Wow...got a bag mould from TOW, what a piece of crap. Can't cast a usable ball, I have to pry out the ball. There are small rings in one side that hold the ball in. The other side releases great. Anyway, anyone have one of these bag moulds and do you have this issue? ? I cast BPCR and .36 .40 .45 .50 .54 .58 .62 balls with no issues.
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TOW bag mould
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Too bad you didn't check here before the purchase.
They've never had a good review,, they're more for show-n-tell then actual use.
Too bad you didn't check here before the purchase.
They've never had a good review,, they're more for show-n-tell then actual use.
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Jethro224 said:
That's good information. Thank you.
http://search.aol.com/aol/search?e...rch&q=bag+mold,+larry+calahan&s_chn=prt_main5
For me, about the only reason I would want a bag mold is if it was a good reproduction of an 18th century one. I may well be mistaken, but it looks like Larry's molds are copies of 19th century molds, or am I mistaken? I really don't know and that is why I am asking.
Gus
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Black Hand
Cannon
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Gus,
You appear to be correct. You may be able to purchase one and "retro-fit" it to resemble an 18th century mold with a little work. I've considered doing this myself.
You appear to be correct. You may be able to purchase one and "retro-fit" it to resemble an 18th century mold with a little work. I've considered doing this myself.
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Black Hand said:
Thanks for that info. You just saved me money and time. I already have enough things I need to make or modify for 18th century use that are a lot higher on the "want to do" list. :grin:
Gus
A mold to be carried in the bag.
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:rotf:
I always have had good service from TOW and good product, But I have heard bad things about their molds. Bought from Larry and have got a top notch product. First ball droped was perfect. I would highly recomend him.pab1 said:
With all respect to a 'Dont call me Shirly' response, It is an old style mold such as would have been carried in days of lore. About 6 inchs long, all iron,the body around the ball cavity is only about 1/4 inch thick, can be used easily at a camp fire.Naphtali said:
So we are not talking about the cheap scissors molds that Dixie sells? Rather, I might see some at auction on eBay that appear to be both old and crude?
Either way, why would not a modern malleable iron affixed to a modern handle set design be carried in a bag? Or is merely carrying it that way negated by its being modern?
Either way, why would not a modern malleable iron affixed to a modern handle set design be carried in a bag? Or is merely carrying it that way negated by its being modern?
I havn't looked through a dixie catalog in 20 years, and find their sight hard to navagate. I recall a mold with sissior handles. Yes there are cheap sissior molds sold and I think this is some of the complaints about TOW molds. All and all back then only a person going in to the back woods for an extended period would carry a mold. Short day o week long trips one could mold ball at home before the hunt.As far as getting a good one its,only useful for demonstration or to have to compliment a gun. You can only run about 10 ball at a time through it till it gets to hot to hold. They do look right, and fit with an h c outfit. They are fun to use by a fire. Much like copper pots and tin cups they serve no special function just 'looks'
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Naphtali said:
First of all, the cheap scissors molds by Dixie were/are pretty poor quality. Dixie first had them made when no one else was making RB molds in different sizes. Nowadays we have a far greater selection of mold sizes available and even good custom molds such as those made by Jeff Tanner in the UK.
Surprisingly, some of the crude looking, original antique molds will cast a good ball, though often we find them in sizes we don't use much nowadays. Probably part of the reason those molds are still around, as they have not seen a lot of continuous use. Though the halves of the molds have to line up well and the machining of the halves has to be good to cast a good ball, the outside of the mold is not important other than for esthetics.
Yes, one could use a modern made and modern design small mold to cast balls, that would fit in a shooting bag. However, most people don't feel a need or want to do that. They prefer to carry enough well cast balls to use for that day's hunting or shooting. Those balls may be carried loose in the bottom of a small "day" pouch or in some kind of small ball bag in the shooting pouch. This negates a need for carrying a mold in one's shooting pouch.
Most of the surviving original 18th century shooting pouches are so small that the original owners almost certainly did not carry a "bag mold" in the pouch. At least to me, they appear to be "Day Pouches" where only the bare necessities to shoot and operate the gun was carried in them. Personally, I think some 18th century frontiersmen who hunted far from civilization - had larger shooting pouches with bag molds and other things in them not normally found in the small surviving pouches. However, that is the subject of another thread or discussion.
Surviving early to mid 19th century pouches are often larger and some have been found with more "stuff" in them that are not needed to shoot a gun. Such things may include fishing hooks and line, or a compass, or various other things that today we might call "survival items." As I recall, a least one or two of them still had a bag mold in them, but most of the time bag molds have not been found in them. Of course since an Iron bag mold will rust if not maintained well in a leather pouch, the bag molds may have been discarded as "rusty junk" long ago and after the period when the pouch was used with a gun. Or the bag mold may have accompanied the gun when it was traded, sold or handed down through inheritance.
The "modern trend" in shooting pouches is back to making smaller "day pouches," and most people don't bother with carrying a bag mold, as they are not going to cast or re-cast the balls around a camp fire at night.
Now of course IF enough people still carried or wanted to carry bag molds in their shooting pouches, there would have been and would be a much larger market for quality bag molds AND made in more HC/PC styles to supply the market demand.
Perhaps Mr. Callahan decided to use a 19th century design for his bag molds as people may be more likely to carry them when doing a 19th century impression? Or maybe he used that design because he had a or some originals to copy? Or maybe he felt it was a better mechanical design? Bottom line is that Mr. Callahan's bag molds have a good reputation and most people who really need/want a bag mold, probably don't care if the mold design is later than 18th century.
Gus
At one time ones like in your bottom picture were easy to find on vendors tables, in antique shops, flea markets, etc. I have had quite a few over the years but sold, gave away all. The ones I had were certainly originals and none would cast a ball those of us here would find acceptable. Why anyone would want one to use these days is puzzling to me. As a decorator/curiosity item is the only use I can think of.
Yeah, a curiosity, not practical to use, at least mine is. It did teach me a couple of things, though. I cast some balls with it, and even my best efforts, using the built-in sprue cutter, the end result was pretty crude...
The things I read about shooting in the 18th century lead me to believe they were much less particular about it than we are today, and if this mold is typical, it would certainly indicate that.
Mine is marked 100, which must be 100 balls to the pound. I had often wondered if the old molds were made to make a ball of calculated size or a ball of proper size to shoot an a specific bore, and, at least for this one mold, it's the latter. A mold of 100 balls to the pound, calculated, would make a .36" ball, but mine casts balls of .34". A ball intended to be shot with a patch? Maybe so.
Spence
The things I read about shooting in the 18th century lead me to believe they were much less particular about it than we are today, and if this mold is typical, it would certainly indicate that.
Mine is marked 100, which must be 100 balls to the pound. I had often wondered if the old molds were made to make a ball of calculated size or a ball of proper size to shoot an a specific bore, and, at least for this one mold, it's the latter. A mold of 100 balls to the pound, calculated, would make a .36" ball, but mine casts balls of .34". A ball intended to be shot with a patch? Maybe so.
Spence
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Rifleman1776 said:
I don't know about other folks, but the main/only use I would want an 18th century HC/PC bag mold would be for living histories and as a "show and tell" for talks to school groups, boy scouts or other groups. (I actually used a 19th century original mold for that back in the 1970's.) I did not actually cast a ball in front of them, but would leave a cast ball in the mold with the sprue still attached. Then I sometimes cut the sprue off to show them how it was done.
For the round balls I cast for target shooting or hunting, I always used modern molds that threw a much better round ball.
Gus
Just ran ball at an event at the nathen Boone home. A person who needs a hundred ball needs a modrrn mold. A dozen ball for plinking an an event it is a nice connection to the past. Flint chips wooden rods tow wadding and an iron cast ball from a campfire is a nice touch.... It's just Cowboys and Indians for gray hairs.
