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Thread: Lee 6-cavity alignment pins/handle slop.

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
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    Lee 6-cavity alignment pins/handle slop.

    I have found that the fit between Lee's 6-cavity mold blocks and the mold handles has too much play which allows the the rear-most male alignment pin to miss the female side and strike and deform the opposite mold block. It occured to me that if set screws were installed, one could adjust the play to the point where the male pin could kept in better alignment with the female side and could reduce the chance of buggering up the mold. It is idea that seems worth investigating.
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    The modification seems to work fairly well despite the fact that the set screws seem to like to move and loose adjustment (however, that can be fixed).

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    When closing the mold set it on a flat surface to align the halves, have seen this condition on a lot of molds that have seen heavy use, not just Lee. Check that the metal displaced is not preventing the mold from closing completely and remove if it is. The sprue cutting lever on the Lee unbalances that half and tips it up in relation to the other half. Handles have play engineered into them and not sure if you can remove it all without causing other issues. The peening will stop once the aluminum in the path of the alignment pin and bushing on the female side is worn beyond the path of the alignment pin.

  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rich/WIS View Post
    When closing the mold set it on a flat surface to align the halves, have seen this condition on a lot of molds that have seen heavy use, not just Lee. Check that the metal displaced is not preventing the mold from closing completely and remove if it is. The sprue cutting lever on the Lee unbalances that half and tips it up in relation to the other half. Handles have play engineered into them and not sure if you can remove it all without causing other issues. The peening will stop once the aluminum in the path of the alignment pin and bushing on the female side is worn beyond the path of the alignment pin.
    The slop problem is fore and aft not up and down...note the position of the "divot" in the photo. The sprue cutting lever is not a factor. Note that I posted "...adjust the play...", did not say "...remove it all..."...if one thinks that the handle modification is not working out, one can remove the set screws. Setting the mold on a flat surface will not effect fore and aft alignment (the male side will still miss the female hole. Also, the set screws are intended to align the mold halves without fiddling around setting the mold down before closing (way too slow and will not produce the desired result anyway).
    Last edited by dahermit; 11-14-2019 at 11:13 AM.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master
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    Missed that in the photo, and got curious so checked the 6 cav molds I have. Some were horizontal like yours and some were vertical, one had almost no wear. Did notice that the worst had rather blunt alignment pins, those with least or none had much pointier pins. Don't think it is an issue either way as the alignment pin goes into a steel insert. If the peened aluminum keeping the pin from seating or the mold from fully closing then it needs to be cleaned up. Once the aluminum is worn away the problem will not come back. FWIW even my NOE molds show some very slight evidence of the same issue.

  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Sounds more like a tolerance stacking issue between blocks and handles. It would be interesting to try a mould on several sets of hands and watch alignment of the pins for any changes. Im suspecting one handle hole may be ahead of the other by a small amount. Another fix might be to drill the handle holes out larger and sleeve down to size paying close attention to locations.

    In my mouds I do "adjust" play with shims to help aid alignment. I also use the mentioned close sitting on flat edge. Set up for this and one you get used to it, it isn't and more time for me. Taking the play out does help and makes the moulds last longer. I measure the gap between handles and blocks with a feeler gage then subtract .001 adding this size shim to under side of handles. this allows for some play to align pins but not so much to have pins hitting edges. By adding shims to underside if handles the machined surfaces still maintain locations.

  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rich/WIS View Post
    Missed that in the photo, and got curious so checked the 6 cav molds I have. Some were horizontal like yours and some were vertical, one had almost no wear. Did notice that the worst had rather blunt alignment pins, those with least or none had much pointier pins. Don't think it is an issue either way as the alignment pin goes into a steel insert. If the peened aluminum keeping the pin from seating or the mold from fully closing then it needs to be cleaned up. Once the aluminum is worn away the problem will not come back. FWIW even my NOE molds show some very slight evidence of the same issue.
    The whole purpose of the modification is to stop it from happening in the first place.

  7. #7
    Boolit Buddy
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    Sounds more like a tolerance stacking issue between blocks and handles. It would be interesting to try a mould on several sets of hands and watch alignment of the pins for any changes.
    I have examined several different handle sets with several different mold blocks. It is apparent that ALL have so much play that the male pins can miss the holes and strike the aluminum blocks. You can see how the alignment is too "generous" if you would take one of the mentioned handles while mounted to the mentioned mold blocks, open them and manipulate each side to observe how much play is evident. Then consider how set screws in front of the pivot holes could be used to reduce the excess amount of play and subsequently align the male pins with the holes better to prevent the resultant divot. Try it at home and see.

  8. #8
    Boolit Buddy
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    Another fix might be to drill the handle holes out larger and sleeve down to size paying close attention to locations.
    One negative to drilling the handle holes larger is that it weakens the handles right at a stress point...they could break easier. Also, the problem with the misalignment is due to excess movement. Drilling the holes larger would only induce more slop in the fit. I remember drilling (I think they were RCBS handles) to get them to fit Lee blocks...at least I think that was the case. In any event, it worked but there was precious metal left between the holes and the outside of the handles.

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