Using a smaller Minie ball.

[lyman54]

I'd like to use my Lee mold to cast original Minie balls as right now I'm using the Lee improved ball which is .578 and the other mold is .575 for a P53 I used to have. That's too small for my .58 cal. Is there a way I can use the .575 by wrapping it? Lee doesn't make a .578 original ball mold and can't afford one from another maker. As always thank you for the help I've been given in the past. Ian

 

[Erwan]

I don't see a solution in this case: if the .575 " Minié is wrapped, you get a ball well over the .578".
You could do it with a double calibration of the .575" and a wrapping after this operation, but there would still be the problem of the thickness of the paper: it must be very thin to make two turns ...
The best way to do it is to break the piggy bank and invest in a mold of another brand.... ☹

 

[mooman76]

Not exactly PC but you can try powder coating the bullet. That will increase the size to where you want.

 

[Eterry]

There is an easy solution.
Simply shim the mold with some thin paper, like receipt paper.
The Lee Precision website has the info under FAQs.
I used a little bullet lube to hold the strips of paper in place. A small piece on either side of the cavity.
Now my .575 minie ball mold throws a .578, and the minie balls shoot just fine.

 

[mooman76]

Aluminum tape also works.

 

[nkbj]

Sizing the paper patched minies work too.

 

[F.G. Ford]

Hi,
If you drill the nose of a cast bullet, epoxy a short steel shaft ( 3-4" ) into the bullet,( the steel shaft has to be smaller than the sprue size) then coat the bullet with valve grinding compound, insert the shat into your battery drill, carefully put it back into the mould, run the drill for about thirty seconds. You do not have to close the sprue cutter to do this.
Afterwards cast a bullet, measure it, if it needs to be larger, apply more valve grinding compound and try it again.
The first run of thirty seconds will tell you how much it cut in that short time, so make your next run accordingly.
Remember you must close the mould wile running the drill to make something happen.
Your casting and compound must fit well to do a good job.
The valve grinding compound cuts aluminium fast, so don't get carried away.
I have done this several times with aluminium moulds and cast iron moulds with good success.
Fred

 

[Eterry]

If you shim, or "Beagle" the mold, you can always remove the shim and return to making the smaller minies. That, and it takes about 10 minutes to make the alteration.

 

[dave951]

First off, Lee molds are made to a price point. I suggest you ask on the North South Skirmish Association board for someone with a quality used mold in the proper diameter. Buy once, cry once.

I have the Lee "Improved" minie mold and it won't shoot in any musket I own and two of them are 2moa guns. I don't know what they did to "improve" it but it didn't work for me in 6 muskets and it's not like I didn't try. The ONLY Lee minie that any of my guns will shoot well is the flat nose "target" minie but they've discontinued it in 58cal so to get one, it's ebay. I have 3 of these molds as these bullets don't tolerate sizing much and they are for those of my guns that require a 575 minie. That minie out of those guns will shoot one hole groups at 50yd. I also have the Rapine version of it and it's also a tack driver in my 580 size muskets. So I really like that bullet design.

Beagling molds with tape sorta works. The minies will not be round when they come out. I experimented with it and it will help a problem gun but will not yield consistent target grade results.

Using a sacrificial bullet and valve grinding compound does work, but you risk trashing your mold if you aren't careful. Now you're into the situation where a good quality used mold is the same cost. It works but be careful.

Powder Coating- I've experimented with it in minies with mixed results. What I did observe, it would "bump" up the dia about 2thou so minies that absolutely wouldn't shoot well shot better but not to target work standard. So in one sense, it works, but in another, it's not a cure for undersized minies.

 

[jager43478]

I'd like to use my Lee mold to cast original Minie balls as right now I'm using the Lee improved ball which is .578 and the other mold is .575 for a P53 I used to have. That's too small for my .58 cal. Is there a way I can use the .575 by wrapping it? Lee doesn't make a .578 original ball mold and can't afford one from another maker. As always thank you for the help I've been given in the past. Ian

You are going to have to use the larger mold then size the bullet.

 

[user 43911]

Go to the local smoke shop (cigarettes , tobacco) or some gas stations and get the large rolling papers used for rolling your own smokes , paper is very thin wraps around and has it's own adhesive strip.
Cut into strips a little larger than the bearing surface of the Minie, make sure you have adhesive on each, wrap around projectile, lick and stick to itself, tuck any excess into base. Worked for me a few years ago .

 

[F.G. Ford]

Go to the local smoke shop (cigarettes , tobacco) or some gas stations and get the large rolling papers used for rolling your own smokes ,
Watch out for the state troopers, you might get a cavity search.

 

[lyman54]

Not exactly PC but you can try powder coating the bullet. That will increase the size to where you want.

I did that but it was still too small. Seems strange how 3000 th of an inch could make such a difference. Only in guns and NASA I guess.

 

[lyman54]

Go to the local smoke shop (cigarettes , tobacco) or some gas stations and get the large rolling papers used for rolling your own smokes , paper is very thin wraps around and has it's own adhesive strip.
Cut into strips a little larger than the bearing surface of the Minie, make sure you have adhesive on each, wrap around projectile, lick and stick to itself, tuck any excess into base. Worked for me a few years ago .

Thanks. Good idea.

 

[lyman54]

First off, Lee molds are made to a price point. I suggest you ask on the North South Skirmish Association board for someone with a quality used mold in the proper diameter. Buy once, cry once.

I have the Lee "Improved" minie mold and it won't shoot in any musket I own and two of them are 2moa guns. I don't know what they did to "improve" it but it didn't work for me in 6 muskets and it's not like I didn't try. The ONLY Lee minie that any of my guns will shoot well is the flat nose "target" minie but they've discontinued it in 58cal so to get one, it's ebay. I have 3 of these molds as these bullets don't tolerate sizing much and they are for those of my guns that require a 575 minie. That minie out of those guns will shoot one hole groups at 50yd. I also have the Rapine version of it and it's also a tack driver in my 580 size muskets. So I really like that bullet design.

Beagling molds with tape sorta works. The minies will not be round when they come out. I experimented with it and it will help a problem gun but will not yield consistent target grade results.

Using a sacrificial bullet and valve grinding compound does work, but you risk trashing your mold if you aren't careful. Now you're into the situation where a good quality used mold is the same cost. It works but be careful.

Powder Coating- I've experimented with it in minies with mixed results. What I did observe, it would "bump" up the dia about 2thou so minies that absolutely wouldn't shoot well shot better but not to target work standard. So in one sense, it works, but in another, it's not a cure for undersized minies.

The Lee .478 seems to work well for me but I prefer the original style. I'll try a few things and see how it goes. Thanks

There is an easy solution.
Simply shim the mold with some thin paper, like receipt paper.
The Lee Precision website has the info under FAQs.
I used a little bullet lube to hold the strips of paper in place. A small piece on either side of the cavity.
Now my .575 minie ball mold throws a .578, and the minie balls shoot just fine.

I will check into that. Thanks

 

[mooman76]

Powder Coating can be given a second coat or thicker coat. I believe some paints go on thicker. A recent new paint I got made the diameter 4 thousandths thicker. I use the shake and bake method.

 

[JDBraddy]

What I bought, before I found one that would shoot, but was a bit large and required stiff thumb pressure, or a short starter to get started, too tight for skirmishes, so added a sizing die.

 

[hawkeye2]

Even when it is the proper size the Lee improved minie is not an accurate bullet and there are minies out there that shoot better than the original design too. I suggest you buy a quality mold that casts the size you need or slightly larger and size the bullets if you are at all serious about accuracy. Dave951 has said about all that needs to be said about the subject, follow his advise.

 

[hanshi]

Back when I still had a .58 Zouave (60 years ago?) I was always concerned about the possibility of the minie sliding forward when the muzzle pointed downward. I took one ply of two ply bathroom tissue and wrapped the minies. Accuracy remained unchanged, the bullets never slid forward and everything loaded and functioned as usual.

 

[springfield art]

Maybe just use patched round ball for a while? They come in all sizes, maybe some advice on that can be found here. I never used them in a minie rifle, but lots of guys do.