Dixie Round Ball Mould

That's what I had in mind. I am not sure I understand what the problem is with the Dixie moulds. Neither the Lee nor the Lyman could ever look PC, if that matters to anyone.

Claypipe, are you satisfied with the RBs from that one?

I would probably not be using these for mass production but for getting the feel of making my own RBs in hunting camp with a sip or two to go with.

If you can get a LEE mold in the size you need, get that. I've used LEE molds for most of my ball casting for years.
But if you need an odd size for a large bore, That's a different matter entirely. I have been using a Dixie "hair straightener" mold for my .69 muskets since 1979 or so. No, the ball it throws is not as perfect as the LEE mold castings, but it's not bad either. The seam mark is small, there are some cherry tooling lines around the ball, but the muskets don't care. I cut the sprue with flush cut diagonal cutters. As for getting hot while casting? I find that by the time the Dixie mold is too hot to hold in my hand, it's casting frosted balls anyway and time to let it cool some.
NOTE: years ago I cut my Dixie mold down to make it look more like a traditional bag mold. I removed the loops from the handles, ground off much of the excess metal from the mold portion, then browned it.

I have the Dixie moulds for my Civil War Starr Carbine and one for a Smith carbine that I use in my Spencers with out any problems. The round ball mould that some maybe having trouble with may be caused by the alignment pin being slightly too long not allowing the mould to close completely.
You can lap the inside with a lead ball and valve grinding compound th smooth out the cavity and round it out if it has tooling marks.

Regards, Dave

dvlmstr said:

You can lap the inside with a lead ball and valve grinding compound th smooth out the cavity and round it out if it has tooling marks.

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Now that is a handy tip. Thanks much!!! I have one of their brass bag molds that has not been used due to this very problem.

dvlmstr said:

You can lap the inside with a lead ball and valve grinding compound th smooth out the cavity and round it out if it has tooling marks.

Regards, Dave

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How did you go about doing that. In my imagination, I am screwing a ball extractor or similar item into the ball, coating with compound, attaching a drill and going to work.

You've pretty much have it. Cast a ball and cut the sprue and file a flat spot on it. Put the ball back into the mould and drill a small hole into to lead, the mould will help hold it and keep the drill going in relatively straight if you are careful. A metal rod with a small wood screw silver soldered or brazed on the rod is screwed into the ball. Open the mould and coat the ball lightly with valve grinding compound, gently close the mould on the ball while spinning it in the mould. Repeat as neccessary till the cavity is smooth and even.
I've done this several times.

Regards, Dave

As ClayPipe has shown, these can be made to look almost period correct and they are not very expensive for display use. They throw a decent ball, but are cumbersome to use and they get hot quickly. I make some wooden handles to slip over them, but the wood had to be thin and one handle in 4 split.

If you are planning to cast only a few for demo, this is a good option, if you are planning on doing any volume, I would look at Lee or Lyman.

CS