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Thread: WTB Molds and ball

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy shaper's Avatar
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    WTB Molds and ball

    I would like to buy a mold for a civil War type of round ball and a mini ball, caliber not important. A ball and mini with it if possible. Condition not important, ugly and worn would be better. They will not be used for molding but for a static display. PM me if you are willing to part with one of your treasures.
    shaper
    I have come to believe honey bees are more important to this world than I am.

  2. 07-12-2017, 08:55 PM
    Reason
    Rule violation

  3. #2
    Boolit Grand Master bedbugbilly's Avatar
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    Plus 1 to above ^ ^ ^ ^

    For a rifled musket mold - look for a Lyman or Ideal 575-213 - made in two styles - a 505 grain and and OS (old style) - same number mold but will be stamped 575-213 OS - the old style has a narrower nose portion for want of a better description. Molds will be single cavity with a removable base pin which forms the hollow base. Lots of round ball molds on there as well from traditional "bag molds" such as were used from very early flintlock period up through early 1900s.

    Don't know what type of display you are looking at doing but it may be that buying a Lee round ball mold and a Lee .58 Minie Ball mold might be the way to go if it will work for what you are doing. Look for vendors on here such as Titan above - click on the advertisement - then go to Lee, molds, black powder.

    Many folks who don't know molds but put them up on flabby don't realize what a base pin is for in regards to such molds as the 575=213 so they get separated form the mold and you'll see just the blocks up for sale. Bear in mind, that depending on when the mold was made, the base pins for forming the hollow base will vary in diameter - so if you buy a set of blocks without the base pin, likely you'll have to have one special made - not a big issue for someone who does machining and has a lathe as long as they have the blocks to fit it to.

    Good luck in your search! There are other makes and sizes of minie ball molds out there for rifled muskets and size may vary dependent upon the bore size they were made for - not all .58 caliber bores are created equal.

    If you want some original Minie Balls - do a search on flabby under "Civil War Relics" - there are usually quite a few for sale on there that have been "dug" - prices vary a lot.

  4. #3
    Boolit Buddy shaper's Avatar
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    Forgot to mention, this display will be for four days only at our local Fair in August. I want to show what the solders had to do to have ammo.
    I have come to believe honey bees are more important to this world than I am.

  5. #4
    Boolit Master
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    Unless you need it to be really authentic, the Lee hollow base minies and modern minies will probably do what you want.

    https://www.titanreloading.com/lee-p...e-modern-minie

    They're also good shooters in modern guns. The 500 ones do quite well in my 500 S&Ws.

  6. #5
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    You should see if there is someone local that would loan you one or 2

  7. #6
    Boolit Grand Master bedbugbilly's Avatar
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    While there were certainly some on both sides who cast bullets - primarily if they had a rifle or pistol for which the Army did not furnish ammunition - both sides utilized paper wrapped cartridges for the various calibers of smoothbore and rifled muskets and for pistols. Smoothbore/rifle cartridges were paper wrapped which held the powder charge (service load for .58 rifled musket was 60 grains 2F) and cap and ball pistols utilized "combustible cartridges" -nitrated paper usually - for Navy caliber - .36 and Army caliber - .44. Most minie balls were not cast but "swaged" on swaging machines at the arsenals. Cartridges were also imported - good example were those imported for use in the British .577 Enfield models - on both sides.

    As an example - 58 caliber cartridges were issued in "Arsenal packs". Each pack contained 10 paper wrapped cartridges - each pack and a Williams Cleaning Bullet every third round in the pack - 3 Williams bullet cartridges and 5 standard minie ball cartridges. Inside each Arsenal Pack there were 13 musket caps wrapped up in cartridge paper - basically rolled up with each end twisted. Each cartridge held tins (musket cartridge pouches) with twenty cartridges in the top and then the tins could be pulled up to get access to twenty cartridges stored in the bottom. Tin designs varied depending upon the particular cartridge box. When the cartridges were removed from the Arsenal Pack and inserted in the cartridge box, the caps were unwrapped and placed in the cap pouch on the belt.

    Bullet molds have been excavated at many, many Civil War sites but while they were used, in general, the average soldier had their ammunition issued to them. Unlike the Rev. War when calibers carried depending upon what the militia carried - smoothbores of various sizes and rifles of various calibers - which made it necessary for them to cast their own in most cases unless a regiment was equipped with the same longarm.

  8. #7
    Boolit Master
    obssd1958's Avatar
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    Attachment 199572
    Attachment 199573
    Attachment 199574

    Looking for something like these?
    If you're just using them for a display for a few days, I would be happy to send them to you for just the cost of a small flat rate box, as long as you send them back when you're done.

    Let me know!

    Don

    What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
    - Henry S. Haskins in “Meditations in Wall Street”

    "Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end." ...Unknown

  9. #8
    Boolit Buddy shaper's Avatar
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    pm sent to obssd1958
    I have come to believe honey bees are more important to this world than I am.

  10. #9
    Boolit Master




    RED333's Avatar
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    Glad this worked out.
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  11. #10
    Boolit Master

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    is this a great forum or what?

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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