Beaverhunter2
01-10-2009, 03:23 PM
I tried posting a chart but couldn't get it to work.
I got a Lee 309-113F mold and a digital scale delivered by the Fedex man this morning. Obviously they needed to be used right away!
I cleaned and lubed the mold, warmed it up, and cast 50 boolits from each cavity. I scrapped the first 20 boolits from each cavity getting things going. (Mostly because I decided to separate them by cavity for this analysis.) One interesting thing, the inside cavity boolits lacked the sharp corners on the base- unless I filled it first (ladle casting). The outside cavity didn't seem to care either way. I then weighed them "As Cast"- no gas checks (still on order) or lube.
The outside cavity is very consistent IMHO- 42 of the 50 were within .2 gr of average (114.8 gr. with ACWW). Total spread= 1.1 gr.
The inside cavity was a little less so. Only 31 of the 50 boolits were within .2 gr of the average (114.0 gr.). Total spread 1.1 gr. Even the ones with really crisp bases run lighter than the outside cavity boolits. (I culled the ones that were really obviously rounded.)
A few questions for the experts:
How much variability do you accept in boolit weight before you cull them?
The diameter is comparable in both cavities at .312" +/- .0005. Would it be worth trying to open up the inside cavity a tiny bit to gain the weight?
Any thoughts on why the inside cavity is so temperamental about going first?
I'm hoping to get this boolit up to 1800-2000 fps out of a .30-30 and a .30-06 for coyotes. Should I be water-quenching or trying to harden my alloy?
Lastly, I'm using Lee sizers in a Rockchucker and want to get the boolit to .309". Should I step size them (I have a .311" sizer and a .309")?
Thanks for any advice you can offer!
John
I got a Lee 309-113F mold and a digital scale delivered by the Fedex man this morning. Obviously they needed to be used right away!
I cleaned and lubed the mold, warmed it up, and cast 50 boolits from each cavity. I scrapped the first 20 boolits from each cavity getting things going. (Mostly because I decided to separate them by cavity for this analysis.) One interesting thing, the inside cavity boolits lacked the sharp corners on the base- unless I filled it first (ladle casting). The outside cavity didn't seem to care either way. I then weighed them "As Cast"- no gas checks (still on order) or lube.
The outside cavity is very consistent IMHO- 42 of the 50 were within .2 gr of average (114.8 gr. with ACWW). Total spread= 1.1 gr.
The inside cavity was a little less so. Only 31 of the 50 boolits were within .2 gr of the average (114.0 gr.). Total spread 1.1 gr. Even the ones with really crisp bases run lighter than the outside cavity boolits. (I culled the ones that were really obviously rounded.)
A few questions for the experts:
How much variability do you accept in boolit weight before you cull them?
The diameter is comparable in both cavities at .312" +/- .0005. Would it be worth trying to open up the inside cavity a tiny bit to gain the weight?
Any thoughts on why the inside cavity is so temperamental about going first?
I'm hoping to get this boolit up to 1800-2000 fps out of a .30-30 and a .30-06 for coyotes. Should I be water-quenching or trying to harden my alloy?
Lastly, I'm using Lee sizers in a Rockchucker and want to get the boolit to .309". Should I step size them (I have a .311" sizer and a .309")?
Thanks for any advice you can offer!
John