Re cutting a Lee mold

[KCSO]

I had a Lee 185 rn mold that was made for the 303 rifle and it was pretty sad in the guns it was designed for. I had lapped it so that it dropped bullets of 312 diameter, but I didn't like the pointy round nose and the small .294 diameter nose section.

I cut a cherry that had a smooth shank and a stop that would ride on the existing lube grooves and a small cutter head that would cut the nose to what I hoped would be a .303 diameter.

Well it worked and the bullet comes out at 3025 with 1/2 1nd 1/2 WW and Lino and the new blunt round nose it just what I was looking for. The bullet casts at 190 grains.

I suppose I could have sprung for a fat 30 but I don't like gang molds and this conversion only cost me about 15 cents woth of drill rod so...

[45 2.1]

Looks good, very innovative! How about some more pictures showing the process and cutter. We want to know how it shoots now also.

[Buckshot]

........................Kewl! So you used a kind of a form tool? Looks like a 311291 8)

....................Buckshot

[slughammer]

I've got a few molds I'm saving for the exact same type of project.

Did you hold the mold by the handles and close the blocks over the cherry? What kind of RPM were you running?

[redneckdan]

how did you make the cherry? I have not yet had any experience with tool making, outside of regrinding endmills, drills and lathe bits

[KCSO]

Dan: when things settle down I will make a shop drawing for you. I turned it from drill rod and used a sharp file to cut the teeth and then hardened it with Doc's case hardening compound, although for aluminum I probably didn't need to harden it.
Slug: I had a friend close the vise on my mill while I lined everything up by eye and feel I used just a little graphite on the cherry and turned it at 750 rpm. My cutting head measured 3015 and when I finished cutting and lapping I got 3025. If I were going to do it again I would start with 302 on the cutter and shoot for 303 or a pinch more.

I hope I can get to the range soon, we have between 14 and 20 inches of snow that is rapidly turning to 6 8 inches of slush. We went from -1 to 37 today and so it may be a while before I can get to the range for real testing, 25 yards won't tell you much.

As to being a tool maker, I am just a country boy blacksmith who is too stubborn to admit I can't do some things. I made my first cherry for a round ball soapstone mold from a brass ball from a faucet and turned it with a post drill. Made 50 cal balls that would drop a deer though.

[Bret4207]

Good job. Buck beat me to noting it looks like a 311291.