Plain base a 180 gr. Lee , 30 cal. mold

[Ben]

My friend Ken has shot some of my plain based .30 cal. bullets.
He has enjoyed shooting tight groups and saving a little bit on powder and the additional cost of gas checks.

He wanted to order a Lee, .30 cal. mold with the express goal of removing the g/c shank in one of the cavities. I suggested the Lee. 180 gr. g/c version.

I told him that I'd help him with the project. I used a HSS , 5/16" drill bit that is razor sharp.

The bit cuts a super clean and concentric hole.

The project went well today. Kens bullets are miking .3115" with a .300" nose. Should be some good " numbers " for him.

Ben

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/001.jpg

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http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/011.jpg

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http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/018.jpg

[Doc Highwall]

Nice job Ben! You could also use a 5/16" reamer .3125" that has 4-6 flutes.

[Ben]

Doc,

Do you send the reamer down into the hole in the manner that I did with my bit ?

I've never used one ? ?

Ben

[Ben]

I cast my friend a few this afternoon.

Tonight, I ran them through my Lyman 45 , and sized them in a .311 dia. H & I sizing die ,lubed them with Ben's Red, I then rolled them in a light coat of LLA and set them on wax paper to dry.

We'll see how they shoot in a couple of days .

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/021.jpg

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/023.jpg

[Doc Highwall]

Doc,

Do you send the reamer down into the hole in the manner that I did with my bit ?

I've never used one ? ?

Ben

The answer to your question is yes.
I do it on my Bridgeport with slow RPM's and slow feed.

[Ben]

OK Doc, I'm learning , thanks for the info.

Best to you,

Ben

[longbow]

Doc is right, a 5/16" reamer is inexpensive and "should" do a better job than a drill bit.

Having said that, there is nothing wrong with those boolits!

I like the thick base band and no gas check. Those look great Ben. Let's see some targets now.

Great job!

Longbow

[Ben]

" Stay tuned " for targets in the next few days from my friend Ken.

Thanks,
Ben

[Ben]

My friend Ken wanted to go to the range today and test his plain base Lee 180 gr. bullets.

The bullets were sized .311" with both lube rings filled with Ben's Red and then the entire bullet rolled in thinned LLA. Once the bullets were dry
they were loaded in 5 round lots and fired.

10 rows of 5 ea. in the box, all rows had the same bullet, the Lee 180 gr. Plain base sized .311. Each row with a different propellant or different charge weight.
The OAL of the loaded round allowed each bullet to lightly engrave with the nose of the bullet into the rifling. CCI Large rifle primers were used.

Here are the results.

I'll have to post these photos of the test targets in two different post to be able to display all 10 targets.

Ken's Ruger # 1 Stainless, 30-06 was used to test the plain based bullets today. 3 different shooters were used with the targets being at a measured 50 yards.

BTW.....Row 6 shows a good bit of promise. We'll have to shoot that load some more.

Thanks,
Ben

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/023.jpg

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/Photo0884.jpg

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/Row1.jpg

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/Row2.jpg

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/Row3.jpg

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/Row4.jpg

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/Row5.jpg

[Ben]

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/Row6.jpg

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/Row7.jpg

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/Row8.jpg

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/Row9.jpg

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/Row10.jpg

[Doc Highwall]

Nice! I hope to do some more with my plain base SAECO#315. I just found a Lb. of 231 that I forgot I had that I got with some trade along with 4 Lbs. of Bullseye.

[Ben]

Doc,

Those are 2 good powders to try with your plain based .315's.

Ken was VERY pleased with his " New Bullet " today.
A $20 bullet mold with about 20 minutes of work done
to remove the g/c shank and he's ready to have some fun.


We both agreed that these loads were :

( 1 ) Easy on your pocket book.
( 2 ) Easy on the gun.
( 3 ) Easy on your ears
( 4 ) Easy on your shoulder

A fun day..............Row 6 needs to be re-visited ! ! !
He still has about 10 - 12 other powders that might
offer good results ( like Clays, Inter. Clays, Red - Dot, etc........)

http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p545/Ben35049/Row6.jpg

Ben

[kbstenberg]

WHAT is wrong with any of the groups? Were any of the loads chronographed? Did any loads have a filler?

[MtGun44]

Well, there you go. You ruined the mold. :bigsmyl2:

It is impossible to do this with a drill.

:kidding:


Seriously, a reamer will tend to center better and cut a rounder hole than a drill. A two
flute drill (the overwhelming majority) actually drills a three lobed hole. I would
clamp the mold as straight as you possibly can in a drill vise, but then let the vise
slide around as necessary on an oiled drill press table, holding it by hand to keep
if from spinning but permit a tiny bit of self-alignment.

In any case - with a two cav Lee how much damage can you do? They run about
$18 or less plus shipping from some of the online places. Obviously you got it
close enough that the sizer cleans it up just fine. Like the man said - "It ain't
rocket surgery." :bigsmyl2:

Bill

By the way - is it just me or my system or are the animated emoticons all broken
now and don't animate?

[legend]

Ben, nice job.

i would have found a way to mess it up....of that im sure.

[longbow]

As always, excellent post, pictures and targets!

One day maybe I will be able to post a few targets like that. Working on it but not there yet!

I am going to try to follow in your footsteps. I will be loading up some Unique and PB boolits for my .303's. Not sure that my scoped No. 5 is up to punching tight groups like that but I will certainly try.

By the way, you just can't use a drill to modify a mould without ruining it can you...!?! Nice job!

Longbow

[sthwestvictoria]

Great write up and inspiration.
I have a C309-170-F coming from Titan Reloading. I was planning on casting up a whole lot with the GC shank and then milling off the GC component to get a ?160grain PB. Maybe now I'll order a reamer and ream one cavity only.

I have used the excellent Kevin Caron youtube tutorials about using the unpowered drill-press to tap holes so I'll have a look at his reamer tutorial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhxcUcKSR-Y

[Ben]

kbstenberg

WHAT is wrong with any of the groups? Hopefully, not a lot. Were any of the loads chronographed? NONO Did any loads have a filler? NO

[Ben]

By the way, you just can't use a drill to modify a mould without ruining it can you...!?! Nice job!

Longbow
________________________________________

Many would tell you that it can't be done..................

Ben

[longbow]

Ben:

I might have tried a drill bit on a Lee mould as there isn't a lot of investment there if something goes wrong. A reamer is a "better" way to go though to ensure bang on (no pun intended) diameter and smooth finish but there is certainly nothing wrong with the job you did using a plain ol' drill bit.

Now your friend has a "customized" Lee mould. I wonder what it would go for on eBay?

Longbow

[Ben]

Longbow,

You're right,........ " Customized " with a few of the targets shown should bring a " King's Ransom " on Fleabay. I'm amazed at how people use the word vintage there.

I do plan on getting me a .3125" reamer. Just a matter of time.

I'm no machinist ! ! !.............The fact that this one turned out so well should be attributed to simple poker luck .

Ben

[Smitty's Retired]

Ben, thanks for posting the info and the targets. Good looking boolits and some great groupings.

Doc, did you use a HSS or Carbide reamer. Just wondering which would give the best finish, or would it matter on a Lee mould?

Thanks,
Smitty

[Ben]

Smitty

Ben, thanks for posting the info and the targets. Good looking boolits and some great groupings.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Anything we can do down here, you can easily duplicate.
Shooting plain base bullets in .30 cal. rifles is just plain FUN ! !

[Doc Highwall]

Smitty, a HSS reamer would be good for cast-iron, aluminum, or brass.

[Iowa Fox]

Nice write up and pics. Thanks for the report.

[lastborn]

I will have to try this on a 170 gr. lee I have. Very nice pics and groups Ben.

[big bore 99]

I'm a retired tool maker and we used to make a deal called a "dreamer". Just put a small radius on the corners of the drill. I'd try turning the chuck of the machine by hand.

[frkelly74]

This shows up from the distant past right after I bought a 311041 6 cavity plain base mold off ebay, Which does cast a nice boolit by the way. I just might try the dreamer method on some other molds that are currently under used. Ben has taken away the fear.

[Steve Steven]

Guys,
You can get reamers from MSC (www.mscdirect.com (http://www.mscdirect.com) ) in 1/2 thousandths sizes. I just looked up a .310 dia reamer, they listed 10 of them varying in price from $27 to $106. Chose what you want to use and go for it.
http://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn/Holemaking/Reamers/Chucking-Reamers-Sets/Chucking-Reamers?navid=12106128#navid=12106128+4288103963+4 288139639

Look under chucking reamers. Use in a good drill press or milling machine, turned very slow (less than 40 RPM) Or turn by hand with the belt taken off. Use lots of lube (wd40) and pull out often to clear chips.

Steve