Split Shot mold tips??

[Mattman]

Does anyone have any good tips for the Pinch-On Split Shot mold? I have a heck of a time getting the shot out of the mold without a bunch of effort. And much of what I do get out is all scarred up from trying to pry it or grab it with pliers.

[cadman]

Mattman,

There are a couple of things, you can try. If this is a new mold, never poured then try some of the following ideas. If its a used mold, the split shot should come out easier because as you use it it will wear in. When I first bought this mold, I had the same problem. If you are not releasing shot on one side, take a small file and lightly break the edges where the two halves meet on both sides. Do not file or touch the face of the two halves, only the edges. Maybe an emery file would work better, since it won't cut as fast. (If you don't understand this PM me your e-mail, and I will show you, don't file your mold halves, because you will get flash and screw up your mold) You must also use very soft lead. Just a note from Do-It. Soft lead shrinks when it cools, and hard lead expands when it cools. So if you are using hard lead, when the shot cools it will be tighter in the cavity. Another reason for using soft lead, is that this shot is supposed to be removable, with hard lead you will not be able to pinch the ears, with out cracking the lead. Last thing to try. I have been using a product called, boron nitride. I got it at Grainger, its a CRC product, and it is a mold release agent. You spray it in the cavity, and the lube coats the cavity with boron nitried. This makes lead and other metals not able to stick to the surface. It's kind of like a teflon coating. This does work, but it is $15 for a 12 oz spray can. I hope this hleps. I can't think of any other thing that I would do. People smoke molds, but I found that a waste of time. Just my opinion. .........Let us know what your outcome is.

Edited March 1, 2009 by cadman

[Mattman]

(If you don't understand this PM me your e-mail, and I will show you, don't file your mold halves, because you will get flash and screw up your mold)

You must also use very soft lead. Just a note from Do-It. Soft lead shrinks when it cools, and hard lead expands when it cools. So if you are using hard lead, when the shot cools it will be tighter in the cavity. Another reason for using soft lead, is that this shot is supposed to be removable, with hard lead you will not be able to pinch the ears, with out cracking the lead.

Thanks cadman. I totally understand what you're saying, and it makes perfect sense. I just need to get rid of any "lip" the shot may be hanging up on around the edge of the cavity. Material needs to be removed as close to perpendicular to the mold face as possible.

Another question about lead, if I may...

When I bought my Lee Production Pot, Cabela's was out of lead. I bought a bag of shotgun shot. I melted down the whole bag of shot, fluxing and skimming off the impurities and then pouring small ingots.

My jigs, including the little 1/80th ounce ball heads out of the RVB-6-SA all come out fine using this lead. I've had no troubles with any of the jigs I've poured.

But I suspect that lead shot would not be considered soft lead?

[cadman]

You are absolutely right. The best way I found to see if there are any burrs on the edge of the inside cavity, is to take a Q-tip, and run it from the inside of the cavity out. As you near the edge of the cavity, you can feel and see if the burrs (if there are any) pull the fibers from the Q-tip. I know it's a very small area to work in.....As far as soft lead goes. You can easily tell, by taking a pocket knife, and try cutting/shaving a piece off of a chunk. If it is soft it will cut very easily and cleanly. You can barely cut hard lead. Or you can just buy some from a plumbing store. My pure soft is supposedly 99.99% pure dead soft. As far as shotgun shot goes I couldn't tell you, I thought it was all soft, but I don't know that for a fact.

Edited March 2, 2009 by cadman

[Mattman]

You can easily tell, by taking a pocket knife, and try cutting/shaving a piece off of a chunk. If it is soft it will cut very easily and cleanly. You can barely cut hard lead.

Then I certainly have soft lead.

I'll try to get my hands on some really soft lead though and see if that makes an impact.

Thanks for your help.

[sagacious]

...

My jigs, including the little 1/80th ounce ball heads out of the RVB-6-SA all come out fine using this lead. I've had no troubles with any of the jigs I've poured.

But I suspect that lead shot would not be considered soft lead?

Lead shot is not soft lead. Lead shot contains several alloying elements to increase hardness, and is

indeed fairly hard, although since its alloy is formulated to not be brittle, it is easy to shave a sliver off with a knife. It makes wonderful (but expensive) lead to pour with.

Melted lead shot usually works very well for pours where fine detail must be retained. As you have abundantly demonstrated to yourself, the occasional advice that only 'pure' lead works for tiny pours is not the bottom line at all.

The lead shot won't work very well at all for your split shot (been there, tied that-- I'm stubborn). The sinkers will come out too hard to pinch down, and they won't grasp the line very well. Split shot molds are one place where only soft lead will do.

Hope this helps, good luck!

[Mattman]

Lead shot is not soft lead. Lead shot contains several alloying elements to increase hardness, and is

indeed fairly hard, although since its alloy is formulated to not be brittle, it is easy to shave a sliver off with a knife. It makes wonderful (but expensive) lead to pour with.

Thanks for the info. Good stuff.

Given the ballistic demands of lead shot, I suspected it wouldn't qualify as soft lead.

[Boomer]

Lead shot is not soft lead.

That depends on what kind of lead shot you buy.

"Magnum" or "hard shot" or "premium shot" does have hardening alloys, primarily antimony. It also tends to have more tin than wheel weights and so will flow more easily into molds.

"Soft" or "non-magnum" or "dropped" shot is soft lead, and is a reliable source of soft lead when you need that.

Given the ballistic demands of lead shot, I suspected it wouldn't qualify as soft lead.

There are several shotgun applications where soft, easily deformable shot is considered desirable, the most common being the game of skeet. Traditional quail loads featured soft shot, and relied on its deformation to produce wider patterns.

If you don't want to buy a whole 25 lb. bag of shot to verify this, go to the nearest Wally World and buy a box of the promotional "Dove and Quail" loads and cut one open. The shot can easily be cut with a pocket knife.

Edited March 3, 2009 by Boomer

[sagacious]

...

"Magnum" or "hard shot" or "premium shot" does have hardening alloys, primarily antimony. It also tends to have more tin than wheel weights and so will flow more easily into molds.

I am curious as to your source for this information, or if it is anecdotal.

According to the MSDS provided by shot manufacturer Lawrence, magnum shot contains 4% antimony and 1.25-1.50% arsenic. Remington says that their shells with magnum shot are a 5% antimonial alloy. Various other manufacturers also report up to 5% antimony. None list tin on their MSDS sheets. The percentages for lead, antimony, and arsenic total to 100%. If magnum shot contained tin, by federal law it would have to be disclosed on the MSDS. Magnum shot is a good source of antimony and arsenic, but does not contain tin.

"Soft" or "non-magnum" or "dropped" shot is soft lead, and is a reliable source of soft lead when you need that.

Again, I think this information is somewhat in error.

Non-magnum shot is usually referred to, and labled as, "chilled" shot by the industry. "Dropped" shot has no specific meaning as relates to alloy content. According to various sources such as Reminton and the Lyman shotshell reloader's guide, chilled shot contains approximately 2% antimony, and almost always less than 3% antimony. Fryxell lists the average hardness of chilled shot as 13BHN. This is fairly hard lead-- especially as compared to the 'soft' lead many tacklemakers are accustomed to. This amount of antimony is typical of wheel-weight lead, which is considered hard lead by most.

There are several shotgun applications where soft, easily deformable shot is considered desirable, the most common being the game of skeet. Traditional quail loads featured soft shot, and relied on its deformation to produce wider patterns.

If you don't want to buy a whole 25 lb. bag of shot to verify this, go to the nearest Wally World and buy a box of the promotional "Dove and Quail" loads and cut one open. The shot can easily be cut with a pocket knife.

Cheap upland shotshells do indeed have relatively soft shot, but even chilled shot is easy to cut with a sharp knife, and so the knife test is subjective at best. Cheap upland shells can only be relied upon to contain whatever lot of lead shot was available cheapest at the time of manufacture.

The problem lies in the availability of soft shot. "Soft shot" as labelled by the manufacturer is usually pure lead or nearly so. Most of the shot commonly available in stores for reloading is not soft shot. If you can find it, and are willing to pay the high price, only "soft lead shot" is reliably soft lead.

Hope this helps, good luck!

[Fatman]

Before they banned lead split shot here in Vermont I used tire-weight lead for mine. I always poured and let the lead sit on top of the mold then opened it and used pliers to pull the hole thing out.

Then I'd pull the brass bar and use lead shears to cut the split shot off. You could also make a small batch of lead using tire weight 2 parts and 1 part pure and it will make a nice batch for pouring split shots.

Fatman