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Thread: HP'ing Your Own Mold without a Full Machine Shop

  1. #121
    Boolit Master Garyshome's Avatar
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    Thread is getting long! How much weight does the hp'ing remove from the Boolit? in say an 9mm or 45 acp or whatever you are working on. Will you use a heavier boolit to get the weight you want? Have you gone to the hardware store to see if they make pins that are the size you can use?[seems that this might speed things up a little bit] Are you only using a few cavities out of the 6 cavity mold?

  2. #122
    Boolit Master Rangefinder's Avatar
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    The weight removed varies by diameter and depth of the pin used. I don't go for a specific weight during the process, weight isn't nearly as important as the pin setting and alloy used. But for reference my .40S&W 175gr SWC drops down to 165gr as a HP, 158gr in 357 SWC drops to about 150gr. etc, etc. There are specific things that would speed things a little for pin material such as buying 3/16 drill rod for pin stock and then using a 3/16 bit when drilling, but everything is not equal where different calibers are concerned. I like to decide the cavity size for a HP based on the nose profile, expected velocity, and individual caliber. A 357mag moving 1100fps is going to give poor performance if it's using the same pin that makes a 45ACP moving 850fps do well, and vice-versa. You can standardize a little, but not too much and still expect custom performance. Catch my meaning? In a 6-cav mold I usually HP one and pour 5 normally. Dealing with too many spud-style pins slows things down too much and the mold doesn't stay as hot as aluminum molds like to be. With a good rhythm it doesn't take long to get a pile of HP's even with a single cav dropping them.
    Guns have only two real enemies; Rust and Politicians...

    "Praying might get you to heaven, but trespassing will expedite the journey..."

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  3. #123
    Boolit Mold
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    well thanks for a very informative post I am about to start getting things together for starting out casting for .357 I would like to ask a question, what sort of depth is required or is this something that needs experimenting on with an adjustable pin. What would be the best size for the pin in .357
    you have all done a super job on those moulds ,atb wayne

  4. #124
    Boolit Master
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    I see either a ruined Lee single cavity or a cool mould in my future.

  5. #125
    Boolit Master Rangefinder's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mereside View Post
    well thanks for a very informative post I am about to start getting things together for starting out casting for .357 I would like to ask a question, what sort of depth is required or is this something that needs experimenting on with an adjustable pin. What would be the best size for the pin in .357
    you have all done a super job on those moulds ,atb wayne
    Pin size and depth are at your own discretion (the beauty of doing it yourself--one of them anyway). I like to run about 1/2 meplat of the bullet I'm using and set the depth to about the middle of the front drive band with a tapered pin.
    Guns have only two real enemies; Rust and Politicians...

    "Praying might get you to heaven, but trespassing will expedite the journey..."

    Where might I be found when I'm not here? Try looking here:http://www.facebook.com/NSWE.Pagosa and here: www.rescueropes.org

  6. #126
    Boolit Master wistlepig1's Avatar
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    Range, I have an old lee 158, 358 that is real tired and now I will see If I can do 1/2 as nice a job on it as you did on yours. Thanks for the idea and one more for a STICKY!

    “A liberal’s paradise would be a place where everybody has guaranteed employment, free comprehensive healthcare, free education, free food, free housing, free clothing, free utilities, and only law enforcement has guns. And believe it or not, such a place does indeed already exist: It's called Prison."

    --- Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County, Arizona

  7. #127
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rangefinder View Post
    Pin size and depth are at your own discretion (the beauty of doing it yourself--one of them anyway). I like to run about 1/2 meplat of the bullet I'm using and set the depth to about the middle of the front drive band with a tapered pin.
    great thanks for that i have all my gear now so going to have a go i will post pics whilst i am modding my moulds, atb wayne

  8. #128
    Boolit Master
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    Just bought a Lee 6-banger from a member here that had the end cavity messed up, so I got it cheap. Looking it over, I can see that making that last cav a HP could bring it back to full usefulness. Oh yes... must make this a HP mold.... and I have a vise, drill press, and anything else is readily available. Oooohhhh....

  9. #129
    Boolit Bub 19ellis93's Avatar
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    To the op......hows your mold doing after the mod?

  10. #130
    Boolit Master Rangefinder's Avatar
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    Same as it always has, except the boolit count it's dropped is quite a bit higher. Beyond that? No sign of change.
    Guns have only two real enemies; Rust and Politicians...

    "Praying might get you to heaven, but trespassing will expedite the journey..."

    Where might I be found when I'm not here? Try looking here:http://www.facebook.com/NSWE.Pagosa and here: www.rescueropes.org

  11. #131
    Boolit Master reloader28's Avatar
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    I did this to a couple molds that I didnt use anymore. Works great. Now I have 2 HP molds that cast FAST and easy.
    Great boolit performance too.
    I'll be doing it to a couple more molds.

  12. #132
    Boolit Buddy Littlewolf's Avatar
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    Guess I just found me a doable project for my 9mm 38spl 40s&w, will start off by jacking up an all ready wore out lee tl-356-124 2r

  13. #133
    Boolit Master Boogieman's Avatar
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    I hollow pointed 2 old Lee molds. 1 was a loose 2 hole 45 SWC. found that the HP pin tightened up the mold The other , a single, was tighter also .If your pins fit tight they help line up the blocks.
    The 3 people a man must be able to trust completely are his gunsmith his doctor & his preacher ..,his gunsmith for his short term health ,his doctor for long term health ,and his preacher incase one of the others mess up.

  14. #134
    Boolit Mold
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    This is a "Must Do" for me. I can't wait. Any chance some can send me the OP in a pdf. file?
    loademwell@yahoo.com Im not very computer friendly...

  15. #135
    Boolit Master Rangefinder's Avatar
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    Done. Let's get your email out of public view, now, shall we?

    Welcome to the addiction.
    Guns have only two real enemies; Rust and Politicians...

    "Praying might get you to heaven, but trespassing will expedite the journey..."

    Where might I be found when I'm not here? Try looking here:http://www.facebook.com/NSWE.Pagosa and here: www.rescueropes.org

  16. #136
    Boolit Master


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    i have a 356402 that i got in a trade. i don't really have use for it because its single cavity and i prefer my lee 6 banger for mass quantities of plinking ammo.
    i'm going to hollow point her this weekend!

  17. #137
    Boolit Master UBER7MM's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Michael J. Spangler View Post
    i have a 356402 that i got in a trade. i don't really have use for it because its single cavity and i prefer my lee 6 banger for mass quantities of plinking ammo.
    i'm going to hollow point her this weekend!
    Michael,
    .
    Please post photos of your work.
    .
    Thanks in advance,
    Uber7mm

    Bambi: The great American hunting story as told through the eyes of the antagonist.

  18. #138
    Boolit Master Boogieman's Avatar
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    Click image for larger version. 

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ID:	98073Attachment 98062Attachment 98063Had a loose old Lee mold , was going to scrap it. this thread made me try to "improve" it.I hollow pointed 1 side & removed the bevel base. The other side I removed the grease grooves to mold "slicks" for powder coating . The HP pin is held in it's handle with a set screw it can be reversed to make flat points. I can get 3 different boolits out of 1 mold a195gr. HP, a 210gr. solid, & a 218gr. slick. The HP went through 4 gal. plastic water jugs. 830 fps Bhn 8.6 45acp. Boolits were powder coated 1 coat HF red dry tumbled.
    Last edited by Boogieman; 02-27-2014 at 10:28 PM.
    The 3 people a man must be able to trust completely are his gunsmith his doctor & his preacher ..,his gunsmith for his short term health ,his doctor for long term health ,and his preacher incase one of the others mess up.

  19. #139
    Boolit Master





    SSGOldfart's Avatar
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    Great post, but I've got to ask how many molds did you send to the bone yard? I killed two this past year both 30calls

  20. #140
    Boolit Master Rangefinder's Avatar
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    All totaled, I converted two Lee 2-bangers into effective single-cav's during the learning curve--less efficient by half, but still usable. Since then, all is as it should be. AND, the 6-cav that I used in the photos is still cranking out the best HP's of any of them. Bone yard is empty.
    Guns have only two real enemies; Rust and Politicians...

    "Praying might get you to heaven, but trespassing will expedite the journey..."

    Where might I be found when I'm not here? Try looking here:http://www.facebook.com/NSWE.Pagosa and here: www.rescueropes.org

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check