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Thread: .38 Special Slug Mold? Or..? What do I have here?

  1. #1
    Boolit Master Oyeboten's Avatar
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    .38 Special Slug Mold? Or..? What do I have here?

    Help me understand this old Mold please?

    What was this meant to be used for?

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  2. #2
    Boolit Master

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    This mould is for casting cores for the purpose of pressing them in copper jackets and swaging them into 357 caliber bullets that can be used in 38's and 357 magnum cartridges.
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    want to sell it

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    Boolit Master Oyeboten's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hickory View Post
    This mould is for casting cores for the purpose of pressing them in copper jackets and swaging them into 357 caliber bullets that can be used in 38's and 357 magnum cartridges.

    Ahhh!

    Okay...

    Thanks!

  5. #5
    Boolit Master Oyeboten's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rancher1913 View Post
    want to sell it

    I just got it and I have not had time yet to try it out!

    I got it with the thought of making some 148 Grain and 158 Grain flat both ends, no Lube Groove Wadcutters for my .38 Special Revolver.

    I want to see how a Bees Wax impregnated Paper Towel 'Wafer' will do for the Lube part...this over Black Powder, but also over 'Unique' or other appropriate Smokeless.

    I am interested in whether Wadcutter type ( or even other shape ) Bullets might behave just fine, with no Lube Grooves, but with a Lube which is supplied by a thin Paper Towel Wax impregnated Wafer stuck on to the Bullet Base...where in my imagination it vaporizes right away and sends some lube along with 'early gasses', as well as trailing the Bullet to lube for the next Round.

    I hope also to reclaim Bullets to see if any burrs occur at their Bases from the impress of the Rifling, and of course if so, then I can arrange for a Mold which makes for a little 'bevel' base, to see if a bevel base might correct that.

    So, that was my reason for getting it.

    I had no idea what it had been originally meant for though till ust now in reading the post above yours, in this Thread.

  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy
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    You may find that it is quite undersized.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master Oyeboten's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rwadley View Post
    You may find that it is quite undersized.

    I will definitely measure the diameter and see what it is, once I have my Casting set up ready.

    It is a nice Mold to study though, just in general, as I had been thinking about a Mold where one can ajust the Bullet length ( and thus weight ) and I am interested in Boolits with no Lube Grooves, so...it is a nice example of a design which could be emulated for other Bollit kinds.

  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master OS OK's Avatar
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    Unless you can Powder Coat and get fit close to bore +. good luck with the patch lube, following the lead down bore? It's a little too late then, the cart is before the horse.

    Get ready for 'Lead removal 101'.
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  9. #9
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    The cores cast with that mould are meant to be put into half-jacket cups and swaged up to .38 caliber. The cores as-is will be grossly undersized and won't even fit in your shells properly.

    You will need to find a Swag-O-Matic press, with dies and some half jackets, in order to actually use that mould. It's a curio from those halcyon days in the mid-to-late '50's, when bullet swaging for handguns was briefly fashionable.

    But you are right; the screw adjustment part is something useful, that might well be used to adjust the length of a mould for regular boolits. Ideal used to make such "Perfection" moulds, for the confirmed gun crank, and Red River Rick and Steve Brooks still make a few custom designs that work that way.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master Oyeboten's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rwadley View Post
    You may find that it is quite undersized.

    Indeed it is quite a bit undersized, just as you had said.

    I did not Cast anything with it yet, but I did press a .38 Special .357 RNL Bullet up against it and, eeeesh, no way is this Mold going to give me anything close.

    Oh well, still, it is a really nice design, and I have learned a few things looking at it and also with the kind info you all have given me in this Thread.

    Thanks!

  11. #11
    Boolit Master Oyeboten's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OS OK View Post
    Unless you can Powder Coat and get fit close to bore +. good luck with the patch lube, following the lead down bore? It's a little too late then, the cart is before the horse.

    Get ready for 'Lead removal 101'.
    I have done it at least five hundred rounds worth so far, and it works perfectly.

    I simply have not done it with any Boolits which have no lube grooves.

    Bullets/Boolits I have done it with were conventional Wadcutters, with no lube in the Grooves.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bent Ramrod View Post
    The cores cast with that mould are meant to be put into half-jacket cups and swaged up to .38 caliber. The cores as-is will be grossly undersized and won't even fit in your shells properly.

    You will need to find a Swag-O-Matic press, with dies and some half jackets, in order to actually use that mould. It's a curio from those halcyon days in the mid-to-late '50's, when bullet swaging for handguns was briefly fashionable.

    But you are right; the screw adjustment part is something useful, that might well be used to adjust the length of a mould for regular boolits. Ideal used to make such "Perfection" moulds, for the confirmed gun crank, and Red River Rick and Steve Brooks still make a few custom designs that work that way.
    Thank you for that info.

    I myself have no feelig of interest to be swaging my own Jacketed Boolits for .38 Special/.357 Revolver.

    I would like to be able to Swage Boolits though, and I will be looking in to that, but I only want nice Lead Boolits and not Jacketed ones.

    Indeed, I really like the adustable length/weight feature...and I see no reason why the end of the Plug could not be in a shape for a nice rounded or spire Nose, even if there would have to be a tiny 'step' to allow it.

    That would be a joy to have on quite a few kinds of Molds, especially those for some Rifles, where one might wish to try varying length and weight a little to find what works the best.

    I will try and determine what diameter it does throw.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master

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    Maybe a trade. I have a wadcutter that might be what you are needing and your mold would be perfect for my fledgeling swag operation
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  14. #14
    Boolit Master Oyeboten's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rancher1913 View Post
    Maybe a trade. I have a wadcutter that might be what you are needing and your mold would be perfect for my fledgeling swag operation
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    PM sent...

  15. #15
    Boolit Master Oyeboten's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OS OK View Post
    Unless you can Powder Coat and get fit close to bore +. good luck with the patch lube, following the lead down bore? It's a little too late then, the cart is before the horse.

    Get ready for 'Lead removal 101'.
    I did not elaborate enough to explain.

    With my Black Powder Metallic Cartridges for Revolvers ( .38 Special, and .45 Colt ), and also my .44 Cap & Ball Revolvers, I have been using a little Bees Wax empregnated Paper Towel 'Wafer' between Powder and Bullet/Boolit.

    This has worked very nicely.

    My Black Powder Bullets ( usually flat both ends Wadcutters or short blunt things anyway ) have no lube in their Lube Groves.

    Since I do not use any lube in the lube grooves, I have felt interested in Boolits/Bullets which have no Lube Grooves in the first place, and when I saw this old Core Mold, I thought it might be just what I was looking for for .38 Special.

    So...that's the background in that.

    Anyway, the little home made simple 'Wafers'...I have put about 300 odd Rounds through my Uberti 'WALKER' using them, this over several months, and using Goex 3f to full charges, and I have not cleaned the Revolver yet, yet it looks nice and basically clean and presentable. I have no drag whatever with the Cylinder to Forcing Cone, no fouling, no build up and no leading. My Cylinder Gap is about .003.

    All I end up with is a very very thin grey 'film' which is easily wiped off with a finger tip or a Kleenex.

    So, the little 'Wafers' work very well, and do what I had hoped they would do, using them with Black Powder.

    Similarly, I have 200 odd Black Powder rounds through an older S & W .38 Special which also has a very fine small Cylinder Gap, I have not cleaned it yet, and no fouling whatever, no 'drag' or build up, no hints of any 'rust'...only a very thin grey film which wipes off with a Kleenex or one's thumb...no messy Hands, etc...everything stays tidy.

    How well they will work with Smokeless, I will find out at some point...I will heat the Boolits and see if the little Wafer sticks securely to their bottom...and if it does, I will try them with Smokeless at some point. I guess even if it does not stay on, it might not matter, so, it may work just fine even if it falls off inside the Case, or if I merely drop it in to the case on top of the Powder...if things move around in transport or whatever and the little Wafer gets between Primer and Powder, then maybe it would sort of make for a dud or 'delayed' firing round ( "Click", and count to a slow 'ten' I guess )...I'll see...and if it worries me, I will just not stay on with it with Smokeless.

    None of my Smokeless rounds will be more than middling power Loadings, so, the effect on Loading Density ( assuming a Bullet seated to normal depth, ) of the little Wafer will be of no worry...the Wafers are very thin...and as far as I can figure, they just Vaporise as the Powder conflagrates...converting the Bees Wax to a gas, and the Gas then deposits some of itself in the Bore and so on, and does the Lubricating part perfectly.
    Last edited by Oyeboten; 09-19-2016 at 01:15 AM.

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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