any word on the 6 cavity round ball moulds?

will52100 · December 05, 2010, 12:51:34 AM

Hint hint Dick!

Dick Dastardly · December 05, 2010, 10:31:01 AM

Yes, there is, but I'm not ready to announce it yet.

Looks promising.

DD-DLoS

Howdy Doody · December 05, 2010, 08:45:44 PM

Pards,
I took out my Remmies for an annual and shot them with .454 pure lead balls over 3F. Things went real well on day one as I had it clean. Then pure lead raised its ugly head. The first stage second day I got called by one spotter clean and two spotters with two fingers in the air. Majority rules. That started a downhill slide, since I could see I had hit the targets. It is a fact of CAS for C&Bers.
That was the first time I shot pure lead in maybe 4 years. I am a true believer in EPP-UG bullets I cast from wheelweights and load the cylinders with a Tower of Power. Ding, ding, ding. All those folks that cannot distinguish a thud from a ding are not put out at all if they want to just listen for hits.
That is not to say all spotters do not know how to look for hits. Getting off on angles along the line should give a good enough view of round pure lead balls hitting targets and dropping forward. I spot that way for all BP shooters. It helps. I am even thinking of trying to swage the EPPs down to about .452 and using the press to load them like I do the .454 boolits for the ROAs.
Not to worry though DD, I will probably be ordering a Mav Dutchman from you soon. I actually have worn one pretty ragged. The mold is still great, but the holes, the sprue plate and the pins have all seen better days.
I know the tricks now on how to make a new mold work best and last a long time. This one was actually from Mav way back when and I did not know how to do a little work and set them up before using them.
Some day you should outline that for us pard here on CAS City or I could.
For those that have pure lead, I can see that it would be a fast session to cast out 6 gang balls. The ball molds I have are only two at a time and it goes pretty slow compared to a 6 gang mold. Anything to speed things up seems like a blessing.

Dick Dastardly · December 06, 2010, 10:48:04 AM

Thanks Howdy,

The first prototype was not satisfactory. A new prototype is being produced now. I'll report on it as soon as I can test it.

DD-DLoS

Springfield Slim · December 06, 2010, 11:38:33 AM

I would get a .454 or two! And if you want to learn how to properly use a LEE mould the guys over at www.castboolits.gunloads.com have lots of good advice. I still use my first mould that I got from the MAV Dutchman himself years ago and it is still going strong after a few hundred thousand bullets cast. It's not pretty, and it isn't stock anymore, but it works fine.

Howdy Doody · December 07, 2010, 12:53:57 AM

Slim you do a great job of casting. That is from a caster. Moulds do not have to look purty, just work well. The first thing everyone should do is drill the wooden handles and pin them to keep them from sliding off. A major pain in the neck. Then if they are handy they can stake the sprue plate bolt so it does not back off and then drill and install a piece of drill stock on the mold where the sprue plate lever hits it. This stuff keeps you from having to tinker when you are up to casting speed.

Another super trick involves what some call Leezersizing or something like that. That is where you take a few cast bullets and then drill a hole in the base. Insert a sheemetal screw, a phillips works best and then with the mould cold. You wet the bullet and dip it in comet. Take a drill and spin the bullet in the cavity of the closed mold and by doing that at slow speed you will polish the cavity. It takes about 3 bullets to do a 6 gang mould and the bullets drop real nice and it cleans up what the marks left by the machinist. Nothing I thought up, but it does work, so I always mention it to those that are starting out in casting.

will52100 · December 07, 2010, 02:08:00 AM

Good tricks Howdy Doody, I've done all them except for the drill rod for the spure plate cam. Haven't had aproblem with it yet.

I'll second the round balls, I love to shoot them, but I missed out on a clean match when I could see the lead smear on the target. I switched to the walkers and haven't had a problem since.

I haven't tried the EPPUG's, but I have fallen in love with Lee's conicles, they fit just rite for my uberties and are very accurate in my guns.

Thanks for the updat Dick, can't wait to try them out.

Thanks

Dick Dastardly · December 07, 2010, 08:34:16 AM

Just a note on the handles for DD Big Lube®LLC mold products.

The handles don't come off. I've not had even one customer, or myself, that has had a DD Big Lube®LLC handle loosen or come off. The metal parts are made of laser cut steel, not sintered cast as in other manufacturers six cavity handles. They have solid brass hydraulic hose ferules tightly crimped in place. The metal shaft is seated and then held in place by an semi-elastic adhesive.

DD-DLoS

Howdy Doody · December 07, 2010, 10:49:49 AM

DD, I was referring to the Lee made mould handles. I guess I should buy something from you soon. I have not seen the new style molds and it has been a few years since I have purchased any molds from you. In fact I think my last buy was actually my Tower of Power that I replaced my old style press with. A big lube .36 boolit would suit at least one pard I know that shoots '51 Navies all the time.

Cookie · December 07, 2010, 02:09:10 PM

Quote from: Howdy Doody on December 07, 2010, 12:53:57 AM
Another super trick involves what some call Leezersizing or something like that. That is where you take a few cast bullets and then drill a hole in the base. Insert a sheemetal screw, a phillips works best and then with the mould cold. You wet the bullet and dip it in comet. Take a drill and spin the bullet in the cavity of the closed mold and by doing that at slow speed you will polish the cavity. It takes about 3 bullets to do a 6 gang mould and the bullets drop real nice and it cleans up what the marks left by the machinist. Nothing I thought up, but it does work, so I always mention it to those that are starting out in casting.

I second doing this to an aluminum mold to get the bullets to drop with little / no tapping. It works wonders to smooth up sticky molds.

HOWEVER... rather than trying to drive a screw into the bullet, place a brass nut above the mold cavity (the sprue plate should be OPEN for this) before pouring the lead into the mold. Then pour the lead so it fills the mold and the nut as well. Then once the lead hardens, the process is the same as described above except you use a socket, rather than a screwdriver.

I tried the method above using a screw and drove the screw straight through the bullet and completely buggered up the soft aluminum beyond. Now it's a 1 cavity mold.

Springfield Slim · December 08, 2010, 09:28:58 PM

Howdy: I believe it is callled Lee-menting. I am going to have to try the nut approach, didn't have much luck drilling straight holes in cast bullets nor getting the screw to go in straight. I don't pin the handles, just put some hi-temp silicone in the hole and shove the handle back on. Seems to insulate the wood from the heat, no more problems. I haven't had too much problem with the sprue cutter ruining the mould where it hits, but then I cut the cutting handle in half. If the mould is up to temp you don't need all that leverage anyway. Must work, I have never broken a sprue handle.

Howdy Doody · December 09, 2010, 03:11:08 AM

S.S. The silicone could be the cats meow. I will have to try that next time. I wish I could say I never broke a sprue handle. I have broken a couple of them, but I did repair them and they hold up. I would rush things with my Lee pot when I got started casting. Too cold and I got too rough. When that happens nowadays I warm it up with one of those propane torches and then let the pot and the mould warm up. I use a RCBS pot these days, but still you can get into the same situation. Well, maybe not you, but someone in a hurry like I get.

Lee-menting is what I was searching the caverns of my mind for. Thanks. No, I never have had an issue with sheet metal crews, but I think I will try the nut too if I can adapt a socket to my drill. I can probably find something at Lowe's

Side note. I ran into a picture of you, me and Papa Bear taken at Manteca about I guess 6 or 7 years ago. I was actually cleaning my shop up when I came across it. You never know what you find when you do a crazy thing like that. Now I can't find anything now that it is all organized.