Bullet Casting

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  • Last Post 18 April 2018
reggleston posted this 26 November 2017

Having reduced my hardwood mold mallet to what now resembles a piece of firewood I have decided to construct one that is longer lasting that does the job. Using the remains of my hardwood mallet as a dimensional pattern I was able to generate one on my bench top lathe in about 20 minutes.

The material I used was 1-1/8" diameter Delrin/Acetal rod. This material is quite durable, machines easily and will take a terrific licking while keeping ticking! You can easily put a knurled handle on it as well if you happen to have that type of tooling. Made mine out of one piece of the Delrin rod which is available at numerous plastic supply establishments in a lot of areas. If you don't have ready access to this type of material you can get it from Speedy Metals.com

Nylon can be used also but is more difficult to machine as it leaves a stringey chip that overheats when turning and gums up pretty badly.

You won't be disappointed with the ease of machining using the Delrin/Acetal type materials.

I expect my Delrin mold mallet will outlast the hardwood models at least 50 to 1.

 

R D Eggleston

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David Reiss posted this 26 November 2017

Photos please!

David Reiss - NRA Life Member & PSC Range Member Retired Police Firearms Instructor/Armorer
-Services: Wars Fought, Uprisings Quelled, Bars Emptied, Revolutions Started, Tigers Tamed, Assassinations Plotted, Women Seduced, Governments Run, Gun Appraisals, Lost Treasure Found.
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OU812 posted this 26 November 2017

I open sprue plate with gloved hand, then hit handle at hinge pin bolt to release bullets.

Here is a picture of my well used RCBS stick.

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 26 November 2017

ditto on using a delrin bar for the sprue whacker .... very machinable but xpensive  .... another material that is much cheeper but still fairly machinable is ultra high molecular weight polyethylene ..... reminds me that i have several feet of pretty black 2 inch round bar UHMW poly that might be fun for you home shop guys ..... we made rub buttons for the ducati race team from it !! .... pm me if .

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joeb33050 posted this 26 November 2017

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Qc Pistolero posted this 15 April 2018

 One of my cousins plays hockey(I'm too old for that).He brings me some broken hockey sticks which I cut in aprox 15'' lenght.They are made of hardwood and I have enough to last me 3 or 4 casting lifes!

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R. Dupraz posted this 15 April 2018

Found this on a bargain table at an auto parts store 30 yrs ago. Couple bucks. It'll probably be on a couple more estate sales before it finally gives up.

 

R.

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TRKakaCatWhisperer posted this 16 April 2018

Found this on a bargain table at an auto parts store 30 yrs ago. Couple bucks. It'll probably be on a couple more estate sales before it finally gives up.

R.

 

EXCELLENT!   I have one that is VERY similar.  Enough mass where it counts, doesn't damage the mold.

 

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R. Dupraz posted this 16 April 2018

Ain't pretty, but beauty isn't everything.

 

R. 

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rmrix posted this 17 April 2018

I dread buying used molds from casters that, as it turns out, wack them open.

Okay, as a retired fireman, I have the Nomex on. Ready for the flame!

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R. Dupraz posted this 17 April 2018

Oh! Oh!. Maybe that's the reason all my molds are starting to "rattle"  spose it would help if I used this one instead?

 

R.

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Ken T posted this 17 April 2018

I've used a 16 oz  dead blow hammer for years to cut sprues.If done properly the molds are not damaged.At least in 60 years of casting bullets I haven't damaged a mold or sprue plate.At my age I am not about to try to open a sprue plate on a 4 cavity mold with a gloved hand while casting bullets out of a hard alloy.

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MarkinEllensburg posted this 18 April 2018

I turned a bat out of hard maple. it is holding up just fine.

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