Lee 175gr TC converted to HP.
Can't weight to give it a try.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/steve4102/mold.jpg)
Looking forward to hear a report. I have long considered doing this to a mold.
Nice! I assume that's from hollowpointmolds.com? Any idea what weight it's supposed to cast?
If you use a traditional lubersizer (Lyman or RCBS type) you might have issues with that bevel base allowing lube under the bullet. There are a couple different solutions for that if you need...
Erik said is should cast about 165gr with straight WW. My plain Lee mold cast at 180gr with WW, so 165 might be a pretty accurate guess..
I don't have a Lubersizer, I'm new to casting and so far all I have used is Lee Alox. That's not going to be problem with the HP is it?
Well I posted over at GT so I'll repeat myself here too!
Steve4102, the mold looks great, Erik does great work. Just be gentle as you work with the mold, while cutting the sprues and ejecting the finished bullets, aluminum LEE molds can be knocked out of alignment or warped if subjected to too much while they are hot.
The finished bullets should be in the 150-156 grain weight.
Best regards!
What do you recommend to lube this mold? Lee Alox stick or something else?
delete, double post
If you don't have a lubersizer, and plan to shoot these faster than 1,000 fps or so, I'd recommend either pan lubing or dip lubing. Either method is done using a traditional beeswax based lube, everyone has their favorite type of lube, I like TAC and TAC#1 best myself. Pan lubing involves setting a bunch of bullets in a pan of melted lube, so the lube comes up past the grooves, then pulling or pushing the bullets out when the lube is cooling or cooled. Dip lubing is simpler, you just dip the base of the bullet, up to the lube groove, in melted lube. Thickness of the lube coating is controlled by lube temp and how long you hold the bullet in it.
For either method, I recommend a Lee push through bullet sizer to run the bullets through after they are lubed. With both methods, when done right, your finished product will be indistinguishable from bullets lubed in a lubersizer, and will work just as well or better. (Possibly better because the Lee push through die sizes straighter than most lubersizers.)
Of course, you can pick up a used Lyman lubersizer for less than $100, keep an eye on the castboolits forum or ebay.
If you're just shooting these for plinking loads, and keeping velocity low, the Lee tumble lube or the 50/50 paste wax/LLA mix should work fine. I have not been able to get satisfactory results from Alox in full power 10mm loads.
Hope that helps. I'm interested to see some results from that mold when you get a chance. Matching the bullet alloy to your bullet and load is a whole different discussion we can get in to when you're ready.
Steve, I have had good luck with 175 grain bullets loaded to max in 10mm using the 45/45/10 (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=67654&highlight=45%2F45%2F10) recipe. This is still a tumble lube recipe, but is less tacky and handles higher velocity.
It cannot be over-emphasized that your bullets must be a minimum of .001" larger than groove diameter or you will have leading. You may still have issues. This mix works well for some guns but not others.
I think he was looking toward something to make bullet release from the mold easier...after I mentioned about care of the mold with use.
http://www.midwayusa.com/Product/763758/frankford-arsenal-drop-out-bullet-mold-release-agent-and-lube-6-oz-aerosol (http://www.midwayusa.com/Product/763758/frankford-arsenal-drop-out-bullet-mold-release-agent-and-lube-6-oz-aerosol)
I haven't used this product but others have had good results.
Another product is called "Bull Plate" http://bullshop.gunloads.com/ (http://bullshop.gunloads.com/)
The Bullshop makes a lube for moulds called "Bull Plate Sprue Plate Lube" and it is highly regarded in some circles.
This one is used to help lube sprue plate and pins to prevent issues, again I don't use the product.
Best mold release I have found is "lee-menting" the mold. Here is how I do it:
Cast a couple of good bullets from the mold.
Drill a small hole in the base and put a stud in the whole fashioned from a wood screw.
Chuck this bullet with a wood screw shank into a drill, and coat liberally with toothpaste.
Gently place the slug back in the cavity of the mold and start the drill slowly, allowing the bullet to polish the mold cavity.
I generally slowly work until the mold fully closes, then put the spurs to the drill for 30 seconds or so. After this, thoroughly clean the mold and then re-lube the hinge, sprue plate and alignment pins.
Once i treat my Lee molds using this method they generally drop bullets when the mold opens.
The method sqlbullet describes for lee-menting works well. If you have steady hands and good eyesight, you can also just trim the burrs off the edge of the mold cavities with a sharp knife, and skip the leementing. If you look/feel carefully, you'll usually find that each cavity has a burr along one side, caused by the direction the tool bit was turning. Takes a bit of precision though to clean it up right.
For lubing the mold itself, I use Bullplate, which is no longer available, but an equivalent product is available from Randyrat on the castboolits forum. This stuff is used on the bottom of the sprue plate, around the hinge, top of the mold blocks, and the mold alignment pins. Don't get it in the cavities.
I don't like that mold release stuff; it makes the mold cast a little smaller. I do smoke all of my mold cavities with a Bic lighter, this just makes them fill out better and easier, with no ill effects.
Thanks.
Yes, I was referring to lubing the mold itself and the Lee instruction video found here.
http://leeprecision.com/bullet-casting/
All the serious casters swear by Bull-plate for mold lube. I have never used it.
I use 2 cycle engine oil on a cotton swab. The oil is designed for high temp environments. I get the mold clean with soap and water, then get it hot. I dip the tip of the swab and the press out all the excess. Rub the swab on the bottom of the sprue plate, the alignment pins and then put a drop on the hinge. Works great and if I get a lead smear from cutting the sprue too soon, it wipes right off.
I re-lube the sprue plate and alignment pins at the start of each casting session and again during a long session about every 150 casts.
sqlbullet, some on the castboolits forum have speculated that Bullplate lube is actually some sort of synthetic 2-stroke engine oil, so you're probably not far off with what you're using.
I recommend not trying to frustrate yourself by using Alox for a mold lube, as Lee recommends. It doesn't work that well, and is a real pain when it works it's way into the mold cavities.
Yeah...Alox for a mold lube = bad mojo IMHO
Kroil or WD-40 work OKish too for mold lube. Some guys swear that kroil in the mold cavities then air dried is the key to mold release. I have found kroil in the cavity to be great for making 10-15 casts of wrinkled bullets!
I've tried Kroil in the mold cavities several times, and will not waste my time with it again. I've never had good results with it, don't know what those other guys are doing to make it work, or why they need it. So much easier to lightly smoke the cavities and start casting good bullets right away...
I had a chance to cast a few today. The mold worked great, no issues at all.
I weighed 10 bullets and the low was 169.2gr and the high was 170.3gr, my alloy is straight WW. I'm happy with that weight. Range reports to come.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/steve4102/HPmold.jpg)
Quote from: Steve4102 on November 15 2012 09:35:18 PM MST
Range reports to come.
Any chance you'll shoot one or two into some water jugs to see how they react in regard to general expansion characteristics?
I'll see what I can do.
Steve4102, congrats, looks like some very nice cast HP bullets. 8)
How were the extractions from the mold? Did they drop out? Or did you need to tap on the mold to encourage them?
The reason I started cast them on my end was in case the SHTF and no other supplies were avalible. However cast bullets make for less expensive practice. ;D
Those are some great looking boolits :P
Cast bullets do reduce ammo costs significantly...Or more often allow range sessions to last longer at the same price ;D
They just fell out, they came out easier than my plain Lee TC mold