Bum mold

Been trying everything I can to get .495 rb out of my lee double mold.
Have poured from melt all the up to pot max. Constantly comes out .492/.493.
Pouring bh 5 lead from reputable company.
Wouldn't be so bad but my barrel measures .501-.503 depending on tongue holding.
.490 with .010 patch just bit too loose. Haven't tried double patching. The math says too tight. May just have to get .015 or .018 patches. Just what I need. Just got 500 .010s.
Going to make some rbs with a loaner .500 lee double. If it throws .496-.498 then the numbers say it should work.
Anyone else had undersize issues?

I never miked one. However a ball shot in a .15-.18 patch should be plenty accurate. I’ve always preferred a little smaller ball and thicker patch. My most accurate rifle was a .54 green river barrel with a .526 and .20 patch greased with lard.

My Lee .490 casts a bit on the large side. The ball/ patch combo came out a bit too snug. Switched from a .18 to a .15 and all was well again.
If you have to downsize the patches you might want to list your 500 .10s in the classifieds to help recoup the cost.

I wouldn't get to hung up on using your .010 patches, we all have a drawer full patches and wads we "thought " was exactly what we needed. I have a TC .50 kit I just put together, a .495 won't go down the barrel with any patch, a .490 will load OK with a .012 but could be tighter. I bought some drill cloth from Joann's that mikes out at .014 to try next.

I have yards of various material I bought to try in different guns, ticking, drill cloth, linen, and 4 different weights of denim. I will probably never use 2/3rds of it but then again it might be perfect in my next build.

Lee has been known to ship some incorrect sizes. Call their customer support. You may have to pay shipping but they may send you a new mold. But, at the price, just try buying another of the same 'marked' size and see what happens. I'm so thrifty (make that "cheap") I should be Scottish. But $20.00 spent won't change yer life.

Verify your measuring device on something that is of known diameter.
That is not always easy to do. I have 3 calipers at work and sometimes bring it in to compare down to .001"

Once you are certain they are coming out small, Lee has a way to submit a ticket online and you will get an email response. They have a good warranty.

bang said:

Been trying everything I can to get .495 rb out of my lee double mold.
Have poured from melt all the up to pot max. Constantly comes out .492/.493.
Pouring bh 5 lead from reputable company.
Wouldn't be so bad but my barrel measures .501-.503 depending on tongue holding.
.490 with .010 patch just bit too loose. Haven't tried double patching. The math says too tight. May just have to get .015 or .018 patches. Just what I need. Just got 500 .010s.
Going to make some rbs with a loaner .500 lee double. If it throws .496-.498 then the numbers say it should work.
Anyone else had undersize issues?

Click to expand...

If that mold belonged to me, I would not worry about the exact size it is casting. It is so close, correct patching will make it shoot well. Just chuck your 10s in the drawer for something else, and get some 15s or 18s. JMO
Flintlocklar

I haven't seen a mold yet that will throw exactly the size ball you want. Most all of them will say like . 490, or .495 , etc but in reality they are a couple thousandths off just as the OP's measurements suggest. .493 IMO is so close , you're not going to notice a difference anyway. I wouldn't even worry about it.

Ever mic a drill bit? They're never the exact size they say they are either, nothing is.

I have a .445" Lyman mold that only throws .443"; I don't worry about it. I do like as thick a patch as I can get down the bore. My Lee .600" mold throws ball that measure - ready for this - .600" exactly. Most of my molds are Lee.

Just hoping to get it to where I can use what I have on hand. Less to keep up with. I'm thinking the .500 mold will produce what will work given it seems all molds dont produce at or above what they are labeled.
Being retired and plenty time to tinker I sat down at my drill press and using suitable bolt made a half ball out of the head that was the proper measurement for what I need. Together with lapping compound, a variable speed drill and calipers was able to hone each side of the mold to proper diameter and half depth. Ran a batch and got .499-.502.
Patched one up and it started with a tolerable pressure and rammed at a nice tightness. Not as smooth a surface after honing but that will be fixed with the .500 mold. At least given the findings it should work even if they are at .500.

If your ammunition is coming out of the mold you made, at .500 and as you say the bore is measuring .500 -503, that doesn't leave much room to compress the patch.....I wouldn't go less than 5 thousandths under........

I've got a .535 mold that throws balls that measure around .532, which if I did measure the bore (I never have) is still 8 thousanths under, and with an .020 pillow tick patch its very tight....Not hammer it down the bore tight but very tight. I can only use this loading on a clean barrel. If the balls were any bigger there'd be no way I could get them down the bore.

Sidney Smith said:

If your ammunition is coming out of the mold you made, at .500 and as you say the bore is measuring .500 -503, that doesn't leave much room to compress the patch.....I wouldn't go less than 5 thousandths under........

I've got a .535 mold that throws balls that measure around .532, which if I did measure the bore (I never have) is still 8 thousanths under, and with an .020 pillow tick patch its very tight....Not hammer it down the bore tight but very tight. I can only use this loading on a clean barrel. If the balls were any bigger there'd be no way I could get them down the bore.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that's why I'm hoping for 497/499 out of a 500 mold. That's what I got this mold to throw and did fix a lot of the out of round too. It starts with an 010 patch with good but not bruising palm strike and rams with pressure but slides without interruption.
It's crazy the differences in barrel diameters. It's a good original TC barrel. I have a 45 Kentucky, not sure brand and it measured 456. Not near the problem as with my 50 TC. Just upped to a 451 with 010 patch. If I have to rethink it I may just go back to 490 and 2, 010 patches.
I fired a couple out back in hopes I could find the patch to inspect. Thay shot accurate at least at short distance but never could find patch.

I have found thin patches too easy to tear while loading and too easy to burn through while shooting. I have gravitated to a patch ball combination that leaves a patch I could just about use again after it has been shot. I have shot .024 denim again out of my 12ga just to see if it worked but not anything lighter. In all my rifles except the TC I use .015 to .018 patching.

bang said:

Been trying everything I can to get .495 rb out of my lee double mold.
Have poured from melt all the up to pot max. Constantly comes out .492/.493.
Pouring bh 5 lead from reputable company.
Wouldn't be so bad but my barrel measures .501-.503 depending on tongue holding.
.490 with .010 patch just bit too loose. Haven't tried double patching. The math says too tight. May just have to get .015 or .018 patches. Just what I need. Just got 500 .010s.
Going to make some rbs with a loaner .500 lee double. If it throws .496-.498 then the numbers say it should work.
Anyone else had undersize issues?

Click to expand...

You might want to try "beagling" the mold. What you do is make a shim of paper with a ball sized hole that you place in between the mold faces. That will often enlarge the ball a couple of thousandths. You will need to replace the paper occasionally.

What is the depth of your groove? I like patches that are slightly thicker than the groove depth. Even with the larger ball, you might find a thicker patch will improve accuracy.

I have done the beagling only I used a piece of aluminum tape that air conditioner installers use--haven't had to replace it.

Grenadier1758 said:

You might want to try "beagling" the mold. What you do is make a shim of paper with a ball sized hole that you place in between the mold faces. That will often enlarge the ball a couple of thousandths. You will need to replace the paper occasionally.

What is the depth of your groove? I like patches that are slightly thicker than the groove depth. Even with the larger ball, you might find a thicker patch will improve accuracy.

Click to expand...

Went out today. Finally found a spent patch. Thicker patch my first thought. It looked like a burnt donut. First 3 rounds at 25 yards were all touching at 7 oclock at edge of center. After that I couldn't get same consistency. Next time out I'm going to try 490 with 2 010 patches. Same on my 45. Going to try 440 and 2 010 patches. If I get good results I'll just have to find some 020 patches or just keep using 2 01s.

Wouldn't "beagling" make an oblong ball? If we call the sprue the top of the ball, would not the ball be wider than taller?

I've always got better results from a small ball, and thick patch, instead of large ball thin patch. Thick patch seems more forgiving when the barrel gets fouled, less likely for the ball to stick halfway down the barrel, or be hard to ram down and seat. Thinner patches, for me, seem to be more sensitive to tearing and burn-outs. Don't think that "using what I have on hand" is a very good excuse to stay with the thin, .010" patch. You can always use it for cleaning patches.

25 yards is good for initial sighting in, but sure won't tell you much about accuracy. Three shots touching at 25 yards can be done with a smoothbore. Someone on this forum once said that you could load a gun with rocks and leaves for patching, and get a good group at 25 yards. See what it does at 50.

Yes, the ball will be slightly oblong. However, loading with the sprue up will keep the eccentricity consistent and then slight difference in diameter doesn't matter. A sheet of paper or the thin aluminum tape doesn't make a significant change.

Are they as accurate as a "round" ball?

I've got a TOTW "Made in India" .530 mold that throws around a .527 ball. It is slightly out of round. These balls are surprisingly accurate out of my TVM Lancaster rifle. I've killed two deer while using them.