any suggestions on working with this Lee mould? 9mm RNTL 124 Grn

[whammo7]

heh granted, I take responsibility for messing a couple up, but this one, I don't think so.

My 124 grn 9mm RN TL 2 cavity mold, I'm running the spru plate bolt really loosey goosey becuase I've broken them off before, and tightening it up makes it lift up at the opposite end so it doesn't stay flush with the mold.

So I'm getting more flags(I forget the term) at the bottom of the bullets than I'd like, but so be it.

Now the bars at the bottom of the mould, one had broken in half, and the other has worked its way out, and when I try to close the mould after dropping the boolits I have to give it a tap on the bottom to get them to line up again.

I tried tightening the center bolt , but it didn't help much.

With my very small amount of knowledge I've done my best to handle this mould delicately. I've been using karo oil and the bullets drop nice, I just give it a little tap on the center bolt to get them to budge.

Any suggestions? I've read about prepping lee moulds and other posts and I'm kinda at my wits end. Thanks much!

[runfiverun]

since it's most likely gona cause other issues anyways, i'm gonna paraphrase some advice i seen recently regarding this same mold in good working condition.
put it in the vise, now tighten the handle, tighten it some more. there ya go.
now grab that big hammer and beat the bejebus out of it. when done, put it in the recycling bin.
they make a decent 6 caviity regular lube groove mold that pours a 125 gr rn flat boolit for the 38 special that will work just fine.

[whammo7]

sigh.

I was afraid of that. I actually have a 6 cavity mould I haven't tried yet.

now where did I put the handles for it...

[ku4hx]

sigh.

I was afraid of that. I actually have a 6 cavity mould I haven't tried yet.

now where did I put the handles for it...

At about $15 now days for a two cavity mold, they're basically consumables.

Six cavity mold handles are sold by the same guys who sell the molds: MidwayUSA, Midsouth and etc.. They run in the neighborhood of $13. Watch the handles, all mine seem prone to loosening and sliding out of place. If they do that stake 'em.

[whammo7]

Thanks, ku4hx! My handles *did* pull out before. I'll stake them tomorrow before I try them out.

I took a minute to look at the instrutctions(these were a replacemnet set for some I'd returned to Lee months ago) and the directions were *highlighted* for me LOL!! Truth is, I had done nothing correctly to prep the mould.

So I followed the directions, took apart bolts and hit everything(pins included) with dilectric grease except the cavities, which I Kroil'd.

I'll also smoke the mould to see what happens.


Last time, I'd never cast before, I broke the spruce plate handle (the potmetal) by yanking it too hard I guess.

Will report back!

[HangFireW8]

I'll also smoke the mould to see what happens.

If you can get away with Kroiling and smoking a Tumble Lube mold, and still get clean defined TL driving bands, you deserve an award or something.

I would recommend trying a very clean cavity, very carefully checked for burrs. If boolits stick, lap it with a poured boolit with a nail in it, then clean and deburr some more.

My experience with the 45 equivalent of this mold is that for good fillout, it has a narrow temperature range for preheat and a narrow temperature range for the melt. Boolits were either lightly frosty or not filled-out. If the weather is cold you may find the 9mm even more challenging to keep up to temperature, if you slack off for a moment it will cool down and then the tiny lube grooves won't fill out.

If I ever bother to use mine again, I may try pressure/ladle pour.


Last time, I'd never cast before, I broke the spruce plate handle (the potmetal) by yanking it too hard I guess.

If the sprue plate and/or mold is cold, on the Lee 6-cavity it can be very hard to cut the sprue. Many people have broken it doing this. Do a complete pre-heat, especially the sprue plate, I put it right on an electric burner before casting, so the sprues will stay soft when hardened and I won't have this problem.


Will report back!

Please do!

HF

[milprileb]

If you want drama: go ahead and put Kroil in that molds cavities.

smoke them: okay but Kroil? Don't go there, its a mine field