Lee 6 cav Success- 452-230-TC

[mjwcaster]

I just got my new Lee 6 cavity 452-230-TC mould in Friday (was a stinky day, waited to take a shower so as not to miss the delivery).

Finally made time to try it out today for a quick session today.
It was so much fun that I melted more lead and kept going, would still be out there but the camp stove ran out of gas and that was my cue to head back inside and get back to work.
Still, the only thing that kept me from refilling the tank was that I will go back out tonight and cast more.

So much nicer than my Lee 2 cavity 452-230-TC that had nothing but issues, mainly alignment issues. I have stop screwed the sprue plate, one alignment pin (the one that kept falling out) and still couldn't get it aligned/stay aligned. I made one last attempt last week, had my punch set with me, got the lead melted and it started to rain.
I may be stubborn, but I can take a hint, ordered the 6 cav the next day.

It is not perfect, but at least everything I cast today (maybe 3-500 boolits) measured at least .453 or over on all sides, and there were many .453-.454 (.453 1/2) actual round boolits.

I am very happy, now to get my daughters room painted, finish some paperwork, visit with friends and get back to casting tonight.

And then head out on a powder/primer run this week, after getting my reloading bench set back up.

Happy times are here again.

[mjwcaster]

Lee 6 cavity review-

Pluses-
-Round boolits, mostly. Super hot/frosty, or cooler and nice and shiny, there were mostly round and of sufficient size boolits. I am confident that this will get even better.

-Casts a bunch of boolits quickly.

-Boolits actually fall out of the mould, some required a light tap or just a flick of the wrist. My 2 cav I had to push the boolits out by hand (well duh, they were so out of round that was no surprise).

-Fun to actually have something work, really this was the first time I really had fun and didn't quit because of frustration/getting tired.

-Able to work on casting technique. Since things were going well I actually got to pay attention to my technique/setup more, rather than worrying about alignment issues.

Cons-
-Goes through lead quickly (is that even a con? I don't think so :-)

-Sprue plate stop is too tight, when closed all the way it forces the mold halves open. You then have to grip the mould handles tightly.
Had one pour with tons of finning, and then noticed a gap in the mould halves.
Seems to be getting better, it is relieving itself. I may try a slight bit of file work, but not much. Would have tried it already but my files were in the house. Sprue plate stop screw is not too tight, tried loosening it and just a fraction of a turn and it would be completely loose, height/tension is set by the stop itself, not a function of the screw.

That's it for the cons so far.

Have I mentioned that I am a happy camper.

Casting is finally fun.

Matt

[Dale53]

I have a number of Lee moulds. While they can't compare to the quality of Mihec or NOE moulds, they do a decent job.

My six cavity for the bullet in question (Lee .45/230/TC) works well. The bullets are not all quite the same size but they size up and work quite well. The overall design is actually really good. The weight of Hardball, a MUCH better shape for better terminal effect, feeds well in auto pistols, and loads almost like magic when used in full moon clips for revolvers.

What's not to like?[smilie=1:

Dale53

[gpidaho]

The six cavity moulds are sooooooo much better than the two cavity ones. Gp

[mjwcaster]

I did get some usable boolits from the 2 cavity mould.
Shot well with no leading.

I have become a real fan of Truncated cone bullets, cleaner holes in paper and supposedly harder hitting on game (I don't have personal experience, yet)
I need to get some of these down to Texas to try out on some hogs.
I do know that RN FMJ's just make small holes in and out, not pretty on a gut shot hog.
But a follow up head shot will drop it in it's tracks.

So I am really looking forward to being able to produce a pile of ROUND boolits with this mould, or at least large enough.

The 2 cavity could run so far out of alignment that is would be 5+ thousandths undersize in spots (and the same amount oversize in others).

[mjwcaster]

The six cavity moulds are sooooooo much better than the two cavity ones. Gp

I read that before I even started, but also read that the 6 holer may be too much for a beginning caster.
After having both, I believe that starting with a better quality 6 cavity would have been a better choice, even if I only used a few cavities until I got up to speed.
The 2 cavity was just so frustrating.

But my 9mm 2 cavity is much better quality than the 452, so it is hit or miss.

I also learned a lot from that $20 2 cavity, so that when I got the 6 cavity I am treating it much better, and know much more about casting and what to look for in quality control, so it was still $20 well spent.

And I was trying to get started as cheap as possible, to see if I even enjoyed casting.
Before the 6 cavity mold the most expensive thing I bought was the White Labs 45/45/10, then the lee 2 cav ($20), face shield ($12) and used camp stove ($10) plus misc. thrift store pots/spoons/ladles.

So it got me started cheap.
Someday I will get a real quality mould and wonder why I waited so long.

[Leadmelter]

If you get a good one, it is easy to get in the flow and empty a 20lbs pot in 2 hrs.
Leadmelter
MI

[Lefty Red]

I had very good "luck" with Lee's TC bullets in the 45 and 9 and 40.
Now I like the DC molds, but my C430-310-RF is a six cavity and have the same experiances that you had.
Jerry

[mjwcaster]

Hi Lefty Red, hope things are nice in Benton this weekend.

I was thinking of heading down to visit friends over towards Anna, but then realized we have a new cat and newborn kitten and someone should be here to watch them.

Was looking forward to a little squirrel hunting, but I may not mind waiting for cooler weather anyway.

Matt

[Lefty Red]

Hi Matt!

Got to take care of the kittens. Its hot and humid here. Working this weekend and trying to keep away for Rend Lake as its full of boaters and cops. Poor pup and I had to go to the park to run this evening.

I don't normally go after squirrels til after Labor Day, and might even wait it out til October if the weather don't break. Its dry and noisey in the woods right now anyway.

Jerry

[mjwcaster]

So I managed to get my night casting session in, had to do it by lantern though.
Once again it was actually fun, I tossed all my sprues back in just so I could keep casting more.

Before with the 2 cav, I kept casting because I wanted more boolits, now I keep casting because it is fun (and I want more boolits).

I filed the sprue plate at the sprue plate stop cut out, very, very lightly, until the spure plate would close fully without opening the mould halves.
Worked great, until the sprue plate handle nut came loose.
Tightened that up by hand and it worked fine (Note: tighten up with wrench before next casting session and maybe stake nut in place).

Made over 10lbs of 230gr boolits, so maybe 400 or so, in less than 2 hours start to finish (including dragging all the gear out, melting, cool down, cleanup and sorting).
And it will just get more productive.

I kept 2 separate piles, ones from a cold mould when I started(cool, I don't have hot plate or electricity out back, so I warm the mould on the coleman), and when I took breaks.
The other from the casting session.

I measured all of the boolits from the 'cold pile' (those that were boolits, not partials) and even those were good. I had 3 boolits that were under .452, and even those were just in one spot and still .450-.451.

That's right, my wrinkled, nasty culls were still of sufficient size.

I only spot checked the good pile, and those were good, averaging around .453-.453 and fairly round.
There were a few that made it up to .456 in spots.

I am pleased, especially as my temperature was all over the place, no thermometer, no PID, no light, just fire it up and run.

This is more like it.

[Lefty Red]

Lee 6 cavity review-

Pluses-
-Round boolits, mostly. Super hot/frosty, or cooler and nice and shiny, there were mostly round and of sufficient size boolits. I am confident that this will get even better. I like my frosty bullets.

-Casts a bunch of boolits quickly. It will drain a pot quickly!

-Boolits actually fall out of the mould, some required a light tap or just a flick of the wrist. My 2 cav I had to push the boolits out by hand (well duh, they were so out of round that was no surprise). There is a sticky about Lee-Menting the Lee l do it to all my Lee molds. Hardly ever a stuck bullet.

-Fun to actually have something work, really this was the first time I really had fun and didn't quit because of frustration/getting tired.

-Able to work on casting technique. Since things were going well I actually got to pay attention to my technique/setup more, rather than worrying about alignment issues.

Cons-
-Goes through lead quickly (is that even a con? I don't think so :-)

-Sprue plate stop is too tight, when closed all the way it forces the mold halves open. You then have to grip the mould handles tightly.
Had one pour with tons of finning, and then noticed a gap in the mould halves. I noticed out of the blue I would get a big bullet with 6 humps in it too! Most of the time its from a piece of dirty or alloy flake from the spruce that fell into the mold halves while I was dropping them.

Seems to be getting better, it is relieving itself. I may try a slight bit of file work, but not much. Would have tried it already but my files were in the house. Sprue plate stop screw is not too tight, tried loosening it and just a fraction of a turn and it would be completely loose, height/tension is set by the stop itself, not a function of the screw.

That's it for the cons so far.

Have I mentioned that I am a happy camper.

Casting is finally fun.

Matt

[mjwcaster]

I may end up lee-menting it in the future, I read the stickies many times before even starting to cast or buying anything.

What I noticed tonight while casting is that if I waited longer after cutting the sprue, the boolits dropped out on their own. If I opened the mould within a few seconds after cutting the sprue (which I do a few seconds after the sprue cools and there is no smearing) the boolits would stick.

I played around with pot temps and trying to air cool the mould some, but the stars never lined up perfectly, unless I just waited 7-10 seconds after cutting the sprue.

I have messed around with my 2 cavity so much trying to get it to work, that I am kind of burnt out on messing with moulds right now.
I will just cast with it for a while and then after I get a large pile of boolits (which looks like it will happen soon).

Actually I was thinking about my plan today-get a number punch set and do maybe 10 test pours after the mould is up to temp, keeping each pour separated and numbered by cavity.

This would allow me to measure the results from each cavity, and a few pours would allow me to check the average/deviation of each cavity.

Then Lee-ment the mould to the largest cavity, to make them all the same.

For now I am just happy to be casting, now to get the reloading bench setup.
I am thinking that I may just throw something together in the garage this week to be able to load some ammo and get to the range.
Finish my inside bench after I finish painting my daughters room and get all her stuff moved back in.
But the wife is already picking out colors for the bathroom, and the rest of the place needs paint, so it may be a while before I get my stuff back inside.

[bruce381]

""And I was trying to get started as cheap as possible, to see if I even enjoyed casting.??""

I like casting as much or more than shooting.

[runfiverun]

I wouldn't get too worked up about making them all that big.
99% of the 45 auto's I have ever dealt with wanted 452 and the other 1% wanted 451.

[mjwcaster]

I wouldn't get too worked up about making them all that big.
99% of the 45 auto's I have ever dealt with wanted 452 and the other 1% wanted 451.

I really don't want them that big, but I wouldn't mind consistency, someday.

So if one cavity is a little large I may make them all match.
Hard to make one smaller.

For now I need to work on my consistency in casting, and I have a long way to go before I worry about the mould.
It seems to be in the ballpark, nothing too extreme on sizes, haven't weighed anything yet, and I'm guessing that the size differences I am seeing are user errors, not the mould itself.

Really not even a concern right now, I am casting for short range pistol, no leading and hitting some where near where I aim.
Quantity is the name of the game for this mould.

[flashhole]

Congrats on your success. I use a similar Truncated Cone, 6-cavity Lee mold for 40 S&W. I run the bullets through the Lee Sizer (I recommend getting one if you don't already have one) then lube with Liquid Alox. They run through my PT-140 very cleanly and are more accurate a bullet/load than I am a shooter.

A loading hint with the Truncated Cone bullet. The Lee manual called out a specific Cartridge Overall Length. When I loaded to that COL the flat shoulder on the bullet stuck up above the brass by 3-4 thousandths. Not a lot, but enough to cause feed problems in my gun. The round headspaces on the case rim and I think I was introducing a false rim with the bullet shoulder. The fix was to seat the bullet a few thousandths deeper so the shoulder on the bullet was just below flush with the case rim.

This is the last batch I made. Yes, you can drop a pile of bullets in short order with the 6-cavity mold.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v69/GuideGun/Bullets%202_zpsclu5eynx.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/GuideGun/media/Bullets%202_zpsclu5eynx.jpg.html)

[mjwcaster]

Thanks Flashhole.

I have already loaded these before, I did get some usable boolits from the 2 cav mold, just not many.
The ones I cast the other day are already sized, I just mounted my sizer on my desk last night and ran them through.
I think I will leave it there, it works good, can size boolits when ever I get bored.

There were a few that were hard to size, a few that went through with little effort, but all in all a fairly consistent batch.

Still need to get my reloading press setup, maybe today.

Maybe not, heading out to try and cast some more before the rain hits, supposed to rain most of this week and I cast outdoors (no other choice), so cast when the sun shines and work inside while it rains.

Matt

[mjwcaster]

Another successful run this morning.
Almost 20lbs of decent 452-230-tc this run in about 2 hours from walking out the door to cleaned up and back in the house.

That makes almost 40lbs total so far, well on the way to my goal of 1500 45 boolits cast.

Man this thing will go through lead, I started with a completely full pot, almost to the brim and added my sprues back as I cast (in batches when I wanted a break and the pot needed skimming anyway).

So my pot is good for over 500 boolits before needing to be refilled. Two pots will get me well over 1000 45 boolits.
Cool.

This session had some (very few) boolits from wrinkled (probably after relubing sprue plate, I still put way too much on) to completely frosty, but most were shiny.
The really frosted ones may get culled, as they were cut too fast and the bases are smeared pretty good. Looks like only one pour though, didn't see more than a couple like that.

So I still need to work on my consistency before worrying about cavity size (and I'm not worried about cavity size anyway, seems pretty close).

I preheat my mold by placing it on the coleman, in the middle of the grate, not too near the running burner.
It does not get perfectly warmed up, but I don't want to get too close to the burner for fear of warpage.
Today I was able to fill all 6 cavities from the start, with only a little more resistance to cutting the sprues than a hot mold, maybe 3-4 fills before it warmed up completely and I started keeping boolits.
Boolits were probably ok from the start, but since I can remelt and repour my mistakes so easy, why not just remelt them and try and keep my consistency up.

Need to start looking for more lead, my ~200lbs of range scrap is not going to last long at this rate.
I have some local leads, but haven't pursued them because I was having issues with casting before. Not anymore.

Still having fun.

Matt

[Yodogsandman]

Matt, I just got a used Lee 6 cavity 453-230 TC from a member here. Yesterday afternoon I was able to cast up almost a full Lee pot of lead in about an hour for around 400 boolits. I leave my pot set up so, I have no real clean up. I cast them just a little hotter than shiney for that frosted look. Mine cast right at .453" and weigh 234gr. I plan to size them to .452" and then tumble lube with Ben's Liquid Lube.

[mjwcaster]

There have been some good deals on used lee 6 cavities in the last week or so.

Right after I ordered mine I found one that had been posted for a couple of weeks with thermocouple and digital readout, shipped, for what I paid for mine.

Then yesterday I missed some that were listed for $25 shipped, by a few hours, but I think they sold within minutes.

Had I seen it earlier I would have bought another 452-230-tc at that price, or the 9mm or the 40 cal or ...

I had been watching for deals on the mould here for a while, never saw much, then as soon as I order they come out of the wood work.

No problem, I love mine and the price is still a great deal.

[Yodogsandman]

This was my first 6 cavity and I'm just amazed at how fast you can drain your pot! I missed out on those molds listed in the S&S section, too.

I ran my pot at 725*F but, adding the huge sprue back in with each cast kept it at about 700*F. I opened the sprue plate after 7 seconds, waited about another 7 seconds and dumped the boolits out onto a folded towel to cool. Closed the mold, filled the mold, pushed the 6 boolits to the back of the towel, open the sprue plate and continued.

[mjwcaster]

Yodogsandman, you got the one with the thermometer, didn't you?

Did you try the mold thermometer out?

Do you like it?

[Yodogsandman]

Yodogsandman, you got the one with the thermometer, didn't you?

Did you try the mold thermometer out?

Do you like it?

Yeah, I did get that one. I took the probe out and didn't use it. I've cast for a long time and don't feel any need to use a thermometer on a mold. No, I didn't try it and probably won't. I felt that the wire would just get in the way. Plenty of other things that need a thermometer, though. Wish it came with directions.

The name brand on the digital grill thermometer was "Maverick" and can be had at Wallymart for $18.

Try to concentrate on your cadence while casting. The mold temperature will take care of itself.

I use a bottom pour Lee 20 lb pot with a PID control on it and a hot plate with a thermometer in the mold cover(#10 peach can) for pre heating the mold.

[mjwcaster]

Another casting session, another success.
4 hours start to finish, setup to cleanup, finished before the storm rolls in.

End result- 35lbs of boolits.

Yes I hit my magic 1000 boolits in a session.

I have over 2K cast, and am looking to get up to at least 5K before winter sets in.
Should not be an issue at 1K per session.

Took my time today, didn't even have the lead up to temp for an hour, started it slow as I was doing other things and I don't want to leave molten lead unattended (I cast behind the garage in an area open to the public, though very few people go back there).

Also took lots of breaks, was sore from digging up a friends backyard searching for a sewer blockage.

So it could have gone much faster, probably should have only been 3 hours.

I am very happy.

[Pumpkinheaver]

I have won many pin shoots with the Lee 230 TC bullet. Most cast with their 6 cavity mold. It has never given me and problems even after many years of service.