Lee mould alignment pin seat

[castmiester]

It appears to be melted away a bit and the aluminum block too. At first I thought it was lead build up but it's not. Is that a problem? I got a steel sprue plate awhile back, haven't tried it yet but am sure it will work better. Most of the bases are square and clean, the ones that casted well. Culled casts to 95 percent good casts.. not bad for the first time.

[HATCH]

Can you take a picture??

[castmiester]

Can you take a picture??

Where the pin makes contact is not distributed but here’s a pic

[HATCH]

I would use a small flat blade screwdriver and scrape the lead/alum/whatever that is sitting above the alignment pin.
You can always take a small file and clean up any high spots at the pin so it sits better

[castmiester]

You think it’s lead ? It’s hard to see from the pic. If you notice the squibbly line, that me with a scratch awl pokin at it. Nothing lifted, that’s why l thought it was the block damage. But l guess it would take a lot more heat to melt aluminum and the seat us steel ?

[country gent]

I would try a sharp exacto knife and gently scrape at it try to peel it up gently.

It looks like a burr that was present or raised when the bushing was pushed in.

If a straight edge dosnt catch on it then it probably dosnt matter a lot

[castmiester]

I would try a sharp exacto knife and gently scrape at it try to peel it up gently.

It looks like a burr that was present or raised when the bushing was pushed in.

If a straight edge dosnt catch on it then it probably dosnt matter a lot

I tried the exacto knife. It’s the block somehow wore a tad. The alignment pin seat is steel, and isn’t effected. I should be good.

[oley55]

it sure looks like lead, but pics can be deceiving. Try the Zacto knife again but concentrate on the outer steel ring just to see if it will lift there. I've had alloy stick to aluminum almost as if it were tinned onto brass or copper.

[castmiester]

I did. Nothing lifts. I just looked at it again, and I believe the pin gouged the block before it lined up with the seat.. there's two marks next to each other. It's the pin that left the marks.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

tighten the hinge bolt on the handle.

[castmiester]

tighten the hinge bolt on the handle.

I tightened that nut and bolt. Now the blocks close evenly. The bottom closed before the top, before I tightened the nut and bolt where the handles meet. The nut is a lock nut and the nut and bolt still spin freely. Thanks man !

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

That's good news. You want that hinge snug, but still move easily.

[ACC]

It appears to be melted away a bit and the aluminum block too. At first I thought it was lead build up but it's not. Is that a problem? I got a steel sprue plate awhile back, haven't tried it yet but am sure it will work better. Most of the bases are square and clean, the ones that casted well. Culled casts to 95 percent good casts.. not bad for the first time.

I use only Lee molds except for one old RCBS mold and I have to say that the six cavity mold pins SOMETIMES need to be driven out a little bit. Not much but I would need to see the mold to tell you what your problem is and how to fix it. My guess is that unless you are casting Zinc it is probably lead that you see since lead alloys don't get hot enough to melt Aluminum. That's my guess. Nothing from Lee is rated for Zinc. Voids the warranty.

ACC

[castmiester]

I can understand if the blocks don't close completely and the mating surfaces aren't clean with no abrasions or build up or what ever, and the pins need to be driven out for the blocks to close tight... but......

The alignment pins are made of steel, the blocks are aluminum, the blocks weren't mating together straight and the top pin was jamming against the block from misalignment and offset, and the bottom closed first then the top, so I'm convinced it's not lead build up. The pic I sent I couldn't focus enough to show this. There's two marks next to each other and the way it closed I noticed how the marks got there. Thank you all for your input.