Need help - Lee 6 Cavity Molds

[medicstimpy]

:???: Hi, everybody...

Ok, I need a little help. It is worse with the 45's but the 9 and 357's do it as well. Here's a list of my molds...

TL358-148-WC (2 cavity) - not bad
358-105-SWC - really bad
TL356-124-2R - not bad
TL452-200-SWC - not bad
TL452-230-2R - really bad

Ok, the problem is... they are supposed to have distinct ridges for the TL and the regular lube is really bad as it should have pretty sharp edges. I get a lot of one side is just right but the other side is smoother and rounder. A lot of the time with the 45's, there is no chamfer edge as should be but it is rounded. :???:

I've played with temperature, more & less fluxing, flow rate from my Pro4-20. Still have the same results. Most of the bullets are rejects.

I've tried smoking them more. Smoking them less. Graphite spray. Cleaning them all over and redoing the process. Still with the same results.

I tried raising and lowering the support.

I have a couple of RCBS and Lyman molds and since they are cast iron, they are supposed to be harder to cast and more maintenance. I pulled out near perfect bullets every time right from the start. It just seems to be the aluminum ones. That I have a problem with.

Now since it is all of them and a couple of them are worse, I take it that it is my technique or something I am doing wrong or not doing at all. I can't see getting 5 bad molds from my distributor. One or two, maybe but not all 5.

If anyone has any suggestions or help, it would be appreciated. Thanks! :-D

[Bob Jones]

I cast a lot of those molds without problem. The only thing I can think of, based on what you posted, is maybe your molds aren't getting hot enough or staying hot enough during the casting process. Aluminum doesn't hold the heat the way iron molds do, and that was the hardest thing for me to learn. You have to get the molds really hot and either keep casting fast and leaving large puddles on the sprue plate, or heat the molds by dunking them in the molten lead. If the molds are too cold they won't fill out.

[oso]

Ditto - I get the mold and melt hot enough for frosty all over (not just one side.)

[medicstimpy]

OK, thanks guys... I'll give it a try... more heat. I notice too that they come out better when they fill faster with the aluminum. Cast seems to like a steady flow but the aluminum seems to prefer real fast when I get overflow.

[medicstimpy]

:drinks: Thanks to the two who offered some sound advice. The extra heat helped a lot. I noticed my temperature going down into the 700degree mark and I started to get those round corners again. So obviously I wasn't running hot enough. I put up the heat and got nice bullets again! :-D

Too bad I don't have time to lube and resize them for the range this afternoon. 8-)

[ReAX222]

I had the same problem and yesterday I pretty much cured it. I was dropping the boolits to early and my mold wasn't hot enough. So I took some extra time and heated the mold, by putting the corner in the lead for 15 seconds and then I set the 6 cavity mold on a damp rag until it stopped steaming. It added about 45 seconds to each casting, but my results were near perfect boolits every time.

I fiddled with the heat, but it had little effect. Heating and cooling the mold seemed to do more for me.

[kodiak1]

medicstimpy I try to hold my mix a 750 min. with the Lee Moulds. You can get them to hot and the pins will start to move on you but just line up your pins and have a drink of soda and you will be alright again for a while.
Ken.

[rmb721]

I use a thermometer and get the temp. up to around 800 for aluminum moulds. On a 6 cavity, I lift the handle on the pot and fill all six cavities before lowering the handle. I then turn it over onto a damp cloth (the Bruce B. method).

[ReAX222]

Please explain the Bruce B method further.

So your laying the sprue plate on the rag and not the mold body? That would cure my sprue plate from staying so hot.

[Bass Ackward]

You can get them to hot and the pins will start to move on you but just line up your pins and have a drink of soda and you will be alright again for a while.
Ken.


What I find is that if I just use the four inner cavities, the mold doesn't over heat, the pins stay lubed much longer, they don't walk, bullets drop better, the sprue cuts easier, this means less stress on the mold, less scoring of the blocks, and the end result, the bullets being more uniform. And because it isn't so heavy, I can mold longer once I have the rythum.

So if that is important, then I only mold 4 at a time. Especially on the custom molds that won't be able to be replaced cheaply.

[TAWILDCATT]

I stone the new molds to take off any rough edges file all the outside corners to take off anysharp edges.smoke them once with barbaque lighter(keeps hand from frying).my next job will be to have a groove machined in sprue plate like H & G.I did that to my Lyman 4 cavity when I worked in machine shop.
----:coffee: ---:Fire: -----:coffee: -----[smilie=1:

[fatelvis]

WOW! This thread kept me from giving my three Lee moulds away, and swearing I would buy nothing but cast iron moulds from now on! After reading this, I turned my bottom pour pot up from my usual 750* to 875*, and Bingo! Perfectly formed bullets! Great website. Thanks Guys-

[Springfield]

I run my pot at 675 and I get perfect fillout. You just have to cast faster to keep the mould temp up. Fill the mould, count to 8 and cut. If the bullet is larger than 200 grains then maybe count to 12. Any longer is too long.