My new mold is casting a little on the heavy side.

[grubbylabs]

I ordered a mold from a custom mold maker a few months ago. I ordered it expecting 124 grains, the lightest I can get it to through is 132 grains. It is for 9mill. I am fully confidant that if I contact the mold maker he will work with me to make it right. But before I go through returning the mold and waiting for him to fix it, is this something I can work with? I can't find any data for a 132 grain bullet.

[454PB]

You don't say what alloy you're using.....the higher the antimony content, the lighter the boolit.

You can use load data for a heavier boolit, or simply reduce the 124 Gr. data by 5%. With the 9mm, seating depth (case capacity) is very important.

[grubbylabs]

I am straight WW.

[JeffinNZ]

Whoa, careful. You say it's casting on the 'heavy side'. If the mould hears you it will sulk and never cast again. You know all moulds are female ah?

[TomAM]

Loaddata.com has a few dozen loads for 130 grain J word and plated bullets in 9X19.

[mroliver77]

What 454 said.
Jeff, that's too funny!
J

[MT Chambers]

The mold was prolly spec'd for Lyman #2 alloy and your WWs are heavier, if you use a much harder(Lino and/or tin added),you may get close to the weight you want.

[grubbylabs]

I just looked into the loaddata.com web site, but I don't have funds to join at the moment. The mold maker asks what alloy you cast with and I chose straight WW. To be honest the mold maker has an out standing reputation and this is the first time I have had an issue with one of his molds let alone heard of any one having an issue with one. But we are both human so their is a possibility that their was a communication error or other problem. Either way, I trust he will be fair, he has had out standing customer service in the past.


OH and the mold is out in the shop so it can't hear me type.

[TomAM]

My design weight estimate, shown as the last digits of the design number, is based upon COWW. This is hardly the most scientific choice given that the content of wheel weights has varied significantly over the years, and also, many folks don’t separate out the stick-on type of WW which are essentially pure lead.
Another factor in weight variation is diameter. Just a couple thousandths difference from the original drawing has a significant effect.
For variations in diameter and alloy, I do not make the slight length adjustment needed to maintain weight. All of my designs are drawn by hand and programmed by hand. I use round numbers for the length of most all design features, for ease of proof reading. Making slight length adjustments for each order would more than triple the time needed to produce a mold, and would be pointless.
Load data is not interchangeable between bullets of the same weight but different shape and/or construction, and also between bullets and boolits. Especially for small cartridges like the 9mm, the relative case capacity remaining after the boolit is seated is a more important factor than boolit weight.
Producing loads for custom boolits requires some educated guesswork. There really is no definitive load data available for any but the most mainstream cast designs, because they just haven’t been taken to a ballistics lab.
The data shown in J-word loading manuals can only be used as a guideline. There are several 130 grain J-bullets for which data is available, such as Sierra’s 130 grain RN.

[Piedmont]

My molds almost never drop bullets exactly as specified for weight. It doesn't bother me a bit. Just note the weight and do your load development. If 124 gr. load data frightens you, drop the powder charge a bit. I wouldn't even consider sending it back.

[jsheyn]

it's 8 grains...I would not even blink an eye at using 124GN load data

[onesonek]

Personally, I would prefer the slightly heavier for the added momentum, not that it's all that much difference. I can see it darn near impossible for a maker to hit the weight right on due to alloy comp around the country. And then, you can add alloy and mold temp in to the equation of altering the weight.

[John Boy]

But before I go through returning the mold and waiting for him to fix it, is this something I can work with?

Cast at a lower temperature

[TenTea]

My molds almost never drop bullets exactly as specified for weight. It doesn't bother me a bit. Just note the weight and do your load development. If 124 gr. load data frightens you, drop the powder charge a bit. I wouldn't even consider sending it back.

My thoughts exactly.

[grubbylabs]

You can't predict my alloy mix from an unknown source of wheel weights?

As you can probably guess I have only been doing this for a few years, so I am still cautious about mixing load data and the educated guess part. I know its only 8 grains which in the grand scheme of things is really a small amount, but I have only just begun to cast and load for the 9 mill. I feel like I have a pretty good handle on my 45 and 44. They have a much larger case capacity and seem to be a little less sensitive to bullet seating depth.

I just was not sure about how concerned I should be about 8 grains and with so many people commenting on how close their bullets drop to the advertised weight it added a little to my concern. I have a couple other of his molds, and they are very close.

[Smoke4320]

"OH and the mold is out in the shop so it can't hear me type"

but being a female mold it knows your thoughts and believe me **** with hit the fan as soon as it knows you are thinking about replacing it ..

OH NO .. its too late .. your best bet now it a total seperation .. send it to me and I will treat it gently

[grubbylabs]

I hope you don't think I was serous about that. I know their is only so much a person can derive from a guess.

I have been cooling the lead down hoping that would help. I am using a new to me batch of WW and they are most likely a different alloy than what I have been using, I keep the soft lead separate for my muzzle loader so I don't think I have to much soft lead in.

I know I have a lot to learn so I appreciate all the help and suggestions.

[grubbylabs]

I thought there was a link associated with this forum that had a bunch of load data, but I can't find it. Does any one know what I am asking about?

[Fluxed]

You got a pretty good answer in the very first reply. One way to monitor the load in most auto pistols is to watch the ejection pattern. If the empties land in about the same place as factory ammo or other proven safe ammo you are probably OK. But this is just a general, rough, kentucky windage guideline. If you have about the same amount of bullet in the case as the 124 gr. bullet that you are using loads for the slight weight difference won't matter much.

Keep being careful - that's always a good idea in reloading and shooting.

[41 mag fan]

I always choose the other on material used when purchasing Toms molds. So far to date, I have ne ver had one drop more than 5 gr from the weight i have ordered.