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Thread: update on Lee 500gr mold (help)

  1. #1
    Boolit Mold
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    update on Lee 500gr mold (help)

    I got my Lee 45 Mold 500gr #90577 today, after my first casting session, the bullets are average, the first few dropped out of the mold, from then on the bullet stayed on the spru plate side and had to be tapped out, my fingers were sore from the excessive tapping to get the bullets to drop from the mold, what are some tips to correct this, will the comet cleanser trick get this done, everythings else is normal filling the mold seems to be Ok.

    Chet

  2. #2
    Boolit Master Maven's Avatar
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    Chet, Have you checked the sides of the cavities for burrs? If none, I'd try Pearl Drops tooth paste or Bon Ami cleanser over Comet, as both are gentler and won't discolor the mold. After cleaning & drying, preheat it a bit (1 pour) and then consider spraying the cavity as well as the top and bottom of the sprue plate with a dry graphite film such as NAPA DGF 123.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master
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    I use a cut off piece of a sledgehammer handle as a whacker. Used it for years, its getting thin, but it gets those boolits out. Only whack the hinge of the mold handles, not the mold.

    Try smoking your mold with a lighter. Just get the cavities black with soot from a butane flame or wood match. It works wonders.

  4. #4
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by chet
    I got my Lee 45 Mold 500gr #90577 today, after my first casting session, the bullets are average, the first few dropped out of the mold, from then on the bullet stayed on the spru plate side and had to be tapped out, my fingers were sore from the excessive tapping to get the bullets to drop from the mold, what are some tips to correct this, will the comet cleanser trick get this done, everythings else is normal filling the mold seems to be Ok.

    Chet
    Well I did the trick with the bulet in the mold with a bullet and drill, still the same problem, the bullets measure .002 to .003 out of round, Is it possible I did not do it long enough with the drill, as for the Lee molds, comming from Saeco and Lyman molds, It is hard to get to use the Lee with confidence, I guess you get what you pay for!

  5. #5
    Boolit Master Maven's Avatar
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    Chet, You may need to (1) polish the mold for a longer period of time using several bullets and (2) remove any burrs from the cavity with a new single-edge razor blade pulled over it (blade edge is away from you). You then run your fingernail over the cavity to see if you can detect any sharp edges. If so, repeat the razor blade "procedure." You may also want to search this site for "a surefire Leementing (sic) technique." Btw, I've done this to most of the Lee molds I own and it works beautifully. Moreover, my Lee's cast at least as well as my other (Lyman, Saeco, RCBS, LBT) molds, sometimes even better.

  6. #6
    Boolit Mold
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    Bullet dimensions

    Quote Originally Posted by Maven
    Chet, You may need to (1) polish the mold for a longer period of time using several bullets and (2) remove any burrs from the cavity with a new single-edge razor blade pulled over it (blade edge is away from you). You then run your fingernail over the cavity to see if you can detect any sharp edges. If so, repeat the razor blade "procedure." You may also want to search this site for "a surefire Leementing (sic) technique." Btw, I've done this to most of the Lee molds I own and it works beautifully. Moreover, my Lee's cast at least as well as my other (Lyman, Saeco, RCBS, LBT) molds, sometimes even better.
    Maven

    I will try polishing the mold again tomorrow, as for dimensions I am getting as much as .003 out of round and about .002 taper

    Chet

  7. #7
    Boolit Mold
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    I have the Lee 500 grain also and had the same problems. I went through the Leementing exercise 3 times before I finally got it right. After the last time I cleaned up with a toothbrush & acetone then applied a very light coat of milk of magnesia to the bullet cavity and closing faces with a Qtip. After it dried I took a dry Qtip and lightly rubbed it over those surfaces. The bullets drop now with what I would call a medium tap on the hinge bolt after cutting the sprue and relieving the grip on the handles before opening.

    Bob

  8. #8
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    44man's Avatar
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    I have a drawer full of Lee molds and have had only a few that were out of round. Lee replaced them and they are now perfect. Very good people to deal with and no questions asked.
    Some will have a tiny burr in them and sometimes a fingernail scrape will fix it. A rub on the edge with 400 to 600 wet or dry sandpaper will do it otherwise. I use Rapine mold prep and boolits drop out with a light tap.

  9. #9
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by chet
    Maven

    I will try polishing the mold again tomorrow, as for dimensions I am getting as much as .003 out of round and about .002 taper

    Chet
    Well I worked on the mold a few hours today, I did get the bullet to drop out of the mold perfect, but the out of round and taper is still there, wonder If Lee will replace it after I did the polishing to the mold, the mold is 2 days old.

    Chet

  10. #10
    Boolit Master slughammer's Avatar
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    Was it out of round before...

    Quote Originally Posted by chet
    Well I worked on the mold a few hours today, I did get the bullet to drop out of the mold perfect, but the out of round and taper is still there, wonder If Lee will replace it after I did the polishing to the mold, the mold is 2 days old.

    Chet
    Was it out of round before you started polishing? If the blocks didn't close all the way during polishing an out of round condition could be created. Sometimes too much abrasive or too large of a particle size or abrasive between the blocks can make this happen.

    What were casting diameters before and after the polishing?

    And last, but should be first, how do they shoot?

  11. #11
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by slughammer
    Was it out of round before you started polishing? If the blocks didn't close all the way during polishing an out of round condition could be created. Sometimes too much abrasive or too large of a particle size or abrasive between the blocks can make this happen.

    What were casting diameters before and after the polishing?

    And last, but should be first, how do they shoot?
    Well when I shot them the first 2 were almost touching at 200yds the 3 rd went about 8" up to the right and the 4th went south about 5 " and the 5th went back with the first 2 so I don't have any idea these bullets were dipped in lube and loaded, the next bunch I did after lubing them I ran them thru a .459 sizer, didn't shoot them yet but you can see they are out of round the larger diameter is at the seam is .460 and .456 to .457 on the small dim, and the taper is about .003 the small dim is near the top, they are larger at the base. will try this batch of bullets since I ran them thru the sizer, they are a more consistant dia. now, maybe they will shoot better.

  12. #12
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    Buckshot's Avatar
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    ............I seriously doubt that Lee will have anything to do with them if it's obvious they've been worked on, vs merely used some. I mean, if I made something and it came back looking 'massaged' I'd also refuse responsibility. Nothing to stop you from trying theough. You knew from the git-go they weren't right, so it's not like you're trying to get something for nothing.

    ................Buckshot
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  13. #13
    Boolit Mold
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    Yes I know!

    Quote Originally Posted by Buckshot
    ............I seriously doubt that Lee will have anything to do with them if it's obvious they've been worked on, vs merely used some. I mean, if I made something and it came back looking 'massaged' I'd also refuse responsibility. Nothing to stop you from trying theough. You knew from the git-go they weren't right, so it's not like you're trying to get something for nothing.

    ................Buckshot
    I fiigured I'd try the mold, and so much for the advertised .001 tolerance and ect, so for $17.00 I tried one, so much for my luck, I got one that measures as I explained, If the bullets don't shoot, I will park the mold in a box and continue with the Paul Jones Creedmore, or my Lyman Postell mold, hey ya never know they may shoot. I do know one guy who used the Lee bullet and it worked for him he hit the Indian target at the Billy Dixon shoot 2 out 5 at 1534 yds



    Chet

  14. #14
    Boolit Master slughammer's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by chet
    I ran them thru a .459 sizer, didn't shoot them yet but you can see they are out of round the larger diameter is at the seam is .460 and .456 to .457 on the small dim, and the taper is about .003 the small dim is near the top, they are larger at the base.
    Not that it will help the taper, but "beagleing" the mold with some aluminum tape will spread the blocks slightly and you may end up with round boolits after all.

  15. #15
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    Chet, you never said what over powder wad you are using! ( black powder, I hope.) I shoot BPCR and there are some boolits that just would not shoot for me. I have found out how to get them to shoot and have put 5 into 3/8" at 100 yd's, where before I had trouble getting 3 or 4". I think that too much base protection is wrong. Veggie wads, .062 LDPE wads and such are just not right. I now use paper .005" over powder wad, or none at all and my groups are better and I am shooting boolits I gave up on. Some of these are out of round too but they still shoot good.
    Give it a try.

  16. #16
    Boolit Mold
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    loads

    44Man

    I normally shoot 70-72 grs of Cartridge and 2F by Goex, I have tried the .030, .060 both veg and LDPE I loaded up a few more since I ran the thru the .459 sizer, will be shooting tomorrow and see how they shoot, I am shooting a new Pedersoli Rolling block

    Chet

  17. #17
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    44man's Avatar
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    Chet, my friend punched a bag full of wads at work and forgot to bring them home. He waited for the last minute to load before the shoot so cut corners. He didn't use a wad or the drop tube. He just passed the cases under the powder measure and compressed them. I was amazed at how accurate they were. When he was missing the boolits were all going into the same hole in the dirt and when he got on target, all were in the center.
    Try those things with a piece of paper over the powder or no wad at all.
    I tried the .030" LDPE and they were terrible. I shot the .060" for years but now I don't even want to see them again. I think you can protect the boolit base too much and it is not the right way to do it. Also try some without sizing.
    Let me know how it shoots.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
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