I Give Up

[medicstimpy]

I still don't know wat it is with them cheap Lee molds. I can't cast worth s*** with them. My cast iron ones come out perfect the first time. I redid a batch for the 3rd time with Lee and got to redo them a 4th time.

Less heat. More heat. Longer cooling times for molds. Less cooling time for molds. More flow. Less flow. They all come out like garbage. Round where they should be sharp. Not filled out at all. No luck at all.

Trouble is I like the bullets with Lee especially the Tumble Lube.

Guess I'm going to have to spend even more $$$ on RCBS and Lyman. :-? And then even more for top punches and new resizing dies to lube them. :(

[jhrosier]

I had trouble with a Lee mould not filling out.
I used my Lyman dipper to add some pressure to the fill and it worked better.
Now I need to find the burr that is causing the boolits to stick.
It is certain that you usually get what you pay for.

[randyrat]

I've got 4 Lee molds and all of them needed cleaning real good, some burrs needed removing(very carefully),smoked real good, lubed with permatex, and the temp at which you cast is important. Mine all would stick until i got to the right temp. Don't beat on them too much just get the temp up a little. Heat them up real good before you start casting. At least this worked for me,there may be other solutions for you. There seems to be a "Happy temp" for Aluminum molds. Dip the corner of the mold for 10 min in the smelt before you attempt,sometimes more because this will also lower your lead temp.

[Single Shot]

The above is great advice.

Lee molds do seem to like hotter temps than other brands.

I have cast and sold thousands of bullets with them.

And something seems to happen to the aluminum. It gets easier to cast and releases better as use goes on. Must be some kind of heat change to the aluminum over time.

Most my molds are the lee six cavity. I do have a few Lyman and Saeco.

[VTDW]

All my molds are Lee's. I think it is sorta like learning to run a dozer...by the seat of you pants. My newest RD 265 gr is hanging a bit too. Hang in there.

Dave

[Bret4207]

How are you casting, ladle or bottom pour? Qith my Lee's I cast about as fast as I can with the ladle sput in contact with the sprue hole in most moulds. I run hot and cool the sprue on a wet cloth ala Bruce B. I get good booilts. Tell us just exactly how you cast and maybe we can offer some tips.

[felix]

SS, lead eats aluminum for lunch. That is why the mold drops boolits better and better as the mold is used. ... felix

[jack19512]

[QUOTE=medicstimpy;227667]I still don't know wat it is with them cheap Lee molds. I can't cast worth s*** with them. QUOTE]






I am relatively new to casting myself. I'm not sure if your reference to Lee molds is quite fair. I would agree that they are inexpensive. I have 8 Lee molds now and everyone of them works great. I always thought that if I could cast my own bullets anyone could. Two things I have noticed about my molds.

1. I think you have to start out with a clean mold. I wash my new molds using a firm toothbrush in boiling water at least two times if not three with dish detergent and then smoke them.

2. In order to cast good bullets the molds have to be hot enough. At first my bullets come out wrinkled and will not drop easily but after several have been cast they start to come out right and drop easily.

[centershot]

OK, Felix, you can't leave us hanging here! Exactly what do you mean by "lead eats aluminum for lunch"? Inquiring mindswant to know!

centershot

[VTDW]

Felix is the Master Baiter.:mrgreen:

[felix]

Actually, folks have been using mercury to take out lead for this same reason! The molecules are so heavy that they will eventually go through a lighter metal. Remember the problems we had several years ago when aluminum wiring caused hot spots at the wall plug, and has caused fires in rare cases? This is the reason we are talking about. The plugs won't get hot if the wall socket had clamps like are on car jumper cables. This is because the clamp keeps on pushing the "worn out" metal away keeping full contact. Also, keep in mind how two unlike metals cause a current to flow and this is how the thermocouple type of thermometers work. ... felix

[armoredman]

If you don't want your Lee molds....:) I have good luck with Lee, but I do have a high reject rate. The TL356-124 2R does the wrinkled thing for a while, until I jacked the temp up, and smoked the dogsnot out of it. It still resists dropping, but gets better as the session goes on.
On the other hand, I have a 140gr 2 cavity .358 Lee mold I got used from kodiak, and that sucker drops them like a bad habit, quick and easy.
The others work OK, and I lack the mechanical knowledge/abilities to lap a mold for burrs. i just beat the heck out of my wooden beater. :O

[HORNET]

centershot,
Aluminum is slightly soluble in lead. The solubility varies with temperature so running very hot for very extended periods of time could result in cavity enlargement. This is blocked to some extent by smoking the mold to provide a barrier layer that prevents actual direct contact between the 2 metals. This is probably not a significant problem for most of us.
Aluminum contaminated lead also doesn't cast very well, makes zinc look good.

[randyrat]

*** One more thought***Also there are some molds that need a little smoothing on the underside of the sprue plate you'll see it scratch the top of the mold. Just remove the sprue plate and sand with some fine sand paper on a hard flat surface. Those little buggers will make it hard to open your sprue plate sometimes. I think these develope if you pound on your sprue plate too hard on too cold of lead.

[felix]

Best to slice open only one cavity until soft, then the next, then the next, etc. Start with the one closest to the hinge bolt. With a Saeco 4 banger, start with the two closest to the hinge bolt. ... felix

[Char-Gar]

The problem I have with Lee are the burrs but those can be removed. I clean the mold very good with hot water, dish soap and a tooth brush. I then coat the inside of the cavities with NEI Mold Prep. I also coat the top of the blocks and the top and bottom of the spru cutter. I use a Q-Tip to apply the Mold Prep.

I cast using a Lyman 20 lbs furnace and have no problems with the Lee or other aluminum molds.

[mag_01]

I find polishing the Lee molds with 3M buffing compound and running them hot as suggested gives me good boolits with easy release. When I think of the Lee molds I beat up until I learned how to use them properly. Once you learn the trick of using Lee molds life becomes easier. Mag_01



3M removes the burrs and sharp edges

[mag_01]

Another tip on Lee molds --- If you are having trouble with a cold mold and wrinkled boolits try 1/2 pot of lead mix at max temp. setting --- Mag_01

[medicstimpy]

Thanks again for all the info, people. I don't know what it is. The batch I did with all of my 6 Cavity molds had about 1/3 the batch rejects which was ok as I did get a lot out of that 2/3.

This time, I ran it hot again and the bullets just didn't want to fill out. I tried going as fast as I could so the molds wouldn't cool too much. I tried slowing down for them to cool more. I tried lowering the temperature. I reduced the flow from the bottom pour. I increased the flow.

Still the things didn't want to fill out properly and about 90% of them are rejects.

I tried to keep everything consistant from the last time before I started testing different temperatures and flows and cooling times so I really don't know what I'm doing wrong this time.

I know the last time it took a while to develop a rhytym. This time I had a good rhytm going and still the bullets came out bad. :(

When I finally gave up, I got out the cast iron RCBS molds and cast a few hundred .357 and 9mm RN without any troubles at all.

[mooman76]

You left out one critical part! 6 cavity moulds. Those are a totally different animal. 6 cavities are hard to get to temp and once there you have to keep going fast to keep them there. Maybe your heat source isn't hot enough but what you need to do is crank up the heat as hot as you can get( you can always turn it down if it starts to get too hot ) for the lead and make sure the mould is preheated good as well. Have everything handy that you will need so you don't have to slow down letting that mould cool off.

[OLPDon]

Molds are sometimes like girlfriends, each are different but yet the same. I have some of my molds like a fast pour w/ short distance, some don't work unless a good distance from the bottom pour. And then there are the molds that don't care, anyway works for them. Molds are much like girlfriends the better ones don't come by too often. Did I mention that some cheeper ones work well also.
I will let you decide which of the cheeper I have in mind[smilie=1:

You have to try different things with molds too. They may have same dia. but that were it ends.:holysheep
Don

[Marc2]

Smoke 'em.

Marc

[shotstring]

I'm glad that someone could finally cast some insight on all those wall fires I have been having with my aluminum wiring. No joke - have had 2 and almost a 3rd, but got to them early. Felix, I don't really understand what you are saying though. I was never very gifted concerning electrical. My problem may also have something to do with the aluminum wiring rated at 15 amps while the breaker board requires 20 amps to throw a breaker. It's a rental so I can't get it fixed.

As to the aluminum mold problem - I purchased an inexpensive 2 burner hot plate to cast bullets with - a 900 watt for the lead pot and a smaller 600 watt burner for heating my molds.
Perhaps you could not only use a hot plate to bring your mold initially up to temp, but also set it on the plate periodically to help keep the mold hot so you don't have to rely soley on the hot lead while creating boolits to do it.

[felix]

SS, if you unplug all things in the house, and the meter is still running, you have a problem somewhere. That is a dangerous indicator. The best indicator is to feel each outlet for heat when none is warranted, i.e., the outlet is not being used, nothing turned on. Turn the electricity off at the intake panel (right behind the meter). Take off each warm wall plug, unscrew the wires off, and scrub them with 0000 steel wool until shiny clean and then screw them back onto the plug. Should be good to go. Check every year for plugs not being used, and those used with lots of current every month or two. ... felix

[Dale53]

I have every kind of bullet mould (nearly) that has been made. I have a couple of RCBS 22 lb pots and bottom pour. I have many Lee moulds (mostly six cavity) and have almost no problems with any of my moulds.

However, each and every bullet mould has its own characteristics. You have to learn each mould. It is quite helpful if you take notes on what works with each mould. It will save you lots of "re-inventing the wheel".

To heat up a small Lee mould, you can stick a corner of the mould in the molten alloy for 30 seconds, then start casting. What others have said about cleaning the mould is absolutely necessary. The firm toothbrush and detergent in hot water is the best way I have found to clean both Lee and iron moulds. The preservative on moulds is almost a "bullet preventive" until it is thoroughly cleaned off the mould blocks.

I am a BIG fan of Bullshop Sprueplate Lube and use it on every mould I work with.

Just hang in there, they'll start working for you if you follow these tips...

Dale53

[PatMarlin]

You can buy plug outlet recepticles specially made safe for your aluminum wire.

I remember now... they are Levington CO/ALR switches and outlets.

[armoredman]

ALuminum wires? I thought they phased them out of mobile homes in the 70s due to fires! Please, sir, move if you can - that's a fire trap. Shotstring, did I mention all the public ranges out here in AZ, with no aluminum wires?
I preheat my Lee molds by dipping them for 30 seconds or so, and still the TL356-124 2R does wrinkled boolits for a while - I may have to try the hotplate. Thanks for the idea. Pawn shops have many oddball things, wonder if they have one of those.
The other Lees work just fine first time.

[Bret4207]

Bingo! What Moonman said. Cast hot and fast.

[targetshootr]

Mine do fine once the lead and mold are at the right temp, then it's boolits galore.

On the wiring thing, even when aluminum is clamped under a screw, the constant expanding and contracting will loosen it up allowing for an arc. It still keeps me busy to this day.

[44man]

Aluminum wires are deadly, a lot of homes still have the main wires coming in made of aluminum. But! They use a special compound on connections that prevents the aluminum from oxidizing or causing the dissimilar metal problem so the connection maintains contact and doesn't get hot. This is what they forgot to use throughout the homes at outlets and switches.
Even copper connections must be kept tight or they will over heat. If I had a house with aluminum wiring and it wasn't mine, a rental, I would buy the compound and apply it to every connection after cleaning the wires. Better safe then sorry! Don't depend on the owners, they would rather get the insurance money.
I also have to wonder if the hotplate is getting the pot hot enough to cast good with the Lee mold. The lead on top might be cooler then the lead at the bottom.

[shotstring]

Thanks for all the tips on the aluminum wire situation. I have copied all the information and will be going through the house a recepticle at a time until everthing is addressed. It's always bad to have a fire, but to have a fire in the home of an avid shooter and reloader....well, it might be pretty to watch as it would be quite a display, but nothing I would care to see.