DIY bullet mould

Has anyone made any bullet moulds? I'm toying with the idea of making a "cherry" and using a couple of aluminum blocks to make a single mould and was interested if anyone here had tried it. If so, how did it turn out?
I know that I can order a double mould for 20 bucks but where would be the fun in that

IraqVet (Eric) had a 4-5 part video series on his friend making him a mold for his Martini Henry rifle. I can't remember if any of the other members here have, maybe Pathfinder?

i have made a couple on an nc lathe didnt use a cherry they came out pretty good wish i still had them only thing i would suggest is mike an existing mold so you know what diameter to make it. if you make it lets say .429 for a 44 your bullets will be too small after they cool. There is a formula you can use but i forgot it. im sure some one here has it.

Cool! I figured I would try the cherry method first - I don't have a 4-jaw chuck for my mini-lathe. Not sure if that would be easier or not.

Excellent point Reload. I hadn't thought thermal changes. I guess if they came out a little oversize I could still run them through a sizer die and be ok.

I used a drill sharpening machine to put and ogive on a drill bit, then clamped couple of pieces of alum together to see if I could do it and came up with a quick and dirty paper patch mould with alignment pins and everything, but never made handles or a sprueplate for it cause it was an experiment, just to see if i could. the video series Tater talks about describes the proper way of doing it.

A paper patch punch apparatus - I like it I tried something similar for punching out copper discs. Thought I was going to form some copper jackets from old air conditioner tubing. Haven't figured out yet why the only thing I ended up with was copper donuts for crying out loud.. I guess I didn't have the punches shaped right or not enough lube, etc - I just chalked it up to experience.
I'm gonna have to find those vids - this may turn out the same as the copper disk project but I'm gonna have a ton of fun trying !!

the problem with a cherry is it is actually a milling cutter and an NC mill operator will program a machine to circular interpolate a hole with a "Cherry" all a cherry is is a form milling cutter but is it undersized. IF you have a lathe it is much easier especially if you only make one cavity. or as cma said you can make for drill lets say in a Keith shape undersized then grove to bore size that will make your lube grooves

I think I see what you're saying. Drill a pilot hole so the boring bar will have a place to work in and then expand that hole to the size of the bore with the exception of where the lube grooves will be, correct?

lol I dont know maybe we are saying the same thing. If you make a form drill say with a conical taper with a flat nose. Drill a smaller pilot hole then use your form drill to finish the nose shape then use a boring bar with a grooving tool bit to make grooves in the mold they will be your driving bands. in the bullet? am i making any sense? lol

I think we're on the same page. I'm still fairly green on the lathe work but enjoy the heck out of it. Eventually I want to get a 4 inch 4 jaw chuck for things like this.I saw the video of Daywalker unpacking his lathe and I was drooling all over the place. I can't complain though, I have two of the harbor freight style mini lathes (7x12 and 7x10) and have about $130 tied up in both of them. I would love to turn at least one of them into a cnc lathe but still working on the electronics. I know - too many projects

I have been working on a bullet mould for my 44mag. I kinda put it on the back burner for a while. I got into aluminum casting and it has taken up a lot of my time. I get too many projects going at once You should be able to fabricate something decent with your HF lathe. Do you have a drill press? If so it would make it easier to form your lube grooves. You could either use a boring head or you could use a cross slide vice. This way you can run your cherry into the inner portion on the cavity.

I got into aluminum casting and it has taken up a lot of my time. I get too many projects going at once

I resemble that remark my friend!!. I aquired some mouling sand from a local foundry which is ultra fine and should make some real smooth castings. I just need to find a suitable binder. A++ on the split pattern videos by the way.
I may be approaching the cherry thing the wrong way as the holes seem to come out a little oblong. I'm not sure at this point if it is the 15 year old import drill press or my procedure Suffice it to say that I am so close and yet so far away.

Thanks for watching my split pattern video. Just keep plugging away man. It sounds like your on the right track. Plus if you make yours first Ill have someone to help me out when I go to make mine.

LOL! Sounds like an even trade I'll try to give pointers on the mould and you can give pointers on the aluminum casting:)

Well, here is the preliminary results of making a lathe cut mold with a cherry. I mounted the faceplate on the lathe and made a holding fixture for the mold block. Mold blocks are made from 3/4 inch aluminum cut to 1.5 x 2 inches. I drilled opposing corners and put alignment pins all the way through to hold things steady. If I can get it to where I'm satisfied with the results I will add the sprue cutter and handles later. These are .357 in diameter. My sons 357 slugged .356. I want to load them up in some 38 cases to work up a load. Don't know what they weigh in at yet - more than my lee scale can handle though. I'm still in the learning curve with the lathe and with casting so ya'll play nice LOL. As I don't own a video camera to make vids with, ya'll will have to settle with pics from the camera phone

The holding fixture mounted to the faceplate.

Centering the mold in the fixture.

Facing the mold block.

Boring the cavity. I did not get a pic of pre-drilling a 5/16 hole into the blocks.

Finished mold with the first cast.

First boolit alongside a factory bullet.

The one on the left is as cast, center one has been ran through a sizing die, one on right is factory.

I should also add that this setup was not my own idea. I found a website where a colledge instructor had done the same thing.

That is totally awsome!!! I am very impressed....


Can't wait to see more from you...

Thank you kind sir! I'm having a lot of fun making a lot of chips!

great idea on the mold holder for the lathe....ill have to put that on my list of things to do....its only 14 pages long right now...lol.....bill

Thanks bill. You got one of those list too? Not sure how many pages my list is now - I quit counting after 10! LOL

nice job that looks great man yall go me wanting a lathe something awfull

dartfreak75 wrote:nice job that looks great man yall go me wanting a lathe something awfull

Thanks man. They are handy to have that is for sure. I wouldn't have this one if I hadn't found it for cheap. Picked it up at a tool sale for $100. I also have a smaller version of this lathe that I found at Dirt Cheap last year and ended up paying something like 32 or 36 bucks for it. I nearly had to rebuild it from scratch but I believe it is a little more accurate I'm good at making piles of chips but when I grow up, maybe I'll be half as good as some of these guys on here LOL.

How did you get the grooves cut into the mold? Did you separate the halves and stick the bit in the middle? I can't picture it in my mind.

Well, the best way I can explain it is, I bored a 5/16 hole in the mold blocks and run the cherry in to the correct depth, then use the cross slide on the lathe to get the cherry to cut into the side of the hole. I have it locked in the tool holder the same as a turning bit. Think of it as a spoon bit that cuts only on one side.
Hope this helps.

looks great!!!