Hollow points -Alterations - RepairsHave a mould youwish was a hollow point design?Have a HP designyou wish you had a different pin design?Have a gas checkdesign that you wish was plain base?Driving bandsenlarged to cast a larger diameter bullet.Specializing inCramer style Hollow point conversions.Molds for sale plus. I always consider purchasing ortrades for Lyman, Ideal, RCBS, SAECO, or other single ordouble cavity rifle and pistol molds. Contact me aboutextra molds you have available to sell or trade.Contact ErikOhlen: M-F 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm and Saturdays9:00 am - 8:30 pm, Pacific Time: (541) 738-2479H ighP raise forE rik O hlen'sC raftsmanshipI have a handful ofmoulds that Erik has converted to make hollow-point or cup-pointcast bullets.
This cold-forming process eliminates air voids, spruce marks, parting lines and weight variations compared to a cast projectile. Our Claim All raw materials used in the manufacture of Buffalo Bullet products are tested to ensure the optimum in consistency from lot to lot.
- A grain or so in that big of a boolit just isn't worth the trouble. Weighing bullets I weigh every one, and have records of 11374 bullets in 104 batches, average 110 bullets cast per batch, all with a ladle. I throw out any bullet weighing more than.5 grain from the average, generally 1-3 bullets per batch.
- The main issue with.224 cast bullets is variation in weight. This occurs through voids in the pour and casting at different temperatures. So accuracy is affected.
In every case, the workmanship is first-rate, and themoulds cast beautifully. The HP pins are perfectly centered, theyrelease the bullets very easily, and casting with them is fast andproductive. He uses a very clever 2-part collar/pin design thatallows the caster to switch (or in some cases adjust) the HP pins tovary the expansion properties of the resulting cast bullet.
Severalof these moulds are 2-cavity moulds that have had one cavityconverted to drop HP bullets. This allows the caster to make boththe solid and HP version from the same mould (at the same time, ifso desired). Erik offers this service for both rifle and pistolmoulds - I've had him make both types for me, and have been verypleased with the results. Not only does Erik offer to convert mouldsto make 'traditional' HP's (using a pin held in place with akeeper/collar, along the lines of the classic H&G HP moulds), but heis also the only service that I am aware of that works with theCramer system of making HP moulds (which uses 2 transverse pinsgoing through one of the mould blocks to keep the HP pin with theblocks). He has repaired an old Cramer HP mould for me, and I cantestify, without any reservations, that the quality of his repairwork is significantly higher than the original factory HPpin. Casting with the repaired Cramer mould is pure joy (the Cramerdesign allows for a much faster casting cadence than traditional HPmoulds), and the bullets it produces are beautiful. I will gladlywork with Erik again (and in fact he and I are working on someexperimental ideas right now.).Merry Christmaseverybody!Glen E.FryxellDec. SAECO # 068200 gr.
45 CaliberSWCBB 5 BHNfired at 800 fpsinto 3 feetof water and hit thebottomof the plastic drum(The Results)42 different testersusing a total of 47 different testing tools.13 were Cabine Tree,8 were LBT,12 were Lee and 9were SAECO’S.Plus 4 otherbrands of testers included.See howthese cast bullet BHN testers compare with the samealloy lab tested for BHN? How does the people doing thetesting and reading the results effect the 'usefulness'of the different testers?
Is there any consistency with thesetesters and which brands faired best - worst? Are they aviable tool for working up accuracy loads? The formula (from the pages of HandLoaderMagazine) to determine at what pressure an alloy of given BHN will obturate the base of the bullet and seal thebore. If the bullet is too hard to obturate, gas cuttingusually occurs on the base band on the non-driving sideof the rifling and barrel leading is likely. Simplymultiply the alloy BHN by 1,422.Example: Alloy BHN of 12multiplied by1422 = 17,064. An alloy of 12 BHN should be used with aload that develops a 'minimum' of 17,000 psi.Need more info on minimum / maximum alloy BHN?These Glen E.
Fryxell articles explain alloy BHNin easy to understand language. Comments on CastBullet AlloysA very commonmisconception is that leading is caused by the bullet beingtoo soft.
Historically, tinwas used to harden bullet alloys. Today tin is used to lowerthe surface tension of the molten alloy and allows it to fillout the mould more completely. Antimony hardens lead alloys muchmore effectively than does tin, in addition, antimony allowsthe alloy to be hardened via heat treatment, something thechemistry of tin doesn't allow (and arsenic is even better forheat treating than is antimony). Fluxing BulletMetalOf particular interest tothe bullet caster are calcium, aluminum and zinc - all ofwhich are difficult to reduce and all of which cause castingproblems.
What we want a flux to do is to remove impuritiesthat affect the surface tension of the alloy and causeproblems during casting (most notable here are things likecalcium, aluminum, zinc and copper). In addition, we want toremove any wettable particulate matter that might go on toform inclusions in our bullets. Since tin is so valuable tothe bullet caster, it would be helpful if we could slow down,or even reverse its oxidation.Someof the commercial bullet fluxes are formulations that have theadvantage of generating virtually no smoke or odor based onborax, or other boric acid derivatives.
Bullet Weight Chart
The way thesecommercial fluxes work is to combine with the oxidizedcomponents of the alloy (including any oxidized tin) and forman insoluble molten borate glass, which collects on top of themelt as a dark molten crust. This process is smoke-free andcleans the alloy very effectively, but the dark molten crustmust be removed to prevent inclusions in the bullets. The essential metals for heat treating are lead,antimony and arsenic. Windows xp format iso.
Tin is optional; although it mayaid in an effort to cast more perfect bullets andcontribute to ductility.Toobtain maximum hardness, a minimum of one to two percentantimony is required in addition to a trace of arsenic.Arsenic is the catalyst. Heat-treating cannot workwithout it, regardless of the amount of antimony orother trace elements present.
Bullet Weight Grains
Webmaster Addendum: T heabove quote on arsenic from HandLoader 'appears' to bein error and should read: Arsenic is thecatalyst to agreatly enhanced ability to heat treat. 4% antimony hasa much better hardening/time curve than 2% alloy. Tin has the effect of reducing maximum hardness fromheat treating as its ratio to other metals increases.Wheel-weights, one to two percent tin, can beheat-treated to a harder level than Lyman No. 2 with itsfive percent tin content. Linotype, 84/12/4(lead-antimony-tin) has the lowest hardening potentialwhen compared to other alloys commonly used to producecast bullets.Webmaster Addendum: In this reference fromHandLoader on the effects of tin in heat treatinglinotype and Lyman # 2 alloys. Linotype and Lyman # 2alloy's have the lowest hardening potential of commonbullet alloys because of the higher tin content (4% &5%) and lack of arsenic.
WebmasterAddendum: In the abovetwo references from HandLoader the conditions of the testingis not known but I cannot help but wonder if both conclusionswere drawn from heat treating non-arsenical alloys. It appearsthat non-arsenical alloys such as linotype and Lyman # 2alloys can be heat treated because of their antimony content.Adding a trace ( 1/4of 1% to 1/2%)of arsenic in the alloy dramatically increases the hardnessthat can be achieved by heat treating. The percentage ofantimony effects the hardening/time curve. 2% antimony willtake longer to achieve final hardness than 4% or 6% antimonyalloy. T ip:W heel weights(.5% t in, 1/4%arsenic, 2-3% a ntimony,96-7% lead)will produce bulletshaving the smallest diameter and heaviest weight of the commonbullet alloy's, W ithsuch bullets running approximately 3/10of 1%smaller in diameter and3% heavier than bulletscast with L yman# 2 metal.
L inotypewill produce bullets with the largest diameter and lightestweights of the common alloy's. L inotypealloy will produce bullets approximately 1/10of 1%larger and 3%lighter than L yman# 2. SilhouetteExpected (Approximate)alloy weight variation from bullets cast of linotypeB ulletW eightB ulletW eightB ulletW eightB ulletW eightL inotype- No GC1 - 10 A lloy- No GCW heelW eight - No GCP ureL ead- No GC53.0 gr.+2.3 gr.+2.6 gr.+4.7 gr.93.0 gr.+4.0 gr.+4.6 gr.+8.3 gr.118gr.+5.0 gr.+5.8 gr.+10.5 gr.147.0 gr.+6.3 gr.+7.2 gr.+13.1 gr.165.0 gr.+7.0 gr.+8.1 gr.+14.7 gr.177.0 gr.+7.5 gr.+8.7 gr.+15.8 gr.237.0 gr.+10.1 gr.+11.7 gr.+21.2 gr.401.0 gr.+17.1 gr.+19.8 gr.+35.8 gr. Castbullets could suffer more from a longer free-bore jump thantheir jacketed counterparts.
Seating the bullet to engrave therifling in rifles and single shot pistols often improves cast bullet groups (not so long as towedge the bullet into the rifling, you don't want the bulletpulled from the case when opening the action). Remember thatthe OAL of the loaded round must function in your action type.Because cast bullets are softer than jacketed, zero free-boreshould not increase chamber pressures by any significantamount.Revolver bullets should be seated so the front driving band isstarted in the throat when the cylinder is loaded wheneverpossible.
Revolver bullets should be sized to a mild snug fitin the throats. All the throats in the cylinder should hold asized bullet and be able to be pushed through with mildpressure from a pencil. There are two types of gas checks available to bulletcasters. They are the Lyman straight walled slip onchecks and the Hornady crimp on checks. Which type ofcheck you decide to use is probably a mute point butwith both, gas check fit is critical to accuracy. Thecheck must fit flat against and square to the base ofthe bullet.Allgas checks vary in thickness, hardness and dimensions from lotto lot according to normal manufacturing tolerances.
Lymanchecks average.015' thick. Hornady checks average thicknessis.020' and both can vary by.0005' to.0015 including theside thickness of the cup.Acommon misconception is that gas checks prevent the heatof the burning powder from melting the base of thebullet. This is extremely doubtful as lead absorbs heatslowly and the millisecond the bullet is exposed to thisheat could not melt off any lead. W arning:Handloading andbullet casting are safe hobbies but common sense must be used.lead, antimonyand arsenic are toxic. Handling these metals / alloyscan be dangerous and are considerably more so whenheated to melting temperaturesU seall appropriate cautions published in current up to dateloading manuals!!All technical data mentioned, especiallyhandloading and bullet casting,reflect the limited experience of individuals usingspecific tools, products, equipment and components underspecific conditions and circumstances not necessarilyreported on this web siteand over which The Los AngelesSilhouette Club (LASC), this web siteor the author's have no control. Theabove has no control over thecondition of your firearms / equipment or yourmethods, components, tools, techniquesor circumstances and disclaims all andany responsibility for any personusing any data mentioned.ALWAYSconsult recognized reloading manualsand follow all instructionsfor safely handling lead alloys.