Boolits drop too small

[918v]

I think the difference in diameters you are seeing is due to your inconsistent closing of the mold halves. I notice the same thing with my bullets. Some are harder to size than others. No biggie.

There is a guy who makes a cam-lock device that will close the mold like nothing else, but I can't think of the name right now.

[MikeS]

No. Iron moulds need lots of heat to get them up to temp, unless you use a hot plate to preheat. Not recomended on iron moulds. Experence is the best teacher. To hot and bullet will be frosted coming out of the mould. This statement may be true, but will .0005" really make a difference? Besides, most all cast boolits are not rounds as the drop from the moulds.

Ok, your reply has me confused. Are you saying that a thermometer is not needed? And what's not recommended on iron moulds? I pre-heat all my moulds on a hotplate, and I have a thermometer inserted into one of the cavities while it's there so I can see what temp the mould is getting to. As for the pot, perhaps a thermometer isn't NEEDED but it sure is a good thing to have. Remember the old saying "Knowledge is strength" (or however it went), if you don't have a thermometer of some kind in your pot, than you have no way of knowing how hot your lead is. Oh you might be able to cast good boolits without one, but having one is just another way to know what's going on in your pot. Even if you stick a thermometer in you pot, and proceed to do everything by your old ways (rather than trying to base everything on what it's saying), it's still nice to be able to know at what temp your 'sweet spot' is.

I just went one step further, and added a PID controller to control the heat of my pot. Again, something that not everyone is going to want to do, but for me I like not relying on Lee's idea of temp control. While I had no problem with consistency before getting the PID controller, it's amazing how much more consistant the boolits I made were with the PID controller. Normally when I size my boolits there are some that require a bit more pressure to get thru the sizing die, and some need quite a bit less, but from the first batch of boolits I cast using the PID controller, I was amazed at how consistant the pressure on the sizer was with them! Does that mean that they'll shoot any better than the boolits I cast before? I doubt it, but it is possible. I figure that everything I can do to make casting easier, and more consistant is a good thing. Does that make my boolits any better than ones cast by a guy over a campfire? maybe, and maybe not. Remember, most people here are casting boolits either for the enjoyment they get from casting their own, or for the savings in being able to cast lots of boolits so they can shoot more, shooting being enjoyment for them, the main thing is enjoyment. If it's not fun to do, why do it?