Lyman 311041-wasted 3 hours

[runfiverun]

yes.
no.
and...
this isn't really a bore rider it has a lot of bearing length.
it were i woulda said yer *******.

i really don't need to repeat what gear said..... again.

this has to be at least the 5th time this week we have had this discussion....
.
.

[Walstr]

Philngruvy: Sounds like too hot, mold is expanding, boolits are larger than expected? I try to cast at a temp & tempo, that produces a slight satin finish rather than looking chrome plated. Adding tin might reduce size a bit.

[Guesser]

I never got what I wanted from that mold in Marlins or Winchesters but it sure "shines" in my 1936 Savage 99 in 30-30, does really well in my neighbors Savage 219B single shot also. .311 all the way!!

[Mica_Hiebert]

Might be a good time to try powder coating. Might add a little girth to them.

[Beagle333]

With this thread being over 4-1/2 years old, I'd bet he has solved his problem by now.

[dtknowles]

What alloy?

What casting temp?

BP or ladle?

Might just be something you're not doing correctly instead of the mould?

Larry Gibson

Jesus man for a second I thought Larry was back.

Tim

[45-70 Chevroner]

What alloy?

What casting temp?

BP or ladle?

Might just be something you're not doing correctly instead of the mould?

Larry Gibson

Hi Larry, glad to see you back. (Damn, wish I had looked at the date also) sorry about that Larry, hope you get back soon, and hope you read this.

[Strtspdlx]

I would try a cooler alloy temp. Max heat to me means max mold expansion. Which relates to a smaller bore. I've had some molds castes much as .0025 larger by dropping the temp to where I have to cast extremely quick to not lose heat in the mold.

[nitro-express]

Old thread, but I'll add my .02 $.

Without a thermometer, I'm not sure I could cast decently. I've had a few BP Lee pots, MAX would be in the 800 > 900 °F, or more. Between 2 and 3 is app 750 on both of mine.

If the bullets are coming out a bit frosty, they will be small, with alloy in the 92-6-2 range. Other alloys act a bit differently. I've found, as I got a bit more experienced, I could lower the temperature a bit and get nice bullets.

A dull bullet is indicative of tin in the alloy, it solidifies the last. With an alloy where Sb > Sn, this is less, and bullets will be more chrome looking. If the mold temp gets too high, the bullets will be frosty, and even a small patch of frosty means undersize. Alloy temp may be OK, just slow down and let the mold cool.

I went through a bunch of Alloy before I had any bullets I could use. BUT, sometimes these bad bullets still shot OK, most times not. Rifles seem a bit more forgiving than wheel guns.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Powder coat them and they will increase in size .002-.004 in size, then you can size them to .310 and they will right where they need to be.

Also use the gas check, but you won't use any Lube as the PC is a polymer based paint and is quite slippery on it's own.

Randy

[curioushooter]

I suspect that you will find they work fine, perhaps un-sized, if you are using a nominally .308 groove diameter barrel. Were you intending this for a Russian gun?

I have found that with most modern firearms (like made in the last 20 years) you want cast bullets to be the intended groove diameter. My new Smith's in 357 all shoot best with bullets sized .357. My old N-Frame shot best with .358 or unsized (which could be .359+). My Mossberg 464 shoots best with .309 or .308 sized bullets, whereas my old Krags (except those re-barreled) all shoot best with bullets up to .310 or .311 sized.

[MSD MIke]

Mine was the same way. I recently started powder coating and that gets me the extra diameter I need. Not that you should have to start PCing in order to use your mold.

[porthos]

if i were to guess from my past experience: sometime in the early 1990s or sooner is when lyman molds started to become "the luck of the draw"

[HangFireW8]

Hmm I remember this thread.

if i were to guess from my past experience: sometime in the early 1990s or sooner is when lyman molds started to become "the luck of the draw"

Lyman makes 311041's to .309, with Linotype or 1:10 and pressure casting with a ladle, even though the model starts with "311". It's just the way they do things now.

Fortunately, I find .309" to be good enough for .308" bores, but then again I'm not a member of the Cult of the Ball Seat. If your boolits are hard enough and don't have to jump to the rifling, they may do fine.

[pastorcurtis]

I picked up a lee special order 311041 clone on eBay from shooting sports. Drops 311-312.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Using my ancient Lyman mold and using my 50/50 alloy + Tin, I BP at 700 +/- degrees, air cool and .311 size. My Savage 219 likes this boolet and IMR -3031 powder.Robert