Lee 175g 40s&w alum. ,, I don't think I like this mold

[sst04]

I just got finished casting about 500 or so. A couple of weeks ago I casted about the same amount.

I did lube all the metal pieces with a little antiseze.

Problem is that on the tip of the bullets Im getting a noticable line where the mold halves meet, its enough to measure, about 6 or 7 thousandths longer on one side. :-? The base of the bullet is fine.

Also on about the 10th poor today, one of the mold halfs fell into my bucket of water when the pin came out,:shock: I guess it did not warp it. It was doing the longer on one half before I droped it in the water.

Is there anything I can do to it to make it meet up right or should I just call Lee.

For the pin problem I just put the pin back in and tapped the mold around the pin to hold it in there.

[454PB]

The loose pin is fixed as you did.....pean the metal around it to secure it. I own 18 Lee moulds, and only one of them ever did that.

As to alignment, Lee tells you to lube the "tongue & groove" edges of the mould and the alignment pins at the bottom. The reason is to maintain alignment, the problem is that that lube eventually migrates into the mould cavities.

I haven't lubed my Lee moulds for years, I got tired of crud buildup in the cavities. Instead, I watch as the block halves come together looking down through the top and use my sprue knocker to gently align the halves. I hold the stick against the bottoms of both block halves and guide them together as they close. It sounds like a PITA, but after you get used to it, it becomes habit.

[whisler]

If the nose is long on one side and the base is fine then it sounds like the mold is bad not just mis=aligned.

[Recluse]

I haven't lubed my Lee moulds for years, I got tired of crud buildup in the cavities. Instead, I watch as the block halves come together looking down through the top and use my sprue knocker to gently align the halves. I hold the stick against the bottoms of both block halves and guide them together as they close. It sounds like a PITA, but after you get used to it, it becomes habit.

Ditto. I haven't lubed most of my Lee moulds in I don't know how long or for how many batches of boolits. Hasn't affected them one iota. I do have several Lee moulds that I use a little Bullplate on, and it does them some noticable good.

As far as the alignment, I built a sprue knocker stick using 1" flat oak (cabinet wood) that I put on the table saw and cut down into a "stick" portion. I cut another portion, considerably shorter but of the same width, and used wood screws to attach it to the end. This is the "club" end.

I drilled several holes, filled them with lead, then wrapped the "club" with leather stripping. It's uglier than an empty glass of buttermilk, but it works PERFECT for setting the moulds on to have them close perfectly aligned.

And yep, describing your method makes it sound like a time-consuming royal PITA, but in actuality, once you get the rhythm down, you don't even think about it.

:coffee:

[MtGun44]

You will have very good results with Bull Plate Lube - go to the Bull Shop link at the
bottom of the page. Excellent lube, lifetime supply if you don't spill it. Use a small
amount on the bottom of the sprue plate, top of the mold, the steel alignment pins
and the aluminum dovetail surfaces on the front and back.

Bill

[Shiloh]

I get fine boolits from my LEE molds. Have one difficult mold with alignment issues but that is working fine now as well. Ditto on the Bullplate sprue lube.

Shiloh

[XWrench3]

i have several lee molds, and use them with no real problems. i have had to tighten up a screw or bolt occasionally, but other than that, no real trouble. as for lubing the molds, i just have been using the lee alox stick that they reccomend. it works fine to keep things from sticking. just be sure to use it sparingly, or it will migrate into the cavities. if that happens, you will have to clean it out in order to get good fill out.

[mooman76]

I got in the habit of taping my mould when I close it. You sometimes have to tap it when you open it to drop the bullet, I just repeat it and it helps insure it is closed all the way and you get better consistacy. Some place the mould an a flat surface when they close it to help it allign and close good.

[sst04]

Thanks for the tips guys, next time I will try to make the mold halfs align while closing them and see how that works.






I shot about 150 of the rounds today and all did well, even better was that it only took a couple of passes with the brush and cleaner to clean the barrel, not one hint of any lead build up in the grooves.

On these loads I was using Lyman Moly Lube and 4.7g of Unique.
About 20 rounds had 6.3 of True Blue, but it did not seem to burn all of this powder as I could see specks left in the barrel.

Now off to another post about my 45 mold.

[TAWILDCATT]

I have one double that does not align,I found if I turn it upsid down it closes.
I now am going to 6 cavity as they work better.wish Lee made 6 cavity rifle.but that would take another machine and new dies for the extrutions.