Roundball casting balls slightly oversized

[jtkerk]

I ran this batch the other day from a Lee double mould…

View attachment 204412

I normally use two mounds when pouring, letting one cool while using the other..

But this time I used only the one and there was 4 grn difference in some of the balls.

These are .530 balls and should weigh .224 grns according too Hornady..

Mine were between .232 - .236…. So I split them into 2 separate groups.234.5 and less, .234.6 up too .236.

The rest went back into the pot..

I did shoot some of the light balls that loaded a shot like normal…
The next shooting session I’ll shoot the heavier balls and see if there’s any difference…

I expect they will be a little harder too load, but there performance should be typically the same..

I’m almost certain when the mould gets too hot and expands, that is what causes the heavier, larger ball.

I have noticed in the past that sometimes while shooting on woods walks that some
( not weighed) balls load harder than others, so that’s why I’ve started weighing them and will only shoot the .234 and less while in the field.

The heavier ones I’ll shoot at the house, not at a event..

Unless, I prove my theory wrong…

Am curious what did the balls measure?

 

[smo]

I didn’t measure them, only weighed them..

 

[jtkerk]

Was just curious

 

[nkbj]

I melted from lead pipe and roofing . Measured different spots all around balls with a caliper. Was just wondering if lead a little too hot not shrinking or maybe not pure enough? I fluxed a bunch of times and is very soft denting easy with thumbnail

So, they're consistent in diameter at the seam lines and 90 degrees away?

By the way, balls from my Lyman .420" mold measure a consistent .423" diameter. Doesn't really matter much because I'm using them in a .41 caliber Remington 1858 and they shear to chamber size any how. But if I was using them in a .43 bore rifle that'd be about a third of the windage for patch thickness.

 

[beardedhorse]

Ask the guy who sourced you the ingots if he loads for modern bullets. I don't like aluminum molds because of the cooling and expansion. Prefer steel blocks. There are hardness testing tools to help determine your lead hardness. Pure will be the softest. I quit casting with a friend who mainly casts bullets for modern guns because his pots and lead aren't always pure.

 

[jtkerk]

Leads seemed pure I bought some and I smelted my own from pipe seemed to dent very easy with fingernail

 

[smo]

Am curious what did the balls measure?

I pulled 5 balls randomly from each group and measured them..
Most were .530
2 from the lighter weights were… 1 @.528 @ another @ .529.
None of the heavier ones were above .530 & 1 of those measured.529.

So my issues with hard loading must have been from improperly lubed patches..

I tend too shoot a damp patch vs a wet one..

 

[SDSmlf]

Leads seemed pure I bought some and I smelted my own from pipe seemed to dent very easy with fingernail

Not very accurate method to measure hardness, it only gets you in the ball park. I have seen lead over 10 BHN that folks claimed they could scratch or dent with there fingernails.

When you ‘smelted’ your lead pipe, did you include the ends and the connector pieces? Always told the connectors and joints were harder and shouldn’t be used. Reason I stay away from lead pipe if I want ‘pure’ lead.

 

[jtkerk]

Not very accurate method to measure hardness, it only gets you in the ball park. I have seen lead over 10 BHN that folks claimed they could scratch or dent with there fingernails.

When you ‘smelted’ your lead pipe, did you include the ends and the connector pieces? Always told the connectors and joints were harder and shouldn’t be used. Reason I stay away from lead pipe if I want ‘pure’ lead.

All good info . Thanks

 

[rrebuck]

Pure lead casts the smallest ball, if your lead is an alloy the ball will be larger from the same mold.

I've heard this also. Would allowing the mixed lead balls to cool longer inside the mold prevent the balls from expanding or do pure lead balls shrink while cooling or both?

 

[The Crisco Kid]

All my Lee molds , cast balls of the diameter stamped on the outside of the blocks , with in a thousandths or so , and most are perfect size.

I have quite a few Lee roundball molds and all but one are right on. The odd one is marked .440 but casts perfect .451 balls. Obviously it was mis-marked at the factory.