Shrinkage Factor

[Southron Sanders]

I have a mould that has a diameter of exactly .500 of an inch.

I cast a bullet out of pure lead. When the bullet cools, how much will it have shrunk?

Is there a chart showing the shrinkage rates of bullets cast out of pure lead and alloys?

THANKS!

[Finster101]

Wow, I thought this was a Seinfeld discussion by the title. Sorry no help on your question.

[Centaur 1]

I don't think that it's that simple. You would have to factor in the temp of the lead, mold temp, and mold material. I bet that .500" cavity grows by a few thousandths when up to casting temp.

[btroj]

Hard to say as we are worried more with what size the bullet ends up than what size the actual cavity is. The cavity can be whatever it takes to get me bullets big enough for my needs. Shrinkage like you are asking about is generally taken into account in cavity diameter.

[fredj338]

The larger the bullet & softer it is, the more it will shrink. The only way to know for sure is cast some & see. SKim thru some of this, great stuff for the boolit caster. http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm