Hollow Pointing a mold - other possibilites?

[Dutchman]

I've not yet done a hollow point conversion on a mold so this is pondering the issue somewhat.

Take a mold such as 311299. Do a conventional hollow point job. But in addition to the hollow point stem you would also make a stem that essentially gave you a flat point with no hollow cavity... and a flat point with a hollow point cavity.... or a stem that gave you the original nose shape back.

This would seem to be an avenue in which to create a meplat where none existed prior.

Is this a feasible direction in which to ponder the possibilities?

2nd question:

Has there been any hollow pointing done with Lee single or 2 cavity molds?

Dutch

[MtGun44]

Catshooter has specifically done that. do a search on one of his threads - something
like "mods that I have done". In last few months.

Bill

[Bret4207]

I think Eric at hollowpoint.com (might be the wrong addy) offers multiple spud styles when you ahve him do a HP.

[GP100man]

The lee 1/2 holers have a locating pin mounted longitudily that`s in the way .

As far as the pins go the limiting factor is size of the boolit & imagination !!!

[Rangefinder]

Has there been any hollow pointing done with Lee single or 2 cavity molds?

I've HP'd a couple Lee molds. As GP said, they have an alignment pin that runs across the base of the mold---DON'T try to drill through this, it won't work out well. But, it can be tapped out just enough for a pin to clear, so long as you're careful about it. Choose pin material, and dress/polish it to finished grade. Mic it, and then choose a drill bit as close to but just smaller than that dimension as you can find. Lock your mold into a drill press----make absolute certain it is as centered as you can make it, and perfectly level. Drill your hole for the pin. Pull out the mold, check your center on the hole. If it's good, flip the mold over and lock it in again, chuck the pin into the drill press and smear it with lapping compound. With the press, lap out the pin hole slowly. If done correctly, the pin should fit snug into the pin hole to eliminate fins around the nose when you're casting, but loose enough that you can rotate it within the hole when the mold is closed tight to help with release. When I cast HP's, I pour, let the sprew set, give the pin a little twist and pull out, knock the sprew, and drop. Makes real purdy .357's... Here they are.
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l259/hillsjim/357HPjpg.jpg

[1Shirt]

I have had our own Buckshot HP about 4-5 of my molds for a very reasonable price, and he does an excellent quality job. Have this thing about HP rifle blts in particular that I believe that HP's are more potentially accuraten than the regular nose versions. Even tho they are a pain to cast, for accuracy, I will go to the extra work to cast and shoot them.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[Dutchman]

I've HP'd a couple Lee molds.


Most excellent! Thanks for the explanation.

Dutch

[Dutchman]

for accuracy, I will go to the extra work to cast and shoot them.

I don't believe I've read before that hollow point bullets have an accuracy edge over non-hollow point bullets. I think trying to search the forum archives for such a thing may be rather difficult.

Dutch

[MtGun44]

There are some that claim an accy edge for HP boolits. I have not run a specific
test, but I have molds that can have the pin reversed for HP and non-HP. It would
be an interesting experiment to run.

Bill

[JudgeBAC]

Testing HP vs. non HP using the same mould might not give an accurate comparison since the HP will weigh less than the non HP with the pin inserted. The weight difference could cause a difference in accuracy.

[cumminsnut76]

lee used to make single cavity hollow point molds. I know I have one
why they don't anymore maybe someone here can tell us

[Bret4207]

IME HPing a mould moves the CG rearward an often results in a better grouping boolit. If you think about it, many of the longer nose designs have a lever way out in front there. A little misalignment in seating or a bump on the feed ramp can cause misalignment too. Same for the spitzer style boolit thats' slightly off center out of the sizer. The unsupported nose whipping about at however many RPM seems very likely to cause larger groups to me. Moving the CG rearward should calm things down a bit, if nothing else. It is, in effect, giving you a shorter boolit so it stabilizes more easily.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Buckshot offers as an option a plug that is held in place by a screw thru the side of your mold turning it back to a solid point. I had him do this to my .416 cal. 350 gr. mold.Robert

[fredj338]

Sure, Erik @ HPMS did exactly that for me, made me several pins so I could experiment w/ HP size, shape & depth (open thing nice about single cav pin/plug setups). I settled on two designs; a cup point for hunting & a deep/wide HP for a SD bullet. For a perpetua tinkerer like me, it's agreat way to go.

[old turtle]

Erik took an old Lyman single cavity mold (one with handles attached) which was damaged on the nose. He converted it to a hollow point. It works perfect. I can highly recommend his work. This mold drops the boolit with no problem. Again his work is top notch. You can Google mold repairs or hollow point molds.

[GLynn41]

i have a Buckshot conversion and it is faster than one might think on i cav mold and it works just perfectly - he did a great conversion for me- I also have one Mihia cramer style and while it is faster the the bullets are no better -- //// both of my molds are .41 cal --the single is a Lyman 410459 and the other is a 225gr Lwngc

[NoZombies]

I've HP'd a couple Lee molds....

Did you do anything to that boolit's HP after casting it? it looks like the inside was drilled and radiused, if that's the kind of finish you're getting straight from the mold... I've got a few I'd like to send you for the conversion! :mrgreen:

Could we get a photo of the mold too? I'd really like to see what it looks like, I can kind of visualize it, but I think my mind's eye needs glasses....

Thanks :drinks:

[Rangefinder]

NoZombies---The additional radius is a result of a quick spin from my deburring tool to make sure every nose cavity is uniform. It's actually not difficult to put the additional radius right in the pin itself, and I've done it. The reason I don't usually is because I like to be able to adjust the cavity depth for different loads. Having the additional radius in the pin means the depth is fixed.

Leaving for work now and have a busy weekend with the wife, but I'd be happy to put photos of the mold and such up as soon as a few minutes present themselves. We could also discuss HP'ing a mold, but I'll warn in advance that it makes me nervous messing with someone else's mold, especially one more expensive than a Lee. I'm open to discussion though.

[Rangefinder]

Well, it's a little difficult to hold the mold open and the pin aligned with one hand while trying to shoot a decent photo with the other... :D (I'm a multi-tasker, but not overly coordinated sometimes). But you get the idea. As you can see, the base alignment pin moves out of the way easily enough. Once closed, everything locks up straight and tight.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l259/hillsjim/hpmold002.jpg

[MtGun44]

What holds in your HP pin during casting?

Bill

[Rangefinder]

What holds in your HP pin during casting?

It's tight enough tolerances that the mold itself holds the pin during casting.

[JIMinPHX]

Dutchman, I seem to remember you having a fairly well equipped machine shop. If you don't need a very large quantity of hollow points, you could just chuck up some boolits in a collet & drill out the hollow points. Canter drills sometimes make for a nice hollow point profile.

[10 Spot Terminator]

Rather than spending the money to modify each and every mould that strikes your fancy why not go for the Forster case trimmer with the hollow point accessory and hollow point any and all boolits you desire ??? This way you dont permanently alter a good mould and find out then whether you like it or not ??? Just shakin the tree here,,, I have both.

[NVScouter]

Are LEE moulds worth it to spend the $$ HPing? Steel VS Alluminum?

Also what about old Ideal moulds, I have a 258 88g SP that I need to get going for my 250-3000.