As cast size?????

[abunaitoo]

I see many asking to buy a mold that cast a certain size.
The "as cast" size seems to depend on many factors.
Alloy, mold temp, alloy temp, age of cast boolet.
I use "what ever" alloy, so I get different size all the time.
That's why I like my "as cast" larger than whet final size I want.
With my alloy, I almost never get the size the mold is suppose to be.
I know it's not possible for me.
So if a mold cast one size for me, and it cast a different size for someone else, who is wrong?????

[Phlier]

Neither of you is wrong. As long as the alloy you're using meets your requirements, and the boolits are coming out at a usable size, you're good.

A very good and consistent way to get a mold to throw different sizes of boolits is to adjust the amount of antimony.

When buying a new mold, it's important to look at what alloy the manufacturer is using to quote the size of the boolit the mold throws. Once you know the alloy the manufacturer uses when quoting their mold boolit diameters, you can look up that alloy and see how much tin it has in it. Then look at your alloy. If your alloy is very close to the same percentage of antimony, you'll get boolits that will pretty much match the manufacturer's quote. Less antimony in your alloy will result in a smaller boolit, more antimony will give you a bigger boolit.

IMO, when a guy is trying to adjust the size of the boolit a mold is throwing, he shouldn't change anything about alloy temps, mold temps, etc. Keep your casting procedure and temps exactly the same. Just change your antimony percentage to get what you want. Much easier than trying to change up your whole routine, and much easier to get consistent results.

[Outpost75]

When you order a mold from Tom at Accurate, you can specify the alloy used and whether you want the 0.002" tolerance positive, negative, or centered. My 36-142H mold which I use in my two S&W Model 940 9mm Parabellum revolvers was specified nose tolerance negative, and these can be loaded as-cast and unsized, lubricated with Lee Liquid Alox and they load easily, function well and shoot accurately.

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