use a reamer to make a BB mould FB ?

[varmint243]

I just ordered a Lee six cavity 45 mould but don't like BB bullets.
I also ordered a .452 reamer off of Ebay to make the six cavity BB mould into a FB mould.
Have others done this mod and have tips/pros/cons to offer ?
In a past life I was a machinist, so I'm thinking I can pull this off ?
If I can't find an easier way to cast 1k bullets on a Saturday afternoon.........
The RCBS 2 cavity mould works great, but takes a long time to get the bullet count up.
I ordered two Lee six cavity moulds (38 and 45) to see if they do better in the quantity department.

thanks, DaveV

[paul h]

Not a problem, did that with a lee 358 158 gr mold. It's not as ideal is zeroing each cavity in on a mill or lathe and boring it out, but I didn't see an accuracy problem with a mold that was fb'd with a reamer. I'm assuming you'll be using a drill press? Just dial in the speed and make sure you set the quill stop so you don't go too deep. You might see a little bit of chatter, but that'll clean up in the lube/sizer.

I'm a big fan of the lee 6 cavity molds, great way to produce a quantity of quality bullets in a hurry.

[country gent]

I would set it up in a drill press and lock the blocks in a square vise or true angle Plate on location. Chuck reamer in spindle and turn spindle by hand. Normally a reamer wants a slow rpm and this is an easy way to acheive it. Spidle and set up assure squareness, Hand turnning gets slow speed needed. Use a good cutting oil liberally also. Set the drill press stop to avoid chamfering edge of nect "groove" would be a good idea also. It will take a solid set up to keep the blocks from springing open.

[varmint243]

well, stupid me forgot to think about shrinkage and the .452 reamer didn't clean it all the way up because the mould has to be oversize.
I ran a test of about 400 bullets with it and it now has a very small bevel that I will eventually fix.
I am convinced the bevel hurts accuracy and contributes to leading.
I was very pleased with how well the mould worked.
I will never lube it again tho, I'd rather buy a new one every year than breath that smoky mess.
I got about 250 nice bullets and 150 shootable seconds (these get shot at speed plates and up close)
I dint have any problems with the mould or bullets dropping, I really like the cam and lever for sprue cutting
only time will tell
I do feel like an odd duck on this forum tho, I cast only because I like to shoot, not because I like casting.
maybe it will grow on me.

thanks, DaveV

[paul h]

Just make sure you cut the sprue when it's still fairly hot. If you let the sprue completely cool you can break the cam on the sprue handle.

You're not the only one that casts to shoot. That's my primary goal, but sometimes I carried away and just have to try another mold, just because.

[cbrick]

I will never lube it again tho, I'd rather buy a new one every year than breath that smoky mess. thanks, DaveV

Hhmmm . . . What are you lubing with and how much of it are you using?

I use ONLY Bull Plate for lube and the only smoke I get while casting is on the occasion I use a bit too much but it doesn't last long & then all is good in the world. Well, except obummer but that's for a different thread.

Rick

[HATCH]

I cast to shoot.
In fact I run a automated machine so not much pleasure there

[Echo]

According to my chart, a 29/64 drill is .4531 in diameter. If it were me, I would buy one and use it to take out the BB. Use a drill press and set the stop to keep from going in too deep. I did this with a 2-banger Lee 8mm mold, taking out the GC shank on one cavity, and it worked fine. (Yes, I used the right size drill!)

[popper]

I just used an Exacto knife to PB my 40SW molds. Cleaned up with a little crocus cloth on a stick. Wish I hadn't, I'm finding BB is more accurate.

[varmint243]

Afer a bit of fiddling around I finally got it to where I was satisfied.
The reamer was a bit undersized and there was some wear on the tip, so I cut about 1/2" off the end of the reamer.
I just turned it by hand and it cut the aluminum mould easily.
there was a little bit that did not clean up and it was driving me nuts.
I cast a thousand bullets like that and decided I needed to fix it.
I tried a shimming the reamer, and using a single flute carbide router bit and it got better, but still not what I was looking for.
I ended up doing the final cleanup with a three sided deburring knife I still had from my machinist days.
I cleaned up after that with a cratex point in a low speed dremel.
When I was done the bullets were looking like I wanted.
I tested at the range with my shootable seconds and one of four 10 shot groups was 6" at 40yds offhand isosceles.
(I know, not good enough for a bullseye match)
That is about as good as I can shoot with anything so I think the bullets will be just fine.


There is some gouging on the top of the Lee mould and I can't figure out what is causing it.
I can find no protrusions or burrs that line up.
It does not affect the bullets so I guess it really doesn't matter.
The amount of wear on the sprue plate and such is certainly noticeable after about only about 1500 bullets.
hopefully it will find it's happy place and the wear will stop.


I took some pics but they were too crummy to post.

[375RUGER]

The bevel base is more of a burr on a mould and I removed one that was dinged with a sharp knife from a lee mould.

[JRR]

I have done this chore with a couple of aluminum moulds. A tapered reamer chucked in the drill press and turned by hand. Keep checking and if you go slightly too far, the sizer will take care of it.
Jeff

[typz2slo]

I have a 2 cavity .45 mold and was thinking of doing this same thing and pretty much the same way. Thanks for the info.