Thread: .509 or .512 round ball mold

Round ball mold wanted for a 52 caliber muzzleloader

A .509 would work
A .512 would be perfect
This is a pretty long shot

I have plenty of .50 and thereabouts size molds and a .535
But this muzzleloader has fallen between them
An unusual size for a 1974 built muzzleloader
.52 was common in the old days when a 50 cal was " refreshed " by re boring and rifling up a size

Otherwise I trying to think of a way to open up an existing smaller round ball mold I have ?

Mould traditionally made with "cherries" - pretty much a diamond burr in a die grinder type set up.
You would of course need a burr the right size and shape and a machinist vice that closes both jaws to centre, or do it under a mill and tram into each half perfectly.
If you happened to have a sphere cutter on your lathe you could make the cherry. Or freehand it.

Originally Posted by mimms2

Mould traditionally made with "cherries" - pretty much a diamond burr in a die grinder type set up.
You would of course need a burr the right size and shape and a machinist vice that closes both jaws to centre, or do it under a mill and tram into each half perfectly.
If you happened to have a sphere cutter on your lathe you could make the cherry. Or freehand it.

I have a friend that has a die making milling machine with a self centering vice that I guess brings the halves together
Waiting to hear from him on his fix

I will blow some powder through behind a double patched 50 cal and at least try it out
Have cleaned the barrel and its looking good
About 1:60 twist so its strictly cap-n-ball which is what I was hoping for
Swapped out the aperture for a smaller one for better target accuracy
Tightened up a few screws and the stock key so everything stays in place
Cleaned the nipple and put never seize on its threads