Newbie's experience with Lee molds

[trebleplink]

Well, I've cast probably 5-6K bullets and buckshot now with 255gn .45 x6, .310 ball x6, .240 ball x 18, .380 ball x 2, 12ga slug x 1, and a couple other Lee molds. Got the alloy about 14 bhn, and using the bottom pour Lee heated pot with PID control.

The .240 balls x 18 are fussy, but I get about 95% right - but are a pain to cut apart. With both x6 molds, I have consistent troubles with sprue plate (shear) flash. Really need everything just right, holding it just right, using about 355 degrees C. I'm always tracking down some bit of lead that holds the plate just a microscopic bit off.

With the 255gn .45 x6 mold, I have to hit the nut with the handle of a screwdriver a bunch to get all to drop - and this causes the sprue plate to loosen. I've even tried the aftermarket steel plates - helps a bit. Unless I really hold the mold together really tightly, I'm plagued by flash between the halves.

Today I'm going to cast some more .310 buckshot with the x6 mold. But I'll spend more time tracking down some unseen bit of lead holding off the plate than I will casting. I give them 6 hours of vibratory finish to get rid of sprue flash.

The x2 or x1 molds work great.

[dondiego]

Well, I've cast probably 5-6K bullets and buckshot now with 255gn .45 x6, .310 ball x6, .240 ball x 18, .380 ball x 2, 12ga slug x 1, and a couple other Lee molds. Got the alloy about 14 bhn, and using the bottom pour Lee heated pot with PID control.

The .240 balls x 18 are fussy, but I get about 95% right - but are a pain to cut apart. With both x6 molds, I have consistent troubles with sprue plate (shear) flash. Really need everything just right, holding it just right, using about 355 degrees C. I'm always tracking down some bit of lead that holds the plate just a microscopic bit off.

With the 255gn .45 x6 mold, I have to hit the nut with the handle of a screwdriver a bunch to get all to drop - and this causes the sprue plate to loosen. I've even tried the aftermarket steel plates - helps a bit. Unless I really hold the mold together really tightly, I'm plagued by flash between the halves.

Today I'm going to cast some more .310 buckshot with the x6 mold. But I'll spend more time tracking down some unseen bit of lead holding off the plate than I will casting. I give them 6 hours of vibratory finish to get rid of sprue flash.

The x2 or x1 molds work great.

I have had problems with LEE 6 cav molds when I hold the mold closed too tightly. It causes the far end to open up and allow flashing to develop. Check yours to see if you are getting that.

[earlmck]

I really like my 6-cavity Lee molds but that sprue-cut handle is a little tricky: the least little touch on it and it'll open the mold a bit and allow lead outside the boolit cavity. And no matter what make of mold you use they can fail to fully close just by squeezing the handles. I give a couple taps on the handle joint (never hit the mold itself) as I squeeze to make sure the mold halves are fully seated. And that goes for Accurate, Arsenal, LBT, and NOE. I just make that little tap-tap on the handle joint while closing a part of my casting procedure.

And most of my boolit styles require a bit of a tap of this same handle joint to drop all the boolits, just like your 255/45 is doing to you.

[Conditor22]

earlmck posted the biggest problems beginners have with the Lee 6 --

rule 1 - don't touch the sprue plate lever.

rule 2 - don't drop bad boolits from the mold directly into the pot.

rule 3 - keep the mold top, alignment pins sprue plate pivot point and bottom of sprue plate lubed (I do my outside lubing with freshly cast/cut boolits still in the mold) I use a needle tip bottle to lube the sprue plate pivot point, just one tiny drop and work the sprue plate removing any lube that migrates checking for migration after the next few casts. put a few tiny drops on a q-tip and lightly dampen the top of the mold {witht he boolits still in it} and the bottom of the sprue plate then wipe off excess oil, dump the boolits then add a couple of tiny drop to the other side of the q-tip and carefully wipe the alignment pins and holes)

rule 4 - don't over tighten the sprue plate pivot screw this will cause wear on the mold under the pure plate and cause the other end of the sprue plate to lift up off the mold. the sprue plate should swing freely.

rule 5 - don't clean/scrub/scrape aluminum molds with anything metal use bamboo skewers, lead ingots, wood to remove lead from the surfaces

rule 6 - never have the mold open when it's near the pot, returning sprues, starting a pour

to cut/separate the buckshot.

I use https://www.harborfreight.com/4-12-i...ers-63814.html with the bottom sanded/filed flat and the tip sanded/filed to a point $1.79

or https://www.harborfreight.com/micro-...ter-90708.html $3.49 similarly treated



with buckshot molds, you need to preheat the mold (I use a hot plate set to 400° for ALL my molds) so the lead can get to all parts of the cavity(s) before cooling. Purge the lead in the pot's spout to clear any cooler lead in the spout or drips (into a catch container ) before each pour especially in cooler weather

use the fastest pour speed you can easily manage and pour directly into each hole until the sprue starts building up.

IF boolits don't want to drop easily from the cavities on a new (er) mold the cavities might have burrs on them, these can be removed by rubbing the edges of the cavities with wood, ie carpenters pencil utensil handle ---

IF molds don't want to close easily re-lube the alignment pins - check for any speck of lead on the alignment pins or holes.


my 2¢

[trebleplink]

Thanks all. I tried to tap it first and then gently hold it closed. That may have helped some, but still had about 25% of the pours result in some sprue flash, and there's one cavity that just doesn't want to release, particularly when it gets sprue flash. I'm going to look at it under magnification. Meanwhile, the batch is vibrating for 8 hours - we'll see if it gets rid of the flash.