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Posted: 6/9/2024 2:14:35 PM EDT
I got two of them, gave the .31 caliber one away, and forgot about this one until a week ago. It came in a Navy Arms box I was given when I bought an Uberti 1860.  It casts one ball and one conical. Both are .452 diameter.  The rebated shank in the conical is interesting.  Here it sits in the cylinder of my Remington New Model Army. Being new to conicals, I assume the rebated shank is either to ensure straight loading in a chamber or to allow for easier making of paper cartridges. Either or, it looks interesting.  The biggest problem is heat - I started with a cold mold and by the time I had cast 6 times, the metal was too hot to hold, even wearing leather gloves. But the bullets were still wrinkled from the mold being too cold. I also wondered out loud if these mold were provided with reproduction companies as a gimmick or window dressing, but was told by some that those little molds were how they started casting. The originals from the Civil War are somewhat rare, and the repros are also apparently rare.  Enter my buddy, LAGS over at castboolits. This guy loves a challenge, especially when it comes to black powder. So, he grabbed the mold and designed handles.   One half was not completely together, so the heat of the test run caused that one to fall off. You can see the wood was not inletted enough to ensure complete wood to wood contact all the way around. However, it worked well enough to allow unwrinkled bullets to be cast from a properly heated mold and no gloves. Note the handles are carved to match the shape of the brass - as long as they don't separate, they cannot slide off.    So, now he is working on a newer design using wood dowels between the halves, all in order to not have screws or rivets that would transmit heat to hands, or having glue too close to hot metal. This is very cool to watch. |
American Pioneer Corps Northern Colorado
Joined:
Apr 2019
Posts:
4421
EE: 100% (11)
CO, USA
| Way cool, very interesting! |
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I bought a Colt 1860 (GB) and when I received it there was a bullet mold in the box with it; same type: one conical, one spherical. I asked the seller and he said that as far as he knew, it was an “OEM” mold; it was with the pistol when he got it decades ago; it had the patina to be “real”. |
Yea, though I fly through The Valley of The Shadow of Death, I shall fear no evil, for Dillon Aero art with me.
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Updated by a buddy, easy to use now and fits in the box. Attached File Attached File Cross "pins" added. Attached File When it finally cools down I'll give it a whirl on the casting bench, but at 110 degrees, it's a wee bit warm to cast. |
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