So I "Beageled" my mould..........

[shredder]

And it worked!!!!!~

At first when I read about the process I was a bit sceptical. I mean really, hold the mould blocks apart to create bigger boolits. Pull the other one!!!!

Then I tried it. My Lyman 314299 seems content to cast boolits at .312 with my alloy. 96-2-2 lead-tin-ant. This will not do in my Lee Enfield No1 MkIII made in 1917 and shot with lots of cordite. I actually need .314 as my sizer is that size. I would prefer .315 as cast. With one layer of aluminum duct tape on the hinge side things are looking up. I put 3 strips on the mould block about 1/8 inch wide on either side of the cavities and one down the middle between them.

I did get a few casting anomalies at first but things settled down rather quickly and good boolits began to come. I did get a few with minor fins on the nose but nothing a fingernail could not take care of. I was probably getting things a bit too hot at that point.

Absolutely a great little tip for enlarging a mould without altering or harming it in the slightest.

[Ben]

Often, it is the difference between being able to get suitable sized bullets for your rifle ( or pistol) or having to sell a mold.

Ben

[rondog]

So that's what beagling is! I've seen the word mentioned here, didn't know what it meant. As the proud owner of two sweet Beagle girls, I was kind of afraid to ask.

[JWFilips]

Well If you are not careful it can become a "Bassetted" mould:bigsmyl2:

[427smith]

never tried this on anything but lyman 4 cavity molds. it works and its permanent. last one I did was a 358156 and it cast at .3565 but I needed to size at .358. so I stamped the mold half without pins with the number zero in 3/32 size. two places on each end. Be carefull to say away from the cavity's. after stamping measure over the stamps compared to the block size. 1/2 inch strokes with a good file will remove the metal from around the stamps to the desired amount . You'll need a good set of micrometers. Does this make sense?

[JWFilips]

I have "beageled" 3 of my moulds successfully and one additional plus that I have noticed (that I don't think much is said about) is I also seem to get better fill out in them now because it increases venting.

[shredder]

I have "beageled" 3 of my moulds successfully and one additional plus that I have noticed (that I don't think much is said about) is I also seem to get better fill out in them now because it increases venting.


I think you are right about that. I was concerned that the tape would close off the vents and prevent good fillout. Just goes to show you gotta try it out not just think about it!!

[shredder]

So that's what beagling is! I've seen the word mentioned here, didn't know what it meant. As the proud owner of two sweet Beagle girls, I was kind of afraid to ask.

Nice beagle you got there! Actually the name comes from the screen name of one of our own here on cast boolits. Beagle is the guy who figured this out, a genious in my opinion. The boolits are not "dogs".

[Shuz]

Here's an interesting tidbit........"Beagle" on this site is a dog lover, but his breed of preference is the Daushound (SP?).

[shredder]

Somehow that is totally appropriate! What a gallery of diverse folks we have here.

[JWFilips]

never tried this on anything but lyman 4 cavity molds. it works and its permanent. last one I did was a 358156 and it cast at .3565 but I needed to size at .358. so I stamped the mold half without pins with the number zero in 3/32 size. two places on each end. Be carefull to say away from the cavity's. after stamping measure over the stamps compared to the block size. 1/2 inch strokes with a good file will remove the metal from around the stamps to the desired amount . You'll need a good set of micrometers. Does this make sense?

427smith....you had me puzzled there for awhile but now I understand: you are upsetting the inside metal on each half & fine tuning the amount of up set with a file until you get it where you need it.
I still would still rather use the beagle tape because it isn't permanent. For instance on my 6 hole Lee .358 158-TL I will cast as is for most of my 357s and 38 Spec ( drops @ .359") then I can beagle it up to .361 and cast for my Wife's .38 S&W Terrier ( need a big boolit & I don't resize those ) and/or cast at that size & resize .360" for my big throated pre-27 S&W. So it is like having multiple moulds. Maybe if it wasn't a tumble lube boolit I could just cast big and size most down but with TL s you loose the multiple fine lube grooves