Out of Round

[Rich/WIS]

Frustration meter has pegged. Cast up a large quantity Lee 452-255 RF and went to start sizing. Seemed like they were being sized unevenly. Thought at first it was the old Lyman 450 I was using but tried the sizing die in two other sizers, another 450 and a LAM II and still the same. Started thinking maybe it isn't the sizer so grabbed a micrometer and checked, as cast diameter varied from .4525 down to .4505. Looks like the Lee six banger is way out of round. Mold was bought used years ago and this was the first time I used it. Shame about the mold, it dropped bullets out with barely a tap on the hinge pin and I ran over 50# of 96-3-1. Looks like I need a new mold.

[leadhead]

I would contact Lee and tell them about it... Did you check to see
if the pins have moved or if the two halves wiggle when you try
to move them? Some times it's very easy to tap the pins one way
or the other to snug up the movement. Just a thought.
Denny

[bmortell]

so you mean out of round, as in its NOT the mold halfs having one slid further forward than the other, assuming you would have noticed a step on the boolits mold half seam and mentioned if that was the case. in that case possibly good news if its getting the .4525 dimension from the length of the mold and .4505 from the width you'd just need to shim with heat tape or however that method goes and get the smaller dimension bigger, theres guides on it forget what they called it. for the boolits you have if you put one layer of shake and bake PC they would size full contact and effectively be pressed round.

[Rich/WIS]

No movement, checked that when I was prepping the mold before casting. I have several Lee six cavity molds and the others work fine.

[gwpercle]

I thought one of the benefits of sizing was to true up out of round boolits . What do they measure after a trip through the sizing die? Still out of round ?

[KYCaster]

so you mean out of round, as in its NOT the mold halfs having one slid further forward than the other, assuming you would have noticed a step on the boolits mold half seam(mismatched) and mentioned if that was the case. in that case possibly good news if its getting the .4525 dimension from the length of the mold and .4505 from the width you'd just need to shim with heat tape or however that method goes and get the smaller dimension bigger, theres guides on it forget what they called it.(Beagling) for the boolits you have if you put one layer of shake and bake PC they would size full contact and effectively be pressed round.

Hope this helps.
Jerry

[Rich/WIS]

Sized at .452 there is a section that is not touched by the sizer at the parting line on opposite sides of the bullet. Had a PM with advice on adjusting the mold and tried that and will try casting some more tomorrow to see if it helps.

[FlyfishermanMike]

Have you checked the mating surfaces? I had this happen on a big batch as well. Turns out I had a tiny smear of lead on one mating surface. Now I check my molds before starting and will check a few boolits at the beginning of a session before casting more.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

[winelover]

Lopsided sizing is typical of in and out sizers. Especially, those that bullets enter base first. That's why I graduated to a Star.

Since you purchased the mold used, it could have been warped by the original owner.

Winelover

[Rich/WIS]

Success! Following advice from another forum member was able to adjust the pins, needed a final tweak after the first test cast but now sizing all the way around. Never knew you could adjust a mold that way but it worked a treat.

[Mk42gunner]

Rich,

Glad you got it figured out. I had that happen on the very first Lee six cavity mold that I acquired, a group buy that Wilbird ran for a 314-120.

I was to the point of introducing the mold to a horseshoe rasp when I finally noticed the alignment pins backing out. I do have a memento that has five boolits mounted in a sheet of lead about 1/16" thick as a reminder.

Robert

[gwpercle]

Success! Following advice from another forum member was able to adjust the pins, needed a final tweak after the first test cast but now sizing all the way around. Never knew you could adjust a mold that way but it worked a treat.

I just love a story with a happy ending... You did good !
Gary

[la5676]

Success! Following advice from another forum member was able to adjust the pins, needed a final tweak after the first test cast but now sizing all the way around. Never knew you could adjust a mold that way but it worked a treat.

Gonna make a comment here, just to tag this thread. I may need to be in contact with that other member you mentioned. Some years back, I had this exact issue with a Lyman 2-cav 452-374 mold. I wrote to Lyman, but never got it mailed off. Been casting with LEE 230-TL mold since. Life happened, and I just never got back to it. I'll mold some soon if I can and try now with the push through die.

[Springfield]

As far as I know pins only go in and out, so I assume you pushed them out far enough to increase the distance between the halves? I have done the same with tape,works up to a point, then you get finning.

[Dusty Bannister]

I think that the alignment pins and the sockets in the mold blocks are not exactly the same distance apart. They are in alignment as far as the vertical axis meaning the nose and base are in alignment, but the pins are not fully bottomed in the socket. I would describe adjusting the pins in a similar movement as adjusting the rear sight on one of the less expensive firearms. You need to loosen one sight screw to turn the opposite screw to move the rear sight. With this type of sight, we know which way we want to move the blade. We do not know if the socket holes in the mold blocks are closer or further apart. But we do need to lightly tap one pin back into the block so the relaxed fit will allow block movement. We just need to do a test casting to verify if that was in the right direction or not. The pins are not "centered" in the hole but more like the side of the round and tapered pin sliding into the socket aligns the blocks. The movement of the pin, in or out shifts the blocks. This adjustment is a bit easier done if the blocks are warm as PM comments from the OP found.

If one decided to hurry things up by moving both pins before a test casting, you have no way of knowing which movement made the difference. This is not a matter of the pins being too far out and not allowing the blocks to mate or a spot of lead on one block. With the tolerances on mold fit, if you can see pin movement, you probably moved it too far. That is why you need to do the test casting and measure the castings with a micrometer when the casting has cooled.
Dusty

[Rich/WIS]

I used a brass drift punch when I did it although had to use a 1# hammer as the 8oz hammer I started with didn't work. The mold was cold but when I went to make further adjustments the mold was hot and the pin moved with a light blow. Anyone doing this suggest do it hot as less force is required, making it easier and less likelihood of damage to the mold.