Bet way to close a base pin hole

[peter nap]

I want to try to cast a Lyman Sabot slug, with the base pin removed and the hole sealed.

Yeah, I know...It's another of my stoopid ideas[smilie=p:

Anyway, I've had so much fun loading them backwards and having super hollow points and sticking 45 cal balls in the hollow for 650 grain slugs, I thought I'd try one with a really long nose.

If it works, I'll just get a short base plug made.

For the test, I'm not sure what to plug it with except maybe a dowel. Any better idea.

[BCall]

If I was serious about it, I'd just have an extra base pin made for it that was flat. That way I know I wouldn't do anything to my mold. Billy

[HeavyMetal]

Are you talking about having the "boolit" itself stick down into the hole left by the base pin?

Sounds like a king sized semi wadcutter.

Bite the boolit (please pardon the pun) and get the short pin made with a possible radius on the end rather than just a flat point, a "cowboy" slug you might say.

Anything else you try to shove in there is either gonna burn or leak hot lead, not good ideas!

[peter nap]

Are you talking about having the "boolit" itself stick down into the hole left by the base pin?

Sounds like a king sized semi wadcutter.

Bite the boolit (please pardon the pun) and get the short pin made with a possible radius on the end rather than just a flat point, a "cowboy" slug you might say.

Anything else you try to shove in there is either gonna burn or leak hot lead, not good ideas!

Yep, giant semi wadcutter! I figure it will be over 700 grains

[peter nap]

BTW, who make the base pins?

[Buckshot]

...........You could have a base pin plug made. Then, the base plug is D&T'd for a suitable screw. Then on the base of one of the blocks toward the outside edge you D&T another hole. A bar then spans the distance and it has 2 holes for screws to pass through (base plug and mould block) effectively retaining the base plug.

Depending upon the width of the base plug, an alternative might be to drill a hole from the side of the mould into the base plug. The tap the hole in the base plug, run a screw of suitable length through the hole into the baseplug. This would draw the base plug up tightly against one side of the mould.

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

[peter nap]

...........You could have a base pin plug made. Then, the base plug is D&T'd for a suitable screw. Then on the base of one of the blocks toward the outside edge you D&T another hole. A bar then spans the distance and it has 2 holes for screws to pass through (base plug and mould block) effectively retaining the base plug.

Depending upon the width of the base plug, an alternative might be to drill a hole from the side of the mould into the base plug. The tap the hole in the base plug, run a screw of suitable length through the hole into the baseplug. This would draw the base plug up tightly against one side of the mould.

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

Thanks Buckhot. I figured you could make one but I wanted to get my ducks in a row before emailing you about it.

The size of the nose is important and that's why I wanted a temporary plug to try.

I've been gluing round balls in the hollow of the inverted slug and it works pretty well. I just need to keep trying different sizes until I find the right weight/velocity combo that stabalizes at 75 yards.

A .45 ball bring the total weight to about 650 grains and a .58, over a thousand. About 720 seems right. I just need to find out how far to extend the nose of the casting to get that.