I do the same with round balls that I've molded. Mostly these days I don't cast my own round balls. The swaged ones that Hornaday sells work fine for me. I cast my own rifle boolits though. No sprue there.

[ozymandias]

Sounds like a good way to whittle away at your fingers too. Just leave them alone they wont hurt anything.

Yours sounds like very sound advice HL. You evidently know about me and sharp objects. I tend to be the safest person in the world with firearms, power tools, automobiles etc., but if someone wanted to harm me with a knife, he'd only have to hand it to me. It goes without saying that I collect pocket knives.

[prs]

I put the spru "spud" dead center at the top. If using dead soft lead, like you should, the ball ram will eliminate the "spud" when you begin the ram. The ball is not gonna be perfectly round anyway due to the outer ring being shaved and from bore contact while shooting. Even a swaged round ball is not gonna be perfect in this regard.

prs

[montana_charlie]

When I used to shoot in muzzleloader matches, my best load used a patched ball.
The end of my ball starter would get chipped around the edges, so I glued it into a 9mm Luger case to act as a brass 'tip' which prevented damage. I found the sprue on my (Lyman mould) round balls would just fit snugly in the primer pocket.

I could snap the sprue into the pocket and handle the 'assembly' like a magnetic screwdriver with a screw on the tip. This made certain the sprue was precisely centered in the bore when starting the ball.

Once a competitor asked me how the bullet stayed on the tip of my ball starter.
I pointed to the brass tip and said it was a special metal, which is magnetic to lead.
Luckily, he never made me prove that...

CM

[Wayne Smith]

Put them in a box and ride them in the trunk of your car for a couple of weeks. Sprue's gone!

[C1PNR]

Yep, sprue up in the revolver and the rammer will take care of the sprue.

Dowel rod, wooden cabinet handles, and range pick up brass did many a ramrod or starter.

We always made the brass tip for the starters and ramrods from brass cartridge cases of whatever size needed for the diameter of the wood used. Once on and secured we used a ball end cutter of the appropriate size to shape a nicely rounded tip that just fit the ball size. Usually a 4 to 6" or so "short starter" to get things going and then the full length ramrod.

[ghh3rd]

What to do with sprue cut on round balls.
I'll send you a large, pre paid, self addressed Flat Rate box. Place your sprues into the box,until it is either full, or reaches 70 lbs. Drop it into the mail.

[beagle]

I started messing with buckshot this spring and one tool I acquired was a set of small side cutters for working with flower arrangements. A little grinding makes it cut the sprues even closer and after an hour or so in the tumbler, the sprue cut is impossible to find.

These are available in the Craft's section at Walmart for about $5. They have green handles./beagle

[1Shirt]

Like Beagle says. Another way that works, but is a bit different is to put a smooth bottomed metal pan or build a box with a glass base, (sides need to be 3-4 in High), put it in the trunk of your car, put your sprue rb in in and drive around for a week or so. Works the same as a tumbler if you don't have one, but is obviously slower.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[sheepdog]

Put them in a box and ride them in the trunk of your car for a couple of weeks. Sprue's gone!

Yup thats what I heard.

[qajaq59]

One of the neatest tumblers I ever saw was an 8 sided box with fins on the outside. The guy had it up on top of his RV and he used it to tumbled semi-precious stones as he toured the country. The wind spun it and did all the work for him.