Lead under sprue plate

[grubbylabs]

I have two new lee molds and on both of them I am getting led under the sprue plate on the forward (away from handle) chamber. I have looked and ran some scotch brite on the mold and the plate, the screw is as tight as it can be, and it still has day light under the end and no build up.

[GBertolet]

Try loosening the sprue plate screw. Sometimes if the sprue plate or the top of the mold is not absolutely square, even under the sprue plate screw, it will cause the sprue plate to lift up. Loosening the screw a little, will allow the sprue plate to go back to lying flat. This is common with many makes of molds. See if this helps.

[grubbylabs]

I will give it a try. It was just frustrating to make some really nice boolits and then all of a sudden the base of the boolit is messed up. Ea specially after going to the range and coming up with a good load combo.

[JIMinPHX]

Also get some Bullplate lube & apply that to the bottom of the sprue plate.

[Maven]

If the above suggestions don't cure the problem, you'll have to remove the sprue plate, polish & deburr it, and then bend it so it lies flat. You do this by clamping the bolt end in a padded vise and hitting it with a nylon/padded hammer. This is strictly a cut & try operation, which means you may not get it right the first time (I sure didn't). It shouldn't take more than a few minutes to get right.

[grubbylabs]

I put some disc brake lube on it that I had since my anti seize is not with me at the moment. and it worked a lot better than I thought it would. It is slicker than owl snot. But I will try some more adjustments later today.

[MtGun44]

Bull plate lube - scroll down the the bottom and find the Bull Shop ad. It will actually
clean off a sprue plate as you use it, and if you polish it off, it will never come back.

Bill

[grubbylabs]

This disc brake lube is having a hard time coming off. I think that is part of the design. Since it is meant to stay on your brake pads at some very high temps.

[NVScouter]

This disc brake lube is having a hard time coming off. I think that is part of the design. Since it is meant to stay on your brake pads at some very high temps.

I really hope you arent lubing your brake pads. The grease is meant for everything but the rotor/pad surfaces.

[grubbylabs]

I really hope you arent lubing your brake pads. The grease is meant for everything but the rotor/pad surfaces.

I think after thirty some years I have an idea how to use disc brake grease.



Although I took a washer from another mold so now I have two wave washers and it seems to have worked, to fix the problem.

[BSkerj]

Steve,
After speaking with you this afternoon I got to thinking, next time you are at Home Depot pickup a new wave washer and replace the old one. This may help stabalize your sprue plate. You may also want to put a brass flat washer between the mould block and the wave washer to help prevent damaging the top of the mold. I think it will take a 1/4 inch washer, but you may want to bring it in with you to make sure. When you put it on the mould make sure you have the bend of the washer going upward against the sprue plate. Hope this helps. Sorry I did not think of this earlier. Let me know if it works. BTW, I got that Lyman mould to pour after cleaning it up some more.

[grubbylabs]

Steve,
After speaking with you this afternoon I got to thinking, next time you are at Home Depot pickup a new wave washer and replace the old one. This may help stabalize your sprue plate. You may also want to put a brass flat washer between the mould block and the wave washer to help prevent damaging the top of the mold. I think it will take a 1/4 inch washer, but you may want to bring it in with you to make sure. When you put it on the mould make sure you have the bend of the washer going upward against the sprue plate. Hope this helps. Sorry I did not think of this earlier. Let me know if it works. BTW, I got that Lyman mould to pour after cleaning it up some more.

Great to hear that you got the mold working. I went home and played with it, but I have it working fairly well with just adding a second wave washer, that I took from my other mold. So in the next little while I will be heading out to the hardware store for some more of those washers. I will look into the brass washer as well. Thanks for your help.