Mold fillout

[Possum]

This is a question related to the Lyman mould I had the burr in. New question, new post.

When I cast last night and then mic'd the bullets I saw that they were coming out from both cavities slightly out of round. One measurement on the bullet would be .432 and the next on the same bullet would be .437. Looking at the mold, I can see a little daylight between the cavities. If the mold does not close like it is intended, does this cause the oblong shape? Seems like that would be the culpret.

I guess I should be asking how to identify the place that is causing it not to close completely. Looks like there is no trash anywhere that I can see. BTW, it was like that before I sanded the burrs down.

[454PB]

I've had the same problem with some Lyman moulds, and the out of round is caused by incomplete mating of the blocks. In my case, it was caused by burrs adjacent to the alignment pins. You may have to use a good magnifying glass to see the problem. I used a dental pick to clean around the pin and the matching female portion. Also, check protrusion of the pin.....they sometimes get knocked out of place by ham handed casters.

Back in the early 80's, Lyman mould quality took a real nosedive, and I even had to returned a couple of moulds that were too bad to use.

[Bucks Owin]

H. Guy Loverin, in the article I'm mailing Felix, says he raps the mould against the pot to get the best "fill" of the mold. Works on inertia like a bullet puller hammer....

FWIW,

Dennis

BTW, another tip of his is to change the dowel pins in the mold often, at the slightest sign of wear....(and keep lubed!)

[44man]

Not a good idea with an electric pot, the element can break. Use a wood block.

[Possum]

I have some good loupes (sp?). I will check around the pins and look for more burrs. If I could get the .432 with the alloy I am casting with, I would be a happy man.

[Bucks Owin]

Not a good idea with an electric pot, the element can break. Use a wood block.

Absolutely!

(Loverin used a ladle and cast iron pot...)

Dennis

BTW, in case someone didn't see this in a different thread, here's an easy modification to a Lee Prod Pot to help take the weight off the heating element. A couple of 1/4" bolts through the base with nuts underneath. The upper nuts are for adjustment...Now there is no "sag" when the pot is full...
The different blocks bring the mold close to the spout.
The picture should tell the story...

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a356/BucksOwin/38c71177.jpg

[grumpy one]

This is a question related to the Lyman mould I had the burr in. New question, new post.

When I cast last night and then mic'd the bullets I saw that they were coming out from both cavities slightly out of round. One measurement on the bullet would be .432 and the next on the same bullet would be .437. Looking at the mold, I can see a little daylight between the cavities. If the mold does not close like it is intended, does this cause the oblong shape? Seems like that would be the culpret.

I guess I should be asking how to identify the place that is causing it not to close completely. Looks like there is no trash anywhere that I can see. BTW, it was like that before I sanded the burrs down.

The first thing you need to check is whether the variability is happening along the mould's parting line, or at right angles to it. If you find variability at right angles to the parting line, you have a mould that isn't closing consistently and you need to find out why. As 454PB has said, the most likely problem is the alignment pins. Either they are too tight, or there are burrs around their bases. These faults are very easily fixed.

I have just bought an RCBS mould (30-150-FN) on ebay, and find the two halves of the mould are misaligned by the alignment pins, so there is a step in the bullet parallel to the mould parting line. How this could have happened is a bit of a mystery; the mould hasn't been damaged, and the bullets are extremely consistent, they just have offset sides so they measure .002 bigger one way "across" the parting line than they do the other way across the parting line. Unless RCBS cut their mould cavities before they install the alignment pins - which seems a strange thing to do - I don't see how this has happened. Fixing it is a bit of a pain, too. I can lap the mould, and so far as the driving bands are concerned this will be necessary anyway, since I need them to be bigger diameter. However to repair the bore-riding bullet nose I'll have to lap that as well, which will make it too big to use in my 30-06. Looks like another "30-30 only" bullet mould, since my 30-30 has a 0.306" bore and needs a giant bullet nose. Oh well, it's a nice mould in other respects.

Geoff

[Dale53]

Geoff;
Before you do anything, call RCBS. They may offer to fix/replace the mould after inspection.

Dale53

[grumpy one]

Thanks Dale, I've heard good things about RCBS warranty, even on items bought on ebay like this was. However from Australia it isn't really practical to claim warranty on US equipment unless it's a very high value item. The cost of postage one way would be a third of the cost of the mould.

Incidentally I wouldn't want to give the impression that I'm disillusioned with the quality of RCBS moulds. This is the first RCBS I've used, after a couple of Lymans and one Lee. It casts the sharpest, most finely formed bullets I've seen, with the greatest consistency I've seen, so far. It is also built like the rock of ages. I've been quite happy with my Lyman moulds, but so far this RCBS looks as if it may be even more durable, and produces a better-looking result (after warm-up). The Lyman moulds are 311291 and 311255 - both rather easy-casting bullet designs.

[Possum]

I found one of the pins was not closing all the way into the hole. Did a liiiitttle sanding around the hole side of the block. It seemed like there was a raised burr around it. I think it is fine now since I cast and measured today. The reading was .432-.433. This is perfect for me since I am going to run them through a SAECO .430 die. They came out fo the lubrisizer nice and pretty.

One of the cavities now drops the bullet right out and the other one still sticks a little bit. Might have to revisit that side again.

Bad news though. Thought I was going to get to the range to try them out and realized I have to go into the office tomorrow after church for a little bit. Hmmm...doesn't seem to fair to get the thing casting right and have to wait to try them out.

Thanks for all the help and comments. You guys are the best! :mrgreen: