Whatever happened to the original question about bullet shrinkage?Robert
Whatever happened to the original question about bullet shrinkage?Robert
.429 isn't undersized for a 429421 mold
my best guess, if you were to add 2% Sn to your COWW alloy, you might gain .0003 or .0004 ...and you can play with mold temperature as well and maybe gain another .0001 ? maybe? Give it a try, and see what you get.
But if you want a .431 boolit, you need to buy a .431 mold.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001
which lyman doesn't sell.
I'd powder coat for the extra .002.
QUOTE: .429 isn't undersized for a 429421 mold
my best guess, if you were to add 2% Sn to your COWW alloy, you might gain .0003 or .0004 ...and you can play with mold temperature as well and maybe gain another .0001 ? maybe? Give it a try, and see what you get.
But if you want a .431 boolit, you need to buy a .431 mold.
MY BULLETS ARE DROPPING FROM .4275 THRU .431. no 2 bullets are alike. if i can get .431, then i can size all to .430 and i can live with that. So if adding the tin, will give me .431, then I am good to go, if not, i need to talk to accurate. And by the way, Not remotely interested in p.c.
This shouldn't be happening, either you need to work on your casting technique with that mold? or there is a mechanical problem with your mold... alignment pins? or handle interference? or ???
If I were to guess? I'd suspect that heavy Iron 4 cavity hold is fatiguing your wrist, and maybe you aren't gripping the handles with enough force to close the mold consistently.
that's my 3˘
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001
Why not lee-menting? Using a bit of the aluminum type chimney tape. Tried it one time and got about 0.002" over in boolit dia with just a bit of out of roundness.
My 429421 4 cav. goes at .433", using ww + a bit of copper (0.018%) and fairly even across all cavities. Course, I bought it in the mid 70's
Will casting at a lower temp, result in less shrinkage? I thought I read that? I am casting 9-10 bhn boolets for my .45 Colt. Been following this thread.
Thanks, hc18flyer
You have to remember that when casting soft Pb or COWW's your sized casts will be smaller than the die you put them through.
Look at the bottom example in the last 4 columns. They are using a .451 die but the casts come out .0004 and .0003" smaller than the size die. It's the same with all the calibers.
Another thing to consider is the fellas using calipers to measure their casts are not getting the exact diameter. Even when using the digitals that read out in 1/2 thousandths, 5/10,000ths...just the pressure you exert on the caliper slide will cause it to change .001".
If you are going to critique the castings down to this small of an increment you need to be able to actually measure that difference.
Take a look at the as-cast predicted weights and diameters...just because your mould says one thing does not mean that is what you are going to get out of that mould...it's all about what you pour in.
I'll bet I've posted this 3 or 4 times in this past month in different threads...does anyone actually look at the information and mull a bit on what it means?
a m e r i c a n p r a v d a
Be a Patriot . . . expose their lies!
“In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” G. Orwell
Invest in a roll of aluminum HVAC tape. Look up Beagleing in the forum. Basically you attach some tape in narrow 1/8" wide strips between the cavities and alongside the outside edges on both mold halves. Then cast as normal. Your boolits will come out bigger and any out of roundness will be fixed when you size the boolits. I have a pair of molds which I beagled 5 years ago and they are still casting just fine. If the tape wears out or becomes useless: remove it and replace with a new tape. It will surely cast fatter boolits at a very reasonable cost.
Pax Nobiscum Dan (Crash) Corrigan
Currently casting, reloading and shooting: 223 Rem, 6.5x55 Sweede, 30 Carbine, 30-06 Springfield, 30-30 WCF, 303 Brit., 7.62x39, 7.92x57 Mauser, .32 Long, 32 H&R Mag, 327 Fed Mag, 380 ACP. 9x19, 38 Spcl, 357 Mag, 38-55 Win, 41 Mag, 44 Spcl., 44 Mag, 45 Colt, 45 ACP, 454 Casull, 457 RB for ROA and 50-90 Sharps. Shooting .22 LR & 12 Gauge seldom and buying ammo for same.
Do you like dogs? There are dogs trained to notify/warn people of sounds and unconditional love doesn't hurt either.
Powder coating would be an easy way to add thickness
I read somewhere that Lyman molds are designed to cast to the indicated size with their #2 alloy. You might want to check this out. If it were my mold I would get some linotype and cast a few and measure them. They should come out a bit larger. If not Beagleing is a cost effective alternative.
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 |