lyman bullet molds- compositon question

The typical Lyman cast bullet mold is made out of steel or cast iron. Which is it, and what kind? I'd like to make a mold myself and would like to start with the correct materials.

Thanks in advance,

Wes

Reply to
clutch
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All the modern bullet molds I have used were machined from some form of "mild steel" although I have owned several round ball molds for muzzle loading weapons that were made from brass.

Bruce in Bangkok (brucepaigeatgmaildotcom)

Reply to
Bruce

some are aluminum too

Reply to
Tony

Cast iron. Actually a form of Mehanite

There are a number of "correct: materials" one being aluminum.

Ive some 56 or more various bullet moulds and the aluminum ones, while being a bit more tender..are definately much less tiring to use.

Gunner

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Reply to
Gunner

I have made molds out of aluminum, copying the set-up Lee uses. They cast excellent bullets if kept at the right temp. I made the cherries to cut the molds out of O2, then hardened and tempered.

cheers T.Alan

Reply to
T.Alan Kraus

cast iron molds are more forgiving once up to temp. aluniyum is persnickety and tempermental batw

Reply to
batw

Alan,

Will you comment a bit on how you put the cutting surfaces on the cherries. I have seen articles on this for round ball cherries but they don't give a lot of insight. Do you use a half-round end mill?

Bob Swinney

Reply to
Robert Swinney

Reply to
RoyJ

IIRC, one of the Lyman cast bullet manuals showed the blanks being cut to length from sections of continuous cast iron. You can make them from brass, bronze or aluminum, too. At one time, Lyman would sell you blank blocks with pins and holes all ready to go. I've done some aluminum blocks, had some scrap cast plate that I have no idea what it actually was. Made a cherry and did one set that way, also did the Lee thing and single-pointed the cavity. Single point boring was easier to set up. Lee will do a custom set for you for a setup charge in the neighborhood of $150, IIRC. Would be the easiest way if what you want is a custom mold that works, not just a hobby project.

Stan

Reply to
stans4

Cast lead hammers? That's easy, just cut a length of pipe and weld in end-caps, saw it in two, weld on a hinge for alignment, cut a releif for the handle and pour in around the releif. If you want to be really fastidious, bend up a little rim around that releif, to use as a "funnel for pouring in the lead.

Weld a pair of "handles" on so that you can sandwich in the steel-rod you use for the hammer-handle and hold the whole thing together in one hand while you pour from the ladle with the other hand.

How big a hammer are you pouring, anyway?

Soft lead will work, but will deform faster than babbit or lead with tin and antimony (good ol' Lyman #2 Alloy).

Nothing like an eight-pound hammer on a fourteen-inch handle to nudge things into alignment.

Flash

Reply to
Flash

The followup poster gave you a fine suggestion. In the case of bullets from moulds, the requirements are a bit more exacting. Wrinkles, base not filling out squarely, ect.

What do you use the lead hammers for? I've seen them used to tunk work against parallels in mill vise and for pounding in steel rule into plywood for diecutting dies. The latter one is rather hard on the hammers.

Wes

Reply to
clutch

I've got a couple of custom jobs. This is a hobby project atm. Mostly aquiring data. For starts, I would play with aluminum that I can get as drops but I wanted to know what a lyman mold is made out of for the future.

It looks like one of those sherline lathes with a 4 jaw and cnc could be a lot of fun for a cast bullet shooter that likes to experiment.

Meehanite has been suggested by some. Now where to get 1.5 sq stock in small quantities is the next question. My google attempts failed.

Wes

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Reply to
clutch

I also would like to learn more about how you made the cherries and any other details you would care to divulge.

Wes

Reply to
clutch

The hammers are mostly for 'aligning' parts, especially vehicle suspension parts during alignments. That and and excuse to use up some of the scrap lead. I want to give them to my buddies who are too cheap to buy the plastic no-mar hammers. Whenever I go give them a hand, they don't have anything suitable.

Plan was to use chunks of 1/2" pipe for handles.

Heh, I've been cast> RoyJ wrote:

Reply to
RoyJ

Unka' George [George McDuffee] ============ Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), U.S. president. Letter, 17 March 1814.

Reply to
F. George McDuffee

Lead hammers? Nothing precision then. You can use just about anything round to pour lead into, and press out the slug. Ive used steel pipe, liberally smoked inside with a acyty torch, then pushed out the slug with a hydraulic press. Ive seen guys cast hammers in beer cans, and then peel off the can.

Hell..you can sand cast lead hammers.

Gunner

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Reply to
Gunner

Wheel weights make fair hammers too.

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Reply to
Gunner

Yes, I used ball end mills and an indexer to produce 3 cutting flutes on a turned cherry looking exactly like the finished bullet, so that the cutting rake was aprox 5 degrees, then gently releaved a lip clearance to the cutting edges with a tool grinder and indexer. But what took me the longest to figure out was how to carve a split block of aluminum with the cherry. At first I tried using the cherry as a side cutting mill, but could never get perfect alignment between the 2 splits of aluminum, when done. Obviously the bearing and cutting forces tend to deflect the cherry, since it's shank is minimal to fit in a predrilled sprue. I eventually used a small toolmaker's vice to to make a crude device that closes the two split blocks of aluminum onto the cherry. The blocks of aluminum were carved previously with a ball mill to something resembling the final product, so the cherry didn't have to do all the work.

cheers T.Alan

Reply to
T.Alan Kraus

It is amazing just how many different hammers one needs. From a itty bitty

5 oz ball pein to about 30# of copper electrode for those days you really want some thing to move a bit. Generally, I use something in between. ;)

Wes

Reply to
clutch

Thanx, T.Alan. It makes perfect sense. All I had ever seen before recommended cutting the flutes (filing) onto a mild steel ball and then case hardening it. The steel ball would have to be cut on a concave ball turner and held by the sprue spigot.

Bob Swinney

Reply to
Robert Swinney

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