mold of lead for lead

[Zonie]

I thought the writings from 263 years ago were quite interesting and the test mold made added to the interest.

That some people would not want to shoot the resulting roundball has nothing to do with the story. I know folks who don't like to shoot Speer swaged roundballs so that is neither here nor there.

All in all I didn't see any grossly negative posts. There were some legitimate questions and comments made about the molds but if no one brought up these concerns and asked questions we would have a pretty boring forum in my opinion.

I only saw one comment that could be taken as an attack and in the context it was used it was obvious to me that it was made 'tongue in cheek'.

If you come across any further writings from the past please post them.
Whether they were serious or just made as idle armchair thoughts they are quite interesting.

 

[CrackStock]

Actually, Gen'l Bob,

I have always enjoyed your scribblings and historic contributions.

Not all are of little faith.

I enjoyed the experimentation. I also hope to give it a shot to compare with the common soap stone molds that were available at the time. I was thinking to make a few of those and also to make more modern blocks of my own.

People went to great lengths to cast balls when the old guns were new.

Hey, I'll shoot it if it comes out of the mold.

YMHS,
CrackStock

 

[hoochiepapa]

Yeah, keep posting, I love the stuff you find. When I see that there are some hard feelings, I just read by them. Who's interested in a pissing match? Not me. :thumbsup:

 

[airmansteve]

It seems to me that this article came from a 1748 version of a DIY magazine! Most of the home projects proposed in these magazines are interesting and a lower cost solution to "store-bought" goods. I was pleased to see someone attempt the project and report on the success of it. For my scoreboard it simply means that the art of DIY has been around a long time. And that like a lot of home projects, this one may have not worked so well in 1748 either! After all, if it was a roaring success, we might still have lead molds today! :hmm:

Very nicely done laffindog! :thumbsup:

 

[hunts4deer]

Spence,
Just let it roll off your back and keep on posting! I sincerely appreciate your input to the discussions.

 

[Joel/Calgary]

Gen'l Bob, et al.,

There are a few things I find still of interest at this point.

"... And, to prevent the Bullets having Edges, smooth the Faces of the Mould, and press in the same Marbles several Times, by which Means you may make Moulds of wonderful Exactness. Then cut a Gate and fit the Corner with Pins, to keep the Pieces in a proper Position for casting. ..."

If the final marble is removed, re-oiled/greased, and reinserted in random orientation each time, it seems reasonable that the high spots on the marble should even out the cavity, resulting in a mould more spherical than the marble used to form it, and the more times this is done, the more perfect the cavity should be. I wonder if there is supposed to be an iteration of pressing the marble and truing the faces of the blocks, since the pins are fitted last? I don't know if I will get to exploring these improvised moulds, but I hope that anyone who dies will investigate this aspect and report on it.

"... When you use it, smoke it well, ..."

I would think that this should adequately preclude the adhesion of the ball to the mould. In addition, I think that it also slows somewhat the transfer of heat from the initially-molten load to the mould. As laffindog has already shown, the combination of thermal mass and thermal conductivity of the lead blocks is sufficient to avoid local melting of the mould if it allowed to cool adequately between pourings.

"... A When you use it, ... take Care the melted Lead be not so hot as to burn Paper."

Although laffindog's initial test is quite suggestive, I think it would be interesting to explore the relationship between lead temperature and the rapidity of the reaction of paper test strips, and whether the precision is sufficient for the purpose.

I, for one, hope that you will continue to post these arcana, Gen'l. It may be that some do not fly, and some may generate more heat than light in the discussions, but I quite delight in discovering the forgotten ingenuity of our forebears.

:thumbsup: In appreciation, I remain &c,
Joel