Measuring Mold/Boolit

[a1albert]

I have been casting for about 10 years this go around. I casted years ago and then got out of it for a while and sold all my casting stuff but after stumbling across a box of molds at a yard sale guess what I am back. Ok now to my question. Reading about the Keith style 45cal mold in an artical I decided to look at my Lyman mold I am using for my 45cal. The artical gave the measurements of boolits cast in the origanal Keith square cut grove 454424 and a square cut 452424 and I have a 4 cavity square cut 452424AX. Artical says Keith 454424 OAL of .676, 452424 OAL of .695 mine OAL measures .685. Keith 454424 bearing surface of .375, bearing surface of 452424 .400, bearing surface of mine .400. Now this is what gets me and where I need help measuring. Keith 454424 Meplat dia of .330, 452424 Meplat measuring .320 and the smallest I can measure on mine is .350. Ok now how do you go about measuring the Meplat on a boolit like this. I measured with a set of digetal calipers at the very top before they slipped off. Does my measurements sound right? Oh and my boolits were cast in # 2 alloy. Does this artical that I read sound right in the measurements?

Albert

[MtGun44]

I guess I don't understand what you mean by "Keith 454424" as different than "454424".

They are the same thing. Understand that molds from Lyman have drifted around quite a lot
over the last 30-50 yrs, unfortunately.

Bill

[a1albert]

I have an Ideal 454424 with the round greese gruve, Elmer Keith 454424 design was with a square cut greese gruve. My 4 cavity Lyman 452424 has square cut greese gruves. I was comparing my 452424 mold to the square cut gruve 454 and 452 in this article at http://www.lasc.us/fryxell45keithswc.htm

Albert

[btroj]

Lyman over the years "redesigned" many cherries. That design was made with a square groove, a round groove, then a square groove. The general shape stayed the same but some minor differences also appeared and disappeared.
If it shoots, why worry?