Am I too picky??

[Rickf1985]

The fact that it will not size out means that even if the chatter wasn't there the bullet would have the same problem, it would be too small. This is not an excuse but just an observation. What I do see here is the fact that you bought a mold from a company and remachined it and THEN told them it had a problem and even sent pictures of the MODIFIED mold and the company still offers to replace it!!!!! Say what you will about Lee but would NOE or any of the other high end companies do that for you? Not likely.

[gwpercle]

I have become disenchanted with Lyman over the years ...
and now it looks like Lee is headed down the same disenchantment path ... you can't expect people to use such obviously defective moulds ... Come on Man , who you all trying to fool .

Still enchanted with NOE . I can honestly say of the 7 NOE Moulds I have ordered over the last 7 years ... everyone is 100% delightfully made and user friendly .

ICH ,
Lee really needs to replace your Donkey-Wonkey mould with a decently made one ...
I don't know if they realize that we talk to each other ... but from what you have posted and Lee's lack of customer service ... I will be thinking twice about buying another Lee mould .

And NO ...you're Not being too picky ... Lee should have never let that mould leave the factory ... Mark It Defective !
Gary

[vernm]

Since you don't shoot this bullet much, why not just cast with the good cavity. Use it as a single cavity mould.

[waksupi]

I have become disenchanted with Lyman over the years ...
and now it looks like Lee is headed down the same disenchantment path ... you can't expect people to use such obviously defective moulds ... Come on Man , who you all trying to fool .

Still enchanted with NOE . I can honestly say of the 7 NOE Moulds I have ordered over the last 7 years ... everyone is 100% delightfully made and user friendly .

ICH ,
Lee really needs to replace your Donkey-Wonkey mould with a decently made one ...
I don't know if they realize that we talk to each other ... but from what you have posted and Lee's lack of customer service ... I will be thinking twice about buying another Lee mould .

And NO ...you're Not being too picky ... Lee should have never let that mould leave the factory ... Mark It Defective !
Gary

That is why we lost the Lyman advertising on this forum. They found out we would call them on poor quality, rather than just being fan boys.

[El Bibliotecario]

To answer your original question: Yes.

[MaLar]

I have a six cavity Lee mold . Some of the cavities have some chatter and it shoots fine. If it was a rifle mold I think I would have sent it back.

[Hanzy4200]

I wouldn't worry about it. There's no way it's going to effect accuracy or function. If it was a $120 custom mold like a Accurate or MP, I'd be irritated. Not from a Lee.

[HWooldridge]

I am the Quality Manager for a large (200 employee) production machine shop.

That would be a reject condition for us, i.e., we would not have sent it out to a customer - but Lee is correct in stating it's not unusual for a new tool to chatter until it breaks in a bit. However, good toolmakers will buff/break the cutting edges to reduce the likelihood of occurrence.

I believe you will absolutely see that in a cast bullet - and likely be unhappy with the appearance.

[Smoke4320]

I would send it back and hope for the best. worse is you are out another $8.50 in postage . best is you get a much better mold in return

[15meter]

The good thing is if you do send it back, it won't come back out as a factory second or as an overstock.

Do I believe Lee would do that?

In a heartbeat.

[farmbif]

I'm a sucker for the lee closeout section, ive gotten a couple at 1/2 price that dont look very good but the they shoot pretty good for what they are. if the out of round problem is not corrected when lube sizing that is a real problem.

[MarkP]

I have a NOE 311 247 FN both cavities have rings on the bore ride section. I never said anything I know when I first opened the box I wasn't real thrilled to see the rings. They shoot fine see pics below:




Rings on as cast are not as visible in the pictures as they are with naked eye in natural light

[Kimber1911]

its a lee, if you want quality you need to expect to pay more than you pay for a lee. if you are not going to be doing bench rest competition, I would use it.

dingdingding

[David2011]

I have a NOE 311 247 FN both cavities have rings on the bore ride section. I never said anything I know when I first opened the box I wasn't real thrilled to see the rings. They shoot fine see pics below:

Rings on as cast are not as visible in the pictures as they are with naked eye in natural light

Mark, it looks like you’re not getting good fillout. Are you using straight wheel weights? Maybe the alloy needs a little tin added. My boolits pick up every machining mark in the molds.

[GregLaROCHE]

I don’t think chatter should be acceptable. However, I have Lyman mold that came with a gun I bought. It had terrible chatter marks on what makes the driving bands. The boolits look like crap. They seem to shoot ok, but I don’t like the way the boolits look. I tried to lap it out with a boolit and grinding compound, but only ended up with a really shiny boolit. It was a steel mold. If your’s is aluminum the technique might work for you. My mold was a single cavity. With a double cavity you would need to lap them both equally so the boolits end up the same.

[MarkP]

Mark, it looks like you’re not getting good fillout. Are you using straight wheel weights? Maybe the alloy needs a little tin added. My boolits pick up every machining mark in the molds.

It is the picture and flash..... the rings are very visible and can easily feel with fingernail. These were cast with reclaimed shot mixed with Lino.