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Thread: Rcbs .58 minie ball mould???

  1. #11
    ms3635v's Avatar
    ms3635v is offline
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    Rob,

    I have an RCBS 500M mould and as others have stated, they are very accurate. Although marked .575" my mould casts at .577". I also had ordered an oversized RCBS Hodgdon mould marked .580" and they came out of the mould at .585". So, either the mould was stamped incorrectly or the quality control at RCBS is not what it use to be. Just my 2 cents.
    Mike Santarelli 03635V, Adjutant
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  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lou Lou Lou View Post
    1. What size were the recast Lyman Minies? You said they were slightly larger.

    2. You want to size to .576, correct? Check the die. Is it clean? Is it the right size? Shouldn't have any problems sizing down up to .003 without deformation.
    Lou,

    I didn't size any of the Lyman's since they all had bad skirts, even after casting the lot twice.

    The RCBS mould was listed as .575


    I want to size to .575. The die was brand new (just like the RCBS mould) clean... Hate to say "assume", but the die is stamped "575" from the vendor/suttler so I literally took it at face value.
    Semper Fi,
    Rob Freeman
    Col, USMC (Ret.)
    1987-2019

    The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor. - Vince Lombardi

  3. #13
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    Giving Lyman another try????

    Since the RCBS mold is casting rounds entirely TOO big, it'll have to be returned - I'll deal with that later.


    In the meantime it looks like I'll have to resort back to Lyman for an OS .58 minie. I've never been a big fan of Lee...

    My current Lyman is "highly suspect" so I'm faced with buying a replacement Lyman mold in hopes that THIS one will do the trick. Yes, I know the parable about doing the same thing over and over and hoping for a different result...

    This a.m., I found two websites that have the moulds in stock: Track of the Wolf, and Muzzle-Loaders.com. Despite being the same Model/Part Number (575-213); Track lists the mold as casting a 510 gr bullet, while the apparently same Lyman mold from Muzzle-Loader casts a 460 gr round.

    Same mould listing two different bullet weights? Are there in fact Lyman moulds with same number, BUT which cast widely different weighing projectiles?

    Any insight/advise on either of the two? Or any other suggestions above and beyond???

    Many thanks in advance...
    Semper Fi,
    Rob Freeman
    Col, USMC (Ret.)
    1987-2019

    The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor. - Vince Lombardi

  4. #14
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    Mold problem

    Rob you need to give me a call 757 8761954 GP

  5. #15
    geezmo is offline
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    Rob, read item description thoroughly before ordering. You're talking two different molds. The 510 grain bullet is their "New Style" minie and the 460 grain bullet is the "Old Style".

    Barry S.

  6. #16
    geezmo is offline
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    Rob, The Old Style has the same #, 575213 but with an "OS" suffix.

  7. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by YOU DON'T KNOW ? View Post
    Rob you need to give me a call 757 8761954 GP
    Gary - just now tried calling you.

    Email me at: Robert.d.freeman@usmc.mil when available, and I'll give you another try.
    Semper Fi,
    Rob Freeman
    Col, USMC (Ret.)
    1987-2019

    The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor. - Vince Lombardi

  8. #18
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    Thursday a.m. Update

    No idea why, but it seems that both the brand new RCBS mould and the 575 sizing die ARE true and working properly. Mic'd the RCBS' they were around 578 - not THAT large for reducing by only 3 thousandths...

    Did a swap and confirmed that my 576 die (that I KNOW is correct) would size the supposedly "jumbo" RCBS rounds. The rounds came out, sized it as expected. Reinstalled the 575 to the lubri sizer and tested another raw RCBS and was pleasantly surprised. The round came out with smooth, even/balanced sizing all around it's circumference.

    Third time is the charm - I had pulled, examined and reinserted the 575 die two times previously. Anyhow - the sizing issue is now, no more.

    The Lyman mould continues to plague me. Yes I have the RCBS, but I REALLY wanted to use the Lyman OS round for this skirmish season. Spoke to a team mate who gave some pointers and tips on casting with a free plug mould - that would speed up my rate of casts. His diagnosis was that the mould plug itself was cooling off hence my issues at the base of the freshly cast rounds.

    So, riding the momentum of getting the die issue resolved, and now armed with a new technique that should cast good Lyman minies - I pulled the mould handles off the RCBS & put 'em back on the Lyman. Fired up the pot and eventually sat down to give it another try via a quick "test run".

    This time I took the lead's temp - 950F, via my RCBS Lead Thermometer. Using the new casting technique, things seems to go well and the rounds appeared to be better than the previous two sessions, so things were looking up. After casting 47 rounds I had to call it quits when the old ball-and-chain made some unexpected demands regarding POS Ikea furniture, but I digress...

    After getting back, upon closer examination, I found that ALL 47 rounds were "rejects". They all still had "clefts" on the bottom base ring and the base ring itself was still visibly "uneven". Mic'd the base ring and found that the ring/base itself varied from .180 to .190 when measuring it on several points around the base' circumference.

    The Lyman mould is new, clean - all screws snug/tight. Lead is pure, HOT, as is/was the mould. Unfortunately I still can't post photos from where I'm working today.
    Semper Fi,
    Rob Freeman
    Col, USMC (Ret.)
    1987-2019

    The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor. - Vince Lombardi

  9. #19
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    Rob,

    Are you using a bottom pour furnace or ladle casting? I found that ladle casting significantly reduced my number of rejects when using the Lyman 575213 OS. A couple of weeks ago, I cast roughly 200 and I bet I didn't cull a half dozen for voids in the middle where the point of the core pin goes. Pure lead + about 1 or 2% tin and either 700 or 750 deg F by my homemade PID temperature controller.

  10. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hal View Post
    Rob,

    Are you using a bottom pour furnace or ladle casting? I found that ladle casting significantly reduced my number of rejects when using the Lyman 575213 OS. A couple of weeks ago, I cast roughly 200 and I bet I didn't cull a half dozen for voids in the middle where the point of the core pin goes. Pure lead + about 1 or 2% tin and either 700 or 750 deg F by my homemade PID temperature controller.
    Ladle casting.

    Don't get any voids (ex. in the hallow base), just a "lopsided"/uneven base ring of the minie's skirt, coupled with a "cleft" in the same base ring.

    Wish I could share some photos to help complete "the picture" of what I'm encountering.
    Semper Fi,
    Rob Freeman
    Col, USMC (Ret.)
    1987-2019

    The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor. - Vince Lombardi

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