LEE QC issues?

[fatelk]

A couple months ago I bought several Lee molds, new from Midway. I'm having diameter issues with most of them, and wonder is perhaps Lee just decided to let QC suffer while they cranked out as many as they could to meet demand.

I posted earlier about the .401 175gr. six cavity mold that drops bullets at .405. I have a two cavity .329 205gr. that drops them at .328. Now I just broke out the six cavity TL452-230-SWC mold, and the bullets I just made measure .450 to .451.

I understand that undersized is worse than oversize, so are these molds even usable? Is it possible that I'm doing something wrong? My old two-cavity .45 Lee molds (that wore out) dropped them at .452 and they worked great.

[wiljen]

The undersize condition can be cured by lapping the mold to the correct diameter. Castpics.net has some articles on lapping molds to get you started. As for the oversized, either size em down to usable or sell it to someone who can use that size and try another mold.

[462]

fatelk,

Boolit size issues are not unique to Lee. I suggest that you read the stickies having to do with Leementing and do a search for "beagling" and lapping a mould. Castpics has mould maintenance articles, as well.

Keep in mind, too, that your alloy is probably different than what the mould manufacturers recommend, thereby making your boolits drop at a different size.

I'd rather fix a mould to suit my needs than return or exchange it.

wiljen, it seems we were typing at the same time...

[mold maker]

I'm sure you will get other suggestions, but are these the first 6 cav. Aluminum molds you've used? It might be that the molds aren't getting up to temp. Alum. molds give up heat faster than iron and a faster cycle might improve size.
I have lots of LEE 6 cav. molds in both small and large cal. Some are fairly new while others are much older. They all cast sizes as advertised.

[Jayhem]

I have the same 175 gr. TC .401 LEE mold and mine come out at .405 as well. They size easily though with Alox and lee's sizing die to a perfect .401.

[HammerMTB]

I have the same 175 gr. TC .401 LEE mold and mine come out at .405 as well. They size easily though with Alox and lee's sizing die to a perfect .401.

+1 here.
Mine might come out .404 at least, but .405 is closer.
And the quick trip thru the sizer has em all very consistent.
I did remove the BB from mine, so they are now FB boolits.

[BrianB]

The last mold I got from them would not line up correctly. After cleaning, retrying, scratching my head, etc..., I just sent it back. I don't know if I got the same mold back or a different one, but the one they returned to me works perfect and I got it back within about two weeks of sending it off.

[mpmarty]

When my casts come out different than the expected size I look to my processes and alloy. I can change the size of cast boolits by casting cooler or hotter, adding some monotype to the melt and or just changing the setting on the pot. I generally find that the LEE molds I use cast as rated within a thou or so.

[stubshaft]

The Bator mould that I bought from Midway casts a perfect .2255" boolit BUT the shank is too large for the GC. I called Lee and they will exchange it when they "make another run of this boolit".

Ces't la vie...

[fatelk]

Wow, lots of info in the "stickies". I guess I should have read up there first.

I think I'll try that "Leementing", see how it works. I'm pretty sure I had the molds hot enough. I cast 250 .45's before I got smart enough to measure them, and I had to slow down often because the molds were getting too hot.

The .40 boolits I'll just get a sizer and I'm sure they'll work fine.

Off topic for this thread, but I read about the Johnson Paste Wax mix for tumble lubing, but I just went to several stores in town today and can't find any.

[whisler]

Home Depot has Johnson Paste Wax in the cleaning aisle

[fatelk]

One last question: the bullets that I made that are a bit undersized- do you all think I'll get much leading if I use them?

I haven't slugged my bore, but I have more than one .45. These boolits measure about .451 at most. I plan on just tumble lubing them and loading them up.

I tried lapping the molds, with valve grinding compound and polish. Obviously I will need to get a little more aggressive because diameter didn't seem to change at all. I'm actually thinking about just loading up a couple boxes, taking out a couple .45's, and if I don't get leading just use the molds as they are.

Added: they sure drop out of the molds nice and slick, after the lapping and polishing!

[mooman76]

If you recheck the bullets after a week you will probably find that they grow about .001.

[DLCTEX]

Ace Hardware has JPW.

[fatelk]

If you recheck the bullets after a week you will probably find that they grow about .001.
Really? I did not know this.

I should be able to find some JPW or equivalent around for sure. I'll check Ace and Home Depot.

Thank you everyone for all the help!