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AWESOME Stuff Stacey!! 3/16” Pin? You might make one with a Shoulder like you did for mine to match Ed’s Gould Pin. That’s another FINE Looking Bullet :lewis:
Yes it’s 3/16”. That’s the plan to make some shouldered pins. The meplat it .225” if I leave a .050” shoulder on the meplat, that puts the hollow point at .125”. Kinda small but, I think it will really open that nose up good when it hits some flesh.
 
I know this one shoots well, at least, it did with the boat tail. That was the very first mould I built twenty plus years ago. I built it when Doc White went out of business and I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to get bullets to fit that .504 bore. A copy of the 395 Buckbuster. I still have it. It’s made from aluminum and casts a bit on the small side but shoots dang good from a fouled bore. I’ve killed four elk and a handful of deer with that bullet.
 
Mr Porter by golly i think youve got this mold making down !!! Thats another beauty !!! Your passion for excellence shows !!!
Except for vent lines. I’ve been cutting them too shallow I think, and cutting them before I bore the bullet. I think this is causing some little burrs to plug the vents. This mould, I put back in the mill and cut horizontal vents in it as well .003” deep .100” apart. They may even be too shallow.
The mould I sent Lew, has had some troubles in the nose. He is hand scribing some vents into it a little deeper.
I have previously vented my moulds by using a single point fly cutter, turned at 500 RPM and the feed set to 6” per minute, set to a depth of .002”. This should leave a .002” deep vent every .012”. I then wet sand the blocks, with oil, on a piece of sand paper laid on a machined surface, by doing 10-12 figure eights to knock all the burrs off.
I probably need to start just cutting horizontal vents .005” deep and doing it from the bullet cavity outward, after the bullet is cut. I don’t know....
I DO know, I sent it to the best person I know, to figure out if there’s a problem with it...
 
Except for vent lines. I’ve been cutting them too shallow I think, and cutting them before I bore the bullet. I think this is causing some little burrs to plug the vents. This mould, I put back in the mill and cut horizontal vents in it as well .003” deep .100” apart. They may even be too shallow.
The mould I sent Lew, has had some troubles in the nose. He is hand scribing some vents into it a little deeper.
I have previously vented my moulds by using a single point fly cutter, turned at 500 RPM and the feed set to 6” per minute, set to a depth of .002”. This should leave a .002” deep vent every .012”. I then wet sand the blocks, with oil, on a piece of sand paper laid on a machined surface, by doing 10-12 figure eights to knock all the burrs off.
I probably need to start just cutting horizontal vents .005” deep and doing it from the bullet cavity outward, after the bullet is cut. I don’t know....
I DO know, I sent it to the best person I know, to figure out if there’s a problem with it...
Two heads can be better than one !!! You boys will have it flawlessly Perfect i have no doubts about that !!! Ya still kicked major butt tho , a few tweaks and all . Very Proud of what youve accomplished !!! That tuneable pin is Beautifull !!!!!! The craftmanship is obvious even in tbe pics . I bet in person it really shows off !!! Lewis is sure impressed !!!
 
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Two heads can be better than one !!! You boys will have it flawlessly Perfect i have no doubts about that !!! Ya still kicked major butt tho , a few tweaks and all . Very Proud of what youve accomplished !!! That tuneable pin is Beautifull !!!!!! The craftmanship is obvious even in tbe pics . I bet in person it really shows off !!! Lewis is sure impressed !!!
Thanks Sideshow!
 
Two heads can be better than one !!! You boys will have it flawlessly Perfect i have no doubts about that !!! Ya still kicked major butt tho , a few tweaks and all . Very Proud of what youve accomplished !!! That tuneable pin is Beautifull !!!!!! The craftmanship is obvious even in tbe pics . I bet in person it really shows off !!! Lewis is sure impressed !!!
I know I have information that might help a new guy or two at this, I also know I have a lot to learn about this. In NO WAY do I feel I know it all.
That’s why I got on here in the first place.
I had a question, googled it, and this place popped up! So glad it did! There is A LOT OF KNOWLEDGE on here. I only hope I can add some and not just be a taker...
 
Except for vent lines. I’ve been cutting them too shallow I think, and cutting them before I bore the bullet. I think this is causing some little burrs to plug the vents. This mould, I put back in the mill and cut horizontal vents in it as well .003” deep .100” apart. They may even be too shallow.
The mould I sent Lew, has had some troubles in the nose. He is hand scribing some vents into it a little deeper.
I have previously vented my moulds by using a single point fly cutter, turned at 500 RPM and the feed set to 6” per minute, set to a depth of .002”. This should leave a .002” deep vent every .012”. I then wet sand the blocks, with oil, on a piece of sand paper laid on a machined surface, by doing 10-12 figure eights to knock all the burrs off.
I probably need to start just cutting horizontal vents .005” deep and doing it from the bullet cavity outward, after the bullet is cut. I don’t know....
I DO know, I sent it to the best person I know, to figure out if there’s a problem with it...

Would a lapping plate help with getting rid of the burrs?
 
I know I have information that might help a new guy or two at this, I also know I have a lot to learn about this. In NO WAY do I feel I know it all.
That’s why I got on here in the first place.
I had a question, googled it, and this place popped up! So glad it did! There is A LOT OF KNOWLEDGE on here. I only hope I can add some and not just be a taker...
I think what many Dont realize is those questions Are helpfull !!! Nobody has knowledge cornered !!!!!! All things combined make for a good posting . Even in our errors we take a step forward . We learn . We share !!! Answers are no different . Many no doubt wonder the same thing . Everybody gains . New insites emerge daily . We all get something out of it . Pretty great to be a part of that isnt it ?? Youve given more than you know !!! Thats something to be proud of !!! No joke , it fits me too . I ask too . Answers come . Every now and then just by hearing ourselves babble dots get connected for ourselves or others . I get creative and "merge" things . Wow , look a discovery !!! Such is Life !!!
I think that little saying on the bottom of Idaholewis's pages says it best . That is so full of passion and truth i dont think i will ever tire of that quest . Your heart too Stacy speaks this......
 
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Would a lapping plate help with getting rid of the burrs?
Not sure what that is Bruce? I have always just used 220-400 grit sandpaper on a known flat surface.
Are you talking about a granite surface plate?
 
Not sure what that is Bruce? I have always just used 220-400 grit sandpaper on a known flat surface.
Are you talking about a granite surface plate?

When I was a kid, I worked as a machinists apprentice for 2.75 years.

The shop made all kinds of parts sub-contract for NASA at Wallops Island.

There were lapping plates of various sizes, some square, some rectangular, scattered around the shop. Differing thicknesses as well.

They were all made from high grade cast iron that had kerfs sawn in a 1/2" × 1/2" checkerboard pattern across the top surface of the plate. The surface was ground to an extremely high polish, and flatness.

Oil, or whatever lubricant was appropriate for the material being lapped, was brushed onto both the part to be lapped and the plate.

Using gentle downwards pressure, and a figure-8 pattern the part was rubbed across the plate to flatten it. First clockwise, then CCW. Reversing the direction every 5-10 revolutions.

The deep grooves caught all of the waste material being removed, being flushed out by the constant renewal of the lubricant with the brush.

It is possible to bring two metal surfaces into such close alignment that your breath applied to one of the surfaces, will allow you to twist the two faces together so tightly that you cannot pull them apart.

The undersides of the lapping plates are cast hollow with supporting ribs to both lighten the structure of the plate, and strengthen it.
 
When I was a kid, I worked as a machinists apprentice for 2.75 years.

The shop made all kinds of parts sub-contract for NASA at Wallops Island.

There were lapping plates of various sizes, some square, some rectangular, scattered around the shop. Differing thicknesses as well.

They were all made from high grade cast iron that had kerfs sawn in a 1/2" × 1/2" checkerboard pattern across the top surface of the plate. The surface was ground to an extremely high polish, and flatness.

Oil, or whatever lubricant was appropriate for the material being lapped, was brushed onto both the part to be lapped and the plate.

Using gentle downwards pressure, and a figure-8 pattern the part was rubbed across the plate to flatten it. First clockwise, then CCW. Reversing the direction every 5-10 revolutions.

The deep grooves caught all of the waste material being removed, being flushed out by the constant renewal of the lubricant with the brush.

It is possible to bring two metal surfaces into such close alignment that your breath applied to one of the surfaces, will allow you to twist the two faces together so tightly that you cannot pull them apart.

The undersides of the lapping plates are cast hollow with supporting ribs to both lighten the structure of the plate, and strengthen it.
My dad sharpened his barber clipper blades with one of those about 6" in diameter . Dam nice tool .
 
My dad sharpened his barber clipper blades with one of those about 6" in diameter . Dam nice tool .

Never saw a round lapping plate, but it makes sense that that shape would exist, as well as square & rectangular.

Never thought about using one to sharpen something, but that makes just as much sense as using the plate to flatten surfaces.

After all, it is the sharp edges of the kerfs in the plate that are removing metal.
 
We mainly used the lapping plates for materials softer than cast iron.

That meant they did not need to be ground back to flatness/trueness very often. When lapping material as hard, or harder than the cast iron of the plate, that procedure will be required far more frequently.

Eventually, the top surface of the plate, which as I recall starts out at about 1" thick (1" deep grooves), becomes too thin to any longer be of use, and the plate is scrapped.
 
We mainly used the lapping plates for materials softer than cast iron.

That meant they did not need to be ground back to flatness/trueness very often. When lapping material as hard, or harder than the cast iron of the plate, that procedure will be required far more frequently.

Eventually, the top surface of the plate, which as I recall starts out at about 1" thick (1" deep grooves), becomes too thin to any longer be of use, and the plate is scrapped.
I dont recall what Dads was made of but it was proportionally smaller and solid .
 
Never saw a round lapping plate, but it makes sense that that shape would exist, as well as square & rectangular.

Never thought about using one to sharpen something, but that makes just as much sense as using the plate to flatten surfaces.

After all, it is the sharp edges of the kerfs in the plate that are removing metal.
I’m assuming it’s hardened
 
We mainly used the lapping plates for materials softer than cast iron.

That meant they did not need to be ground back to flatness/trueness very often. When lapping material as hard, or harder than the cast iron of the plate, that procedure will be required far more frequently.

Eventually, the top surface of the plate, which as I recall starts out at about 1" thick (1" deep grooves), becomes too thin to any longer be of use, and the plate is scrapped.
That answered my question.
 

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