Adding Deeper Grease Grooves to existing Lee 230gr .309 Alox Mold

[WBH]

Is there anyone that can cut some grease grooves in an existing Lee tumble lube bullet mold I have? Its a 2 cavity TL309-230-5R

I am getting tired of PCing them and hate Liquid Alox. Its a great bullet that need some lube grooves.

[M-Tecs]

Nope cutting the mold won't do it. You would have to add material to the mold to make that happen.

[Tatume]

+1 Or you could cut the mold to drop a larger diameter bullet. Hardly seems worth the trouble for such an inexpensive mold though.

[rancher1913]

you will also be changing the boolit dynamics and it may not shot worth a dang after the mods.

[WBH]

Nope cutting the mold won't do it. You would have to add material to the mold to make that happen.

Right you are!
I was thinking in reverse looking at the bullet I turned on the lathe to put grooves in it.

[longbow]

Something you might try is to "hot tumble lube" with something like Ben's Red or some other lube that melts.

I started doing that some time ago because I didn't like LLA. I made some lube similar to and at about the same time as Ben made his Ben's Red. I was trying to make a Felix lube but didn't have the correct ingredients so went with what I had. It worked pretty well but wasn't good for pan lubing so I decided to melt some in an old cast iron frying pan and roll the boolits in it. They coated nicely and unlike LLA, they were "dry" as soon as they cooled so no sticky mess. I get a very thin film on the nose but most at the lube grooves. It holds on well and works in both my .44 mag. Marlin and .303 British rifles.

I use just enough lube melted in the frying pan to coat a handful of boolits and add as needed. Any more than a thin film in the frying pan is too much. The boolits need to heat for a short time so the lube flows thinly all over them.

It is quick and easy and you can load immediately after. I pick out coated boolits with needle nose pliers and stand them on foil... or lay them in the case of .30 cal.

It works for me.

Longbow

[stubshaft]

Even if you could cut new grooves into the body that long boat tail would make a mess in a lubrisizer.

[Tatume]

You should consider trying 45-45-10, which you can formulate yourself, or purchase by the quart from one of our respected vendors. It is exceptionally easy to apply, and works well. It is also inexpensive.

[WBH]

All good ideas. Thanks.

[gwpercle]

Nope cutting the mold won't do it. You would have to add material to the mold to make that happen.

Exactly right ,
When you are dealing with moulds you have to sort of think backwards and in reverse ...removing metal makes the groove shallower, adding metal to the grooves will make them deeper .
With the price of double cavity Lee moulds being $22.00 -$25.00 (Midway) you will be ahead just buying a new mould in the form you want . The Lyman 450 lube sizer I bought in 1971 was the best piece of loading equiptment I ever bought. Conventional lubed and sized boolits in a lube/sizer are still the fastest easiest way to do it .
Gary

[WBH]

Exactly right ,
When you are dealing with moulds you have to sort of think backwards and in reverse ...removing metal makes the groove shallower, adding metal to the grooves will make them deeper .
With the price of double cavity Lee moulds being $22.00 -$25.00 (Midway) you will be ahead just buying a new mould in the form you want . The Lyman 450 lube sizer I bought in 1971 was the best piece of loading equiptment I ever bought. Conventional lubed and sized boolits in a lube/sizer are still the fastest easiest way to do it .
Gary

I have 2 450's. One for BP lube and the other heated for hard lube.

[dkf]

I lube tumble lube bullets with regular white label lube often, usually a mix of BAC and CR.

[Phlier]

You should consider trying 45-45-10, which you can formulate yourself, or purchase by the quart from one of our respected vendors. It is exceptionally easy to apply, and works well. It is also inexpensive.

Yup, great lube. If you apply it thin enough, it won't remain in the least bit tacky. But if you're having a problem with tackiness, tumbling them again with a very small (1/4 tsp per 250 124gr 9mm boolits works well) amount of mica will completely remove any tackiness.

What part of powder coating is causing the annoyance?

[Conditor22]

Try powder or Hitek coating

[country gent]

Before Id modify a mold I would modify some bullets to test. If you have a lathe its not hard to do. Put a piece of round stock in the chuck and bore the nose form in it, do not remove. Set the bullet nose in and hold snug with a flat point live center. With a cut off tool or threading tool recut the grooves deeper. Lube these and shoot them if all is well then modify the mould or have one made.

You can make a cap for a pointed live center from round stock. Cut the 60* in one end and face the other flat

[WBH]

[QUOTE=country gent;4811940]Before Id modify a mold I would modify some bullets to test. If you have a lathe its not hard to do. Put a piece of round stock in the chuck and bore the nose form in it, do not remove. Set the bullet nose in and hold snug with a flat point live center. With a cut off tool or threading tool recut the grooves deeper. Lube these and shoot them if all is well then modify the mould or have one made.

That's exactly what I've done. Just have not had the chance to shoot any yet. The boatail base is going to be the problem in the Lubrisizer though. I might just have to hav a mould made with a flat base if the "experimental ones work.

[sse]

With the long Lee boattail would it not be possible to cut a couple of grease grooves there ? I was thinking to have mine reamed to remove the boat tail to have a flat base.