Just got my new 6 cavity, going to look it over. Great thread.
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Just got my new 6 cavity, going to look it over. Great thread.
Great thread! I was thinking that taking one half of the mold and stripping it down to just the aluminum then tumble in the S/S media for about 15 mins and check then tumble longer is needed. As long as the single block was not hitting anything but the media it would help smooth out any rough edges in the cavity without the risk of getting it out of round. Just a thought . I have not done this yet.
Wouldn't you also run the risk of damaging the faces and the cavities. From the pins hitting it? I haven't used ss media as of yet. But that would be a concern I would have. Also the pins holding the halves to the handles are not removable and reinstallable. If that's a word. Lol. Just a few thoughts I had while reading your post. And thought I would toss out as a second thought.Quote:
Originally Posted by GARD72977
The cavities are what I would like to clean up. Keep in mind that the mold and media are suspended in water. I would try this but all I have in lee are round ball molds. and they cast very good. I got rid of all my Lee bullet molds. I may have to buy one and try this.
After reading this thread, I worked over two of my Lee 6 cav molds that were sticking badly. I own about 6 such molds and they all stick but these were the worst. TL358-148-WC & TL358-158-SWC. First, I lapped the sprue plate on a piece of 200 grit paper stuck onto a very flat surface. This took care of the flashing at the base which was a contributing factor for sticking bullets. For the lapping cores used short hex head sheet metal screws so that there would be no danger of them driving down through the bullet nose. I was careful to keep each core with it's cavity. The first one, the 148 WC , I did with Comet,turning first by hand and then slow spin with adrill. Improvement was very slow. It took four sets of castings and lapping before they would drop out easily. Even now, though much much improved, they still take too many taps on the mold handles to drop. I may rework it. The second mold was done with 320 carbide grit and did a better job with just one set of lapping cores. Using parting compound, bullets all fall out with a shake or sometimes just a tap. Not as nice as some people have described but easy enough. The main point is that it allows a nice fluid rhythm when casting without having to interrupt to struggle with a reluctant bullet. I was able to quickly build up a pile of about 500 nicely cast bullets.
This process took me several hours for each. A fair amount of time was spent waiting for things to heat up. Next round I think I will do two sets together. For sprue lube I used Permatex Antisieze and then, when it arrived, Bullplate lube. Both seemed to work well.
For $40 what I got was a mold "kit" My six bangers really weren't useable as they came from the factory. I don't complain. I really don't see how Lee can sell even these partly finished 6 cavs for that price and make a buck. IMO the effort was well worth the increased productivity. It's not just the time taken to pry a sticky bullet out, but the cost in repeated hassle and frustration.
Thank you for this thread
I'm one of the frustrated guys with the Lee mold.
Will be trying your tricks on my next Lee 7/8oz slug mold....that will be my 3rd one this week.
Grrrrŕ
I did my "first" long run of casting with my new 356-120-TC.
http://i439.photobucket.com/albums/q...pshn9vt3fo.jpg
My "real" first attempt was over rather quickly. I was having to beat the hinge to get the bullets to drop. So I quite for the night. I had cast some pure lead bullets previously so that I could fire lap my 9mm carbine and the mold if needed. I used six of them to lapp the cavities with JB bore paste...
Things went really smoothly after the Lee-menting! 16.2 pounds of bullets in 2.5 hours.
http://i439.photobucket.com/albums/q...pstsg6beer.jpg
I just shake the mold handles and they drop out. Except for one, that won't always drop. I'll re-lapp before the next time.
I didn't smoke the cavities at all...
Instead of a drywall screw I used a steel pop-rivet. Sits a little above the side of the mold, but not too much.
This was my first time using a thermometer too. Made it so much easier to know what was going on with my pot!
http://i439.photobucket.com/albums/q...pslz5kyb4v.jpg
I'm gonna need more pistol powder!
I'm planning to Leement all my molds this year and get them working right. Comet works well but is quite slow. I wonder if Mothers mag wheel polish would work? I use it on trigger parts for pistols and it really shines them up.
I've thoroughly destroyed a 1oz Lee slug mold due to lack of knowledge. I've watched countless videos on how to use the mold, but was unaware of how to "break-in" a mold, so therefore completely ruined it in less than 200 casts.
So... I've since bought a brand new 7/8 ounce mold and will be performing the items listed in this thread this weekend (thanks for the heads-up on this, Dusty) and casting some slugs.
Now you have me thinking... I have a 2lb bottle on 0.1 Micron Aluminum oxide polishing powder (made for polishing Optical lenses)
That sounds like just the think for making the cavities of my new Lee six-cavity 311-141
Can anyone confirm if Mohers Magwheel or Flitz are appropriate at all? That’s what I’ve currently got to work with. I’ve been fortunate in having a 120 TC that seems to have broken in in its own and rains boolits. I have a 95gr six banger on the other hand that is driving me nuts. The cavities seem to want to stick, all on one particular block/side.
I put money on it if you look at the top of the bullets the split line is not in the middle. Therefore one side of the mold is more of a C shape and not a perfect 1/2 circle.Quote:
Originally Posted by retrobass
I have a mold like this that needs a few hard raps to get them to fall.