Help with molds and sizer dies please

[saxguy]

For years I have been using the same molds. I have only a few, but my oldest is a Lee two cavity 158gr wide tip semi wadcutter. I see that they are no longer advertised for sale.

The mold is showing signs of its age, and also, I notice that the dimensions of the dropped boolits are a bit out of whack. They can measure between .356 to .361 depending how you twist the boolit in the micrometer. In other words, they show being out of alignment.

I am thinking of getting another mold, and a better make. Also I am looking to get the boolits sized to .3585, so I am looking to get a mold that drops at .359

Before I plunge into the abyss, I would welcome any comments from the forum, re the above, especially mold preferences etc.

Oh, my cylinder throats (two S&Ws are .357 and .358 (I am possibly taking the .357 out to .358)

I also have a Ruger .44 SRH with cylinder throats of 4315 and a bore of 4295
I have a two cavity Lee 240gr Gas check mold that’s dropping boolits at .429 My question for this is, if I get a sizing die at .429 will that be good enough, or is a larger sizing die the way to go?

My sizing dies will be for the star lube sizer.

[Catshooter]

saxguy,

Welcome to the forum.

I prefer to mostly stick with Lyman. I used to think that the newer ones Lyman was making were casting undersized, but Larry Gibson (a member here) pointed me on the true path to making them work.

Lyman makes the best moulds for the money as far as I am concerned. Since I'm retired on a fixed income the money matters to me. There are a bunch of custom mould makers here and they make great moulds. But they cost too much for me.

As far as getting a mould that casts a particular size, isn't that why they make sizing dies? :) Seriously outside of the premium makers you get what you get. You can't predict the exact size a mould will drop at.

As far as what size sizing die, larger is better as long as the cartridge will chamber as a general rule. I try to keep a selection as it can come in handy. For instance for thirty caliber I keep .309, .310, .311, and .312 on hand. Options are good.


Cat

[saxguy]

saxguy,

Welcome to the forum.

I prefer to mostly stick with Lyman. I used to think that the newer ones Lyman was making were casting undersized, but Larry Gibson (a member here) pointed me on the true path to making them work.

Lyman makes the best moulds for the money as far as I am concerned. Since I'm retired on a fixed income the money matters to me. There are a bunch of custom mould makers here and they make great moulds. But they cost too much for me.

As far as getting a mould that casts a particular size, isn't that why they make sizing dies? :) Seriously outside of the premium makers you get what you get. You can't predict the exact size a mould will drop at.

As far as what size sizing die, larger is better as long as the cartridge will chamber as a general rule. I try to keep a selection as it can come in handy. For instance for thirty caliber I keep .309, .310, .311, and .312 on hand. Options are good.


Cat


Thanks catshooter.

… Yes, they do make sizing dies for “that” (as you say), but what I mean is, if the mold is dropping them out at .356/.357, there is no point in getting a sizing die at .358 (if you want to size em tight to a bore that is .3575). A sizing die only sizes down, not up…. Unfortunately. .

[Ben]

saxguy

WELCOME to the forum ! ! !

As to your .44 .................

Sizing .429 for .4315 throats wouldn't be my strategy. I'd want a bullet that was at least .431" , then it will size itself back down to .4295 when it enters the forcing cone of your barrel.

Got to fill those cylinder throats. In a revolver a lot of people slug the barrel and think that is what they want their cast bullet sized to.------Nope, got to fill those cylinder throats.

As has already been pointed out, if your mold drops bullets at .429 , it won't help a thing to run them through a .430 " or a .431" sizing die, they are still .429.

I'd opt for a mold that would cast a bullet at a minimum of .431" or .432", then run the bullets through a .431" sizing die and you should be good to go.

Ben

[bedbugbilly]

I can only speak from my own experience. I have been casting for 50 years, starting mainly with round ball / minie balls for front stuffers. Now I cast for y 38s/9mm and seem to have accumulated a "collection" of molds for those of different designs - Lee, Lyman and Ideal. I have had good luck with all of them. I'm not "hi tech" - I cast with a pot, gas hot plate and dipper. I use mainly "range lead" for my boolits.

In response to what you are talking about, I have had molds that drop smaller than they are supposed to and some that drop larger - I really think there are a lot of factors involved. In my case, it's probably heat temperature, allow, mold temperature, etc. all combined.

I recently picked up a set of old Ideal blocks - 357-446 which are supposed to drop a 162 grain SWC. I cast up a bunch of them the other day and I actually expected that since it was a .357 mold, I may have some problems with them dropping too small. I have very few $$ in the set of blocks so if it didn't work, it was no big deal.

When I got a chance to sit at the bench and measure them - I had the same thing you described. I was surprised to see that they measured a little out of round - i.e. I got .358 to .360/361. Well, at least they didn't drop too small! I ran them through my Lee .358 push through sizing die and they came out just fine - round and .358.

A while back, I picked up a single cavity Lyman 358-311. I love this boolit! When I cast up some, they dropped right at .358 - perfect! I liked the boolit but not the single cavity as I was getting impatient in the time it took to cast. So . . . . I ran across a set of Lyman 358-311 double cavity blocks. Figured I"d take the SC blocks to AZ and leaver them there to cast in the winter and use the double cavity blocks to cast when I'm here in Michigan. I used the DC blocks - cast up a couple of hundred (and it was much faster) . . . but I discovered later that they dropped at .359 out of the DC blocks. Hmmm . . . both Lyman blocks - SC and DC - same batch of alloy, etc. Lesson is . . . different mold blocks are going to be just that "different".

I think it is all "the luck of the draw" as already mentioned. I have a set of Lee push through sizers - .356, .357 and .358 - they're cheap and they work for me. If I can't shoot the boolits "as cast", I can easily size 'em to what I want.

I have been picking up Lyman blocks when I can as I like steel blocks. I have several WC, SWC and RN designs. I still find that the Lee molds work well though. I was shooting yesterday - trying different loads/boolits out of my Smith Combat Masterpiece. The boo let it seems to like best is from the Lee .358 TL SWC mold - the only TL mold I have (which I had doubts about the TL design but it has proven to really work well from the CM). On the other hand, my 5" M & P and New Vaquero seem to prefer the 358-311 out of the Lyman blocks.

From my own experience - if I was only going to have "one mold" - the secret would be to get something that 1. dropped a little oversize - 2. get a sizer to push 'em through to keep things consistent and 3. pick a design that I knew shot well. You had a Lee mold that obviously "served you well". The next thing is to find a new mold that you will be as happy with. It may be a Lee or it may be a high priced "custom mold". Just remember though that "price" does not equate in to "satisfaction". Sort of like buying a car - you can spend a smaller amount on a Chevy or a higher amount on a Mercedes. In the end though - they both will get you to your destination.

Good luck and I look forward to hearing what you end up with and how you like it.

And welcome to the forum! A great group here and lots of good advice and experience to draw on!

[marshall623]

On the choosing the mold , what will it be used for targets, plinking or hunting. I have a Lyman 358477 and it cast very good bullets , maybe a little light on the hunting side but shoots good out the GP 100. A fine member on this forum sent some 180 WFN's to try in my 10 357 Mag. contender that I was having trouble with & they were the ticket , but I also tried them in my GP and man do they shoot . Good enough I just bought the NOE mold of that boolit. Lyman make's a 158 gr mold that has the wide flat also I've eye balled that one a bunch

[462]

"I am thinking of getting another mold, and a better make."

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/

[RobS]

saxguy,

Welcome to the forum.

I prefer to mostly stick with Lyman. I used to think that the newer ones Lyman was making were casting undersized, but Larry Gibson (a member here) pointed me on the true path to making them work.

Lyman makes the best moulds for the money as far as I am concerned. Since I'm retired on a fixed income the money matters to me. There are a bunch of custom mould makers here and they make great moulds. But they cost too much for me.


Cat

Semi custom and custom mold makers are not too much more expensive actually some cheaper than a new Lyman or RCBS. Last I checked a new Lyman 2 cavity mold on MidwayUSA is running $70-$75 and an RCBS 2 cavity about $5 more than a Lyman running $75-$80. Lyman 4 cavity molds are running now at $95ish. Yes the prices I detail below are aluminum/brass vs iron but I've never worn out an aluminum mold, not even a few Lee 6 cavity molds which have thousands of bullets cast through them. If taken care of an aluminum mold will outlast the person casting with it. Now I understand if a person is an iron mold preferred caster and if so then yes Lyman is a better bang for your buck etc.

Semi Custom mold makers: Solid Molds
-NOE molds are $79 for a 2 cavity, $92 for a 4 cavity and $99 for a 5 cavity. He does have a few 4 cavity brass molds on his site and run at $118.

-MiHec molds are $85 for a 6 cavity Aluminum and then $95 for a 4 cavity brass mold.

Custom mold makers: Solid Molds - Design what you want and with whatever specified alloy for use
-Accurate molds:
2 cavity Al - $100
3 cavity Al - $120
4 cavity Al - $139
5 cavity Al - $159

-Mountain Molds:
2 cavity Al - $85
3 cavity Al - $120

And yes even today's new Lyman molds can drop at their stated diameter however it will come with casting at the right temp and making sure you add in enough tin for perfect fill out. Why not get a mold to drop at what you want with whatever alloy you want from another mold maker. Speaking of over the counter molds, RCBS and Lee molds are typically more forgiving than Lyman when it comes to casting the right diameter or larger with a variety of different alloys and alloys that are more commonly used such as wheel weight or similar alloys.

As to the original poster's thoughts, I would get a mold that will for sure cast at your desired diameter with the particular alloy that you plan on using. I also suggest that a mold that drops larger can always be sized down (within reason of course) where as one that is a PITA to drop at intended diameter or doesn't is frustration that makes a hobby run short. I would also suggest that you size to your cylinder throats or a touch under for good results however others have had good results sizing on the smaller side as long as the boolit is at groove diameter or .001-.002" over. I am a fan of shooting .001-.002 over the groove diameter so I don't have to rely on bullet obturation and bullet lube as much.

[fredj338]

As you may or may not know, final dia will be affected by alloy & casting temp. Still, if you can choose the dia, always go bigger, you can size down, but not easily bump up. As noted, I want the bullets to be 0.001" over bore size or if my cyl throats are over that, no more than 0.001" smaller than cyl throat size. Ideally the cyl throat size should match finished bullet size or slightly larger, but never smaller.