# My Ammo Mold



## jazz (May 15, 2012)

Hi all,

I owe to this forum a lot and I have something to share back with you.

Once, in a thread on ammo here, and I can not remember who and in which thread, said something like: "I realy do not know why you people suffer.. etc" - meaning all those who do not shoot lead. At first I took it as and exageration but when I tried lead ammo I found out that there is much truth in it: Of course, this has to do with the fact that lead flys well, safety being a separate issue.

Then, in Charles' thread, here: http://slingshotforum.com/topic/13778-cast-hunting-ammo-with-simple-wooden-mold/?hl=wooden I learned how a mold can be made.

Then I gave some considerations to it and came up with this aluminum mold which a friend of mine made for me using water-cut/plasma as I think it is called.

It can make four calibers (8mm, 9mm, 10mm and 11mm), 7 pieces each in one go. Here it is:









As you can see the numbers 9 are close together which means that it is caliber 9.

Then, I rotate it in the horizontal plane 180degrees each and I get numbers 10 together which means that it is caliber 10:









Then I rotate them both upside down and I get caliber 11...:









...and again turning them for 180 degrees in the horizontal plane I finaly get caliber 8:









It has these two metal rods which when place thorugh both part holds them very precisely in place (the precision is in microns here).

Here is how the proces of moldin goes. This is my basic equipment: gas burner, a masons pot that I use to melt lead and a "brenner" (German word) which burns gas in a blue pointed flame developing high temperature (sorry I do not know the word in English, but it is the orange thing in the picture):









I use the "brenner" both to melt lead faster (although the pot sits on the flame it is not enough), to pre-heat the mold but only for first two rounds; after that mould gets worm enough and I alsu use it to keep lead high temperature during pouring (one hand pours, other holds the brenner but I could not take a picture of it since I do not have three hands..):









This is how the mold looks like after pouring the lead in, caliber 10 in this case:









This is how it looks when I open it, notice the molded parts:









The I get them out and they look like this:









Then I use this thing which these guys in the metal workshot modified for me to cut off the unwonted parts:

















The cut-off parts I recycle back into the masons' pot:









Here is the final result, the pile on the right is caliber 10, the pile on the left is caliber 9:









In the end I use some sanding papaer to rub the parts where the cut was:









This cost me some 50 $ and I plan to have another mold made with calibers 7, 12, 12.7 and 13 - I guess that would be good to do but if anyone has better suggestion please tell me.

Shooting lead is a whole new experience for me with a little bit of new environmental considerations.

I hope you find this interesting,

cheers,

jazz


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Very nice design! And it looks like it does a fine job. If only I had precision plasma cutting equipment available ....

I think the phrase you want for "brenner" is perhaps "blowtorch". Actually "brenner" just means "burner", but the device you have looks like a blowtorch to me.

Cheers ...... Charles


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## reset (Apr 13, 2013)

It is indeed interesting. A lot of thought was put into that setup.Impressive.


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## treefork (Feb 1, 2010)

Nice job!


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## JohnKrakatoa (Nov 28, 2013)

holy cow. this mold is patentable! I want it. This is sellable. I would buy one with the right dimensions stat, for the right price. Srsly you should talk to the guy who has the plasma cutter and make a company around this. xD

Edit: you could maybe even make a mold for 8 diff sizes.if you use the remaining two planes on each cube by making the cubes wider. Srsly ill buy one , you say it cost u 50? Ill give you 60 for one plus shipping cost, easy xD


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## MagicTorch100 (Jun 4, 2013)

Excellent Jazz, a great idea. Ive been toying with a molding method. Nice little business opportunity.


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## Y+shooter (Sep 10, 2013)

I would buy one....


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## Bob at Draco (Feb 18, 2013)

I don't thimk there is any plasma cutting there. That has been cut with a water jet. He did an exceptional job on it.


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

Very nice! The multiple size options are very clever, as it the modified end-cutter.


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## TxTickPkr (Aug 5, 2013)

Your friend does very nice work.


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## leon13 (Oct 4, 2012)

cool ! and looks so well made !

cheers


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## Tentacle Toast (Jan 17, 2013)

Great thinking there, jazz!


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## JohnKrakatoa (Nov 28, 2013)

whatever it was cut with i want one.

another upgrade: make him etch the caliber numbers instead of writing them with marker. will look greaaat.


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## e~shot (Jun 3, 2010)

Cool... good job!


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## JohnKrakatoa (Nov 28, 2013)

jazz said:


> Hi all,
> 
> .......
> 
> ...


Keep us posted on the possibility of producing more of this genius moulds.


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## jazz (May 15, 2012)

Hi all,

thank you for your comments, I wanted to reply to them long time ago but I simply did not know how since it opens couple of issues which I did not know how to approach.

So, my general answer to all comments boils down to:

Firstly, thank you for your compliments on the idea I did know that it was interesting, but I did not know it will rise so much attention, thanks!

Secondly, to those who asked to buy one I must regretfully say that I am not in the business of making these and second, even if I did the postage costs from Bosnia to, say, USA, CANADA or Australia might be so hight that you may as well pay to a local CNC guys to make you one or even two; sorry, but thanks for the confidence you have in me;

Thirdly, this idea might be patentable as JohnKrakatoa put it, but I do not have the means to patent it, to put it bluntly. Maybe someone will, which I personaly would not like to happen but probably could not have the means to stop it. To explain it further, I placed this idea in the forum in which I already received many ideas and I am ready to give ideas back. If anyone wants to start to produce these molds I would be happy but I would be VERY UNHAPPY if someone patents this and prevents other people to do business with it. However, this opens one interesting question that I am curious about and that question was fueled by a discussion here when this person (forgot who) informed the others that he/she is after patenting lalmination, if I rememner well, and I think that it was Hrawk who made it visible to the rest of us.

I am aware of the fact that this is the basic risk that we and this forum share here - that some of our ideas will be so interesting that someone will try to patent them although not being their originators but what we as the forum might do, then, is to accept it as a continious reisk and to try to find a solution because a quality solution might boost new ideas and encourage their excahnge; in this way this forum and its credibiliyt might only grow; a quality solution I think of is that if someone (the true originator of the ideas) can not or will not patent or otherwise protect its idea then there might be an open offer by the forum that the forum does it as the legal entity - either patent it or publish the idea at that site which serves the purpose of protecting peoples ideas from being patented by someone else by publishing them at the site where the patent commission HAS to check if simmilar idea apered or not. In this way the forum would protect its members' ideas but, why not, claim it as it property or the property shared with the originator. In my case, for example, IF AND ONLY IF the mold I presented is patentable, then I would be happy that this forum spends some 80E or so for one page at that site, claims the idea as thris, and even start some forum-owned business whose profits would be retained in the forum for its development.

I know that this might be a bit too far fetched, my idea is only a possible example, but here we deal with the ideas, some of them ocasionaly will evoke conflict and I just think that this forum deserves a organised, principal and proffessional approach to it - wether simmilar or different from what I hinted above.

cheers,

jazz


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## Dr J (Apr 22, 2013)

Nice design! A jewelry sprue cutter would also do a great job in removing the casting sprues.


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## jazz (May 15, 2012)

Dr J said:


> Nice design! A jewelry sprue cutter would also do a great job in removing the casting sprues.


Hi Dr J,

Excellent idea, thanks!

cheers,

jazz


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## One Shot-Corey (Nov 17, 2012)

Ive been making lead balls like yours but having a time cuting them up but ill have to make something like you have to cut them very cool idea


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## JohnKrakatoa (Nov 28, 2013)

well you think into the future jazz... I completely agree with what you said, maybe the idea about the forum s a legal entity to manage patents is really a bit far fetched though.

if you only care that people will be able to make them themselves then I think theres no issue... i dont see how someone else having a patent on it would make it impossible for a non commercial production of one or two DIY moulds for your own use..

i just meant that you could maybe make some money on it

BTW , I am till interested and I live in Slovak Republic which isnt so far from you. Whats postage to Slovakia? How much does it weigh? Maybe a smaller version? xD

Or.....you can always just share the plans with us, maybe i can find someone who can make me one xD

Anyway thx for just sharing the pics/idea, maybe ill make me a mould of some hardwood in its image xD


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## jazz (May 15, 2012)

Hi JohnKrakatoa,

Thank you for your comment, it is very fare and well intended.

The mold is almost 3 kg heavy and there is no way my post office will receive it for regular sendeng; more to that, I have no intention to make another one (ones) and sell them; at least in this moment.

I would gladly share the drawing im much the same way I shared the concept itself and the pictures, but I only did the sketch to this man and since his work is 3D modeling and cutting by the CNC machine etc., he finished the drawing in his computer and made this mold for me.

But the drawing is not difficult to reconstruct: looking from side, that is, at the vertical cut of one half of the mold for any of the calibers, the funnel part at the top where you pour the lead is 4 mm in diameter, as if you took half of such a ball and cut it into the top of the mold; the channel through which the lead flows down in the main shape of the ball is 3mm in diameter and I think some 15 mm long - but I guess that it could be less; and, finaly, the main part, where the lead ball is formed has the diameter of the caliber, in my case these are 8,9,10 and 11 mm.

The center of the main calliber - the ball itself is always at the end of this 15 mm channe, but it does not have to be: for smaller calibers it can be higher, for larger ones it can stay there.

The distance between each of the instancies (and there are 7 of themn in this case) is some 25 mm, that is from the center of the place where you pour the lead to the next one.

I hope this helps and if it does not just let me know I will explain everything.

cheers,

jazz


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## oldmiser (Jan 22, 2014)

very nice ~AKA Oldmiser


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## Pro-Shot (UK) Catapults (Apr 21, 2010)

Hi I think you will find that part if not all your problem is with trap air in the mould when you are casting it look very much like both faces are very well m/c and this could be the problem were the air in the mould can not get out due to the faces being a very good flat surface. you can combat this by putting a vent up along the side of the sprue were you cast the metal in would not need to be so deep just enough for the air to get out


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## jazz (May 15, 2012)

MILBRO PRO SHOT UK said:


> Hi I think you will find that part if not all your problem is with trap air in the mould when you are casting it look very much like both faces are very well m/c and this could be the problem were the air in the mould can not get out due to the faces being a very good flat surface. you can combat this by putting a vent up along the side of the sprue were you cast the metal in would not need to be so deep just enough for the air to get out


Thanks! Soon I will be speaking with the man who made the mold for me and as soon as his time alows he will do some interventions related to vents, hopefuly.

thanks,

jazz


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