Round ball problem

[Gtrubicon]

I recently purchased a 454 Lachmiller round ball mold from a member here. I don’t think it was ever used. The mold is stamped 454, but after casting with it this morning I measured a few and they were .445. They fall right to the bottom of the cylinder of my 1858 Remington. Since it’s a steel mold, will beagleing it work to get it to .454? The lead cast was from rolled lead flashing. I cleaned my lead pot out before casting. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

[Outpost75]

Try adding just a wee bit of tin, not over 2%, to improve fill-out.

[Gtrubicon]

Try adding just a wee bit of tin, not over 2%, to improve fill-out.

I will give it a go next weekend, my tin source is from 5lb bars of Bell System solder bars. I’ll math it out and see if it helps. After I read your post I went back out to the shop, I locked my caliper .454, I put it up against the mold, I’m pretty sure it’s cut to the right diameter.

[KCSO]

no you are NOT going to go from 445 to 454 never, no way you need a different mould.

[45DUDE]

Mold not hot enough? Lachmiller made some nice molds. I have one but not round ball. I would like to know the fix.

[Good Cheer]

From the description it's probably a case of transposed numbers.

[Walks]

My Lachmiller is a 36cal 2cav, drops .377 balls which fit My Pietta Navy very well. Cuts a perfect lead ring from each seated ball.
Which handles did you use ?

[Edward]

no you are NOT going to go from 445 to 454 never, no way you need a different mould.

What he said NO WAY!!

[Edward]

Mold not hot enough? Lachmiller made some nice molds. I have one but not round ball. I would like to know the fix.

Buy the correct gun for the mold (OR) sell the mold and get the correct mold for your gun ,those are the only 2 choices :bigsmyl2:/Ed

[GregLaROCHE]

You can try casting with your alloy at a lower temperature, but I doubt if you will gain that much.

[indian joe]

I recently purchased a 454 Lachmiller round ball mold from a member here. I don’t think it was ever used. The mold is stamped 454, but after casting with it this morning I measured a few and they were .445. They fall right to the bottom of the cylinder of my 1858 Remington. Since it’s a steel mold, will beagleing it work to get it to .454? The lead cast was from rolled lead flashing. I cleaned my lead pot out before casting. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

I bought a .462 (supposedly) Pedersoli mold. When I used it the balls came out weird - measured it, one side(half) was cut correctly (.462)- other side (half) was cut way undersize (.454) I have no idea how they achieved this in the factory but they did - nothing to lose so I made a steel shim that fit between the mold blocks - intended to make it a neat fit to the profile of the cavity but that was too hard so just made a shim that separated the halves of the block - a .008" shim from memory - could not believe how well that worked - I ran several hundred RB with that mold and the only reason I even asked for a replacement was I wanted to go up in size to .464. So long as I didnt get the mold too hot it cast fine with pure lead --- I expected a "feather" around the diameter where the mold halves were separated by the shim but didnt happen - I bet with some tin in the mix it would. All the Experts will tell us this wont work but it dont cost much to try and you never know till ya do (try)

[indian joe]

What he said NO WAY!!

never say never!!!!

[Maven]

Gtr...., I had exactly the same problem with a Lachmiller mould I purchased. I tried beagling, which increased the diameter, but not nearly enough. I tossed it after concluding it was mis-numbered.

[slim1836]

I agree you will not achieve what you desire out of this mold, however, you might try pressure casting with some tin in the mix and see what results you get. That may be the best diameter you will get without modification to the mold.

Slim

[Gtrubicon]

The mold was plenty hot, I use a hotplate while casting, my pot is controlled through a PID I purchased from Hatch. Transposed numbers were my very first thought. The cast round balls look very good, I’m going to try adding some tin next to the batch next weekend. I will also try shimming it, I have a bunch of old feeler gauges I can use for this. I really don’t want to ruin the mold. I’d rather buy a muzzleloader that fits. The handles used are Lee 6 cavity that I shaved down to fit some Lyman 2c molds, they fit the Lachmiller mold very well. This is my first black powder pistol, I’m having a ball with it. Would anyone have a rifle recommendation that uses .445 round ball?

[frogleg]

Some 45cal. Muzzleloaders can use a .445 ball with .010 patches, instead of .440 ball

[jim147]

Some 45cal. Muzzleloaders can use a .445 ball with .010 patches, instead of .440 ball

Agree with this. A patch can be a pain but will fill the gap.

[indian joe]

Agree with this. A patch can be a pain but will fill the gap.

er -wasnt he lookin for a .454 ball for a remy capgun?????

[Gtrubicon]

er -wasnt he lookin for a .454 ball for a remy capgun?????

I’m interested to know what rifle would wo for a cast rb of .445. I’m very new to Muzzleloading.

[45DUDE]

Buy the correct gun for the mold (OR) sell the mold and get the correct mold for your gun ,those are the only 2 choices :bigsmyl2:/Ed

He said in post 3 the mold measured correct. I think Outpost75 is in the right direction.

[indian joe]

I’m interested to know what rifle would wo for a cast rb of .445. I’m very new to Muzzleloading.

most 45 cal, muzzleloader rifles will take a .440 or .445 ball depending on patch thickness, rifling depth, how new is the rifle . I start a 45 on .440 ball and calico patch - after its run in move to a thicker patch (pillow ticking or drill) and after 300 to 500 rounds would go to a .445 ball with the calico patch again.

[triggerhappy243]

I recently purchased a 454 Lachmiller round ball mold from a member here. I don’t think it was ever used. The mold is stamped 454, but after casting with it this morning I measured a few and they were .445. They fall right to the bottom of the cylinder of my 1858 Remington. Since it’s a steel mold, will beagleing it work to get it to .454? The lead cast was from rolled lead flashing. I cleaned my lead pot out before casting. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

I would have to agree with outpost's point that the mold may have been stamped incorrectly. 9 Thou (.009) is a huge difference and no amount of tin or even antimony will fill that kind of void. I would say, get a 45 cal rifle as well as a new RB mold.

[indian joe]

I would have to agree with outpost's point that the mold may have been stamped incorrectly. 9 Thou (.009) is a huge difference and no amount of tin or even antimony will fill that kind of void. I would say, get a 45 cal rifle as well as a new RB mold.

i agree, get a rifle to fit the mold and another mold for the remmy capgun -- however -- seems thats not so easy ! Tom at accurate is backed up 12 weeks , LEE marks everything sold out.

In the meantime try a shim between the mold blocks!!!!. if the couple bucks for a piece of 9thou shim steel is an obstacle use a piece cut out of a bean can or a beer can . Cast with pure lead so it dont run between the blocks - it might work (I know for sure 5 thou works) if its no good how much did it cost to find out?

[Gtrubicon]

i agree, get a rifle to fit the mold and another mold for the remmy capgun -- however -- seems thats not so easy ! Tom at accurate is backed up 12 weeks , LEE marks everything sold out.

In the meantime try a shim between the mold blocks!!!!. if the couple bucks for a piece of 9thou shim steel is an obstacle use a piece cut out of a bean can or a beer can . Cast with pure lead so it dont run between the blocks - it might work (I know for sure 5 thou works) if its no good how much did it cost to find out?
Well I just cast some up with a shim, ill let them cool a bit so I can measure, I used a 10 thou shim, no finning at all.

[Gtrubicon]

Well I measured them, .454 on one half and the original.445 on the other. I did think it was a great idea. I did try loading them into the cylinder, if you clock the RB right you get a lead ring, rotate it 180 and it just slides right in. I really dont want to remember to clock them properly. Ill ad tin to my pure this weekend and give it a go. Thank you for all the great suggestions!

[indian joe]

Well I measured them, .454 on one half and the original.445 on the other. I did think it was a great idea. I did try loading them into the cylinder, if you clock the RB right you get a lead ring, rotate it 180 and it just slides right in. I really dont want to remember to clock them properly. Ill ad tin to my pure this weekend and give it a go. Thank you for all the great suggestions!

Well we learnt something about shimming a mold and pure lead anyway!
Worth one more try with a bit of tin in the mix maybe ?
.
The mold I shimmed was right size in one half the cavity and too small on tother half - I guess that let it fill out to correct size with the shim in it .

Another thing to try is put them balls in a canvas bag and rumble em round in there - they will come out with lil dimples all over and it evens things out some (I doubt will fix the problem but might make a little improvement - well worth a go if you get a bit of a feather on the next lot with alloy).

[longcruise]

I’m interested to know what rifle would wo for a cast rb of .445. I’m very new to Muzzleloading.

The two 45's on my rack both shoot 445 balls and both with 017 pocket drill. One TC barrel and one GM.

[Eddie Southgate]

I recently purchased a 454 Lachmiller round ball mold from a member here. I don’t think it was ever used. The mold is stamped 454, but after casting with it this morning I measured a few and they were .445. They fall right to the bottom of the cylinder of my 1858 Remington. Since it’s a steel mold, will beagleing it work to get it to .454? The lead cast was from rolled lead flashing. I cleaned my lead pot out before casting. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

Mis stamped, they flipped the last two digits . Might get Lyman to re cherry the mould , they likely are the ones who made it. You could also check with Dixie,Turner used to carry mold blanks and cherries to finish them with .

[Walks]

Lyman won't do anything for you.
Owned by investment group now.
Customer service no longer exists.
Technical Service doesn't exist either.
Just female order takers that wouldn't know a bullet mold from a hot rock.

[45DUDE]

For what it's worth I just measured a new factory box of Hornady .454 round ball and they are not round. They have some sort of dry lube. .452-.458 #6070

[triggerhappy243]

For what it's worth I just measured a new factory box of Hornady .454 round ball and they are not round. They have some sort of dry lube.

dry lube is graphite. and their QC has gone to the dogs

[Edward]

Another trick remembered is lay a file on the bench set ball on file take 2nd file lay on top of file and roll . It will increase diameter for sure but still is not as beneficial as powder coating /different colors for different balls/Ed

[LAGS]

If I want to check out what max. Or average size a mold casts , I just do some castings with Cerosafe.
The castings show the Exact Size and shape of the mold.
Plus any defects like old rusted spots on iron mold blocks.

[Gtrubicon]

Well I found a 454 Lee 2c rb mold, also a lee conical mold for the same application. Since I have this beautiful Lachmiller mold that casts perfect .445 round balls now I’m in the market for something I can utilize them with. In my searches I’ve discovered the 32 Muzzleloading rifle. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it looks like a lot of fun. So, I need to find something that shoots .445 round ball And I really would be ok with a small bore. Suggestions?