Can this mould be saved?

Boolit Mold Join DateMar 2006Posts10

Last edited by chiggerbyt; Yesterday at 01:45 PM. Reason: added picture of sprue plate and screw

The overall look is the early Winchester mould, before they added the wooden handles. The sprue plate and screw is, of course, missing. They were made without vent lines and the cavity was sized so no supplemental sizing was necessary to shoot the boolit in Winchester rifles.

It looks like somebody either ordered a blank mould from Winchester and put a .45 caliber cherry a driving band and a half deep into the blocks, or they recherried a smaller caliber Winchester mould in the same manner. Generally a factory mould (even a factory special) from Winchester should have a fairly deep caliber/weight stamp on the left-hand handle, looking down from the top. I've seen a fair number of recherried examples of these moulds, and I can't recall that anybody has ever taken the trouble to grind, weld over or otherwise remove the stamp from the handle. Given the detail left of the cavity, I can't imagine the mould rusted enough to take the stamp away, so my best guess is the gunsmith-cherried blank Winchester mould.

Looks like somebody wanted a boollit for a .45 express of one sort or another. All you need is to drill and file to shape a new sprue plate, make a screw any you're in business.

Boolit Mold Join DateMar 2006Posts10

Hi Bent Ramrod,
I have uploaded the sprue plate and screw picture as well since your reply. Thank you for the info so far. Chig

Sure. Cast a few and see how the size comes out. You may be surprised if the
size is reasonably close to what you need.

Bill

If it was easy, anybody could do it.

Boolit Master Join DateNov 2006Posts933

looks tapered, which isn't my favorite, but a very old mold none the less.

Boolit Mold Join DateMar 2006Posts10

The closest thing I see to it is the Lyman 452630 without the final taper at the base. There also appears to be some #'s (very small but evenly spaced) stamped along the edge of the left side facing up under where the left of the sprue plate would be if closed. I cannot make them out clearly or at this point just imagining as my wife see's nothing but marks of some sort.

it was quite common to mark the top of a mold block back then, lee has taken to doing it again recently.
you could easily make some wooden handles from a broom handle.
you might want to take some chalk and rub on the molds top/sides and see if anything pops out.

it's all an educated guess,,,, till the trigger is pulled.

the more i find out about shootin boolits, the more it contradicts everything i ever learned about shooting jaxketed.

Boolit Mold Join DateMar 2006Posts10

Tried the chalk. Still couldn't make anything out under magnifying glass. Will just have to cast some, weigh them, shoot them, and go from there. The only 45 I have is 1911 so that is the test foundation. Thank you all for the replies. Chig

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Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"

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primer question wet primers can they be saved ?

i bought a bunch of recycled brass 300 lbs , with a lot of primed brass in a caliber i use.. ? @ 200-400 it rained on the brass and the primers got wet , before i purchased it. can they be saved by drying out ? any ideas? i fired 1 out of 3 and 1 fired 2 were still wet , did this to see if they were water tight / or should i pull and destroy the primers . anyone experienced at this ??

I have not done extensive testing,
But I tumbled a bunch of .308 brass in SS media, and then Deprimed it

Many of them got tossed, a few I found here and there, when I find them I smash them with a hammer

They always go off.

Not sure if this helps you or not.

Here is my rule:

If I did not put the primer in, I dont know what it is, or how long its been there.

Out they come, every last one

I have sworn on the altar of GOD eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.

Here is my rule:

If I did not put the primer in, I dont know what it is, or how long its been there.

Out they come, every last one

+1, I'm with Fred.

I'm with fred, If I don't prime it I don't shoot it.

Yep, not worth the trouble, junk em.

Boolit Mold Join DateFeb 2013Posts2

Here is my rule:

If I did not put the primer in, I dont know what it is, or how long its been there.

Out they come, every last one

How would you remove the primers? I wouldn't junk the brass... too hard to come by now-a-days.

Boolit Mold Join DateMar 2013LocationMichigan, Still Part of the USA (for now)Posts7

I would dry them, load some with light loads and use them strictly for target practice. I would keep track of what % didn't fire and I would be very careful about hangfires. If a significant percentage didn't fire, I would soak them all in water and deprime. If I only got a small % of duds, I would pull the bullets from them and try to fire the primer again before attempting to deprime the brass. I can understand the desire of some to stick to the rules, but I think the risk is minimal. They aren't likely to be too hot. They aren't likely to spontaneously fire. They are more likely to be too weak or not fire at all.

Deprime with regular sizer/deprime die, just be gentle in operating the press. Not very likely they will ignite but do be safe.

God Bless America
US Army, NRA Endowment, TSRA Life
SASS, Ruger & Marlin accumulator

I have read that the priming compound is water soluble and if soaked and allowed to dry, they won't be damaged and work as usual. I'd check a few to see that all the compound is in place and dry and load 'em up, as long as they are non-corrosive...

Primers are a lot turfier than most would believe. Place the primed brass in a dry warm low humidity area with a little air circulation ( a food dehydrator works great) and they should be fine. I would not use them for critical duty but at the price of primers these days I would not discard them either.

I am currently using primers which I purchased back in the seventies which were not stored under ideal conditions and I have yet to have any problems at all.

NRA Endowment Member
Vet . 2nd of the 47th 9th.Inf. Viet Nam Mar. 67-68

When primers are made on the squeegee plate the primer compound is purposely "wet" It makes the compound workable or safe to work with. So wet should not be a problem because that is how they are born.

If they call it "common sense" then why is it so uncommon!

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Abbreviations used in Reloading
Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"

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