The sprue cutter acts as one end of a bullet mold, provides an orifice (sprue hole) through which molten lead or lead alloy material is poured into the bullet mold's cavity or cavities, and functions to sever the excess metal (sprue) from the base of the newly-cast bullet.

On bullet molds used by do-it-yourselfers at home, the sprue cutter is usually made of flat steel, and pivots about a screw or bolt which provides some tension while still allowing the sprue cutter to move without excessive effort.


The arrows in the photo point to the sprue cutter. The diagonal arrow points to the hole through which the motel metal is poured into the mold. That hole, and the excess metal that remains outside of the mold atop the sprue cutter after a bullet has been cast, are both called "sprue."

Without a sprue cutter, you'd have a hard time making a cast bullet.

- Russ Chastain

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