How do I get a lee mold sides evenly aligned?

[Tripplebeards]

I bought a used lee HP mold and I have to grab both halves with a glove to get it to line up even every time. If not one side will sit up about a 16th of an inch or less. I adjusted the nut that holds the handles from tight to loose with no luck. I see there is a little dent like lee pinged it with a punch from factory so both sided line up and grab where the dent is but it must have worn over time. How do I fix this issue?

Here's what it looks like if I don't fiddle with it every time...

[NoZombies]

Photos of the mold faces will be more helpful.

[Traffer]

If it is the new style with two pins that align the halves, your pins could have come loose or been forced inward so they don't stick into the other half deep enough to create the alignment. You can carefully with a punch push the pins back farther into the face of the mold. Just poke them in farther than they need so the mold wont close completely, then squeeze the mold shut and it will push them back in to the correct depth.
However they are liable to get loose again which, I fix by putting a set screw from the side to hold the pin.
Like NoZombies said though, A picture of the mold would be very helpful.

[jdfoxinc]

Send it back to Lee. On Lee web site is a form you fill out. Explains that it is second hand and what the problem is. Send the form with the mold.

Remember the meaning of the three hanging balls above the pawn shop door, "Let the buyer beware."

[BK7saum]

The best way I've found is to close the mold with the bottoms of the blocks on a flat surface, table top, or metal plate. Should go right together.

[Tripplebeards]

Here is a few I PC'd that I ended getting the mold to close properly. The ones that didn't line up actually weighed a few more grains and were culled. If lee will fix it I'll send the mold in. I like the ease of how it works.

[Tripplebeards]

I called lee. They asked if I had tried any Sprue lube...which I haven't and to close the mold upside down so the weight of the plate won't be pushing down on it. If not it sounds like they will adjust it for me if I send it in. Ill lube it up and give it a try first.

[lotech]

I gave up on these. Lee moulds work well, but are comparatively fragile. However, they're cheap enough that throwing a damaged one away doesn't hurt.

[aws1963]

I had this issue with the "new" two pin style 2 cavity. Most likely one of the pins has recessed back into the mold side. I found one was lower than the other which allowed the mold to line up unevenly. I measured the taller pin with a micrometer and found the other one was definitely lower. Used a punch to move it out to match the good one and then "staked" the loose one in place. No problems since. Throw's nice and round.

[Traffer]

I gave up on these. Lee moulds work well, but are comparatively fragile. However, they're cheap enough that throwing a damaged one away doesn't hurt.

I have never used any molds except Lee. They are indeed fragile and inexpensive. HOWEVER. This affords me the opportunity to tinker and modify with them. I have recently used a pair of Lee 2 cavity handles (the very light duty, easily bendable ones) to make a new 6 cavity mold.
I realize that at around $25 for a set of 2 cavity molds most people would throw them away when they start getting bad.
I use that stuff...If you have any that you want to throw away, pm me. I will pay the postage for you to throw them my way.

[John Boy]

How do I get a lee mold sides evenly aligned?

Send it back to Lee Precision for a replacement - their molds carry a guarantee

[Tripplebeards]

Send it back to Lee Precision for a replacement - their molds carry a guarantee

They don’t make this mold anymore so it can’t be replaced. I would have them fix it. I like the mold just have to get it lined up.

[lotech]

I have never used any molds except Lee. They are indeed fragile and inexpensive. HOWEVER. This affords me the opportunity to tinker and modify with them. I have recently used a pair of Lee 2 cavity handles (the very light duty, easily bendable ones) to make a new 6 cavity mold.
I realize that at around $25 for a set of 2 cavity molds most people would throw them away when they start getting bad.
I use that stuff...If you have any that you want to throw away, pm me. I will pay the postage for you to throw them my way.

I just stopped buying them some time ago; I'm probably down to a couple of Lee moulds. Other moulds certainly cost more, but I get a lot more mileage from them. Don't recall ever discarding a steel or brass mould. I do have at least two, maybe three LBT aluminum moulds and an aluminum NEI mould, all of which I have had many years. They work fine. Perhaps there are different grades of aluminum.

[fecmech]

The best way I've found is to close the mold with the bottoms of the blocks on a flat surface, table top, or metal plate. Should go right together.

That works for me also!

[Tripplebeards]

I put the mold in a vise after removing the spruce plate so the halves were completely even and "retapped" the spot where lee made a tap mark to line up the two halves so they would grab each other in the same place so now the little dent is over exaggerated to make sure the halves grab each other in the same spot. I could tell they were still hanging up so I played with the tightness of the bolt holding the two halves together and applied my arsenal dry lube that just arrived today and also put a drop or two of slip 2000 full synthetic gun lube in the pin holes. I am closing it up side down as told per lee and it seems to close perfect and smooth as silk. Knock on wood! I'll try some casting with it tomorrow. I did notice some burrs around the HP area after I sprayed on the dry lube which made it stand out after spraying. I could also seem them in my boolits from the first casting session. I scraped them off and reapplied the spray. I just started casting boolits last year and am guilty as charged with not lubing molds until today and never tried mold release either. Maintainence makes a world of difference. Can't wait to see if my boolits fall out of the mold from the release spray. I had some stick and get dinged on the way out. Since I PC if it makes my boolits smaller the PC will add to the diameter. Thanks for the help.


The top pic is before I pinned and lubed

[Tripplebeards]

Just tried it out and casted about 10lbs of 50/50 w 2% pewter added to the mix. It's working good. I caught a couple not ligning up but I believe I didn't have it up side down a few times being I was going too fast. I learned if I poured too fast or had the mold too far away from my spout I'd get a little finning. Also when the mold and lead was too hot I'd rip the HP cavity and the boolit would get stuck in the mold...or if it was border line slushy when opening the mold the top lube groove ring would tear just a hair. I taught myself to wait After cutting the spruce a few seconds a fan the the mold before opening it. All in all it's an easy mold to master once I got the bugs out.

[RED BEAR]

glad you fixed it i usuall put them in a vice on there side and drill all the way through put a roll pin in on one side sticking out in the center drill outher side one step larger drill try not to go more than a few thousands over the roll pin size i do this on two spots sort of like the new lee molds. works pretty good. i am a little old school don't throw anything away that can be fixed.

[Tripplebeards]

I can see that from the first time casting with it the other day I missed a couple that should ha been culled like the blue one on the bottom right. How much accuracy loss will I suffer shooting the off center ones?

[Tripplebeards]

I can see that from the first time casting with it the other day I missed a couple that should ha been culled like the blue one on the bottom right. How much accuracy loss will I suffer shooting the off center ones?