View Full Version : Would be nice if Lee would........
Would be nice if Lee would offer a bullet mold ( even if the price had to go up a little ) with an adjustable locking screw for variable tension on the sprue plate.
I just ordered a Lee 338 , 220 gr. mold. When it arrived the sprue plate was so tight that it cut and scared the top of the mold each time it was opened and closed. I tried to remove the sprue plate tension screw and couldn't budge it ! ! I had to used my dremel with a cut off wheel and cut / grind a pair of flats on the screw head , then I was able to remove it with Vice Grips.
I then drilled and tapped an 8 - 40 hole in the side of the mold block to allow me to use a sprue plate tension screw lock screw . Now I have perfect sprue plate tension and have the ability to lock and hold that tension setting . Recently all the Lee molds that I've ordered have far too much tension on the sprue plate screw.
Photos below...........
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/PICT0001-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/PICT0003-3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/PICT0002-3.jpg
Lloyd Smale
10-22-2006, 04:51 PM
I wish theyd offer a line of high end 6 cavity STEEL MOLDS!
PatMarlin
10-22-2006, 05:22 PM
Nice job Ben.
I've got one of my favorite 45-70 molds that the plate tightened up on me and scared it. I gotta fix it like yours.
Or send it to you.. :bigsmyl2:
Thanks Pat,
If you start out with a " non - galded " top mold surface and keep it lubed & keep light pressure on the sprue plate, you're " In Business ! ! " with this system.
I use moly paste between the sprue plate and the mold blocks. I put a thin film ( and I mean REAL THIN FILM ) on the underside of the sprue plate and a thin film on the top surface of the blocks. Works for me.
Best,
Ben
Dale53
10-23-2006, 11:57 AM
I have no financial interest in Bull Shop's Sprue Plate Lube but I am an enthusiastic supporter of this lubricant for bullet moulds. It is the best stuff that I have used in fifty years of bullet casting. Really good stuff!!
Ben;
Thank you for sharing an excellent idea with us. Your pictures really help...
Dale53
Dale53:
Thanks....I'm a dig. camera bug... I've always thought a picture was worth a thousand words. I like using my dig. camera.
Take a look at my web site and look at the stock finishing photos that I've done recently :
http://www.geocities.com/benallenhays/gunstocks.html
Thanks,
Ben
Four Fingers of Death
10-24-2006, 06:23 AM
Nice stocks. Do you make the stocks, or just re finish? Brilliant work. Mick.
Nice stock work Ben!
I like working with Tung oil myself. Do you work with the oil and varnish blends or 100% pure oil?
Ed
Thanks fellows for those nice comments. I like people that like nice wood ! !
What do I use ? I use a mixture of urathanes and oil finishes. Tough, pretty and repairable.
Mick.....No I don't make any stocks, I try and focus on finishing and refinishing only.
Best,
Ben
Four Fingers of Death
10-24-2006, 08:12 PM
Man, you'd doing that right, superb work, well done. I spent ages checking every photo out. That repair on the Anchutz was unbelievable, how did you do that? Mick.
454PB
10-25-2006, 12:44 AM
Nice conversion on your Lee mould.
The sprue cutter screw can be loosened, but it requires a bit that fits tightly, and the mould blocks clamped in a vice. I've done adjustments on about half of mine, and haven't boogered a screw yet.
You'd think that Lee could come up with a better system.
I guess it works out better for Lee to put in a 2 cent self tapping screw.
Ben
Mick:
The ultimate compliment to any repair like that is your question.....How'd you do that ? ? Thanks,
Ben
sundog
10-25-2006, 08:57 AM
I used to didn't like Lee moulds. Still don't all that well, but some of our group buys were to good to pass up, and certainly worth it. Years ago I began doing the same thing Ben did. Anytime I get a new Lee mould it gets the treatment before use, as well as a good cleaning and deburring. It's worth the extra effort. sundog
4060MAY
10-25-2006, 10:03 AM
Somewhere in the database (my mind) I remember a permanent fix for LEE sprue plates, I thought it was in the Fouling Shot but I couldn't find the reference.
unbolt the handles
remove the sprue plate screw and plate
drill a clearance hole, this is where I'm not sure of the size, thru the mould
grind a clearance on the handle for the screw that goes all the way thru the mould
assemble the handles assuring clearance on the new sprue hold down
use a locking nut, not nylon to adjust the sprue plate tension.
I have a Jerry Barnett mould made this way, never any trouble.
4060MAY
10-25-2006, 10:04 AM
Somewhere in the database (my mind) I remember a permanent fix for LEE sprue plates, I thought it was in the Fouling Shot but I couldn't find the reference.
unbolt the handles
remove the sprue plate screw and plate
drill a clearance hole, this is where I'm not sure of the size, thru the mould
grind a clearance on the handle for the screw that goes all the way thru the mould
assemble the handles assuring clearance on the new sprue hold down
use a locking nut, not nylon to adjust the sprue plate tension.
double nuts like NEI would work also.
I have a Jerry Barnett mould made this way, never any trouble.
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