'63 Sharps

[varsity07840]

A couple of questions.

What style(s) of ringtail bullet fit Charlie Hahn's .470 i.d. tubes? My understanding is that that the .500 dia on the Pedersoli ringtail won't fit.

Pure lead or an alloy?

Thanks in advance,

Duane

[Jim_Burgess_2078V]

My Lyman ringtail measures .445 so might be a little loose on Charlie's tubes. The Lyman ringtail bullet has been discontinued for quite some time so it might be a little difficult finding a used mould anyway. Don't know the measurements for the Rapine ringtail but they also are no longer being produced. NEI has made ringtail molds in the past and may be your only other option at this time. I've been using the .45 caliber yellow plastic tubes with the Lyman bullet in my Shiloh Sharps carbine for the past 31 years.
Jim Burgess, 15th CVI

[Southron Sr.]

Dear Duane:

You probably have two options here:

[1] Carry your mould to a good, local machinist that has a 4 jaw chuck on his lathe. Take the sprue plate off of your mould. The machinist will have to set the mould in his lathe jaws so there is ZERO ERROR. Then with a boring tool he can enlarge the "Ringtail Base" of your mould to fit the Charlie Hahn tubes.

[2] Give Charlie Hahn a call and ask him IF he can modify your mould to fit his tubes. This actually might be your best bet.

GOOD LUCK!

[John Holland]

If the Ring Tail on the mould is already at 0.500".....anything you take off internally with a lathe and a boring bar is only going to make it a larger diameter....if you bore out 0.010" you'll end up with 0.510". You just can't use a boring bar to make an oversize ID smaller :wink:

JDH

[Charlie Hahn]

With the exception of the Pedersoli mould, most Sharps moulds come in two ring tail sizes, either .45, (in round numbers), or .47. Both size ring tails can be used with my tubes. For the smaller you use DUCO cement. I open these mould up for a small fee on a regular bases, if you are interested. Both Brooks and NEI make mould to fit my tubes. Rapine did also, and he would also rework older moulds for a reasonable fee.

If I can be of service, please call,

Charlie Hahn
410-208-4736

[Southron Sr.]

Dear John:

I based my advice on the presumption that the Ringtail of the Sharps mould was undersize for Mr. Hahn's tubes. As we all know, no lathe tool will add missing metal to a workpiece!

All My Best Regards
Southron!

[John Holland]

Southron -

"As we all know..."

The topic of boring a mould, and boring bars, served to remind me of the apprentices I used to have. In every class of new apprentices a couple of them learned, painfully, that when they read the inside mic's and the hole was only a few thousands oversize....and they took another pass....it only got bigger!

We have a couple hunderd new members every year, and not everyone is a machinist, so I thought perhaps it was appropriate.

If I insulted you, I sincerely apologize as there was no offence intended.

JDH