Pedersoli ball mold - "Nominal" size ?

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Then why the word "nominal" .310, why not just .310 ?
That's the question.
Your concerns have been answered seven ways from Sunday.

It's obvious you don't know much about molds and casting lead balls.

Yet you refuse to listen to those who do.

Horse/Water/Drink
 
It appears that none of us actually own this particular mould. However, if I needed a .310" round ball mould, I would not hesitate to get it. As several of us have pointed out, different lead alloys will drop out of the same mould in sightly different diameters. Mould manufacturers who make round ball mould blocks typically intend them for pure lead, and they sometimes say that in their literature. Maybe the seller was trying to allow for this phenomenon in his wording.

Only the writer of that description can tell us why he (or she...) used the word "nominally." It appears the mould shown in post #1 was from Buffalo Arms. All of the Pedersoli round ball mould blocks from Buffalo Arms (and there are a lot of them) are described as "nominally" some specified diameter. On the other hand, Dixie Gun Works has some of the same Pedersoli mould blocks, and they don't use the word "nominally" at all. They just list the size.

If you really need to know, maybe a call to Buffalo Arms might yield an answer to your question. This forum is a discussion group. If you throw out a question, it will be discussed. That's what we do. Many times some interesting and useful information you had not expected comes out of the conversation, and that's why we keep coming back. However, if you feel your question has not been answered, maybe the seller of that mould would be the one to ask.

Good luck.

Notchy Bob
 
Most round ball moulds are meant to be used with pure lead. If you cast a harder alloy of lead, the balls will drop slightly larger than pure lead balls from the same mould.

Notchy Bob
I like to think I’m smart but I can’t figure this thinking mold size is mold size.
Does it have to do with shrinkage as different metals contract (shrink) differently as they cool?
 
This entire thread seems to be about nothing. Did the OP look at the Pedersoli site? There doesn't appear to be any mention of 'nominal' there.
And as 64Springer says:
>None of it matters. The patch will pick up the slack
 
Once again as I have said about their rifles. Pedersoli is crappy in their quality down to the Ball molds. No other company says nominal but for a company charging extremely high prices it seems like it's alright to steal people's money for cheap crappy products
 
Pedersoli is crappy in their quality down to the Ball molds. No other company says nominal...
As I stated earlier - post #30 - there is no mention of 'nominal' on Pedersoli's web site. This entire stupid thread is the result of the OP posting about something he saw on the Buffalo Arms web site (see post #25 from Notchy Bob) and assuming it was from Pedersoli, and misleading other posters who suggested that he contact the manufacturers for an explanation. All about nothing.
 
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Then why the word "nominal" .310, why not just .310 ?
That's the question

The answer is that Buffalo Arms (NOT Pedersoli) can't write clearly.
What they should have written is:
"We cannot guarantee that this .310 mold will cast a ball of exactly that diameter due to factors beyond our control, such as the alloy being used, temperature, etc."
 

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