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Thread: Lee 2 vs 6 cavity molds

  1. #21
    Boolit Buddy
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    Ordered the Lee 430-310 6 cavity. It's on sale on Midway USA. With the handles it was under 60$. I'm seeing a lot of people use synthetic 2 stroke oil for lubing it. I may go that route. This won't be my first mold so I'm hoping to get well over 2000 boolits from it. I used to cast the .458-405hb and the 458-500 for my .45-70. I like the sprue setup on the 6 cavity better. More using leverage than whacking it like on the 1 and 2 cavity ones.
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  2. #22
    Boolit Master


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    I have the 458-500, love that boolit.

  3. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by gnostic View Post
    The idea that you can pick-up a Lee mold for twenty buck is amazing...
    Yes, I agree. I like the new Lee 2 cavity molds over the older ones. The alignment pins seem to work better for one thing. I have two of them now, one in .45 and one for 9 MM, they both drop nice round bullets. Some of the old style made oval shaped bullets. Maybe the equipment was updated for the new style or something?

    Quote Originally Posted by craveman85

    Someday I'll probably get a nice iron mold but I lost all my casting equipment about 5 years ago in a flood and have been on hiatus with cast loads since then. Have to rebuild my stash too. Used to have 1000+ lbs of wheel weight ingots but someone stole them all during the cleanup.
    I lost a lot of mine to a fire a couple years ago. Not all of it, but several molds, mostly Lee, but also at least one LBT and a Lyman 4 cav. Lost a Lee 10 LB. furnace, fortunately my RCBS pot wasn't there. The fire melted around 4-500 pounds of cleaned up wheel weights and a couple hundred LBS. of Linotype, and a few thousand bullets. We had bought the house it was stored in as a fixer-upper to flip, I set up some casting equipment in one of the bed rooms and had left it stored there. That winter someone, probably a homeless type, had broken into it and was evidently staying there. I had several electric heaters stored in another room, they had been moved into the room with the casting equipment where the trespasser was probably sleeping and I think that started the fire.

  4. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by gpidaho View Post
    Buy Accurate or Noe moulds. Worth the extra. Gp
    I have neither, a situation I hope to correct in the not too distant future.

  5. #25
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    The 44 I'm going to be reloading for I actually don't have yet. I'm getting my pistol permit which could take a few more weeks or months. Once I get it and can slug it and mic the throats and see if she'll like cast then I'll most likely get a good iron mold for some 240 grain pills. Or maybe even go bigger than the 310.
    I'm bigger than you, I'm higher on the food chain! Get in my belly!

  6. #26
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    Is bullplate even available anymore. Can't seem to find it.
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  7. #27
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    I have a number or Lee molds (part of the 100+ mold collection) and find them very serviceable. However, some of the 6 cavity molds have had a tendency to warp. I have found it most prevalent in .44 and .45 cals. Where the center boolits were larger in diameter and ovoid in shape compared to the ones nearest the ends.
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  8. #28
    Boolit Master brewer12345's Avatar
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    I don't find the Lee molds to be the equal of the better manufacturers (MP, Noe, Accurate, Arsenal). That said, I own and use several of them and the 2 cavity are serviceable enough for low volume boolits. Would I want a 2 cavity for 38 wadcutters? No, I shoot buckets of them. Do they suffice for 30-06 boolits that I might not shoot a couple hundred of in a year or two? Sure, and for 20 bucks I can't hardly complain.
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  9. #29
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    I still have some very old LEE molds bought over forty years ago and they still work just fine TYVM. It seems that those who decry the LEEs buy them for price and then treat them like traditional iron/brass molds vs. following LEE's instructions to the letter to keep them going........and going...........and going. I have some RCBS and Lyman molds, sure, but I BUY LEEs these days! As posted above my only complaint is there are not 6-cavs available in more of their boolit designs.
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  10. #30
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    One thing to keep in mind, at least for the handgun molds -

    the 6-cav molds I've seen are NOT bevel base.

    All the 2-cav molds I've seen ARE bevel base.

  11. #31
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    Bevel base? I've been out of the game a while and never casted handgun stuff before.
    I'm bigger than you, I'm higher on the food chain! Get in my belly!

  12. #32
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    I have a couple lee 6 cavity molds I produce a lot of boolits with for the 9s and 45s I don't babe them / or abuse them but over the last couple years with a little care they have held up well . I figure that 356-120 tc has earned its keep . I love noe , saeco , mp , and the others but at 40. Bucks Lee's all right with me .

  13. #33
    Boolit Master
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    Most of my molds are two cavity lee. I almost messed up the 9 mm mold by not lubing it good enuf.the top of the mold starting getting scratching on it from the spur cutter. Just didint lube it good. I found the two cycle or refrigerant oil works good and all my problems went away. The 9 mm and my 357 mold have over 4000 rounds easally on them

  14. #34
    Boolit Buddy
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    Do you guys buy separate handles for every 6 cavity or swap them out between molds.
    I'm bigger than you, I'm higher on the food chain! Get in my belly!

  15. #35
    Boolit Master
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    I try to have handles on all the molds I often use . Lee molds don't like to have the screws played with .

  16. #36
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    I have 3 old 2cav Lee molds my Dad bought at a gun show 30yrs ago. He gave then to me to start casting bullets for COWBOY SHOOTING. I've cast thousands of bullets from them. I used 2-stroke motor oil on the alignment "pins/cuts" and on the bottom of the sprue plate. The oil was wiped on and then off the sprue plate bottom after 10 seconds. I've taken very good care of them and treated them with care.

    I treated the new 2cav molds the same way. But it just was impossible to find that "sweet spot" of lead temperature to get consistent bullets. Very disappointing.

    I just cast 1250+ bullets out of a pair of aluminium molds. One N.O.E. 44-240 4cav and one ACCURATE 45-210 5cav.

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  17. #37
    Boolit Bub Pumpkin's Avatar
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    Try Bullshop Forums---Dan has his own forum now. If you can't raise him, PM me, and I will look up his phone # for you. Yes, bullplate if still available, even has an improved version.

  18. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bookworm View Post
    One thing to keep in mind, at least for the handgun molds -

    the 6-cav molds I've seen are NOT bevel base.

    All the 2-cav molds I've seen ARE bevel base.
    I've recently been working with the following bullets cast from newish Lee 6 cav molds. All have a little bevel base:

    356-125-2R
    356-120-TC
    452-200-SWC (H&G 68 clone)

    The 6 cav molds are much better quality than the 2 hole mold that I have. The 2 cav is the only one I won't use any more.

  19. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by HABCAN View Post
    I still have some very old LEE molds bought over forty years ago and they still work just fine TYVM. It seems that those who decry the LEEs buy them for price and then treat them like traditional iron/brass molds vs. following LEE's instructions to the letter to keep them going........and going...........and going. I have some RCBS and Lyman molds, sure, but I BUY LEEs these days! As posted above my only complaint is there are not 6-cavs available in more of their boolit designs.
    yep, with care, there is no reason a lee mold should be worn out at 2000 rounds. As I said.. I bought a few molds just recently and they probably made 2000 rounds each their first month,and the molds barely look handled.

  20. #40
    Boolit Bub
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    Lee 2 cavity molds are a cheap way to try out a particular bullet style, for example a truncated cone in 9mm to see if there are any chambering problems, before buying a high dollar mold. And the new style 2 cavs seem to work pretty well and make concentric bullets. The older ones seemed to be a case of "you pays yer money and takes yer chances."

    I like my Lymans (several), RCBS (two), LBT (several), Mountain Molds (one), and my one H & G mold, but there is a definite niche for Lees also. I have owned several of them over the years beginning with round ball for muzzle loaders.

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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"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check