Lee Pro 4 20 LB. Furnace Mold Rest Mod

[MBfrontier]

I have been using the original mold rest on the Lee Pro 4 20 Lb. Furnace with NOE hollow point molds. The mold rest works fine with LEE Molds but not so much with NOE HP Molds with pin brackets on the bottom. My NOE mold has2 cavities and is brass which makes it significantly heavier than aluminum. I am relatively new to bullet casting and started casting in 2013. As of now, I only own 2 LEE molds and 2 NOE HP Molds. All 4 are 2 cavity.

I thought I would try to come up with a rest I could use on this furnace that would be easier to use with a variety of molds. I used a 3/8 in. steel rod and drilled a 1/4 in. perpindicular hole to slide onto the 1/4 in. left leg. I drilled and tapped the end to accept the original thumb screw that was in the original mold rest. I made 2 adjustable collars that slide onto the 3/8 in. rod to use as mold guide fences. The adjustable collars are drilled and tapped for small allen set screws. I figured in the future I can make a small flat mold rest to slide and lock onto the 3/8 in. rod. I haven't used it yet but I'll give an update once I try it out. Here's the picture:
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[500MAG]

That looks great

[Smoke4320]

Looks like RCBS pro melt rest and will work great.
Good job

[MBfrontier]

Thanks 500MAG and Smoke4320. You're right Smoke. That's where I got the idea to use collars on a mold rest for the LEE Pot.

[StuBach]

Looks like a solid option. Be interested to see if it will hold the weight.

If it does, any chance you'd be willing to make a second one to sell or trade?


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[03fatboy]

That's a good idea, thanks for sharing.

[Spector]

If there is any concern about supporting the weight it would be easy enough to add another rod on the right side. It would hold weight, but be free to rotate as it would not be attached to the pot body or base allowing the mold guide to be moved to a front to back orientation, or any angle in between.

If this is the same mold guide style in use on the RCBS pot then it is very unlikely any additional support is needed.

Mike

[Walter Laich]

good job. I like all the little things we come up with to improve the process

[MBfrontier]

Change in plans. I decided to make the flat mold rest and reengineered to do so. I made a slide plate from some sheet metal I had in my scrap bin with a cutout so my lead drips don't collect on the slide. It has ideas taken from RCBS, Lyman, and who knows what else. Today, I'll be disassembling, painting, and reassembling after the paint dries. I'll post again after I try it casting bullets.

Here's the latest pictures:
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[ph4570]

Very nice.

[MBfrontier]

It's done. Painted with wood stove paint and baked. I may get a chance to try it out casting tomorrow. The rest is more rigid than I thought it would be.

New mold rest and PID to control temp with. Life is good.
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[blikseme300]

Nice work! This hobby/obsession does bring out our ingenuity and gives great satisfaction of accomplishment. Try putting a price on that.

[Bodean98]

Very timely for me! I was casting Sat. with a new Accurate mold and the mold block was too big to get any useable adjustment out of the stock Lee mold guide. I wound up just lowering it enough to set it on top of the stop and cast that way. Sketchy at best, but I made it work. The whole time I'm thinking of how to build just such a mold guide! Thanks for the idea!!!!!!!

[MBfrontier]

Thanks for the replies.

This project has been kind of a work in progress. I'm anxious to try it out. Won't happen today though.

The next thing I need to do is empty the pot and clean up the valve and rod and use some lapping compound on them to try and reduce the dripping. I'm also thinking about making a heavier valve knob to help in seating but I don't think it can overcome getting junk stuck in the valve. The dripping is worse when the pot is full and reduces as the pot empties. Any ideas would be appreciated.

[LenH]

Nice metal work & ingenuity. I saw a post the other day where a guy suggested taking the wood knob off and replacing it with a 1 oz lead sinker.

[MBfrontier]

This morning I cast some 9MM hollow point PB bullets using my NOE 358 135Gr. FN RG2 Bullet Mould using the new mould rest. It worked very well and I am pleased with it. The only rejects I had were the first couple of pours and all the rest were good bullets. Here's a few:
http://i934.photobucket.com/albums/ad183/MBuehner/PID%20Project/IMG_1266_zpsiuqb1ve7.jpg

After casting the bullets I decided to completely clean out my pot. I disassembled the whole thing, cleaned out all the junk, lapped the valve and valve rod, cleaned and painted the parts that started to rust, and made a heavier knob for the valve to see if that would eliminate the dripping.

I had a piece of steel bar stock I used to turn a heavier knob. The original knob weighed in at 2 7/8 oz. and the one I made weighed in at 4 7/8 oz. Here's a picture with the comparison with the original knob on the left and the new one on the right:
http://i934.photobucket.com/albums/ad183/MBuehner/PID%20Project/IMG_1261_zpsopjxnf3m.jpg

Here's a picture with the new knob on the pot:
http://i934.photobucket.com/albums/ad183/MBuehner/PID%20Project/IMG_1265_zpstchcrqwv.jpg

I'll have to see if the dripping issue is improved on the next casting session and report back. It doesn't drip that bad but it would be nice if it can be significantly improved.

[bazzer485]

Those are some shining boolits. Can you tell us what your alloy is and the temps,you are using!

[MBfrontier]

Alloy is COWW with a little 50/50 solder added and fluxed with sawdust. Casting temp. is 750 degrees.

[03fatboy]

How did the new rest do as far as staying where you put it?

I'm really curious if the new heavier knob help.
Thanks for all the good ideas.

[OS OK]

I just used the screw driver to twist back and forth on the stem and it would at least slow the drip…then one day it decided not to drip anymore and it hasn't since…knock on wood. (you have to hold your mouth right also!)
If you can't stop the drip at least it makes for some interesting looking statuettes.

OS OK

forgot to mention, I put a 7/8's nut on the handle and screwed the knob back on…that helped some too, if you don't have a lathe.

[MBfrontier]

03fatboy, the rest stays right where I put it. Very nice.

OS OK Good idea.

[03fatboy]

[QUOTE=MBfrontier;3658934]03fatboy, the rest stays right where I put it. Very nice.

I'm putting that on my list of things to improve my casting pot with.

OS OK, I'm going to try the nut for added weigh thanks

[MBfrontier]

03fatboy, FWIW, I think the key to the rest being rigid is the hole in the 3/8 rod that slides and locks onto the left 1/4 in. leg needs to have the least amount of play possible while still adjustable. In my case, I was able to use a 1/4 in. drill bit in a drill press to drill the hole with the 3/8 rod held in a vice which limited the run-out on the drill bit. If you try to drill that rod by hand in a vice you could end up with more clearance allowing the rod to work loose. Just a thought. Sorry about the rambling.

It will be interesting to see how my rest hold up over the long haul. Murphy always lurks.

Let me know if you have any questions while building yours and let us know how yours works out.

[03fatboy]

I certainly will let you know, I have to get past my busy time, then I'll have more time to try the mod.
Did add some weight to the handle and that made a big difference in the dripping on my Lee pot.
Again thanks for the very good ideas.

[Handloader109]

While you have it apart, add a wingnut (I think a 3/16 was what is needed) to the shutoff rod. Makes life much easier to adjust the flow without struggling with a screwdriver. And I've found that if it started to drip run the rod down and back up a couple of times to clean out junk. I tried to add heavier weight in past with no success, maybe you will have better luck. Love your mold rest. Make up a few and we'll buy them. Looks better than what I'd fabricate

[bazzer485]

I'm curios. As to the function of the pan head screw next to the flow control rod. Is it some kind of stop?

[MBfrontier]

bazzer485,

I think you are referring to the flow adjustment screw. Screwed out, it allows more lift of the valve rod allowing more flow from the spout, in, less lift of the valve rod and flow at the spout.

[waltherboy4040]

Try adding a nut to the top of the threaded rod, seems to keep it straighter and aid in seating.

[bazzer485]

bazzer485,

I think you are referring to the flow adjustment screw. Screwed out, it allows more lift of the valve rod allowing more flow from the spout, in, less lift of the valve rod and flow at the spout.

My pot is different than your. The flow rod has a thread on it and you just screw that in and out for flow adjustment, no second pan head screw like yours,,curious!

[MBfrontier]

Just an update on my mold rest mod. I have had very good results from this modification after 4 or 5 casting sessions. After I made one adjustment to better align the mold with the spigot, the rest has stayed where it was put without loosening. This mod has made using different mold designs much easier to use than the mold rest that comes with the pot.

The heavier weight on the valve handle has slowed the lead dripping but has not eliminated it. It's not a big deal but it would be nice if it didn't drip at all. The next time I empty and clean my pot I'll give it a good dose of valve grinding compound between the valve rod and spigot.

[Andy]

Very good idea, maybe I'll make one of those too now, thanks for posting this.

[MBfrontier]

Here's some of the pictures that don't show up in the previous posts because Photobucket was used.
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[wquiles]

Mike,

Thanks much for posting these. You are giving me enough ideas to build my own guide :)

Will

[Skeeno]

Nicely done. Looks like it would function much better than the factory rest.