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Time for a new Mold

Old 02-12-2017 | 07:51 PM
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Default Time for a new Mold

I've had my .490" double cavity Lee ball mold for many many years, so many I can't even remember. How many balls it has produced is in an even funnier thing to try to figure out.

The new molds are much nicer with the blocks being machines nicer and the mating pieces that align the blocks, now looking like real point bullets so they slide into the mold block nicely and center up.

$27 bucks, what the heck. All I shoot is 50cal round ball now, so I figured these new guns need a new mold so everything is fresh.

Also ordered a Lyman ingot mold so I can start melting down a ton of lead that Floyd gave to me on our last hog hunt. The old 4lb Lee pot still does the job and quickly. That over the camp fire crap sucks rear end and leaves your knuckles damn near raw.
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Old 02-13-2017 | 05:13 PM
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I may join you in only shooting roundballs - again this next hunting season. It's all I used in Michigan's Deer and Muzzleloading season in 2016.

What I really-really want to do this spring, is put Williams Fiber Optic sights on my 32" 1:66 barrel. I just don't have the testicles to deliver my Traditions Shenandoah to a local gunsmith for the needed drill-work.

My factory primitive sights are really terrible and my 65 year-old bifocal eyes can't take another season trying to focus on those early 1900s sights anymore.

I know the brassy ML will look like Crappola with Williams Fiber-Optics, but I can take all the oncoming ribbing and laughter ..........like a man is supposed to.

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Old 02-13-2017 | 06:35 PM
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Originally Posted by GoexBlackhorn
................
What I really-really want to do this spring, is put Williams Fiber Optic sights on my 32" 1:66 barrel. I just don't have the testicles to deliver my Traditions Shenandoah to a local gunsmith for the needed drill-work. ...........
Why not just put them on yourself with epoxy?
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Old 02-13-2017 | 09:27 PM
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NO! Do it right or don't do it at all.
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Old 02-14-2017 | 05:37 AM
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Originally Posted by GoexBlackhorn
I may join you in only shooting roundballs - again this next hunting season. It's all I used in Michigan's Deer and Muzzleloading season in 2016.

What I really-really want to do this spring, is put Williams Fiber Optic sights on my 32" 1:66 barrel. I just don't have the testicles to deliver my Traditions Shenandoah to a local gunsmith for the needed drill-work.

My factory primitive sights are really terrible and my 65 year-old bifocal eyes can't take another season trying to focus on those early 1900s sights anymore.

I know the brassy ML will look like Crappola with Williams Fiber-Optics, but I can take all the oncoming ribbing and laughter ..........like a man is supposed to.
Drill and tap it yourself pretty easy to tap a 6-48 or 8-40 they Williams makes a jig for that too. They also make a solder sweat type of sight.
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Old 02-14-2017 | 05:47 AM
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Originally Posted by MountainDevil54
NO! Do it right or don't do it at all.
That's thinking inside the box. Why is epoxy not "right"? Why be limited by traditional fashion and bound by an old practice that existed because an alternative that is available today was not available fifty years ago?

A comparison?

The old 4lb Lee pot still does the job and quickly. That over the camp fire crap sucks rear end and leaves your knuckles damn near raw.

Last edited by Semisane; 02-14-2017 at 06:30 AM.
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Old 02-14-2017 | 07:19 AM
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Originally Posted by Semisane
That's thinking inside the box. Why is epoxy not "right"? Why be limited by traditional fashion and bound by an old practice that existed because an alternative that is available today was not available fifty years ago?

A comparison?
Epoxy will probably work nit sure if it would take a bump and not fall off ? Are you thinking like a two part epoxy ?
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Old 02-14-2017 | 07:28 AM
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exactly, epoxy is like saying, hey use that duct tape to fix the leak in that radiator hose!
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Old 02-14-2017 | 09:28 AM
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Originally Posted by MountainDevil54
exactly, epoxy is like saying, hey use that duct tape to fix the leak in that radiator hose!
Open your mind youngster.

Here's a strength test I conducted before using Devcon two-part epoxy to attach the ram rod pipes to the barrel of the Swamp Dragon.

I epoxied a piece of aluminum tubing to a chunk of steel.



After letting it cure for 48 hours, I tried to pull it apart, and could not. Out of curiosity, I rigged it up so I could stand on a scale as I pulled, with a rod through the tube and a C-clamp on the metal block secured to the deck. I don't recall how many pounds I was able to pull, but it was a lot. The parts did not separate.





Here's where I used the epoxy on the Swamp Dragon Build.


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Old 02-14-2017 | 09:56 AM
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just not something I will depend on. Especially if the rifle falls over.
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