How to remove the gas check?

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
The cost of gas checks has gotten so high in the last 20+ years I really can not afford them.
As I lost my job , buying a new mold is out of the question.

SO WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO REMOVE THE GAS CHECK PART AT THE BASE????
I think there are 2 possibilities :
1. Take a mill & ,after removing the sprue plate, cut off the whole top section
off the mold. This would shorten the bullet, & make it lighter. I have a lee 2 cavity mold that drops 325gr. G.C. 44 CAL. WFP bullets. These have proved a bit too punishing for me to shoot (recoil)accurately. So making a lighter bullet would be an advantage.

2. I have a 160gr. GC 357 4 cavity NEI mold, I think one could take a cutter, & enlarge the gas check shank till it becomes a plain base design. This would make the bullet a little bit heavier, which would be an advantage for me in this case.

ARE THERE OTHER OPTION???
IF ANYONE HAS DONE THIS , HOW DID IT TURN OUT???

[captain-03]

Possible easier way to skin the cat ... selling the existing moulds on here or eBay and purchase what you need ... also there maybe others just interested in a trade ... worth a try.

[Avery Arms]

You could make your own checks or shoot them without checks.

Personally I would sell them both and buy two more used molds that fit your needs.


PP

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
I would be willing to sell or TRADE, but I posted the NEI 160 GR. GC 4 CAVITY AL. MOLD here 2 yrs. ago & got no response.
Also posted a 45 cal. 4 cav. round ball Lyman mold.

[Edubya]

Sounds like you would be ruining your molds to me. Didn't I read a post that says your guns like a full power load? If you go removing those GC cavities, you and your gun are gonna be unhappy.

EW

[Suo Gan]

Well in Veral's first book he tells of experimenting with some molds...and ruining some. He says that they were of no use to him so he did not mind it. I understand the logic, but...If they are any good at all, perhaps you could sell them off and buy a mold of your choice. If you aren't trying to skin the bobcat when you shoot it, why not just shoot them without the check?

[Suo Gan]

45 cal. 4 cav. round ball Lyman mold.
Just what kind of round ball mold has gas check?
:kidding:

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
In the Lee 44 cal. 325gr gc. 2 cavity mold you do not get the bullets going fast enough going out of a 7&1/2" barrel to need a g.c.,
and it is just too much recoil for me.

[Catshooter]

I've done it. I pulled the sprue plate and then just milled down the top of the mould until the gas check was gone.

If you search for threads under my name I've posted a pic or two. Good luck.


Cat

[Buckshot]

...............You can bore out the GC shank:

http://www.fototime.com/5222DC16BDE75D7/standard.jpg

Or you can flycut the blocks:

http://www.fototime.com/9343DBFA31116FB/standard.jpg

You could also use a reamer, but that means buying one out of open stock to the dimension you need. And you still need the equipment to hold and spin the reamer accurately enough to make the time you spent indicating the cavity up under it, worthwhile. But if a person was doing it for themself then eyeballing it and using a drill motor might suffice.

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

[Bret4207]

2 years ago we had 8-9K members. Now we approach 15K. Try selling again.

[Shuz]

I have several .44 moulds that have been modified using both methods. I have noticed that all moulds modified to remove the gas check are a little bit more finicky to shoot outta my guns without leading a little bit. I attribute this to diminished lube carrying capacity since I have many .44 moulds that are plain base and do not lead at all. I have also noticed that medium to heavy charges of the slower powders such as 2400 and H-110/296 and WC 820 can reduce, if not totally eliminate, the leading factor with the modified style boolits.

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
THANKS CATSHOOTER & BUCKSHOT FOR YOUR POSTS, I remember some of them, but thought they were on the old Amioo broad. Didn't DEPUTY AL also post a thread on this?

[JIMinPHX]

I've had pretty good luck shooting .44 GC boolits without the checks. If I were you, that would be what I would try first.

An NEI is a fairly desirable mold. I would hesitate to modify it, especially if I didn't have the proper equipment, for fear of reducing its value.

I would be very surprised if you were unable to find a swap on the swappin & selling section of this board. You may not find another NEI, but I am sure that you could swap for another brand. Alternately, I would be very surprised if you would be unable to sell it outright. The money from the sale of that mold should be enough for you to pick out something that would suite your needs. Again, it may not be another NEI, but it would still give you what you are looking for.

Those are my suggestions.

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
I haven't tried the 358-160 w/out a gas check to see accuracy. I guess i should do that !st.
I am in the process of trying that w/ my 168gr. 7mm Lyman mold, so it is a good idea to try out the NEI 358-160gr-boolits as well.
The 44 mold just is too heavy for me to shoot w/ comfort. I like the LYMAN 250 Kieth, & am going to try out the 265 gr. RD, WHEN IF EVER I GET A CHANCE TO CAST AGAIN.
:Fire::Fire:

[Catshooter]

I have milled off the gas check on a couple of other moulds that I haven't shown here. Seems to work well, at least for me. I did it to reduce their weights.

One was a 358156 that cast pure lead at .363! It was too heavy for my breaktop .38 S&W but after I cut of the check it weighed 140. Perfect for me.

Cut the check off of a 429215 to bring it's weight down to 180 for a Charter Bulldog (that I don't own. Is that sick?).

Glad I could help.


Cat

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
Am having no luck finding your old posts on mold modifications. Help please.

[Catshooter]

Boom Boom,

I can't find it either! Did I just think I wanted to post a thread on the subject? I must be getting old.

The closest I could find was this: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=68205

Which is not the same thing. Sorry.


Cat

[JIMinPHX]

Ben did some of that. Here are a few threads discussing his exploits -
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=17244
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=73508
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=54630

Some others have done it as well, with varying levels of success. Some people had great results. Others wrecked perfectly good molds.

[BOOM BOOM]

yo catshooter,
SWEET, That is the reverse of my project, but very clever.

[JIMinPHX]

I liked Catshooter's idea so much that I took a crack at it myself.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=76745

[Catshooter]

Hey Jim,

Very nice work! I hadn't seen your eariler thread as I was offline during that time.

Yes, with mine I inletted the steel needed to produce a check into the top of the mould as I wanted to keep the weight down. I already had a copy of that boolit that was heavy.


Cat

[Ben]

Some others have done it as well, with varying levels of success. Some people had great results. Others wrecked perfectly good molds.

Could not have said it better myself !

[BOOM BOOM]

THANKS JIM
SWEAT!
I missed that one too, as i to was offline.:Fire::Fire: