steel molds / lee

[bigbird1]

I am new to the casting and only have lee aluminium molds, some old some new, I have tried smoking them , the bullet in the drill with toothpaste trick and they just don't drop right, after I smoke them they drop till the black is gone , maybe 4 drops. do the steel ones ever stick? or is it just the cheaper lee ones. I looked at the 4 bullet lyman and handles makes them over 100.00 and the lee is like half that. The lee makes good bullets and a bunch , I just hate whacking them with the wood mallet every time?????

[UweJ]

The steel ones stick also if you don´t prep them. What do you smoke the molds with ? Don´t use a candle cause that brings crud back into the mold. In the stickies there are very good threats about leementing molds. I tried them and they sure made a difference with my Lee molds. Clean the mold first with break cleaner or such and then follow the instructions in the threats,it will make a world of a difference.
Good luck
Uwe

[Buckshot]

.................If they're still not dropping well after running cast boolits in the cavities with toothpast, either it wasn't done long enough or it's time to break out the magnifying glass and take a serious look at the cavities.

I've had moulds that you had to beat the hinge like you were trying to break it, and THAT is just not a way to spend some enjoyable and productive casting time!

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