Molds

[Sharp Shooter]

I need to get a .570 roundball mold for my 58cal. Who makes a good .570 mold? I noticed that Track of the Wolf has some "bag molds" in a .570. Are those good?

I also need a 58cal maxi-ball mold. I dont think they make them anymore but Im not sure. Anyone know where I could possibly get one?

Thanks

 

[jtmattison]

Lee makes a .562 and .575 RB mould.

As for the Maxi-Ball mould, they show up on Ebay now and then.

HD

 

[grizzy adams]

I shoot a 54 cal , and I got and use a bag mold from track of the wolf . There are good , the bag mold dont make a perfect round ball , its .003 to .005 of an inch smaller compaired to hornady round balls, but in my tc hawken useing a green mountain barrel 1 in 70 twist , 90 grains of powder , .020 lubed pillow ticking patch i can put 5 shots in one big ragged hole at 50 yards , so the bag mold makes good round balls for me .

 

[Many Klatch]

The bag molds are good if you don't intend to cast too many ball. They get hot, are difficult to work with and you have to cut the sprue off after it cools. It all can be done but it is fiddly work and not something you can get much production from. If you plan to shoot a lot and cast your own ball I recommend a Lyman steel mold in your caliber or a Lee aluminum mold. Both are suited to fast casting and have sprue cutters.

I don't like the curved handles on the Rapine molds so I heat them and straighten them out. That way I can insert the handles into a corn cob or a piece of broom handle with a hole bored in it to keep my hands from getting burned after the mold heats up.

Many Klatch

 

[alrany187]

I shoot a 54 cal , and I got and use a bag mold from track of the wolf . There are good , the bag mold dont make a perfect round ball , its .003 to .005 of an inch smaller compaired to hornady round balls, but in my tc hawken useing a green mountain barrel 1 in 70 twist , 90 grains of powder , .020 lubed pillow ticking patch i can put 5 shots in one big ragged hole at 50 yards , so the bag mold makes good round balls for me .

When you say they don't make a perfect round ball, do you mean they are misshaped?

 

[Dphar]

I need to get a .570 roundball mold for my 58cal. Who makes a good .570 mold? I noticed that Track of the Wolf has some "bag molds" in a .570. Are those good?

I also need a 58cal maxi-ball mold. I dont think they make them anymore but Im not sure. Anyone know where I could possibly get one?

Thanks

Why do you need a maxi?
If for hunting the 58 is perfectly adequate for even Alaska Moose with a RB.
The Maxi is not a good hunting bullet.

Dan

 

[Sharp Shooter]

Lee makes a .575 roundball mold but I am used to shooting .570 balls. I need to try some .575 balls and see how they shoot in my gun before I buy a mold for them.

 

[BrownBear]

Lyman lists (or used to) a DC mold for .570 balls. Spendy, compared to Lee. I finally gave up and just shoot the .562 Lee balls with a heavier patch.

 

[Bubba45]

Heres a bigun :shocked2: http://www.neihandtools.com/catalog/index.html
All kinds of moulds here :wink:

 

[grizzy adams]

on the bag mold , it leaves a little ring in the center of the ball all the way around , its from the mold where is split when u open it , you can barey see it but u can feel it wiff your finger nail , i took a set of dail calpers and measured it , and measured a hornady round ball , the horndy is .530 and my cast ones are .003 to .005 smaller , i use soft plumer lead to cast , but i woundnt worry about it , they shoot good for me , and i wraped my handles wiff leather so it wont get hot , i cast about 10 to 12 round balls and let the mold cool off and start at it again , the when the round balls cool off , i clip the spur off , then there ready to go , i should take some pics on my bag mold and show u what i meen , but dont have a camera right now , so diss is the best i can describe it .

 

[grizzy adams]

heres some pics of what i,m talking about, on bag mold

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you run your castings at home, and have either a case vibrator, or case tumbler, you can put these cast balls in either and tumble them against each other for about an hour. That will remove the casting seam, and what is left of the sprue when you cut them off. The balls tend to come out very uniform in circumference. :thumbsup:

 

[mazo kid]

Who makes a good .570 mold?
Thanks

I have both the Lee and Lyman .570 RB moulds (no bag mould yet). I have always heard about Lee moulds throwing undersize balls, but mine drop right at .570" and the Lyman is undersized about .005". Go figure. I also like Many Klatch's solution for bag moulds, makes for a lot more comfortable casting for longer periods.

 

[Sharp Shooter]

I did not think Lee made a .570. Thought it was a .575.

Do those bag molds come in .575? If so I could get one of those and since they come out smaller it would be about right.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I wouldn't count on any one manufacturer's mold cavity diameter. So much is dependant on many different variables. The first is the size of the cherry (cavity cutting tool) used to make the cavity. This can vary from the first use until the cherry is too undersized to meet tolerance. The other is the composition of the lead you use. Most round ball molds are sized to account for the shrinkage as lead cools for use with pure lead. If there are other impurities in the lead or you use wheel weight lead, the size will vary.

Casting the round ball for your gun can be interesting and you will learn a lot about consistency in manufacture.

 

[Fairshake]

Lee molds are not cut with a cherry. They are lathe bored so you can't say it's the fault of the cherry. I became fed up with Lee and the molds they were sending out. I had Dave Farmer at Hoch molds make me two 45 Colt molds which are perfect. His molds are also lathe bored.

 

[alrany187]

on the bag mold , it leaves a little ring in the center of the ball all the way around , its from the mold where is split when u open it , you can barey see it but u can feel it wiff your finger nail.

Okay, there was a post in another topic that mentioned the balls from the TOW bag molds were misshaped as in not round. Thank you for your time in explaining this.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Any mold can " Spring" or be partially open if not handled correctly during the molding process. If you don't check to keep the two mating surfaces of the mold clean, the mold won't close properly, too. It doesn't take much, so you have to really LOOK closely at the mold, and pay attention to the balls you knock out of the mold. If you find whiskers, find out why they are there.

This is just part of the deal if you are going to cast your own. You will find you keep certain minimal tools around your molding site just to get this kind of thing done, and won't think another thing about it, much less mention what those things are for when showing friends how to cast. Only when they ask will you remember to tell them the importance of the tools to maintain the mold.

Using the soot from a burning candle stub to coat the mold before each casting session is a huge help in keeping the mold clean.