Lee Should Be Doing This

[Ben]

Lee should be doing this to their 6 cav. molds prior to shipping, then I wouldn't have to here on my end of things.

Ever notice how tight the sprue plate is on a 2 cav. or 6 cav. mold when you receive it. Ever wonder why ( even when you keep them lubed ) the sprue plate is galling the mold blocks so badly.

Reason is the sprue plate is under way too much pressure on the mold blocks. You say....Ummm, well let's loosen the 2 screws that hold down the sprue plate. Good decision, but once that is done, those screws won't hold the tension setting that you think is appropriate. They will " free wheel " from that point on. Answer..........drill and tap for a set screw to lock those screws in place. I do both the sprue plate hinge screw and the opposite screw that holds the plate when you close the mold. Once this is completed, you can adjust the front and rear screw that is holding the sprue plate against the top of the Lee 6 cav. mold with whatever pressure works best for you and be assured that the 2 screws won't move after you have locked them down with the 2 allen head screws that are installed with the modification that I describe here.

I went into a hardware surplus sales store recently. Found a 6 mm Metric drill and tap for $1.50 and a handful of allen head 6 mm Metric cap screws that were about the correct length to be used on the Lee 6 cav. mold blocks.

The mold blocks also need 1 other modification. Where the cam is lifting against the mold block to cut the sprue........that needs to be steel against steel. Simpliest answer it to drill and tap a hole with a countersink for the head and insert a steel screw. Keep the two surfaces lubed and you'll have no problems.


This link will allow you to see the photos, once the link opens , look above the photo icons in the approx. center for " View as Slideshow " and click on that :

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/Lee%206%20cav%20mods/

[deltaenterprizes]

And what would you expect the price to be for a mold in this configuration? $40 ( the price of the mold) does not pay for one hour of machine time, how long did it take you to do these modifications? You get what you pay for.
Hensley & Gibbs made some molds with the features you desire but they did not cost $40.

[Swede44mag]

If Lee uses CNC machines it wouldnt take very long for them to do the extra work.

[Ben]

deltaenterprizes

You bring up some simply wonderful points. Maybe I should change
the title of the post to " How to make your $40 mold worth $80 ".

[ANeat]

Unless youre really really carefull the setscrew will mash the threads on the sprue bolt. Then when/if you ever need tu turn the sprue bolt the mashed thread will tear up the aluminum.



For example, on a Ballisticast mold they have similar setscrews on their spru plate bolts. But they have the portion of the bolt where the setscrew rides turned down below the thread minor diameter. No threads are damaged when you tighten the setscrew and you can adjust the bolt as needed without tearing anything up.

[Ben]

ANeat :

Drop in a piece of brass that is slightly smaller than the dia. of the hole - - then tighten up the set screw , No thread damage when you use this method. ( I make them from .22 LR empty brass)

[no34570]

Ben
Thanks for that info,very interesting,will be doing my Lee 6 hole bangers

Good thread ;)
Could you do this too the single and 2 cavity Lee moulds?

[deltaenterprizes]

I started casting with a 150 SWC LEE 2 cavity mold ans a 10 lb LEE Production Pot IV because they were in my price range and cast lots of bullets. The low price is what allowed me to get in to casting. When to close friends got out of casting I got better equipment at bargain prices. I prefer SAECO molds but for $40 for a six cavity mold when H&G and SAECO are in the $150 range, I think the LEE is a bargain. I would pay $40 for a 2 cavity LEE if it had the same type of alignment pins as the 6 cavity so I could fit them to my Magma Master Caster. That would be half the price of other 2 cavity molds.
Forgive me for having a soft spot in my heart for LEE.

[Tazman1602]

I hear ya' Ben but man, for the price? I'll do the extra work everytime, I really LIKE my Lee molds, even the el-cheapo 2-bangers. I've got all of mine tuned like I want them with lock screws for the sprue plate installed and the tops of blocks and sprue plates stoned square and true.

Half the fun for me is working on the dog gone things..........yes, I know I'm wierd AND cheap...........

Art

PS -- NICE work..............now I gotta go look at my 6-bangers.....

[Ben]

If I've left the impression that I'm upset or unhappy with Lee, that is not the case. Lee gives you your monies worth. No doubt about that. Yes, many young casters that are just beginning to cast their 1st bullets choose Lee molds because of the low price of their molds. That's great !

However , most companies continue to look at ways to improve their products ( at least the ones that stay in business and remain competitive ) . Considering the ease of operations with modern CNC machinery, I seriously doubt that the modifications that I've shown would double the price of their 6 cav. mold. It would make the molds much more serviceable however and make them easier to cast with and more trouble free.

It does seem however, that Lee will make their molds the way they want without too much consideration given to our opinions.

I doubt that Lee will take any notice of this post. However, maybe my efforts will help a caster with his Lee 6 cav.mold improve the mold with the suggested modifications ?

[Ben]

Ben
Thanks for that info,very interesting,will be doing my Lee 6 hole bangers

Good thread ;)
Could you do this too the single and 2 cavity Lee moulds?

Yes, here is the " Mod " done to a Lee Single Cav. mold, would work just as well on a Lee double cav. mold.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/PICT0001-1.jpg

[GLL]

The extra cost to LEE would be about 8 cents for parts and a few more for labor to screw in the two screws ! :) Charge an extra buck for the trouble !

Jerry

[AnthonyB]

Ben:
Have you found it neccessary to clean up the threads for the holddown and pivot bolt? I have one custom Lee I damaged (432250 RF) and had to go to a larger bolt for the pivot.
I'll drill on a $40 Lee, but all others go to Buckshot if work is required!
Tony

[xr650]

I do this to every Lee mould I get. I bought some brass round ball chain at the hardware store. Snip off one ball and put it under the set screw. You can crush it, as it's hollow. Has plenty of hold power before you crush the ball.
While the mould is apart I warm it up and apply Bull Plate under the hinge point to avoid excessive galling.

[Ben]

Tony :

I've never damaged any threads or had to clean up any threads. I've done several.

Ben
______________________

Jerry :

I could not have said it any better. Well spoken.

Ben

[AnthonyB]

Ben, just another example of things I shouldn't be doing!
Tony

[Jeff H]

ANeat :

Drop in a piece of brass that is slightly smaller than the dia. of the hole - - then tighten up the set screw , No thread damage when you use this method. ( I make them from .22 LR empty brass)

Standard practice as they come out of the box. I like the .22 LR brass idea. I have been using .010" brass shim stock doubled over. I have a 6-banger who's alignment pins are going to get this treatment when I find the vitamin bottle I keep the drill, taps and screws for this sort of thing.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t284/mike-foxtrot/setscrew.jpg

Well worth the effort and takes only a few minutes. I use a drill press, but it's not so critical that someone with a steady hand couldn't do it with a hand-held drill motor.

Seeing this thread - I will likely do my 6-bangers as described too now. I use vegetable shortening to D/T aluminum though.

Thanks for going to effort of the slide show, Ben.

[Ben]

Jeff H :

You're very welcome. I hope that a lot of people will get something good from this article.

Ben

[RobS]

I do this to every Lee mould I get.

+1 on the set screws, however I don't have too many Lee molds any longer as my gun bores diameters are on the fat side per caliber for most of the lee designs. I even put 6/32 set screws on their die lock rings.

As for Lee's molds, I really wish they would come out with some .454 heavy colt/Casull designs.

[geargnasher]

I've been doing the setscrew thing to Lee moulds for a long time. Once, I even found some allen head screws with a brass point, wish I could still get them. Lead shot works fine but sometimes melts. Now I use a small piece clipped from an aluminum welding rod to keep the setscrew from marring the sprue plate pivot screw threads.

Gear

[Buckshot]

.............Check the "This is a Lee 6 cavity mould" Sticky above from 2006 :-)

..............Buckshot

[alamogunr]

I've been doing the setscrew thing to Lee moulds for a long time. Once, I even found some allen head screws with a brass point, wish I could still get them.

Gear

Available here:
http://tinyurl.com/4qwy8oy

Kind of pricey but you don't need a bucketfull.

I just noticed on the website linked above that 25 pcs are $9.29 and 100 pcs are $92.58. I called to ask about that anomaly, and was told (very arrogantly) that the prices were current and that was correct. So I suppose you could order 4 units of 25 pcs for $37.16 and save.

Gear, the length of these screws is ¼". Is that sufficient for the purpose? It would seem that the screw would be well below the surface but since it is socket head, it wouldn't matter.

[deltaenterprizes]

DO NOT put stainless steel in aluminum is galls and will tear up the threads!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[theperfessor]

DeltaE -

Agree that dry threading SS into aluminum will gall, it's not so bad if you use silver grade anti-seize.

[alamogunr]

DO NOT put stainless steel in aluminum is galls and will tear up the threads!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DUH!! I knew that. I guess I went through so many googled sources that I didn't pay attention. I have some high temp anti-sieze. Will that work?

Maybe the best solution is Gear's use of a small pc of brass.

John
W.TN

[deltaenterprizes]

I have seen the brass tipped black steel set screws, I wouldimagine McMaster Carr has them or MSC.
Anti seize or teflon tape should work.

[JudgeBAC]

A While back, Wiljen ran a group buy on a Leementing kit that even has instructions with photos. It even came in a little tool box. Works great and all of the parts are replaceable.

[Wayne Smith]

Funny, with all you guys talking about brass plugs - I've always used a splatter drop of lead to protect threads. Used a piece of shot before I cast.

[alamogunr]

I need to straighten out all my goofs in previous posts. It was Ben that used a pc of brass under the set screw. Gear used a pc of aluminum welding rod. Both are good ideas and don't require searching for special set screws.

I checked MSC and didn't find brass tipped set screws. McMaster-Carr had them but the selection was sparse and expensive.

I'm going to flatten some .22 brass and trim to fit. I won't have to go anywhere and buy anything, especially since I don't plan to do it to all molds, just those that I use often enough to possibly have a problem.

John
W.TN

[MT Gianni]

A 1/4" or less piece of #14 solid copper wire works also.

[kbstenberg]

Ben I assume you take the pivot screw an the hold-down screw all the way out of the mold before you drill the hole for the setscrew.

[Ben]

alamogunr :

Those empty .22 cases are cheap enough, easy to obtain and work great.

__________________________

kbstenberg :

Yes, I certainly do remove the hold down screw prior to drilling the 2 holes. It is possible for the drill and tap to push a tiny quantity of aluminum into the thread area of the sprue hold down bolt. I usually put a VERY thin coat of grease on the screw threads of the sprue hold down bolt and allow it to act as a " tap " and clean up the threads when the bolt is put back in place.

Ben

[no34570]

Hey Ben
How long are the set screws for the Lee six cavity that you used?
Found some here in Australia,but all different lengths,also what length would you use for the single or two cavity blocks?
Do you know if Wiljen is still doing the Leementing kits?
TIA

[Ben]

Hey Ben
How long are the set screws for the Lee six cavity that you used?

They are .410 long ( total overall length )
They work great !
I had a chance to buy a " double hand-full " for about .30 cents at a surplus tool store.

[no34570]

Ben
Thanks for that.
I'm having trouble finding a 6mm-1.0 single tap they are all in a set,how course is the thread?
Tried a place in that US,but won't send to Australia.

[alamogunr]

Not Ben, but the M6x1 is very slightly smaller than US ¼-20. Not really enough to consider. The pitch is almost the same also. I don't know if this helps if you are not familiar with US standards.

I wish that the US had been serious about adopting the metric system 40 years ago. I'm too old now to adapt and intuitively know what is meant when some quantity is quoted in metric units.

John
W.TN

Edit: It just occurred to me, the largest set screw in Wiljen's Leementing kit was #8-32. This is approximately M4

[Ben]

no34570

Here is what I bought locally for $1.50 ( US currency ). Got the drill bit and tap in a blister card at a surplus hardware store for $1.50. That's a real deal in my opinion....then I picked up a double handful of the allen head .410 length 6 mm screws for another .30 cents. Not a bad deal at all.

As has been pointed out, I'm certain that there is a US equivalent that would be so similar that it would also work just fine.

Ben

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/Lee%206%20cav%20mods/010.jpg

[no34570]

Ben
I probably will just buy a whole set of them and then I've got them,if I need them :)
Thanks for your help

[NHlever]

Ben, sometimes it just doesn't pay to offer a simple fix for a common problem. Thanks for reminding me that I have a couple of molds that could use that. One of the mold makers has done that on some molds, and I can't remember if it is RCBS, or not. Perhaps it was Lyman. I remember being pleased when I took the set screws out of a couple of molds, and found that nice little brass plug in there.

[Ben]

no34570 :

how course is the thread?

This photo should answer that one, it is fairly coarse. It is doubtful
that it will ever strip out :


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/Lee%206%20cav%20mods/IMG_0435.jpg

[Von Dingo]

Thank you for sharing, great ideas.

[oscarflytyer]

ANeat :

Drop in a piece of brass that is slightly smaller than the dia. of the hole - - then tighten up the set screw , No thread damage when you use this method. ( I make them from .22 LR empty brass)

I have found a single piece of lead shotgun **** works better. It will deform long before the steal threads unless you just jack the snot out of it...

[JimmyS]

I don't know how LEE gets their molds. I have a feeling they are locked into designs and modification will be very expensive. The last LEE i got had a keeper set
screw for the sprue plate screw.,while previous ones did not The latest mould also had a left hand shoulder screw for the plate and the design for the mould half alignment was quite different. Maybe they are listening and making improvements but can't react immediately and still hold the price.