Lee Mold Modification

[Lostinidaho]

I have a lee .515 450 mold. I need to lighted the bullet to about 400 gr.

Can I mill off mold removing just the last band leaving the last lube grove intact and produce a viable bullet. In other words the bullet would have a narrow base like a gas check. Would this produce a shoot-able bullet.

Thanks in advance

[Shiloh]

I've had it done on a LEE .40 TL 175 gr SWC. Didn't help or hinder. Shoots the same and I don't push them hard.
The LEE 175 gr. TC had some taken off the back and lightened it by about 8 gr. or so.

I had the LEE 200 gr. H&G 68 clone, for .45 acp worked on. Took the BB of. Helped a lot.

SHiloh

[country gent]

It can be done milling it down may result in the screw hole for the spue plate needing to be drilled deeper also. An easier way might be to set it up in the lathe in a 4 jaw chuck and face down, this may hold the cavity squarer easier than the mill

[longbow]

I have to ask why? 50 grs. is just 11% of the weight so not a lot. It is too long or too heavy?

Others have done it successfully but it may depend on the width of the driving band compared to base band and how hard you are pushing them. If the driving band is narrow it may not work well except for light loads.

Wait, re-reading I see you want to leave the "stem" from the last lube groove. I'm thinking better to remove that right to the next driving band so resulting a flat base mould. Just my opinion which may not be worth a lot since I have not done this.

Longbow

[GhostHawk]

For the price of Lee double cavity mold I would leave it be and look for a different mold with a lighter weight.

Like longbow I wonder why?

Too long & heavy for your barrels twist rate?

[Lostinidaho]

Its for a Rolling Block carbine. It shoots .50-45-400. The case doesn't leave much room to stuff more lead deeper into the brass.

[popper]

My 30 cal are like that, I push them pretty hard. Like a step base vs BB. Depends somewhat on the drive band width.

[17nut]

You mean like this?:






Sorry cant be done

[popper]

If you mean like this, yes, works fine. All my PB are like this & I push them hard.
Attachment 188152

[Lostinidaho]

I was thinking to leave the last lube groove at the bottom no band. Just to keep the weigh up to about 400. I think if I take it to the next band I would be down to 350 to 360 ish.

[country gent]

As the grease groove is the smaller dia in the moulds you could machine down to it and then bore it out to make a wider driving band easy enough. Wouldn't take a lot of work to bore the left over out to match the band.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Maybe you have done this already? But I would cast boolit in your desired alloy, then remove alloy til you get the desired weight, then you'd know how much to machine off of the mold. I did that with the Lee C501-440RF, to find out what the weigh would be if I milled off just enough to remove the GC shank.

[17nut]

I was thinking to leave the last lube groove at the bottom no band. Just to keep the weigh up to about 400. I think if I take it to the next band I would be down to 350 to 360 ish.

My casts at 378grains from 1:33 with a band and a groove missing.

[Lostinidaho]

That's an excellent idea. That may leave part of the band at the bottom if I am lucky.

[FergusonTO35]

Buckshot did one for me, his work is excellent!