broken lee 6 cav

[sdelam]

Anyone ever broke a lee 6 cav mold? i snapped the spuce plate handle right off.:-(

[Calamity Jake]

Never broken one myself. Call Lee they will send another one.

The way to stop the breaking is to not wait too long after pouring to cut the spru, watch for total color change of the spru then count 1000 1, 1000 2, 1000 3 and cut, this is for medium cal boolets, for 40 and up you might want to count to 1000 5

[TC66]

Yes I broke one too. Called them and they shipped me a new one and I was back in business.

Tom

[HeavyMetal]

Where exactly did it break?

[TC66]

Mine broke off about a quarter inch in front of the wooden handle on the sprue plate

[imashooter2]

Yeah, I broke one just like that... on a borrowed mold.:oops:

Lee made it good.

[AZ-Stew]

The most frequent cause for breaking the handle (done it myself) is not being sure the sprue plate is fully closed before casting. Proper lubrication and careful attention will help you get it closed correctly before each cast.

Regards,

Stew

[MT Gianni]

It will also break if things are not really warm before cutting sprues. Start with one hole after you dip the mold corner for 2 minutes. Then add a hole after you cast 2-3 bullets. When it cuts easily they don't break.

[Gunslinger]

Well let me join the club, I broke one two. Actually I broke the screw that attaches the sprue plate to the mold in half. That would have to be drilled out and replaced with new thread and screw, right?

[MT Gianni]

Wiking, you could use the next size self tapping screw if they are available in Denmark.

[Gunslinger]

I'll check that out, thanks.

[sdelam]

Mine broke off about a quarter inch in front of the wooden handle on the sprue plate

Thats right where it broke, I thought it would be a good idea to pour a round and let it soak to warm the mold. i wont due that again.:roll:

[pstew]

Yeah, I broke one just like that... on a borrowed mold.:oops:

Lee made it good.

You never told me you broke my mold.

[TAWILDCATT]

if the broken screw is not glass hard you drill it with a small drill and remove the broken piece with a broken srew remover.:coffee:[smilie=1:

[hedgehorn]

I throw my 6 cavity molds on the burner of the kitchen stove for a bit before starting to cast. Makes the bullets fill out and the sprue cut easily on the first cast. ;)

[imashooter2]

You never told me you broke my mold.

It was slughammer's group buy C358-180-RF. He was pretty understanding about it.

[michiganflyer]

Yep I did the same thing, on my 38 6 cav....
Lee sent me a new one, and I actually ordered 2 just in case.
But as others have stated, make sure you warm up the mold.
I usually cast only one bullet, then go to 2 then 3, etc, until it is hot, then no problems.
Good luck.

[Cloudpeak]

I throw my 6 cavity molds on the burner of the kitchen stove for a bit before starting to cast. Makes the bullets fill out and the sprue cut easily on the first cast. ;)

A +2 on the mold pre-heat. I bought a $12.00 single coil hotplate from Walmart to preheat my molds. If anything, error on getting the mold too hot. It's easier to let the mold cool down a bit than casting a bunch of "cold" bullets to get the mold up to temp.

After preheating and pouring your first pour, wait for the sprue to "suck back" (to harden) and cut the sprue. The sprue should cut very easily. If you got the mold too hot, you may have "very soft" (like close to liquid) bullets or bullets that are very frosted. Recycle the bullets and let the mold cool a bit.

When you cast a bunch of bullets to get the mold up to temp, the sprue cutter will be difficult open and it puts much more torque on the sprue plate than will happen if you adequately pre-heat your mold.

Cloudpeak

[cricco]

I am now a member of the "Lee, Broken Sprue Handle Club". Third time using the mold, and I just snapped it right off on the first cast. Lee is shipping out a new handle today. Lesson learned.

[dirtdobbertwo]

i also broke mine the first time i used it. midway had me send the complete mold back and they replaced with new mold. poor quality metal.

[mpmarty]

Broke one of mine and have since developed a new routine for using the six bangers.
I preheat by resting mold on top of the pot.
I only pour the first cavity or two farthest away from the handles. This gives a bit more leverage on cutting the sprue.
After casting the first hole or two a couple of times I gradually work up to three, four or all six as mold heats up. LEE was very understanding of my problem and replaced the broken handle without charge or comment.:D

[blikseme300]

I have never broken a Lee mold, only wore them out after 1000's of boolits. When I was in uniform we had an expression that sorta went like this: "with enough force you could snap your finger in your b-hole".

I always pre-heat my Lee molds before I start casting. Recently I started using an electric plate to do so like this: http://bliksemseplek.com/images/boolits/moldheat1_lg.jpg

Bliksem

[snuffy]

Been there, done that! Got the "T" shirt!!

http://photos.imageevent.com/jptowns/bullets/websize/PA240099.JPG

I sent that pic in an email to lee customer service. They replied the next day, "since you sent us a pic, we'll send you a new lever out today." I got TWO of them 2 days later! They're just down the road a couple miles, well 40 miles, so the mail was real quick.

I use a small propane camp stove that sits right on top of the bottle. Also, one of the HF laser thermometers, shoot the sprue plate, when it hits 300 degrees, she's ready to pour. No problemo with hard-to-shear sprues then.

[AZPaul]

I just don't think sprue could handle the truth.


:bigsmyl2: :bigsmyl2:

[TAWILDCATT]

I think the handles are sintered iron.molded powder under tremendious pressure
dont be a gorrila slow steady preasure and if you force it it will break.stop and think.after 70 yrs I still have a win set and the mold is perfect.cast some bullets a while ago and they came out perfect.my modern bond molds from 1945 are still like new.I will bet most tools from now will not be in existance in 50 yrs.

[snuffy]

I think the handles are sintered iron.molded powder under tremendious pressure

I don't think so. I took the one pictured to work, put a pretty sever angle on the break, then welded it together with plain old steel wire. The ground down the weld. I'm keeping it as a back-up, so I don't know how strong the joint is. Looks like it fused pretty well, so I couldn't be cast iron.

[SCIBUL]

+ 1.
Same story as yours snuffy !

[johnlaw484]

Yeah, I've done it. Just welded it back on and I've been using it ever since. Better than dealing with the rude people at Lee.

[sargenv]

Not only did I break one.. but I broke the one on the mold I was working with, and thinking it was just that piece of metal, I proceeded to install the one from my other 6 cav mold and broke that one too!! Now I follow a mold warm up procedure and that solves the issue.. Lee made it good and sent me two new ones.. If I used a hotplate I probably would not need to follow my new "mold warm up" procedure.

My Procedure is to pour two at the farthest holes from me, break the sprue and then proceed closer to me at every pour, then pour 3, progressing towards me, then 4, then 5, then all 6. By the time I've poured the 6 all at once, the mold is about up to temp and the above is unlikely to happen. I did not have this issue with my 40 cal - 175 gr mold, but did have it happen on my 38 caliber 158 gr mold.

[TCLouis]

Yep, I have two that look like that.
They do break, but look very grainy at the break.