Of late I have bought some moulds off ebay, I play there to often. I bought an interesting lyman mould. 311-291 gc. single cavity, It has 4 riding bands. the first three are .310/.311 and the fourth is .314/.315 on the seam. Do you think this was "in the plan"?? I can't wait to stuff some into my .303 bore mill surps. I plan to stuff some unsized and I will size a few to .312 for testing as well. But I don't get the large 4th large band. This is a GC design. Question #2 or opinion #2 all the same. I also bought a very old Ideal mould that looks rather neat. I have cleaned it with carb cleaner but I think I will lap this mould. It has what looks like gold model paint here and there in the cavity. Much to pretty for rust. I used a soft brass brush to coax some of it out with the carb cleaner. If I lap the mould will I hurt it's value or should I not care. It is a 308-280 best guess. the 280 could be a 290 or a 260 as the 8 is not a good strike and it is not real clear but I would say it is 280. I can't find now where I looked it up as being the best design of 1905 for the Krag. I would sooner sell it to preserve it's value than to mess it up. I could always buy a new mould and be as happy. What would you do? JB

JB,

This site claims it to be a 30-06 GOVT mould and you are correct it is #308280

http://www3.telus.net/310outpost/chart1.htm

Joe

JB,
I have 5-311291 moulds and they are all over the place on the bottom drivingg band. From .310 to .315. I think it depends what year they were made. One of them is actually a 308291. I would cast with the 308280 first to see what they drop as before I did too much. It sounds like somebody cleaned the mould with a dremel tool with a brass brush. Mark

I cast a few bullets and found after digging in my old books that is a 309-290 heavy gas check bullet of 1905 design. catalouged as 205 gr. in drops WW at 212gr. The goldish stuff is not even and it is not brass in color. I and thinking of soaking it in some solvent for a time. Have not decided on what, perhaps gasoline? JB

JB, try Sweets or some other copper fouling solvent and Q tips. I wouldn't soak it though. If you don't get the color change, it ain't copper based and you can try something else.

Could it be that someone had the blocks "bronzed"? I inherited a mould block that was an old winchester that had been bronze plated to help the bullets not stick to the blocks. One of my older uncles informed me that with older, poorly vented moulds they tried all kinds methods to have the bullets filled out properly and let the bullets drop freely from the blocks. Mine is well worn and doesn't work well anymore.

regards,
Graycg

Graycg, your guess may be the closest yet. It could be as you suggest as the color is about right. I wonder what would be the remedy for bronze? JB

Bronze is a copper based alloy. Sweet's oughta get it. If it doesn't, it can be electroplated off, but you'll need someone who knows more than me to tell you how to do it.