Lyman 429649 troubles....

[AlaskanGuy]

Need some help here folks...

I finally got a lyman 429649, and tried casting with it last night. Before i started casting with it, I scrubbed the c.r.a.p. Outta it and noticed the on one side of the mold cavitys the surface inside the cavity was kinda pourus... Not overly so, but enough to make it very very hard to get the bullets to drop. Of course i smoked the mold extra good but no dice.... I measured the boolits and they are pretty round, and dropp at the correct size, but i need to figure out some way to polish the inside without increasing the size... Need it make it smooth again.... I was thinking about beagling, but dont have the stuff, and dont want to increase the size.... Any other suggestions??? I really want to develop this mold for bear defense...

AG

[bhn22]

It sounds like it's time to lap the cavities. Your description of the cavity sounds like it may be old rust pitting. There are several threads on lapping here, so I won't go over it again. It would be a great project for one of your snowbound days (I'm jealous, I was not built for city life). After I finish lapping molds, I usually clean everything up and cold blue the mold so it looks right again. If you just want to polish the cavities, use an abrasive scouring powder like Bon Ami or Comet.

[Larry Gibson]

Before lapping try a clean, new 45 cal bore brush.

Snip or grind the wire end a bit but not too much to let the bristles unwind Chuck it in a variable speed hand drill and with the sprue plate off the mould clamp or hold the blocks around the brush. Slowly rotate the brush. Some JB compound might be good as will a little Hoppe's #9 in the cavity. Go slow.

Warning; doing this with aluminum or brass blocks will very quickly enlarge the cavity.

Larry Gibson

[ubetcha]

Before lapping, just for S&G's try some Kroil sprayed in the mold. That stuff does work wonders
#6 sticky

[AlaskanGuy]

I aint got no Kroil.... And Nobody want to ship to alaska...i have tried to get it many times... :(

But, for the record, I tried Larrys suggestion with a brush and some comet, and that worked wonderfully..... Polished up real nice... And tried casting with it and it works great.... When larry makes a suggestion, it usually just works...lol it is nice to have a resident rocket scientist... Thanks Larry...

And a big Thanks guys to all of the suggestions..

AG

[Wally]

I had this happen to me with a few molds...use a plug made of 0000 steel wool...place in an electric drill and them the closed bullet mold cavity. I had a 452460 that always had bullet hanging up in it---after this treatment I never had any hangups ever again..worked like magic.