doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com .620" Round Ball source?

Jim-

Hornady was the first place I looked.
Thanks, their largest roundball is .570



--Tinker

http://gadcustomcartridges.com/

Maybe try these folks?

And also try the guys that make Dixie Tri-Ball.

Fishdock-

Thanks for the note.
Nice of you to give this some thought.

I've looked at their site, and as I've seen elsewhere their range of roundball in 'bore gun size' looks like this:
.600 .610 .662 .690 .715 .735

Perhaps I should tip them off to the .648" size from Track Of The Wolf so that they can expand their line.

I also notice they're advertising the "New Cheddite" 16b hulls for Black Powder. I'll assume they're talking about the run of paper hulls we got to happen (and a pat on our collective backs for that one too..!)

I've dropped an email in their "info@..." email box asking what their selection of round ball between the sizes of .620" and .630" looks like.
Cross a finger for me.



--Tinker

Hello Gentlemen-

Just stopping in to say thanks to y'all for lending your thoughts to my search for roundball.
None of these leads panned out, but I did eventually find a source for the size of roundball I needed -- it was lurking in a billet of aluminum in the machine shop.

Take a look here if you're interested in seeing the piece that I needed the roundball for.
It's a peach.


--Tinker

tinker, I'm sorry that I missed your original post, but it appears that you have solved the problem. If ever you need another such mould, Dixie Gun Works sells a scissors mould that they make in 0.005" increments. They look like junk, they cost next to nothing ($35?) and yet they throw beautiful balls somehow. I have one in .630 for my Lang double rifle. Works like a charm.

Brent

Brent-

Thanks for the comments.
I was on the fence with the Dixie mould service, and ended up just making it happen out of stock in the machine shop one night while I was out there pondering modifying another mould.

On your Dixie mould -
Did you request a mould for .630" balls? If so, how close to the number are they, and how round does your mould cast them?
The as-cast size was my main concern, as I didn't want to end up with undersize balls for this cartridge rifle. There's no making it up with a patch here.

I think I've asked this before, but please freshen me up on this.
How does your Lang shoot? What's the charge? Do you know the manufacture date?


--Tinker

Tinker, I requested the diameter and they made it in just a few days as I recall. It is very round. I was shocked as this was just a short-term solution initially. But it is the permanent solution now. I did measure it for roundness and forget what I found other than I was impressed.

It does not have a cut off sprue, so you have to nip the sprue off later with wire cutters.

It shoots quite well if I keep the charge down around 80 grs or so of Swiss 1.5 fg. 3-4" at 50 yds, or better.

By my best guestimate, I think it is a late 1820s rifle. The number is in the 300 range.

Brent

DIXIE GUN WORKS

Dixie can make one for using noe of thier molds - you just specify the ball size.

Best regards,

Terry

Tharper-


Thanks for your thoughts.
Have you owned and used one of these Dixie moulds?
If so,
Have you measured the balls thrown from the mould?
How do they relate in size to the ball diameter you requested the mould be built for - and with what alloy?
How out of round are they, and in which direction (around the seam or 'the other way')?


again, thanks



--Tinker

Tinker,

I borrowed one once from a muzzle loading friend. It worked well enouch and the balls dropped at the proper diameter. The only complaint I had was that the sprue had to be cut-off afterwards (non-sprue plate)It was a bit of a pain finding something to make a nice clean cut with. I would specify that it cast a .620 ball in pure lead. That way you will always have the option of casting either a lead/tin alloy or pure. If you specify a alloy say 20:1 etc. then a pure lead ball will drop small.

Best regards,

Terry