Weighing Balls Again
 

Recently Cayugad gave me a good deal on a .535ball mold, one of those aluminum Lee double cavity jobs. It'sin great condition(thanks Dave). Of course, I had to cast some balls with it right after it arrived. After culling the obvious defects, I had 211 good balls. I was bored this evening and decided to weigh/sort them just for the heck of it. Here's what I got.

Weight Range No. of Balls Percent

235.0 to 235.9 grains 78 37%
234.0 to 234.9 grains 93 44%
233.0 to 233.9 grains 2713%
232.0 to 232.9 grains 13 6%

I think that's real good with81% of the balls from two different cavities ending up in the top two-grain spread(234 to 235.9)and 94% being within a three-grain spread (233 to 235.9). I probably should justtoss those under233 grains back into the pot, but I think I'll shoot a ten-shot group with them just to see how they do. I guess you'll be seeing a range report on them sooner or later.

RE: Weighing Balls Again
 

Yeah. do shoot them. I'll be real surprised if there is any appreciable difference. There are so many additional variables when loading and shooting a MLer that a RB that is, maybe, half to one percent different in weight from another is not going to shoot a whole lot different.
IIRC, the standard weight for a pure lead RB at .535" dia. is 231 grains.
FWIW - I just measured and weighed five RBs, picked at random, that were cast with a similar Lee mold. They were all at .5295 - .5305" dia. and weighed, cast in as pure a lead as I have, 219.9 - 221.4 grains, less than one percent different in those five.
Pete
Pete

RE: Weighing Balls Again
 

Semisane
Do you use a temature controled furnace? Lee

RE: Weighing Balls Again
 

No temp controlled furnace Lee. I use a pot and dipper over a home made jet burner. No thermometer either.

RE: Weighing Balls Again
 

Hey Pete, was that with a .530 mold, or a .535? I measured ten of the balls in my .234.0-234.9 group and they were all from.539 to.540. With the pure soft lead I'm using this .535 mold throws balls that are a little on the large size.

RE: Weighing Balls Again
 

My mold is the .530 version, #90283. It is supposed to drop pure lead at 224 grains, but like yours, it drops a little light.
Pete

RE: Weighing Balls Again
 

If it is dropping light the lead could have a little alloy in it.

RE: Weighing Balls Again
 

Semisane
most of the difference in size and weight comes from the tempture of the mold and the lead. Lee

RE: Weighing Balls Again
 

What's the rule of thumb with that Lee? Hotter mold = smaller ball or larger ball?

RE: Weighing Balls Again
 

Did that Rapine paint job I gave that mold help release them balls for you? That mold always did cast a nice ball with hardly any spur on them. And the weight of them sound about right. I am surprised at the diameter some of them are coming out at. It will be interesting to see the first range report with them.

RE: Weighing Balls Again
 

It sure did Cayugad. Usually both balls dropped right out. Every now and then the one closest to the handle would not drop without a very light tap to the hinge. Those balls sure are pretty - no casting line and a nice flat sprue cut.

I had hoped to do some shooting today but after spendingmost of the day Friday doing yard work and a small outdoors construction project Iabout had my fill of sweating. The ninety-five degree prediction for today cooled my enthusiasm for a shooting session.

RE: Weighing Balls Again
 

Basicly the hotter the mold the bigger the ball, the lead tempture when it is to hot will cause a real thin flange around the ball.
For best effect I used to hold the corner of the mold [just a corner and away from where the blocks join] in the melted lead to preheat the mold. After you flux and skim watch the color on the top of the lead you can see a slight color change at different temptures. Don't pour to fast once you get every thing right try and keep the tempture tha same. Its like loading you need every thing the same for best results. Lee

RE: Weighing Balls Again
 

Maybe....no way to tell. Close enough in any case for my purposes.
Pete