Dikman, on your first and second + go-around place something (layers of tape) between the mold half's to decrease the "jumping" effect of the out-of-round mold and as it becomes round then you can remove all of the spacer material and finish off the cavities getting it as "round" as it can be. :v
Undersize Lee mold (.490)
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Ok, I tried putting some tape on one face and then closing it. It felt like it was working, but after much effort I got the feeling that it had made the cavity fractionally larger, but still out-of-round. I have to cast a ball to see what difference, if any it's made.
I'm not going any further with it, however, as I don't believe it's possible to get rid of the out-of-round problem without more precise equipment than I have available. I reckon that both the mold and the mandrel with the ball on have to be held rigidly in some sort of fixture, as the ball has a tendency to rotate off-centre which may cause an elongation of the cavity.
I've no doubt that this process works fine for polishing a cavity using cylindrical boolits, and even a round ball that is actually spherical will probably work - but not an out-of-round ball.
A slightly undersize mold I could accept, but not one with the degree of distortion that mine has. It indicates some very sloppy quality control from Lee (hardly precision, as in their name). Their customer relations skills could do with some work too, if my experience is anything to go by.
I'm not going any further with it, however, as I don't believe it's possible to get rid of the out-of-round problem without more precise equipment than I have available. I reckon that both the mold and the mandrel with the ball on have to be held rigidly in some sort of fixture, as the ball has a tendency to rotate off-centre which may cause an elongation of the cavity.
I've no doubt that this process works fine for polishing a cavity using cylindrical boolits, and even a round ball that is actually spherical will probably work - but not an out-of-round ball.
A slightly undersize mold I could accept, but not one with the degree of distortion that mine has. It indicates some very sloppy quality control from Lee (hardly precision, as in their name). Their customer relations skills could do with some work too, if my experience is anything to go by.
Billnpatti
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Ahhhh, I think I have found a fly in the ointment with your tumbling of your cast balls. I think you are tumbling them too long. Tumbling a bit too long doesn't actually hurt them, but they are just not as pretty as those that are tumbled the "right" amount of time. 30 to 45 minutes is usually about right. They come out looking like little ball bearings. How long do you tumble yours? The reason that I say this is because one day I put some freshly cast balls in my tumbler and my wife wanted me to run to the store. The store trip took longer than usual and then I got sidetracked in the house. By the time I remembered the balls in the tumbler, they had been tumbling about 2 or 3 hours. When I dumped them out, they were covered with tiny dimples from the tumbling. They shot just as well as smooth balls but just weren't as pretty.
I would never ever shoot an ugly ball :td:
Ah! I know what happened.Billnpatti said:
The life of a lead ball is quite like the life of humans.
They start off all fresh and shiny but over the years they can turn old and gray Some even turn white with age.
Anyway, when you put the balls in the tumbler and allowed it to run too long you basically took a infant and aged it into its teenage years.
Those weren't dimples you saw on the balls.
They were zits.
:grin:
I was under the impression that a dimpled ball acts like a golf ball and is more aerodynamic.
Which way is larger in the cast, seam to seam or the other way. If it's seam to seam you can even it out some by using a method used on a casting BB. They dubbed it lamenting. Take some small strips of aluminum tape, (found in hardware stores around airconditioning section) and place them inside the mould around the cavities. You can go up a few layers or a layer on each mould half and it will increase the mould size by a few thousandth. Won't get you all the way there but should get you closer and most molds are not exactly perfect anyway. It might increase the seam a little also but you still will be better off than being so lop sided.
Cynthialee said:
That is a question that gets cussed and discussed in the smoothie section now and then. Some swear by it, others at it.
Yep, along with how do I load my gun, how do I clean my gun, how do I get a dry ball out of the barrel and how do I get a cleaning brush out of the barrel.
Seems there needs to be a course for folks before they can buy a M/L. Similar to a Hunters Education.
In all honesty. folks are running around gun ranges and the woods who do not know how to load and clean their guns much less sight them in.
That is scares me. If you need a license to drive.....................
Seems there needs to be a course for folks before they can buy a M/L. Similar to a Hunters Education.
In all honesty. folks are running around gun ranges and the woods who do not know how to load and clean their guns much less sight them in.
That is scares me. If you need a license to drive.....................
I got around to casting today with the new .490 mold lee sent me and this set cast just the correct diameter.
Now to get out to the range and use some of them up.
To bad the shipping cost is too much for you to ship back and have them replaced.
Now to get out to the range and use some of them up.
To bad the shipping cost is too much for you to ship back and have them replaced.
dikman said:
I know you said that as a joke, but had an opportunity to play with some odd loads in the old Potsdam musket I once owned. Had seen some French musket loads which had not had the sprue removed but had the paper cartridge tied to the stem left on the ball. Playing with it gave some silly results. No idea whether it was the longer sprue or a bit of paper and tie acting as a rudder, but some of the balls went in odd directions. Sort of like a little 'English' on some of them! :wink:
Would make for somewhat unpredictable shooting? :haha:
Djr, glad it's worked out for you. I refuse to pay the postage - it's Lee's fault that it's a dud, they basically produced a faulty, substandard product, which they then put out for sale so I see it as their responsibility to correct the problem. As long as they won't do that then I have grounds to complain about them long and hard.
Djr, glad it's worked out for you. I refuse to pay the postage - it's Lee's fault that it's a dud, they basically produced a faulty, substandard product, which they then put out for sale so I see it as their responsibility to correct the problem. As long as they won't do that then I have grounds to complain about them long and hard.
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can't say that I disagree... in my mind, if you make a product, you should stand behind it.
no product is completely perfect, and there will inevitably be some goofs and slip - ups ... it's how the company copes with them that sets the tone ...
had an RCBS mold a long time ago with some rust on the surface, but the inside was still OK ... I wrote to them, explaining that this was really my fault for improperly storing the steel mold, and asking what they recommended, and sent the letter out on Monday. Thursday there was a brand new mold in the mail. would I be willing to pay extra for an RCBS product?
absolutely: I have done so many times over the years, so it's a pretty good bet that the company made a cost- effective decision giving me a free mold.
Lee's 'bean counters' have not, it seems, figured out the cost of an unhappy customer getting on the web, coming to a forum such as this, and describing what sounds to me like a well founded concern. Now, I don't know that number either, but I'd bet my hat, horse and sword that it's a whole lot cheaper to 'make it right.'
just one guy's opinion ... free and no doubt well worth the price!
no product is completely perfect, and there will inevitably be some goofs and slip - ups ... it's how the company copes with them that sets the tone ...
had an RCBS mold a long time ago with some rust on the surface, but the inside was still OK ... I wrote to them, explaining that this was really my fault for improperly storing the steel mold, and asking what they recommended, and sent the letter out on Monday. Thursday there was a brand new mold in the mail. would I be willing to pay extra for an RCBS product?
absolutely: I have done so many times over the years, so it's a pretty good bet that the company made a cost- effective decision giving me a free mold.
Lee's 'bean counters' have not, it seems, figured out the cost of an unhappy customer getting on the web, coming to a forum such as this, and describing what sounds to me like a well founded concern. Now, I don't know that number either, but I'd bet my hat, horse and sword that it's a whole lot cheaper to 'make it right.'
just one guy's opinion ... free and no doubt well worth the price!
MSW said:
Definitely worth the price :wink: .
Prior to this I did my "due diligence" before buying any Lee gear. Yes, there were (are) complaints about some of their products, but in general they seemed to be good value for what they were. Plus there are many cases of people having problems and Lee stood by their stuff and simply sent out replacements, which I thought showed good customer relations and faith in their products. So I felt confidant buying their products.
Not so much now.
And as you point out, these days if someone posts a complaint about a product/company it's there for anyone, anywhere, to read by simply doing a search (like I did).
Perhaps they've changed the way they support their products? Don't know, but they don't seem to be as concerned about customers as they used to?
Bugger! Just ordered one myself from Track of the Wolf! Hopefully it came from a different batch! It is the 0.495 one so maybe will get lucky. Finally found some powder but it is $75/kg and rumoured to rise. Nobody wants to transport it. Chickens! Time to stock up on a few kgs just in case the unthinkable happens and we can't get it on a ship. Otherwise we'll have to fly to the US in some baggy clothes and a roll of duct tape! Just kidding! :surrender:
Yeah, I've got a .495 on the way too. I can't help being just a little concerned, but I reckon it should be ok, as I've only read about the .490's being faulty (so far).
What powder are you talking about? There's a mob in Toowoomba that sell Wano. They also have a place outside Sydney, which is where I bought mine - cost me $50 kilo for 3f, although I think it's probably gone up a little since then. I keep a "rolling" supply - 10 kilos - just in case. As I use a kilo I replace it from my club's stock (they got hold of some 2f for members, it's called Lavazza (or something like that) and they're pretty impressed with it).
What powder are you talking about? There's a mob in Toowoomba that sell Wano. They also have a place outside Sydney, which is where I bought mine - cost me $50 kilo for 3f, although I think it's probably gone up a little since then. I keep a "rolling" supply - 10 kilos - just in case. As I use a kilo I replace it from my club's stock (they got hold of some 2f for members, it's called Lavazza (or something like that) and they're pretty impressed with it).
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