Aluminum mold repair.

[KYShooter73]

I have a Lee 356-125 mold hollow pointed by Eric. Just hypothetically, let's say a dummy somehow dinged one of the edges on the interior cavity near the nose by the hollow point pin, and that hypothetical mold now casts a little burr on the nose, small enough to be removed with a fingernail. Is there any way to fill in that little ding and polish it back out? What would you use that could stand the heat?

[nhrifle]

A dent will usually raise some metal around its circumference. Maybe try taking a flat punch and with many gentle taps try to coax the material back where it needs to be.

[StrawHat]

Without seeing it, it is hard to tell what is needed. Perhaps a single turn of a chamfering tool would remove the burr and impart a small "bevel" to the start of the HP?

1 June, 2014
Having seen the photo, I would leave it alone. That tit will disappear when you size the boolit.

[country gent]

I just did an old ballard mold for a gentleman onhere that was dinged in shipping 3 small dings. with a straight edge find the raised metal (it will go farther than you think). Find the areas affected around the ding, polish a small broad radious on a 1/8" to 5/32 drill blank, this needs to be very smooth and fairly true start with a small stone and work to 1000 grit paper leaving nosharp edges on the fce and a slight broad radoius accross it. You dont want to ding or scratch just push metal. Now clamp the half block in a padded vice and if needed block into place. Under magnification slowly with a light hemmer 4 ounce ball peen at biggest smalleris better lightly tapping punch over the raised areas work the metal back into place where it was pushed from. work slow and patient especially in aluminum. when you have it pushed back as good as possible used the punch face as a burnisher and under pressure rub the punch over the area to finish. The mold I just did came out dropping bullet with no flash or fins. and round to .0005. a faint image of the ding shows but cant be felt. work slow and easy using the lightest of taps to seewhat is needed. if you go to fa then bringing it back is even more work. A mounted magnifing lense makes seeing what your doing much easier. Make some before casts to help identify te damaged area and affect it has. Done correctly the dings will slowly disapear and the raised metal is pushed back into place. The metal is all there if you havent removed any yet it just has to go back into place where it came from.

[HeavyMetal]

Without seeing a picture it's tough to make a suggestion, however we need to think mirror image here.

a deburring tool may make your flash bigger not smaller, LOL, and deburring 1000 boolits at a time might get old fast!

IN this case I think leaving it alone is best, if it is as small ands easy to remove as you say, you could rapidly make a mole hill into a mountain if you start removing, or moving, metal.

I'd call Eric and see what he says, but it is aluminum and that may mean you just live with it.

[dkf]

A dent will usually raise some metal around its circumference. Maybe try taking a flat punch and with many gentle taps try to coax the material back where it needs to be.

That is what I would do. But since Lee uses the softest aluminum known to man you have to be very careful or you could make things worse. Work for a 2oz ball peen and a small brass punch, maybe even a hard plastic punch.

[KYShooter73]

I couldn't get a decent pic of the offending mold cavity, but these are what it drops....yes I know these are ugly.



I hesitant to attempt the repair you guys are suggesting, I don't know if I can be delicate enough to pull it off.

[country gent]

If posssible a couple with the damage up so we can see if there is other problems around the damage. What I can see from the pics is that metal is already gone missing. uless there are low areas around the little riased point there isnt anything to put back. Remeber a mold is mirror image a boss in the mold (Raised area) is a groove in the bullet. A ding becomes a boss on the bullet.
Being delicate enough isnt the problem normally its knowing whento be aggressive enough on heavy damage. Work slow and easy. if the raised areas are there with a small polished punch burnish by hand no hammer just press the pnch into the metl and slide it slowly towards the ding.

[JeffinNZ]

Just scratch off the flash with your thumb nail.

[flyingmonkey35]

I took a peek the alum repair kits have a max temp of 250°

On mold it will just melt off.

You'll just have to sell it to me

[KYShooter73]

Just scratch off the flash with your thumb nail.

That's what I have been doing, I suppose I will just keep it up.