Ball molds and sizes

[Tight_Wad]

I have three double cavity round ball molds in .451", .454" and .457" from a certain well known manufacturer. Having cast a quantity of ball recently I decided after a few days to check to see how close the finished ball is to the stated size on the mold. I was a little surprised to find they averaged .003" over size.

The results kind of render the .457 mold obsolete since the .454 actually produces .457" ball which is as large as I need for my ROA. The .451 (which actually throws .454 ball) is fine for my Rogers & Spencer .44.

Tight Wad

.451 Mold

.454 Mold

.457 Mold

 

[bwhoffman]

I experienced the same thing with a DC .490 RB mold, was getting .493 consistanly out of both cavities and was struggling to get them in the guns. Had to go to a thinner patch.
After contacting the mfg, was told their industry standard is minus.000 and plus.003.
sounds like we both got molds made off of new cherries.
I would still like to find a .485 double cav round ball mold.

Brett

 

[arilar]

Funny,
Got curious and went down to basement to measure some fresh roundballs.
Jeff Tanners .700, measured .6995.
Jeff Tanners .690, measured .690.
Jeff Tanners .595, measured .595.
Jeff Tanners .585, measured .5835.
Just measured the first bullet I grabed from each batch.
Then I picked up Lyman .690, measured .693.
Well....You can guess where I am gonna continue order my RB-molds! :grin: The most expensive is not always top-quality! :shake:
Regards,
ARILAR :grin: :thumbsup:

 

[bwhoffman]

Nice,
Doyo have a contact or source for the tanner molds?

Brett

 

[scott k]

Jeff Tanner
Lehigh...

 

[CrackStock]

If you read the literature from most manufacturers, you will find that their molds are designed to throw balls of a certain diatmeter from a certain known alloy of lead. Since most of us scrounge our lead, we are never truly sure of what we are casting. I check for round and consistant weight.

Based upon the pic, I think that your mold is a Lee and will likely show a true round. I would be pretty happy with that.

CS