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Thread: Expanding a boolit mould the "WEET" method. (In parts)

  1. #41
    Boolit Master

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    Very well done Thanks for posting !

  2. #42
    Boolit Bub
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bigslug View Post
    I am curious about this, as I have the exact same mold and WOULD want to take all the bands up to .359"-.360", and have the same issue of the front one being smaller than the back two. I'm guessing that you'd start by doing all three bands at once, until the larger back two reach the desired spec, then cast some new slugs and only do the smaller front band? I'd think you'd need to leave at least the rearmost band on the lap to ensure everything stays straight?
    Hi Bigslug.
    Okay, to try and answer your question re enlarging the bore riding band MORE than the two driving bands, I would start by doing JUST the front bore riding band.
    My reasoning is this. If you enlarge the driving bands first, to the finished desired diameter, you would risk further enlarging them when you work on the front BR band.


    If you have the same mould, then you will know that the front BR band is already short of a few thou from that of the driving bands. So you are looking to increase the BR band a considerable amount. I would suggest that you do the grunt work first, of taking the BR bands diameter to that of the driving bands diameter, and THEN work on the bands as a whole (the same as the tutorial).
    In this way, if you do notice any slight enlarging of the driving bands as you work on the BR band, it won’t matter.

    If I may suggest a method.


    Cast some SOFT LEAD boolits for this.
    Proceed through the tutorial, but when you get to the bit that says remove (snick off) some of the lead slug lap, you should whittle a relief trough just forward of the BR band, but don’t touch at least an eighth of an inch of the boolit nose. This forward portion of the nose should remain untouched as it will be a bearing surface, and prevent the boolit from twisting out of true whilst you are lapping.


    The same goes for the rear driving bands. They need to remain whole.
    Next, the lube band, cut that a little deeper if you can. This will prevent it from being lapped by the BR band lapping process. Remember, you are to be removing quite a bit of material overall, so the process will be considerably longer than the one in the tutorial. Hence, more chance of ‘lapping-out’ areas you don’t want to be changed!
    Also, by making two troughs, one either side of the BR band, it will not only prevent any lapping action taking place here, it will also act as a mini-sump area for abrasive slurry that squishes out from the lapping action. By having troughs, it will help prevent unwanted migration of the mix (see the tutorial where the BR band was whittled away, and not even the bluing from the mould was removed during lapping).


    So, now you have a slug lap, bearing surfaces (while spinning in the mould) at the foremost and rearmost for stability. A slightly stippled and ‘loaded’ BR band only. With two troughs, one either side of the same.


    Go for it!


    Hope this helps.
    Regards
    saxguy

  3. #43
    Boolit Master
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    Just found this... great write up! Thanks!

  4. #44
    Boolit Mold Martini Sportco's Avatar
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    Excellent post, thanks. I heard about this on another forum, that's a real accolade.
    I will be trying it out on a Saeco mold that needs another .002

  5. #45
    Boolit Master

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    I have used the method as described an it had one draw back with course compound, the boolits tend to not release very well. When I went to a finer grinding compound (toothpaste) it produced a smoother finish, but it takes longer to get the cavity to open up. Remember when lapping a mold little is more, a little lapping compound goes a long way.
    Last edited by Hickory; 08-31-2015 at 04:36 PM.
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    only to God and my own conscience.

  6. #46
    Boolit Master
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    How did you find the center to drill for the bolt?

  7. #47
    Boolit Buddy Motard's Avatar
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    Need to Tankyoou for this uncomparable post sir. Not only is effective and smart, but everithing is explained, step by step, as also a not well english speking as me can get it fully.
    Tnakkyou so much

  8. #48
    Boolit Bub
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    I have a Lyman 4 cav.mould that needs to be opened up does anyone offer this service. I don't feel like jacking with it.

  9. #49
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    Quote Originally Posted by temac View Post
    I have a Lyman 4 cav.mould that needs to be opened up does anyone offer this service. I don't feel like jacking with it.
    Eric does
    http://www.hollowpointmold.com/
    he does excellent work...second to NONE !
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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  10. #50
    Boolit Bub
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    Thanks JonB checked his website out, looks like he does good work. Like those hollow point conversions, gives me something else to think about!

  11. #51
    Boolit Master
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    It seems like a great method, and you have proved that it works. An electric screwdriver, and hand-holding the block, would be slower but might be worth considering, as reducing the chances of lapping off-center or out of line.

    For someone with a lathe, who wishes to slightly enlarge an aluminium or brass mould, an alternative might be to turn a slightly larger dummy bullet in steel, and force the mould closed onto it with an engineer's press or large vice.

  12. #52
    Boolit Bub
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    I opted to enlarge my 4 cav.mould but have 3 other Lyman's that drop undersized with my alloy and for my star#2660429,2660421 and 2660460. Thinking about trading them for a9mm 6 cav. Mould they have seen moderate use any idea what they are worth no punches or handles?

  13. #53
    Boolit Mold cbshtr's Avatar
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    I just came across this sticky and think it's great. Not having to re-cast slugs all the time will cut down on a great amount of time and the ability to do an instant check of progress is awesome. Here is my concern. Will the drive bands on a gas checked bullet bump up when the gas check shank is hit with the center punch? I have 2 molds that are gas checked that need to come up about 3 thousandths and I am eager to try this approach. I have done several the other way and it is quite time consuming.

  14. #54
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    Quote Originally Posted by cbshtr View Post
    snip...

    Here is my concern. Will the drive bands on a gas checked bullet bump up when the gas check shank is hit with the center punch?
    ...snip
    It shouldn't.
    Of course, this presumes using a reasonably light touch with the Hammer.
    I
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
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  15. #55
    Boolit Mold cbshtr's Avatar
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    JonB,
    I should clarify. I know when lapping a plain base bullet the center punch will be expanding the base because that is the area being hit. I'm curious if when using a gas check design will the impact from the center punch be enough to upset the bands on the slug that was put back in the mold to test for lapping progress measurement. I don't mean expanding the mold itself if that was what you had in mind.

  16. #56
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    I guess I don't understand
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
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  17. #57
    Boolit Mold cbshtr's Avatar
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    I reread the article and the original poster explained how to expand all the bands. Apparently I missed it the first time. I drilled out the bullet bases today and as I get time I will work thru all the steps. I'm working on getting a 6 cavity Lee 429-200fn up to .432. Right now they range from .4295 to .4305. I'm hoping this method will get all the cavities to size in short time.

  18. #58
    Boolit Mold cbshtr's Avatar
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    The Lee 429-200fn was rather easy doing this method. I next tried it on a gas check design. The only difficulty I had, though following instructions, was tapping the slug for measurement. Not sure if I was getting an accurate measurement so I hope I didn't go too far. I'm going to try casting some to see exactly what I have. May just be easier to hack off the gas check heel of the slug since I'm not expanding that anyway.

  19. #59
    Boolit Master Ole Joe Clarke's Avatar
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    I have a 40 cal 6 cavity Lee 401-175. It drops a bullet that averages .4003 (10 pcs) in diameter. This is a bevel base bullet. What are your thoughts on the bullet base when it is expanded with the center punch. What do you think will happen? Anybody?

  20. #60
    Boolit Bub

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    This is great information. I have been casting the hard way for a long time. While following this process for opening up cavities a few thousandths I have seen the light on how to get my boolits to drop out of the mold without whacking the handles with a hickory stick. I will be implementing this on all of my molds. It is amazing to have boolits fall out on their own.

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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