Just got a new 457-132 postell 535 gr. mould to go with a new Lyman Model of 1878 45-70 Sharps. I called Lyman customer service prior to ordering and the lady said the mould should pour .4595 to .460 and stipulated that is with Lyman #2.
Well, the mould pours .456 to .457 with COWW + 1% tin and that isn't gonna work so well with the .459 sizer lathesmithe is building.
Everything I've read indicates that if anything, bullet size gets smaller as hardness goes up, so it would seem that Lyman #2 wouldn't pour any larger bullets since it is probably about 3 BHN points harder.
I beagled the mould per
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...%93beagling%94
It took two thicknesses of tape, but the mould pours very nice .4595 to .461 bullets now. This is my first attempt at beagling and I'm surprised at how well it turned out. Really surprised at the fact that the measurement with the parting line is nearly the same as the measurement perpendicular to the parting line.
Now I'm trying to decide whether to keep the beagled mould or try to exchange it for another.
Any feedback on experience with Lyman customer service would be appreciated. I got an oblong mold from them once and they replaced it as soon as they saw the photo I sent. It was so out of round, measuring tools weren't required - just eyes.
Ken