Just new to the forum. I have two lyman moulds, both double cavity. One is a 429421 and the other a 358356. My cast bullets from the 44 caliber mold are out of round and undersized when checked with a micrometer. When I size them lube comes up on the upper portion of the bullet on one side. The 38 caliber bullet seems oversize and skims alot of lead off one side of the bullet. I am most concerned about the undersized 44 bullets.
Look forward to your replies.:confused::confused::confused:

How much undersized/oversized and how much out of round?
What diameters are you sizing to?
You say the lube comes up on the upper portion of the bullet; are you positive you have your lube sizer adjusted properly?

You may not have as big a problem as you think.

Welcome to the forum oneofonethousan. Rules are simple, be nice and join in.

Boy it sounds like you've got a frustrating problem. Are you just getting started in casting? It sounds like you have a problem with either the molds or the lead composition or your casting technique.

It could be that your molds that are casting undersized are not hot enough when you start casting. Cast iron molds need to be in a certain temp range to cast good bullets. Sometimes it takes dropping several sets of bullets out of them to get them up to proper casting temperature.

Different lead alloys will often cast slightly different sized bullets. It could be your alloy is one that may be doing that.

Sometimes slowing down or speeding up your casting will yield different diameter bullets simply by letting the molds get to hot or too cool. I'd take a look at the Lyman reloading book or their casting book for some of the basics if your just starting out.

I'd bet that some of our members will also have some suggestion to help you out that I haven't thought of.

Thanks for the suggestions. I used to cast alot 30 years ago so just kind of starting over. The 44 cal
bullets are about .006 out of round when measured with a mike. That puts them under 429 sizer I am using in the lowest diameter of the bullet. I kind of wonder if my lead mixture (wheel weights I think) is
the problem. Though I do not have a hardness tester they seem quite hard and very silvery color though not frosty.

If the bullet out-of-round is wider as you approach the parting line of the bullets, it is likely the pins that align the two mold block halves are not doing their job. It is not uncommon, in tuning up a mold, to have to take a drift punch and drive the pins in just a fraction deeper to get good registration of the mold block halves. Some handles let the pins knock their mating hole's edges a bit, which can back the pins out. In that case there is often also battering around the registration hole that can require a little work with a stone to level. In a bad case, a chucking reamer that is hole-size to half a thousandth under hole size may need to be carefully turned in by hand from the outside of the block to clean up the hole.

On the other hand, if the bullets are wider perpendicular to the parting line, the most common cause is debris or the same pin battering mentioned above that has raised a little of the block surface and is preventing the blocks from closing completely. You can usually tell if you have one of these problems because the vent flashing on bullets from an iron mold gets more pronounced. Close the mold and hold it up to a light and look for a crack of light between the halves. If you have one, find the cause and remove it.

if they are coming out around 428 it may be a 44-40 mold
and the pins are usually the culprit for the out of round.

Maybe pins .. Maybe sevreal things already mentioned ..

If it is a 429421 then it is a 44 mould not a 44/40

oneofonethousan,

If you try what unclenick suggests and you are still having a problem, I would suggest calling Lyman and explain the issue to them. Perhaps they will replace the molds.

Otherwise, if you are friends with a machinist / tool and die maker, they can remove the pins, align the blocks properly and ream the holes to a slightly larger diameter for oversized pins. That works very well. I had that done to an old obsolete mold several years ago, and now the bullets are less than .001" out of round.:)

Good luck,
John