Problem with GB mold stripped screw.

[hunter64]

Well I finally decided to use one of my GB molds today, I have been casting from several other GB molds and now it was a 30 caliber molds turn. I fired up the pot and pre heated the mold and started to cast. About the third drop I noticed something was not right with the sprue cutter, so I filled the mold again and when I cut the sprue sure enough the bases of the bullets were not flush. I put a wrench on the swivel bolt and it was really loose and I thought, O here is my problem. I stated to snug it up and it wouldn't tighten it just kept spinning. I finally wedged a small screw driver under the sprue plate and with wrench I got the bolt backed out. Sure enough when I looked at the threads they were all stripped inside the aluminum hole. So either someone at Lee really tightened it down and stripped it or it was threaded wrong from the beginning and they just threw it in with the rest of them. Well I have had this mold for about 6 months now so I knew I just couldn't return it so I thought how can I overcome this problem. So looking at the stripped screw I figured I would just duplicate what Lyman molds have and that is a set screw on the other side of the mold to hold the bolt in place. On my small drill press I drilled and tapped a 10-32 set screw hole, installed a set screw with the little copper cap on the end and problem solved. I had to put the mold into my soft jawed vise and put pressure down on the stripped bolt into the mold and then tighten the screw to hold it there. So I am kind of wondering why doesn't Lee do that straight from the factory like RCBS and Lyman does?

[KYCaster]

So I am kind of wondering why doesn't Lee do that straight from the factory like RCBS and Lyman does?


Cost, son, cost. That's one of the reasons why Lee molds cost less than Lyman and RCBS. In the "Molds, maintainance and design" forum there's a sticky about "Lee-menting". Take a look at it...some good info there.

Jerry

[hunter64]

KyCaster: Yeah I looked at the Lee-Menting and it dealt with the actual bullets dropping from the mold. I searched alot of the other threads but I must have missed it so I decided to add my own two cents encase someone else has the same problem. This site is great but sometimes I think the search engine doesn't work all the time. Or it could be just me,lol.

[Buckshot]

................hunter64, Hmmmmmmm. Never heard of a 6 banger sprue pivit stripping that fast. Your remedy is a recommended type "Do this before using the moulds" type thing. In case you ever get a Lee 2 cavity mould is that their sprueplates are held down with self taping screws. Pretty much if you loosen or remove one it'll never be the same again :-)

...............Buckshot

[Lloyd Smale]

Ive had lee replace 3 different group buy molds that have been defective. They do keep a few of each of the group buy molds for warantee replacements. Each time theyve sent me a new mold. Box it up and send it to them. But do yourself a favor and dont call first as they may tell you that its not covered or they dont have them.

[44man]

I would just drill and tap it for 1/4-28, make a new screw and then use the set screw. Once you find the correct tightness for the 1/4" screw, file a flat on the thing where the set screw touches it so you don't mess up the threads with it. The you can remove it if you need to.
Screw up the threads and you will ruin the block again if you ever have to take off the plate.
Lee uses a self tapping screw but I don't have a six banger to see what it has.

[Lloyd Smale]

problem with fixing it yourself is that once you alter it they will never warantee that mold if something else happens to it.

[hunter64]

44man: That is exactly what my next step would be, make a bigger bolt hole and then put the set screw fix back in. I am not sure but it looks like you might be able to get a nut into the handle channel and hold a new bolt down that way also. I figured that I wouldn't use the mold that much, just for plinking and shooting a 30-30 and maybe give it a try with my Garand. With the amount of shooting that I can do in a year I made enough bullets to last me a few years and the screw didn't back out at all and the mold worked great. I got around stripping the threads on the original screw by using the copper capped set screw.

I can see how it happened if they used a self tapping screw, just tightened it down to hard into the aluminum.

Buckshot: So I should do this to all my 6 cavities, drill and tap and use copper ended setscrew (or file a flat)? I have installed the metal screw into the side of the mold where the cutter pivot comes into contact, great advise on that one.

[44man]

Knowing Lee and their quality, if I have one that makes perfect boolits, I will NOT send it back. The chance of getting one that is wrong is too great to give up a nice one.
I have had to send back many 2 cavity molds because of way out of round or wrong size boolits. Once I get a good one it stays here so I will fix it.
I agree that a poor one should not be worked on and sent back instead.
I have even removed the handle pins, drilled and tapped for set screws so handles can be removed if needed.
I have had to repair one that the locating pin came out of. I would not part with the good boolit it cast.
Besides that, they are cheap! :drinks:

[sundog]

Yep, d&t for set screws. Use a brass ball from pull chain under the set screw, kinda like what RCBS does with a brass piece under their set screws, so you won't bung up the threads on the pivot screw.

http://home.windstream.net/corkyconnell/mould_pics/Mould_Pics.html

I'm with 44man on this. If you have a mould that otherwise casts good, fix it.

[94Doug]

I am kind of new to this whole concept, but how about some sort of HeliCoil or threaded insert? Wouldn't that then eliminate the problem of the aluminum being stripped again?

Doug

[No_1]

Great Idea Doug! The problem you have overcome is keeping the screw tight in the threads but not against the sprue plate. As you know, there must be a small amount of clearance between the sprue plate and mould to allow rotation of the plate to cut the sprue. The heli-coil will not allow you to run the sprue plate screw locking screw against the sprue plate screw (say that 10 times fast!). I guess you could use a self-locking heli-coil....

Robert




I am kind of new to this whole concept, but how about some sort of HeliCoil or threaded insert? Wouldn't that then eliminate the problem of the aluminum being stripped again?

Doug

[44man]

Very true and you will NOT be able to drill through the heli coil, they are hard as blazes. Might be able to go under the coil though if the bolt is long enough.

[hunter64]

Sundog: The mold casts excellent, I would say that it ranks in the top two molds that I have and I have a few dozen right now, so I figured I better try and fix it because you might not get the same quality back from another mold. Thanks for the mold porno, that is exactly what I did and for the set screw I have some that have a copper tip on the end of them for just this occasion.