For A Smooth Sided Mine

[Good Cheer]

Got a set of #575213 "new style" blocks, the design with a longer bearing length than the #575213 old style. The new style blocks typically have a smaller diameter (same diameter as Ohaus / RCBS) plug channel than the older Ideal / Lyman minie designs. On this particular set of blocks though the channel has been increased a smidgen to be in between the new style and the old style. And there's no plug to fit.

Ah ha, an opportunity to tinker!

Encouraged by having successfully experimented of late with swaging .54 minies down to .52, this might just be my way towards getting a smooth sided paper patch minie mold. All it would need is to take the grooves out to a diameter to fit the various old style Ideal plugs.

[longbow]

What diameter are you looking for? It'll obviously be no smaller than the O.D. of the driving bands in the mould and likely at least a couple thou larger by the time you machine/ream out the lube groves.

Are you planning to swage down after making smooth sided? If so why bother removing the lube grooves? They'll get swaged down and almost disappear depending on your final size. Plus there shouldn't be any issues with paper patching a groove boolit.

I guess I'm trying to figure out what you are looking for in the end.

Longbow

[Good Cheer]

Can use them in the musketoon (.577 bore), the P53 (.580 bore) or the TC's (.582").
And yeah, diameter reduction will be by swaging.
The older style minie molds with the larger diameter plugs (577611, 575213, 575602, 575494 and 57730) each have a differently shaped cavity and over all length. Taking out the plug channel to suit and taking out the grooves will allow the use of any of the plugs as well remove the weak spot on the minies.

[OverMax]

Never had much accuracy luck shooting either 213 cast out of my 58 Big Bore. I always thought the 213's were better suited for the P53 musket. . Although as I recall? I have also shot the 577030 mold. I like that mold. Cast hammers my game equal to maxi ball with a tad bit better accuracy. Only problem? 58 w/030. It's recoil near Max charging. Is a shoulder thumper and then some.

When I started out in B/P I purchased quite a few discontinued Ideal RCBS Ohaus mini molds. I quickly realized such cast was indeed better shot from a musket or accommodating twist rate than a modern assembly line rifle w/1-48.

[longbow]

Okay, that makes sense but... more questions...

Are you sizing the lead for each different bore diameter or using same diameter smooth boolit and changing paper wraps and/or thickness for each bore diameter?

Have you got a lathe or access to a lathe? Making the core pins is an easy job and you can make the HB portion whatever diameter and length you want to change weight, make thicker or thinner skirt, change CG. With the slower twist rifling you'll likely want a boolit that is more nose heavy.

Back in the 70's I bought a Zouave clone and used the Lyman 575213 Minie in it with good results. Got rid of that gun because it fouled horribly. Must have had a rough barrel. Then I got a Parker Hale Enfield Musketoon and a new mould ~ Lyman 575213PH which had a shallower HB pin with flat top. That shot well in the Musketoon. It would have been less nose heavy but heavier overall.

I didn't check rifling on either gun but the Zouave traditionally had slow twist of 1:72" IIRC but slow like PRB twist so must have required a nose heavy Minie for accuracy. If the Enfield Musketoon had faster twist it would make sense to have a more solid/less nose heavy boolit.

In your case, both rifling twist and bore diameter may come into effect on which Minie design works best.

Longbow

[fgd135]

I size down Lyman 575213's to .568 and use them to make Pritchett-style cartridges. They shoot pretty well like that. Other than being historically somewhat incorrect, when wrapped up as a Pritchett cartridge, they are easy to load and shoot. Never felt the need to eliminate the lube/cleaning grooves.

[Good Cheer]

Good morning, longbow,
When fitting paper patched to muzzleloaders the best way I've found is to get a push through sizer to produce the finished diameter of patched boolit. That way you can find out which materials work best for your loading and still get the diameter you need. Right now I remember having a Tennessee Bullet Molds .578 push through and a .580 (no lube holes) to fit a Lyman press.

[Buckshot]

.................Several years ago I made myself some size dies for my 58 Cal Minie' shooting rifles. I made a 'Die Body' to set atop an RCBS reloading press after removing the threaded insert. It has an internal step to act as a stop for the actual sizing insert that went inside. I turned some nylon into a 'Pusher' to push the Minie' through the sizer.



Below is a "Through View":



Visible inside the body is the step, that the sizer inserts stop against. In the sizer inserts you can see the polished actual 'Sizing' part. Since we're talking almost pure lead, and a HB Minie' slug, you don't even need a plastic mallet.

With a 'Transfer ramp' from the press into a suitable container (I made one out of cardboard) you can just stand there, drop a Minie' into the die, drop in the nylon thumper, "Thump It" and set in another as the last recipient rattles on down into the box.

Addendum: If you want, smear lube into the lube grooves of all you plan on sizing. Set the Minie in place and thump it on through. Once you're done, THEN you can wipe off your hands. This will NOT produce a Pritchit style Minie' as the HB allows the skirts to collapse.



..................Buckshot

[Good Cheer]

Buckshot that's a fine looking set of dies.
I've been sorely tempted to ask a cousin in southeast Texas to do the machining on the blocks for me. But, I know he has his hands full trying to keep his businesses in VN up and running, by remote participation and managing best he can.