CLOSED I need a .526 Round Ball Mold

Have just discovered that my Colerain .54 barrel is too tight with .530. A pack of .526 balls from TOW works great but I cant find a mold..

Give Larry Calahan a call he cuts custom ball moulds.

appalichian hunter said:

Give Larry Calahan a call he cuts custom ball moulds.

Click to expand...

Thank you. Would prefer a standard block style.

I do not know and sure do not want to upset any one but a suggestion, call Larry and ask if you would send him a undersized block mould if he could re-cut it to the size you need, his web page says he will make custom moulds so there is a chance he could mill it out.the worst thing that could happen is a no. I have spoken to Larry at numerous events and he is a good fellow might be able to help or direct you to someone who can. A .526 block mould seems it would be difficult to come by.

Lyman used to make a .526 mold I had one but sold it.

appalichian hunter said:

I do not know and sure do not want to upset any one but a suggestion, call Larry and ask if you would send him a undersized block mould if he could re-cut it to the size you need, his web page says he will make custom moulds so there is a chance he could mill it out.the worst thing that could happen is a no. I have spoken to Larry at numerous events and he is a good fellow might be able to help or direct you to someone who can. A .526 block mould seems it would be difficult to come by.

Click to expand...

Good idea. Thanks.

Or check flea-bay

Just checked Lyman site the closet they make is .530, which you said will not work for you. a suggestion if track sells the .525 balls perhaps they would have moulds also, my bet those are swaged balls. Might be worth a call to them.

My preferred or maybe better called usually method is to adjust the patch thickness to match ball and bore, but assume you have already explored that path without success. That said, I’ve been able to bump the size of cast balls up .002” to .003” by going from pure lead to a lead alloy. Lee offers a 6 cavity .520” mold (check TOW) that with a little alloy development could get you real close to what you want for a bit over $50. Might be something to consider. If you are insistent on a .526” diameter the custom mold makers I have looked at would ‘guarantee’ +.003” -.000” or so of requested cast diameters with their molds. And at a cost of not less than $300 for one or two custom molds. That money buys a lot of different patch material from the local Joanne Fabrics store if you can’t find an existing mold. Food for thought.

Lee will make special sizes, but you need to order a bunch of moulds to make it cost effective. I don't know if this forum has a "poll" function or not, but it might be worthwhile to poll the brethren and see who would buy a .526" round ball mould if they were available. I sure would. The fellow with Eras Gone (forgot his name) gets special conical mounds made and sells them through his website. If there is sufficient interest in a .526" round ball mould, maybe he could be talked into having a batch of them made.

Moose Moulds has a few odd sized round ball moulds, but last time I checked they did not have a .526".

Notchy Bob

You could try Chris Tanner in the UK.
https://www.ballmoulds.com/
Andrew

I also use .526 balls for Rice and Colerain barrels. It takes a thick patch to fill the too deep grooves. Then it is hard to load beacause the patch is too thick for the lands. I have looked for a mold, but Tanner is about the best choice.

Strange. My Colerain .54 loads/shoots .530 balls just fine.

Anyway, as mentioned above, Lyman used to make a .526 mold. I owned one back in the 1970's. I seem to recall the .54 barrels back then that came from Numrich or Bill Large actually measured .535 L-L. The .526 worked well with these barrels. Probably the reason TOTW still offers this size in pre-cast balls. Surprised Lyman or Lee doesn't still make one.

Done some research last night their out there but good luck finding one, and the ones I came across were all ready sold. The Lyman and lee sites no longer make odd ball sizes any more the closest I could find were .530, it seems this is going to be a custom adventure. good luck on your quest.

rickystl said:

Strange. My Colerain .54 loads/shoots .530 balls just fine.

Anyway, as mentioned above, Lyman used to make a .526 mold. I owned one back in the 1970's. I seem to recall the .54 barrels back then that came from Numrich or Bill Large actually measured .535 L-L. The .526 worked well with these barrels. Probably the reason TOTW still offers this size in pre-cast balls. Surprised Lyman or Lee doesn't still make one.

Click to expand...

I can use .530 balls but they are tight going down with a .015" patch and often the patch will be cut. Accuracy with .530's is OK, but with the .526 balls the holes are touching at 60 yards. That's more what I am accustomed to.

I have three Colerain barrels and all seem a bit tighter than my other brands in the same calibers. I had to drop down to a .380 ball and .015" patch with my .40.

Thanks all for your input

.

Are you sure they are .530? For years I cast RBs and took them as mould size because I had no way to measure. Some time later I did measure, come to find out they were slightly larger than the mould size stated.

Here is one. $26+ s&h got to scroll down and find it.

https://www.brownells.com/reloading...ader-round-ball-2-cavity-molds-prod56322.aspx

Just tried to order the mold from Brownells. It wouldn't let me put it in the cart. May have to call them. Says it is special order. 5-8wks.

Sounds like someone is specially cutting moulds for them

$22 and it went right into my cart.... didn’t place order, but it’s available, just have to wait. Might be Lee cutting the molds or someone else, does that really matter? Lee does sell blank molds, so if someone had the tools, shouldn’t be real difficult for someone to pull off.