UN-hollow pointing a mold?

[TedH]

I have a Lyman 457122 that I would like to be able to cast a non-hollow point bullet with. The hollow point pin measures .128". I was going to make another pin that fit flush at the nose, but can't come up with anything the exact diameter. I have a huge set of drill bits but there are none that are exactly .128".

What do you all do to cast a flat nose bullet with a hollow point mold?

[Willbird]

You could purchase a .128" dia gauge pin. Or have a friend with a lathe turn you a hollow point pin that just fits flush.

www.mscdirect.com should have the gauge pins, but their website is donw, these pins come in .001" and .0005" increments typically, an import one should not be terrible expensive. They are typically 2" long, hardened, ground, and polished steel.


Buckshot has made some molds into HP molds so I would wager he could make you a pin to simply leave a flat.

Bill

[GLL]

I call Buckshot ! ;)

Jerry

EDIT: Bill beat me by about 10 seconds ! :)

[Red River Rick]

A #30 drill mic's out to 0.1285", try using the shank. If its to tight, you can always polish it down a bit. Or buy some # 30, W1 or O1, Drill Rod from your local supplier.


RRR

[dk17hmr]

You could just fill the nose of the bullets with candle wax. That will "un-hollow point" them pretty fast.

[floodgate]

Rick:

Actually, good brands of drill bits are ground to leave the shank about a thousandth under drill point size, to reduce friction, so the shank of #30 ought to be just right, somewhere along its length. Cut it off and file the end flat, and stick it into a hardware-store drawer knob to the right depth; you can prop it on a block of wood to hold the knob and plug in place for ladle casting, or for free pouring from a bottom-pour pot. Or, you can improvise something involving a circlip or E-clip to latch under the keeper screw on the bottom of the block. Be creative! You can always re-melt and re-cast the experimental learning specimens.

floodgate

[TedH]

You could just fill the nose of the bullets with candle wax. That will "un-hollow point" them pretty fast.

I'm mostly wanting the option of not having to mess with the extra step of handling the pin while casting bullets for target shooting/plinking.


My set of drill bits are not the highest quality I guess. My #30 bit measures .125 on the shank. I'll see if I can find a #30 of better quality that might be the correct diameter.

I stumbled across this mold in another thread here. This is exactly what I had in mind. Something attached to the mold so there was no extra handling of parts.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f157/TedH/fillerpin.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f157/TedH/fillerpin2.jpg

[dk17hmr]

That .125 might work, try casting some once the mold gets up to temp it should expand some. Never know.

[TedH]

Well gents, I scrounged the needed materials and got my hollow point plug made up. Tried it out this evening and it works perfectly.

The extra alloy from lack of the hollow point added about 8 grains to the bullet weight. Sure speeds up the process, not having to mess with handling that hollow point pin.

The nice thing is, now I have two molds in one.:drinks:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f157/TedH/000_0001-4.jpg

[mooman76]

What about filling the hole with high temp silicone gasket sealer which is so good of an idea I will try it on mine!

[floodgate]

TedH:

Nice Job! (Nice castings, too.)

floodgate