Springfield ball casting

[Killeroy]

Hello I got a ball caster for my 1861 smoothbore Springfield. The balls I have made out of lead so far seem to be casting to big even though I got a .58 caliber caster. I was wondering if it was supposed to be a tight fit in the barrel or if it should slide down it pretty easily? I’m new to this so just trying to figure it out and don’t want to accidentally get one stuck down the barrel. Thanks for any help!

 

[Indy Durtdigger]

Have you measured anything yet? Bore diameter, actual size of the ball the mould is dropping.

 

[hawkeye2]

The ball should be small enough that it will drop down the barrel by itself. You need a patch to make it a snug fit to the bore.

A smoothbore 1861 Springfield? Is it a reproduction?

Could you post some more about your gun and your casting setup (photos)?

 

[Trot]

Are you talking about round balls or minie balls? What model Springfield?

 

[Killeroy]

Are you talking about round balls or minie balls? What model Springfield?

Mines a smoothbore so round balls.

 

[Killeroy]

The ball should be small enough that it will drop down the barrel by itself. You need a patch to make it a snug fit to the bore.

A smoothbore 1861 Springfield? Is it a reproduction?

Could you post some more about your gun and your casting setup (photos)?

I’m useing a .575 round ball caster but I think I’ll have to buy a .562

 

[Indy Durtdigger]

I’m useing a .575 round ball caster but I think I’ll have to buy a .562

The reason I asked if you'd measured the diameter of the cast balls is that they may not be dropping what the mould is marked. The mould could be off a couple thou or the alloy being cast may not be shrinking enough when the cool causing them to be oversize. Also measuring the bore is a must. If you don't know what you need for sure guessing gets expensive.
The bore on my colonial smoothie I just built is supposed to be .580 but when measured it's actually .577. So, depending on how things play out I may run into the same issue your having when I get to that point.

 

[centershot]

The reason I asked if you'd measured the diameter of the cast balls is that they may not be dropping what the mould is marked. The mould could be off a couple thou or the alloy being cast may not be shrinking enough when the cool causing them to be oversize. Also measuring the bore is a must. If you don't know what you need for sure guessing gets expensive.
The bore on my colonial smoothie I just built is supposed to be .580 but when measured it's actually .577. So, depending on how things play out I may run into the same issue your having when I get to that point.

Indy,
Give that .575" ball a try, bare ball of course, it may work out pretty good!


Kilroy,
You'll need to know what your bore measures, but, is the .575" ball a loose fit when loading for the first shot? And then a tighter fit on the second? And even tighter on the third? If so, that's about the way it should be, assuming you're loading a bare ball over the powder, no patch. Is this correct? If so, you may need to wipe the bore between shots to remove some fouling. And are you sure that you are using pure lead, not wheel weights or some other type of alloy? Pure lead will cast the smallest diameter ball. If you are using an alloy the balls will cast larger, thousandths of an inch matter here!

 

[Indy Durtdigger]

Indy,
Give that .575" ball a try, bare ball of course, it may work out pretty good!

I plan on it. Still waiting on more favorable weather and a shot load for Turkey in a couple months is first.