pertnear
01-24-2021, 07:22 PM
After reading some good threads in this forum I decided to make a core mold. I decided to use Lee blank blocks because they are cheap (I’ve been known to mess things up) & they are aluminum which is easy to machine. The first thing I discovered was that locating a 6 cavity blank mold is next to impossible. I was on Lee’s in-stock notification list for what seems like forever until I finally gave up. But they do have blank 2 cavity molds in stock but you must buy two! At least they both came with handles. Next I tried to decide what bit I would need to drill the cavities. I measure some of the lead wire I’ve been using & came up with .185” diameter. I have a drill press not a milling machine but I figured the right sized end-mill would probably be the best thing to use. So next problem was I’d needed to order a mill from somewhere. Finally I said the heck with it & decided to check the diameter on some of my 3/16” (.187”) drill bits. I found one a little under size & chucked it up & marked the depth on the bit with a piece of tape. I used a little math to calculate the depth I would need to pour a 55 gr core. The proper depth was hard to figure since the drill bit end leaves a pointed cavity. In true bubba style I proceeded to drill both cavities. The first thing I noticed when I opened the blocks was that the cavity edges were rough, like the bit sort of “tore” slightly along the blocks seam. A few flat strokes across a whet stone & that was fixed. One cavity turned out to be .642” deep & drops an average of 51.6 gr cores. The second cavity is .633” deep & drops a 49.0 gr cores. The maximum weight open point bullet which I can make with my RCE dies using RF jackets is 65 gr (6s ogive). I’ve found that for general figuring, the normal RF case weights is about 10gr. So the biggest core I’d need would be a little more than 55 gr. I need to go back & deepen both cavities to about .652”. The cast cores show the drill marks but they come out perfect from the squirt die. I swaged the cast cores to 40 grs because I needed to make 50 gr bullets. I bought some soft lead from a member here & I couldn't be more pleased with my final results!
276031 276032
276033 276034
Here is the average weights I’ve found for .22rf hulls.
CCI 9.6 gr
Win 9.9 gr
Rem 10.0 gr
Fed 10.5 gr
BTW: The little scale is under $10 from Amazon & is pretty handy to have around!
276031 276032
276033 276034
Here is the average weights I’ve found for .22rf hulls.
CCI 9.6 gr
Win 9.9 gr
Rem 10.0 gr
Fed 10.5 gr
BTW: The little scale is under $10 from Amazon & is pretty handy to have around!