Help with Lee Mold

[cricco]

I purchased a 6 hole Lee mold for .452 SWC 200 grain. I'm making good bullets, but the mold is giving me a problem. There are 2 locator pins in the mold. One in front, one in back. When I'm casting, the front pin (furthest away from handles) is sticking. It's making it a pain in the @ss to open the mold. I tried cleaning up the pin with a scotch brite pad, and some beeswax lube, but it still sticks. Anyone ever had this problem? How did you rectify it? Thanks for any advice.

[kelbro]

Debur the 'female' or receiving side of the mold.

[lwknight]

A tiny bit of scotch-brite wound around a small drill might polish it out.

[CWME]

Are you putting the lube on the pin when the mold is hot? That works for me.

[kingstrider]

Several of my 6-bangers do this if the mold is cold or if the pins are not lubed. I usually dip that end in molten lead to warm it up and then lube the pins with a little candle wax.

[johnlaw484]

I use a lead carpenters pencil to lube my molds. It has a high graphite content and works extremely well as a dry lube.

[CWME]

Any particular brand of pencil?? Good idea... Be easier to get the lube on the pin closest to the handle... Thanks for sharing that.

[Frozone]

Mine get better with age. After half a dozen heat/cool cycles it doesn't stick.
I still lube the pins however; That pencil idea is great! I'll give that a try.

[canebreaker]

Rewash the mold with mineral spirits and a tooth brush. Let dry for a couple of days. Smoke the mold with a candle. If areas start to seem to stick, use a large pencil on that area.

[johnlaw484]

Any particular brand of pencil?? Good idea... Be easier to get the lube on the pin closest to the handle... Thanks for sharing that.

I just buy whatever is on the counter. It is a soft lead in the pencil and seems to work very well.

[lylejb]

I had a problem like that.

In my case a tiny drop of lead got into the hole, then hardened in a layer. It was like a single layer of tin foil inside the hole, making the hole too small. I COULD NOT SEE IT IN THERE. I looked several times. I am not blind. It was f!@#$%^ invisible!

On my mold, the hole was exactly a common drill size, 3/16 if I remember right. Measure your pin with a caliper, and if you have the correct size, clean out the hole with a drill bit, CAREFULLY.

problem solved.

I lube my pins and sprue plate with a thin layer of never-seize, but I may get some bullplate to try.

[cricco]

I will try the suggestions that everyone has posted. It seems that the mold is sticking when it's cold, or hot. Lubed, or not. Thanks for all of the advice. I'll keep everyone posted.

[cricco]

Update:
I used a dremel tool to clean up the locator pin hole. It works better now. I casted a few boolits to try it out, and it seems like it maybe just needs to be "broken in"? It still sticks a little, but not bad. Thanks guys!