Quote from: Caneman on April 08 2013 08:28:57 PM MDT
you were right again, the pb checks were tearing in the lubrisizer die right with the die right out of the box... then i remembered that i needed to open up the mouth, so i chamfered the mouth in the lathe, opened up the die body and lapped the diameter about 0.001, then polished the die and it swaged them just fine then:
...

Lookin good!

My checks aren't perfect either (the checks from the PatMarlin die are pretty close to perfect though!), but I found it doesn't seem to matter if these thin checks get sized higher on one side than the other; as long as they don't cover the lube groove you're good.

Quote from: sqlbullet on April 09 2013 08:27:31 AM MDT

Quote from: DM1906 on April 09 2013 01:00:31 AM MDT

Quote from: sqlbullet on April 07 2013 10:53:50 AM MDT
found them in stock on Amazon for $17.00, Prime eligible.  As a prime member I get free second day shipping.  They are on the way.  I should have them in plenty of time for next weekend.  I will cast up 50 or so during my refining session.

I need handles, too.  Amazon is listing them, with a 1-6 month shipping time.  I've been watching them there for several weeks now.  That means they are out of stock and backordered, just like everyone else (and Lee isn't shipping them until July).  Personal Choice Outfitters (.com) has them in stock, with a 2 week backlog.  Ordered 2 at $27 shipped, verified by phone, should be here any day.  They return their calls if you have to voicemail.  In the meanwhile, I've been using scavenged (retired) Lee 2 cavity mold handles for the Mihec 4 cavity molds (fit fine), and modified another to fit the 6 cavity molds.  Just drilled holes at the end to fit the 6 cavity with a copper tubing bushing to keep them snug.  You have to be careful, though, as they will "flip" when open, because there's nothing to stop them, when the holes at the very end.  Heavier handles are a must for the 6 cavity molds, as shearing the sprew is a lot of stress on old, well-baked handles.

On a lighter note, it appears Lee has redesigned the 2 cavity molds (I got a couple for less used bullets).  REAL alignment pins, and a reduced mass lower end.  It seems the removal of the lower mass tends to make heat retention less sensitive with bigger bullets (.41+).  Very smooth, so far.

Man, I lucked out.  $17.66 shipped, be here tomorrow.  They are already on a UPS truck and I have the tracking number.

But, they aren't on Amazon's site anymore.

That's great.  I couldn't get them to commit on stock, and "ships in 1-6 months" wasn't good enough.  I have so many backorders spread across the country, I can't hardly keep track of them.

Cast up just a few tonight.

Gonna have to work on my technique a little, and dig out my thermometer which is probably packed with my handles.



Not only do I have to watch sprues smearing (not an issue tonight), but keep the mold cool enough the hollow point cavity doesn't tear.  I am sure I got my lead too hot since I didn't have a thermometer and have't used this pot in forever.  I had no idea where to set the dial.

Haven't weighed them yet either, but they look great, even though a a few from the end are a little frosty.

Is that the Mihec 200gr group buy bullet, or something from accurate molds? It looks just like the Mihec bullet, as do the WFN style that Caneman posted pics of on the previous page.

NOE RG 2.

Comes with pins for both 180 gr HP and 200 gr WFN.  Haven't cast the WFN variant yet as I have plenty of 200 grain on hand.

looks good sql, your hps turned out better than mine after my first try... i got my PID setup on the Lee bottom pour so i should be able to get a more consistent temp now

Very Nice sqlbullet, Looks great!

  I have a question about lead and leading in the 10mm.

These are bullets from one of my molds.  It is/was a Lee 175gr TC two cavity mold.  It has been converted by Eric to a HP design.  They drop at about 170gr with straight WW.  I also have the same mold without the HP, they drop at about 180gr with straight WW.  Velocity out of my 4 1/4 inch DW barrel is about 1200fps Chrony set at 12 feet.



  I size these with the Lee push through die and they come out at a consistent .401.  I also tumble lube with Liquid A-lox and a splash of Mineral Spirits.

  This is what came out of the barrel after 150 rounds.  I used a Chore-Boy and captured all the lead and all the fouling on this paper towel. 

  Is this amount of lead acceptable or do I need to do something different to minimize it more.

Steve4102, Fine looking bullets BTW.  It is hard to tell from the picture but most of that looks like carbon and soot, with a few specks of lead.  If it is just those specks I'd say that is not too bad.  You may want to try a different lube and or lube method, One that fills the lube groove completely.  That should provide better lube protection for the entire barrel length, shot after shot.

I use the Star Sizer from Magma Engineering  link; http://www.magmaengineering.com/component/banners/click/14/ 
While these are a little expensive for the initial setup, the speed and results are great.

This unit size bullets nose first in a push-thru die and pumps the lube in the groove at the bottom of the stroke.  The push pin pushes on the base of the bullet so the nose is not deformed.

I have used my RCBS Lubrimatic, and for my 44 HP's, but I made a nose punch that pushed the bullet from inside the Hollow Cavity to not deform the nose...

You're definitely getting some leading there, not terrible but enough to be bad for accuracy.

You need to fit the bullet to the bore, and use a decent lube. Have you slugged the bore? .401" is pretty much the standard 40 cal cast bullet size, but some barrels do run larger than that, especially in the throat/leade area, which is the most important for bullet fit.

I've never liked the Lee tumble lube for anything faster than light plinking loads. I'd say you're doing pretty well only getting that much leading at that velocity, so it's probably just the lube (or lack of). If you don't want to buy a luber-sizer, try pan lubing. You'll need to buy some decent lube (try TAC#1 from Randyrat on castboolits!), but can lube the bullets without any extra equipment, and still use the Lee sizer.

I have a jug of the 45/45/10 from White Lube, think that will help?  I haven't had a chance to shoot any of the bullets lubed with the White Lube yet.  Snow Snow and more snow, It's April for gawd sake, 10 inches every other week,

IMO. that leading is not bad for a plain based boolit. One thing to think about as you increase pressures and velocity leading will increase.If you are going to stay with that load for most of your shooting I would not worry about changing anything, just clean after every shooting session.

Sean

Not bad at all.  Like others have said, with a slightly larger bullet and different lube you might get to the highly sought after "shiny bore".  But that isn't going to impact accuracy, so it doesn't count.

going out saturday to test out the plain base Al gas checks on the 200gr WFN, as i got moderate leading without the GC (looked like the picture above from steve, i scrubbed out the bore and that is what i got)...

also got a note from accurate molds that the 220gr WFN 2 banger is in the mail!  if it comes friday i may be able to chrony it this weekend... will update later


steve:  those cast boolits look awesome

range tested the plain base aluminum can gas checks... they stayed on when fired (they did not come off after leaving the barrel) and there was no leading after 50 rounds... worked perfectly... so with the 10mm I am going to have to add the gas checks to keep the barrel from leading...