Boolit molds question

[Born American]

I have purchased a .452 boolit mold, 252 gr. Next purchase is a sizer lubricator bushing to fit my Lyman 450 sizer/lubricator. (keep the laughter down on this question please, I'm new at this) Do I purchase the .452 bushing? I have read some info to get .001 to .002 inches larger, but if the mold is a true .452 that makes no sense. Just trying to do this right the first time without having to return stuff to the store. Same question but for a .457 340 gr Lee90373 mold.

[Walks]

What size are your chamber mouths ?
Todays wisdom is to size to chamber mouth Diameter or throat diameter. And since you're using a LubeSizer, why not use it to lube your bullets too. Unless you're tumble-Lubing. Sizing also ensures roundness.

[Mal Paso]

Welcome to the Forum!

Bullet molds usually cast slightly larger than the given size to allow for sizing. You may want to cast a few and measure them.

What guns? For revolvers the bullet is usually fit to the cylinder throats if the throats are .001-.002 larger than the barrel groove. Look up slugging the throats and bore.

[Born American]

.453 to .454 (depending on which eye is used) for the chamber mouth on revolver. This mold is not designated for tumble lube.
What is caught in my head is the mold states .452, so do I just buy a sizer luber for .452 or forget it and tumble lube it? Unless its like buying a .38 special which is actually .357 diameter, which in mathematics should be .36 (round up, right).

[Minerat]

Any lead boolit can be tumble lubed. I even tumble lube commercial cast and lubed Lazer cast bullets to keep the wax lube in place.

[Dom]

My dial calipers can measure the inside of a revolver throat ( you need a set ) from the front with cylinder removed or open. You can measure to the closest .001. This will determine the bullet dia you want. Most of the time in a modern American made revolver .452 will work fine. Some imports , its anyone's guess. For your .457. I would not go below.458. In my Marlin 45-70 it is .460 .

[GregLaROCHE]

Welcome to the addiction!
The best first step is to slug your bore. Use the search box on this forum to learn about slugging the bore and determining the best boolit diameter. You may want to size larger than you think.

[Wayne Smith]

What the mold states and what it actually casts will vary according to your alloy mix. You need to get the mold, make some boolits, and measure the boolits to see what you actually have. Then we can talk.

[georgerkahn]

Born American: Pretty much all the replies to your query are spot on! However, I'd ;) like to throw another curve your way. To wit, in my experience, the alloy mix I am using to cast the bullet has a definite effect on the cast bullet's size. Lyman, as one example, purports that their moulds are milled to cast bullets of stamped size using their "#2 alloy". (This is 90% lead plus 5% tin plus 5% antimony, iirc) Using different "mixes" surely will change the diameter of your finished product!
Hence, if it were 'me' -- I'd cast (at least) a couple dozen bullets; let them cool/stabilize over night; and measure the diameter of your as-cast bullets as a first step, using a good micrometer.
In my early casting day, to say I was "bummed out" would be an understatement when I had spent big bucks for a brand-name mould to find the bullets I cast were a thousandths -- sometime 0.002" -- undersize! Then, I discovered tinkering with alloy could result in production at the advertised diameter.
(One purveyor or Lyman #2 alloy, should you wish to try/purchase some, is an outfit you can find on the Internet named Rotometals. https://www.rotometals.com/bullet-casting-alloys/ )
BEST wishes!
geo

[ABJ]

Welcome to the Forum!

Bullet molds usually cast slightly larger than the given size to allow for sizing. You may want to cast a few and measure them.

What guns? For revolvers the bullet is usually fit to the cylinder throats if the throats are .001-.002 larger than the barrel groove. Look up slugging the throats and bore.

Good advise, most but not all 45 revolvers will shoot .452 boolits. The next most used die is .454 for revolvers that have large cylinder throats. Best way to measure without a pin gauge is to slug the cylinders and mic them.

On the 45-70, I have loaded for several and .458 and .459 have always shot better than .457. Not all molds will throw a .459 so you either have to play with your alloy and or casting temp to increase the "as-cast" size.

Questions are, Make and model of guns your casting for and what is your alloy mix. In a perfect world the mold will throw a mim. of 1/1000 over stated size and you size down and lube at the same time. I have several Lyman .311 molds that just make .310 and most all my other molds will throw 1 to 2/1000 over. On the undersize molds I increase the Tin/Antimony content and lower my pot temp. and get around .3105. So there are work arounds to most problems.
Tony

[Minerat]

An example of what different alloys will do. The mould RCBS 45-250

WW+ 1% tin 250 gr 0.458" /pure lead 266 gr 0.4566

Ok, there was some questions on my measurements as there should have been. I went back and re-measured the pure lead using a mic. Of the 10 I measured they averaged 0.4566.@266gr. I could not find any raw alloy cast that had not been resized but my records show that as cast they average 0.458 @ 250gr. This is me now pulling my foot out of my mouth.[smilie=p:

[Born American]

Didn't realize that

[Born American]

Mine is a Marlin 1895 in .45-70. So help me understand, if the mold is a .457 then a .458 sizer/luber would do no good because its larger?

[Born American]

I have looked into slugging but my hang up is with the stated diameter of a boolit mold. The manufacture states I purchased a .452 (and .457) diameter boolit mold. How can you size a .452 up to a .454, its not feasible. Likewise if I size it smaller, when the boolit passes through the barrel it will not seat against the lands and grooves to obtain the best stabilizing spin. So if I slug my barrel and it indicates .452, I buy a .452 boolit mold, do I buy a .452 sizer luber?

[Born American]

What your implying is what I was wondering about, if the mold is not an absolute accurate .452, therefor the reason for a sizer luber to get exact dimension. Thank you I will get busy. This is a great forum, you are all very knowledgeable and I appreciate being able to ask questions without being belittled.

[Hossfly]

I’ve read the entire thread and can’t recall all that was said. Didn’t read anything about beagling the mold you have, that is increasing the size with aluminum tape, search (Beagling a mold) or increasing size with honeing, or (pc’ing) with powder coating. Just my 2 CT’s.

[Burnt Fingers]

1. Cast some boolits from the molds.
2. Get your micrometer and measure them 3-4 times.

Now you know what size the mold is dropping.

Next, slug your barrel or measure your cylinder throats.'

Now, you have answers to most of your questions.


Until you do the above all we and you can do is guess.

[gwpercle]

I’ve read the entire thread and can’t recall all that was said. Didn’t read anything about beagling the mold you have, that is increasing the size with aluminum tape, search (Beagling a mold) or increasing size with honeing, or (pc’ing) with powder coating. Just my 2 CT’s.

Don't confuse him any more ... I'm sure he has no idea what a beagle has to do with casting boolits .
See post #17 ... the only way to learn ... is to jump in the pool and start moving your arms and legs ... if you have problems , someone will throw you a rope .
You can't anticipate the questions & answers in advance ... you will have to buy a few moulds and a couple different H&I sizing dies to get the best fit .
And the sad part is different alloy's shrink or expand depending on content and the same mould will cast different diameters ... This boolit casting stuff is more black magic and voodoo than science ...
But you have us ... we'll be here for you ! :drinks:
And always state what gun you are loading for ... Make , Model , caliber , old or new - makes a big difference in advice given .
Gary

[toallmy]

Don't confuse him any more ... I'm sure he has no idea what a beagle has to do with casting boolits .
See post #17 ... the only way to learn ... is to jump in the pool and start moving your arms and legs ... if you have problems , someone will throw you a rope .
You can't anticipate the questions & answers in advance ... you will have to buy a few moulds and a couple different H&I sizing dies to get the best fit .
And the sad part is different alloy's shrink or expand depending on content and the same mould will cast different diameters ... This boolit casting stuff is more black magic and voodoo than science ...
But you have us ... we'll be here for you ! :drinks:
And always state what gun you are loading for ... Make , Model , caliber , old or new - makes a big difference in advice given .
Gary

Well said , I was wondering if the OP was referring to a 45acp or a 45lc , then my mind jumped to 45-70 .
More details can help the members point you in the right direction .

[ABJ]

To the OP,
I think a few basic facts are in order.
1-Every mold maker designs his molds to drop larger than stated size with a specific alloy. Most lee molds will throw a stated .452 mold to .453/.454 with COWW plus tin alloy. Change the alloy and casting temp and you can possibly change the "as-cast" size in both directions. In my opinion, Lyman's are the worst for throwing under sized bullets with the above stated alloy because their molds are designed to run Lyman #2 alloy, which has 5% tin and 5% antimony, very expensive and not needed. Also keep in mind most alloy bullets will gain a little diameter around the 2/3 week mark.
2-The sizing die preforms two basic functions, sizes the hopefully oversized bullet to the stated die size and lubes the bullet at the same time.
3- sizing rifle bullets vs revolver bullets is very different. Most casters size revolver bullets to the exact size of the cylinder throats without regard to the barrel measurements to start with. Rifle bullets are generally sized to 1 to 2/1000 over barrel groove measurements.
4- Keep in mind, Boolit casting and loading and shooting is a journey not a specific event. Like Burnt Fingers said Post #17, do those things first, then IF you have a problem, we will help solve them one at a time. Don't wade into the deep water too fast.
Tony

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I have purchased a .452 boolit mold, 252 gr. Next purchase is a sizer lubricator bushing to fit my Lyman 450 sizer/lubricator. (keep the laughter down on this question please, I'm new at this) Do I purchase the .452 bushing? I have read some info to get .001 to .002 inches larger, but if the mold is a true .452 that makes no sense. Just trying to do this right the first time without having to return stuff to the store. Same question but for a .457 340 gr Lee90373 mold.

Everyone is giving you answers if you have a gun that's the exception to the rule.
All Modern 45 caliber revolvers (45acp or 45colt), will have a .451 barrel and will want a .452 boolit. The mold you purchase will likely be very close to .452 But a boolit rarely drops from the mold perfectly uniform, that's why you want to size it...a Lyman sizer die that's .452 will do that.
>>>The time to start measuring things, is when you have accuracy problems or Lead fouling problems...to see if your gun is the exception, rather than the rule.

Now for the 45-70. Marlin 45-70 gun's are notorious for being oversized, so a oversized mold is your best bet. If I where you, I'd look for a .460 mold. My Lee 457-340 mold, drops a bullet slightly smaller than .457
...Now a undersized bullet can work, but it needs to be cast with a fairly soft alloy and be pushed by a Load that will expand the boolit to fit the barrel.
Good Luck

[Born American]

Don't confuse him any more ... I'm sure he has no idea what a beagle has to do with casting boolits .
See post #17 ... the only way to learn ... is to jump in the pool and start moving your arms and legs ... if you have problems , someone will throw you a rope .
You can't anticipate the questions & answers in advance ... you will have to buy a few moulds and a couple different H&I sizing dies to get the best fit .
And the sad part is different alloy's shrink or expand depending on content and the same mould will cast different diameters ... This boolit casting stuff is more black magic and voodoo than science ...
But you have us ... we'll be here for you ! :drinks:
And always state what gun you are loading for ... Make , Model , caliber , old or new - makes a big difference in advice given .
Gary

Got it! and THANK YOU