Converting LEE mold to Paper Patch mold ????

[rbertalotto]

It looks to me that we could buy inexpensive LEE aluminum molds and rebore to whatever size we need for a smooth side paper patch bullet. Chuck them up in a 4-jaw in the lathe and have at it!


I have a great reloading store that recently opened here in town that stocks everything in the LEE catalog (NICE!).


I'm going to pick up a .338 mold and bore it out to .375 for my C Sharps in 38-55. This should make a bullet of about 280g if my math is correct. If I want a longer bullet of 330g I could use the 309-230 mold which is a big long bullet for the 30 caliber rifles.


Not sure if I'm just going to use a small boring bar with a radiused tip or if I'll make a "cherry" type of cutter.


Has anyone else attempted this?

[Nobade]

I've done that, it works reasonably well. If you can machine them before they've been used to cast they work better, since the heat takes the temper out of the aluminum. If you can get the handles off without damaging anything and try to chuck them up in a lathe you'll find there is nothing really there to indicate on. You can pick one cavity half or the other and dial it in, then find out the other end of the cavity isn't true. The best way I have found to do them is with a "D" reamer in the milling machine. Go slow, use lots of WD-40 as cutting oil, and you can make some nice looking cavities. It is a whole lot cheaper and easier than making the blocks from scratch, though you'll still have a Lee mould when you're done.

-Nobade

[barrabruce]

Smooth sided ...how about a bit of round stock drill (drill for ejector pin) /nose form/machine to bearing length.
The ol lyman type PP mould .
Bet it would work a treat and everything is concentric from the start.

[303Guy]

Smooth sided boolits seem to work just fine with softer alloys. What seems to happen is the alloy impresses into the paper roughness and grips it so it won't slip. Harder alloys not so much - pity. That's where knurling comes in and works just fine. Having said that, if you are going to use a split mold then keeping shallow grooves in it for gripping the patch would make sense. It's what I would like to do anyway. But making a smooth side mold as Barra describes is well worth a try.

[docone31]

What about using a sizeing die?
Get the size needed and run them through.
I have used Lee Molds from day one with patching. I use a sizeing die. They do great for me.

[6.5 mike]

Like docone31, I use a lot of lee molds for pp'ing. Some will work as is & some get wrapped then sized. The lube grooves help hold the patch. Even the T/L style works, 160 gr pp'ed for 30 Herrett.