Hey guys,
I’ve got a rifle partially made up from years back that I’m looking to try and have finished. But I need to order the round ball mould. It’s rifled and the bore diameter is .797. It’s not a muzzleloader although it is a flintlock. Has a chamber cut so don’t need to worry about tightness ramming it down from the muzzle end. Should I aim for a .799-.800 pure lead ball?
According to the website this is the suggestions:
“
Shrinkage
The next thing to consider is the shrinkage. You can use this simple formula to calculate the cavity diameter: Multiply the ball diameter with 1.005 to get the size of the cavity. This is based on Wheel Weight alloy with 0.5% shrinkage. For absolutely pure lead you may increase the factor to 1.007 (0.7%).
These two factors should give you everything to calculate the size mould you need.
Here is an example:
.688″ x 1.007 (pure lead shrinkage rate) = 0.692816 So, in this instance you would select a .692″ mould
If using a .015″ thou patch:
.692″ – .015″ (patch thickness) = .677″ Mould”
So, do I go for 0.7% or 0.5% shrinkage? Wheel weights are easy enough to come by, or at least they used to be..
What would you do?
It’s a Ferguson action, although the maker wasn’t able to get a 10 start thread on his lathe so it’s a 4 start instead, just takes a couple extra rotations of the trigger guard instead of a single one.
Chambers cut for 160gr of 2F black powder and a .800 ball should weigh around 770gr.
Also considering what sites to attach.
For front I’m thinking:
https://thegunworks.com/shop/custom-gun-building-parts/sights/front-sights/blade-front-sight-german-silver-2/
For rear a couple options:
https://thegunworks.com/shop/custom-gun-building-parts/sights/rear-sights/rear-sight-folding-leaf/
Or adjustable?
https://thegunworks.com/shop/custom-gun-building-parts/sights/rear-sights/rear-sight-flat-top-adjustable/
Cheers,
Troy.
