Casting questions

[murf205]

You will find that Smokes powder makes the whole process easier and appealing to the eye as well. I have found that the Lee push through die metal is pretty soft, if you have a proven method of lapping by hand, to open them up. (Buckshot just got sick after hearing that) If you are having to pound a .432 through the cylinder throats, stop now! You shouldn't have to force a boolit through the throats, just a push by hand. That is probably where your powder coat is coming off. When you get your boolits to fit the throat and they are at least .001 over the barrel diameter, you will be on the right track. Powder coating or lubing are both fine, but fit is king. If you will order some pin gages from Meyer Gage, you will know exactly what you have. They sell pins individually for a couple of $ and they are invaluable to us wheel gun junkies. For the 44, I ordered .427 through .434. If you become fully addicted to this hobby the NOE push through sizer is the way to go. Welcome to the site, there are a lot of great people here with good advice and more than willing to help.

[murf205]

Attachment 217140[attach=config]217138

i may end up going that route. Time will tell i just like the looks of the pc bullets

Me too! This is Smokes powderAttachment 217139

[Outback32]

I slugged the barrel .431.5. I have a powder coated bullet that measured. The same I can't push it through I have to tap it through.

[Dunkem]

I may be in the same boat as far as sizing goes. I measured my cylinder throats using a small telescoping gauge and a micrometer. All came out around .4325, I'm casting using a 429421 that is dropping at .429-.430. Then after PC'ing they are more like .434ish. I took a Lee .430 push through sizing die and with a 1/4 stainless steel rod split lengthwise on one end and chucked in an air grinder and a few wraps of 220 grit emery cloth so centrifugal force would apply outward force I made a few passes then pressed a slug through it and measured it. I repeated the process till they were coming out at .4315. Then I switched to 360 grit and repeated the process until I was getting slugs at .432. I then oiled the 360 grit and made a few passes to polish the inside of the die. The boolits sized through it will hold themselves in the cylinder throats but finger pressure is enough to get them to slide through. The entire process took me about a half hour, but I already had the tools on hand. I imagine something similar could be accomplished with a wooden dowel and a cordless drill, may take a little longer though. Kind of a long boring write up I know, but hopefully it helps you or somebody else out there that wants custom accuracy using things they may have already acquired.

Sent from my VS990 using Tapatalk

[Outback32]

I'm wondering why my cylinder slugged at .432 yet a .432 bullet won't push through it has to be tapped through. Does this mean I need to size to .431 or .432.

[Dunkem]

With both being exactly the same size with zero clearance it is basically a press fit. In my situation where most of my cylinders are at least half a thousandth over what I'm sizing my bullets and that is still enough to hold the bullet in place. But if your bullets and cylinders are both consistently .432 I would call that good. There are many different schools of thought on this subject ranging from .001 over throat diameter to a couple under and even .001-2 over groove diameter regardless of cylinder size. I guess at the end of the day, it's what shoots best for you.

Sent from my VS990 using Tapatalk

[Outback32]

I'm just trying to get a good fit. So I can eliminate leading

[Dunkem]

I guess if you want to go my route and lap out a die you could get the .430 Lee sizer and shoot some in that diameter and check for accuracy and leading. If you're not satisfied, open it up to .431 and shoot some more. If you're still getting leading you can open the die up to .432. Obviously that's the safe route because you can't tighten the sizing die back up if you go to far. Powder coating, if done correctly, should remedy allot of leading issues itself.

Sent from my VS990 using Tapatalk

[murf205]

I'm wondering why my cylinder slugged at .432 yet a .432 bullet won't push through it has to be tapped through. Does this mean I need to size to .431 or .432.

How did you slug your cylinder? Remember that if you use a good bit of force to push/pound the slug through the cylinder, you have resized the "slug" material. I don't mean to sound redundant, but the pin gages are the best indicators, just make sure the cylinder throats are clean.

[Outback32]

I used a lead egg sinker

[murf205]

I sent you a PM