Plain Base to Gas Check Mould Modification

[pete501]

The mold arrived today from the S&S . Super happy with this one.

It has an interesting modification. Once a plain base mold, it now has a gas check shank. Like little half rings somehow attached to the plain base making it a gas check boolit.

Makes me think it wasn't always a HP.

Its a Ideal smooth face (has 1 vent on each half) with integral handle, marked: 308241 154 S

I shoot mostly cast 30 cal rifle, last deer was 311413 hp.

[kungfustyle]

That is a cool find. Fire up the casting pot and go to work I am interested to see how the boolits come out.

[pete501]

I gotta make the pin first

[sigep1764]

Take it to Home Depot and find the nail that fits the pin hole snugly. Turn down the nail tip to what works, leave the nail head alone. Form a knob of wood or buy one, split it in half and clamp it together with glue over the nail head. Voila.

[sigep1764]

Sorry, that was word vomit. I realized afterward that I was trying to fix the casting problem so I could see the finished boolit. You are prolly much better at fixing that. And your original question was to do with the wonderment of how someone set that ring inside the mold cavity to create the gas check shank. I don't think JB Weld would hold. Can we get a shot of top of the mold?

[Winger Ed.]

Just a guess, the rings were probably silver soldered in there to be able to take the heat.

Its not a project for the meek, but it can be done with a acetylene torch and solder of a real high silver content- like over 50%
or some other not so common way of brazing/soldering..

Some one who could do that wouldn't have any problem also making it a hollow point.

I had a odd size HP mold come to me without the pin one time.
I never got around to using it, but if I ever did, I was going to look for a old school wooden handle screwdriver to make the pin from.

[Bazoo]

Dang that is neat. Thanks for sharing.

[Thin Man]

Several years ago I bought 2 molds and both were "home made" by some unknown individual. Neither mold had any rollmarks or other detail on them and were .321" (+/-) diameter. My need for these molds is a Winchester M94 in 32 Winchester Special. One mold is steel, the other is brass and both appeared well finished. The craftsman created the cherries and cut the patterns but was limited on his ability to cut the blocks so he finished both into "see-through" blocks. When the halves are closed together you can see clear through the molds. He installed the sprue plate on the boolit base end, then a steel plate on the nose end. This arrangement of end caps can be reversed to allow either base pour or nose pour. As both molds showed plain base designs I found I could set them up for nose pour, get them up to casting temperature, open the blocks, lay a gas check on the boolit base end of the mold (supported by the steel flap on that end), and pour a boolit with the GC already installed. Wow, neat. Two molds with the option of plain base or GC design. These boolits mold at 190 and 200 grains each. One of the patterns has driving bands that start at .319" (nose end) and gain width to .324" (base) making me suspect these were used in a Schuetzen rifle with breech seating. The other casts at .322" top to bottom. I am fascinated by the innovation we continue to find in bullet molds. Pete501's mold with shims added to create a GC design is yet another twist at this innovation. I always enjoy our learning experiences on this site.

[longbow]

You know what... not long ago I'd have said that wouldn't be practical to do (maybe even barely possible) but there it is! I'm with Winger Ed on the silver solder or maybe brazing. If a guy can turn 2 rings to cut in half and mate up at the seam of a mould, and fit the base band so well has to have some pretty good skills. Turning O.D. and I.D. isn't that difficult. Installing and cutting to match mould faces and then doing it again and having those bits match up, now there's the trick!

Also, I like Thin Man's info on the nose pour mould with bottom plate you can put a gas check on. Hadn't thought of that one. Seems like that mould design would be like a Hotch mould.

Your right... the learning never seems to end!

Longbow

[MT Gianni]

Take it to Home Depot and find the nail that fits the pin hole snugly. Turn down the nail tip to what works, leave the nail head alone. Form a knob of wood or buy one, split it in half and clamp it together with glue over the nail head. Voila.

A much more durable pin can be made from a drill bit. Send it into your wood blank and taper or leave the end as is. Even though we have the expression hard as nails they are not that hard or they wouldn't bend.

[dahermit]

The mold arrived today from the S&S . Super happy with this one.

It has an interesting modification. Once a plain base mold, it now has a gas check shank. Like little half rings somehow attached to the plain base making it a gas check boolit.

Makes me think it wasn't always a HP.

Its a Ideal smooth face (has 1 vent on each half) with integral handle, marked: 308241 154 S

I shoot mostly cast 30 cal rifle, last deer was 311413 hp.

How are those split bushing rings held in there? Brazed?

[Thin Man]

pete501, you can take a lot of the pain out of the process of making a HP pin. Take your mold to a well-stocked hardware store or industrial supply house that carries number and letter size drill bits. Start sampling the fit of these until you find that "just right" diameter drill bit that matches the diameter of your mold's pin cavity and you will have the pin diameter issue solved. Sample these drill bits by closing both halves of your mold blocks on the smooth shank of the drill bit and testing for correct fit - snug but should rotate. As cheap as these drills are you may want to buy 2 of them. The smooth shank will make your HP pin and the fluted end will go into your handle.

Now your fun begin:
(1) Lay the drill bit in one side of your mold (smooth end toward the boolit cavity, fluted end toward the bottom of the mold). Position the smooth end of the drill where you want the pin to stop when inserted to mold boolits. Mark the drill with a Sharpie on the boolit nose side of the cavity completely around the drill. Grind a long taper on the smooth end of the drill bit making sure you do not grind off the Sharpie mark. Now the pin will release from the boolit easier than a full diameter shank would release. Be careful that you do not reduce the size of the bit beyond the end of the nose of the boolit cavity in the mold.

(2) Measure the depth of the pin cavity in your handle material, then again the length from the bottom of the mold blocks to where you want the pin to end in the cavity and add these values together. This is the length of your finished pin. Cut off excess length from the fluted end of the drill bit and slightly taper that fluted end to make it easier to insert into the handle.

(3) Install the fluted end of the bit in the handle. Lay the finished handle & pin assembly in one side of your mold (so you can see where the pin ends) and press the top of the handle against the bottom of the block. If the end of the HP pin stops where you want it in the blocks, secure the pin to the handle. If you have looked at factory assembled HP pin assemblies (Lyman, RCBS, etc.) you will see that the handle is secured to the pin via a cross pin. This is a pesky process but is required. Otherwise the day will come when you are casting and the handle comes off the pin and the pin remains inside your cast boolit. There is no joy when this happens. Cross pin installation requires small diameter roll pins and correct diameter (and hardness) drills to secure the pin to the handle. Complete this installation and the job is finished.

(4) Warm up your furnace and enjoy.


and warm up your furnace. Enjoy.

[pete501]

My plan.

I have the drill that fits, After the layout and tapering of the pin I was going mount the pin into 1/2" aluminum round stock, create a flange on the end with the lathe, then make an opening on the flange to clear the screw on the bottom of the mold when the pin is inserted. The handle is rotated and locks under the screw. Set screw to hold the pin in place. Finish with a wood knob.

It will be one of those things I will get to some day. Its on the list.