Round ball mould

[tallwalker]

I need to get a single roundball mould that drops a reasonably consistent .490 ball with pure. What are you guys using that you like? Would like to stay away from aluminum.

[aspangler]

The Lyman is good. I have had excellent results using the Lee round ball mold. All mine drop .490-.492 with pure and I find very few with voids. Try it you might like it.

[tallwalker]

Thanks, I have one Lyman that casts well. I say I'd like to stay away from aluminum but I notice a lot of you guys use it. What am I missing other than the rust issue? Seems like it would be a lesser material for holding heat and would cool too fast?

[Standing Bear]

I'm transitioning all of my molds to iron. Found it hard to keep temperatures reasonably consistent then started getting "feathers " at the spru on a couple.
TC

[54bore]

I'm transitioning all of my molds to iron. Found it hard to keep temperatures reasonably consistent then started getting "feathers " at the spru on a couple.
TC

I prefer an Iron mold as well, a good quality aluminum mold is fine, but i prefer Steel

[Edward]

Most all my molds are aluminum/Lee/Accurate /NOE, Lee does the job very reasonable at a reasonable price but if you want top shelf try the other two but they are aluminum also and they all work great !

[Maven]

tallwalker, I've owned quite a few .50cal. RB molds and have a few suggestions. First, some of the best casting [.50cal. RB] molds I had were the anodized Al ones marketed by Thompson Center. Second, equally consistent would be the older Lyman "iron" (meehanite) molds. Btw, both the T/C and the Lymans cast .488" - .489" with pure Pb. RCBS is equal to Lyman, but mold casts .492", but it does cast nicely. Lastly, there are Lee Precision molds, which work at least as well as the others, but may not drop a RB that's exactly .490". Finally, look for a used, but excellent condition (with return privileges!) on eBay as their are loads of Lyman, et al. .50cal. molds there.


P.S. There are also RB molds which cast .50cal. RB's, but they aren't common. Green Mountain was one producer of that size mold (anodized Al, btw)

[triggerhappy243]

I can say that most molds by lee and lyman do not cast the same dia. from mold to mold to mold. I use a few aluminum molds and learned maintaining a rhythm while casting will give better results. if you alter the rhythm, the appearance will be different. kinda like pancakes. too long.... they get burned. not long enough.... they are raw.

[RogerDat]

Hot lead, steady rhythm and the Lee's work fine. Hard to complain about a $20 mold that allows you to make a big heaping pile of RB's that will be consistent to the size that mold at that temp casts. Looking over the comments above it is clear that minor variations exist in diameter cast from many brands of molds independent of the material the mold is made from.

I get liking or preferring iron molds or some of the premium aluminum molds but I wouldn't write aluminum or Lee molds off the list. Matter of fact I want to get a .58 RB mold in near future and will probably get a Lee. Take a long time to shoot through a few hundred and that is a casting session over a couple of evening after work. I know I will get my monies worth without annoying my better half with an expensive purchase.

[bedbugbilly]

I have been casing round balls for over fifty years in a multitude of sizes. I've used Ideal, Lyman, RCBS, O'Hause and Lee - as well as original "bag molds" and modern made "bag molds". All will cast a round ball that is sufficient to use in any rifle that is designed for a RB. A $20 aluminum RB mold will cast a ball that works just as well as a $75 Lyman mold.

What I'm trying to say is . . . "don't over think it". Buy a mold that you like at the price you can afford - cast 'em and shoot 'em. A modern mold with sprue cutter will cast a ball that will fly downrange with no problem. Think about what our ancestors used - for most it was a "bag mold" where the sprue was cut with the sprue cutter which was incorporated in to the handle - working much like a "side cutter" pair of pliers. Cut sprues were not "flat" like those cast in a modern style mold - ball weight was inconsistent due to the way the sprue was cut and yet they worked just fine for putting meat on the table, turkey shoots and defense.

Personally, when I have needed a new mold in recent years, I have gone to the 2 cavity Lee. At $20, they'll cast just as good as a more expensive mold, they drop easily and will last a person for years and provide more RB than a normal person will be able to shoot downrange. I'm assuming you are shooting a 50 caliber. Whether you mold drops .489, .490, .4905 or .491 - use the mold and "match" the patch thickness to your ball and bore and work up your load to match to give you the accuracy you are looking for.

Good luck!

[tallwalker]

Maven, is there any way to tell which are older Lyman molds? Any shopping advice? You are correct, there are tons on ebay. The trick looks like it will be finding the better ones. I have been casting heavy grease grooves for a while now for my Sharps and have kinda learned my lesson on that one.

Thank you everyone for the help! When I grow up I wanna be just like you!

[longbow]

While I can't comment on a new Lyman 0.490" ball mould, I do have several fairly new Lyman RB moulds for my 12 ga.:

- 0.662"
- 0.678"
- 0.715"
- 0.735"

All cast a couple thou oversize with wheelweights or range scrap unlike Lyman's boolit moulds which all seem to cast a couple thou undersize with wheelweights. I know... use Lyman #2 alloy. Nope, I buy NOE, Mihec or Accurate moulds that cast to what I want using wheelweights.

Anyway, while the boolit moulds seem to cast undersize, the round ball moulds I have cast a little oversize.

I do like brass and don't mind aluminum but if I had to choose one mould material it would be iron. I have Lyman, RCBS and Ohaus iron moulds, Lee and NOE aluminum moulds and Accurate and Mihec brass moulds. I like 'em all but I do like the way iron casts.

Longbow

[Mr Peabody]

My 2 cents, buy a RCBS .490 and don't look back. No sprue and they're .490.

[FrontierMuzzleloading]

Lee will last a life time. Unless its hard lead. Mine already has the sprue hole area chipping out from the hard lead. Soft lead, im still using the original from 12+ years ago.

[rfd]

unlike most aluminum moulds (but not all), a good iron ball mould will make good balls for a lifetime.

pick any popular commercial brand mould manufacturer and punk down yer $80 or so, or look for a used one.

[Maven]

tallwalker, I'm sure there's a not very simple way of determining when a Lyman mold was produced, serial no.'s, for ex. However, I think I'd narrow the search a bit by using Ideal or Lyman/Ideal in the search window. Btw, if you're careful with Al molds, they will serve you well for decades, if not longer.

[Squeeze]

I've used some old TC single cavity for years and like them for .45 I just put a batch in a tumble rotary (cheapo harbor freight rock polisher) for ~ a day and the sprue disappears.

[tallwalker]

Found an old Lyman on ebay and going to try it out. Thanks fellers.