Lee 6 cavity mould quality

[Sundogg1911]

I've been casting for about 10 years now. I started out with a 2 cavity Lee mould for .45 ACP. It cast a nice boolit, but I had a lot of problems with the pins coming out of the handles, sprue plate coming loose, etc. :roll: All of the moulds that I have aquired since then have been, Lyman, RCBS, and Hensley and Gibbs. (Which have all worked well) the problem is that it's very slow, except with the 4 cavitys. I do cast usually using 3 moulds at a time, and I was considering casting with multiple moulds that are the same. I like the fact that Lee has the 6 bangers fairly cheap, and since i'm switching to a Star sizer, there will be no top punch issue, that I ran into with the Lyman 450 that I currently use. Is the quality better on the 6 cavitys than on the doubles? The Lee mould that I had was bought new over 10 years ago so maybe it was an issue then and not now. I'd really like to start ramping up speed casting 40 S&W's and some 9mm's thanks. :Fire:

[Cloudpeak]

I've had good luck with the Lee 6 cavity molds, one in 40 cal and two in 45. I have no experience with other Lee molds but do have experience with a Lyman 44 cal. mold. The Lyman is pretty bullet proof. No danger of gouging the top surface of the mold when cutting sprue. The aluminum Lee molds will do some gouging if the sprue is cut too quickly. Bullplates "Sprue Plate Lube" seems to solve this problem in my limited experience of using it.

Even if the Lee gets a little ratty looking, it still seems to cast pretty good bullets. For what they cost, after a couple of thousand bullets, the mold has pretty well paid for itself. I've considered buying a H&G 68 design Lyman 4 cavity mold but have put it off because of the cost and the fact that the bullets out of my Lee 6 cavity seem to be working well.

I also relly like the Lee push through sizing dies and the Lee Liquid Alox lube.

Cloudpeak

[357maximum]

I have (8) lee sixbangers both custom, and production....follow the directions/lee-ment them/use common sense...they work good..I have a 5 gal pail of lee c-358-180's and the mould shows no ill...and have made a bucket full of 360-105WC's and no ills...great molds for the money...

[arkypete]

Sundog
I've only had one Lee six cavity. I've got Lymans, Saecos and NEIs, four cavities.
The Lee six cavity literally fell apart in my hands.
Jim

[handyrandyrc]

I have a pair of the Lee 6-bangers and love them dearly. In 9mm and .45ACP... If I do my part, they do a bang-up job!

[SharpsShooter]

I have 3 of them, all custom cut and they are great. I use Bullshop's Sprue plate lube and easily cast 300 keepers and hour. If you are after production at an affordable price, it is tough to beat.

SS

[357maximum]

Sundog
I've only had one Lee six cavity. I've got Lymans, Saecos and NEIs, four cavities.
The Lee six cavity literally fell apart in my hands.
Jim

I would venture a guess and say itwas YOUR fault/or you simply got a dog...all manufacturers make one from time to time.......I recently got a lee custom 6 cav from a member here and it had soooo much aerosol graphite on it one could only assume he was having difficulty with it.....I cleaned all of that crap off and out of the mold ... leemented it a bit and BINGO good boolits...made a bunch of em right quick for a buddy....there are instructions in a sticky called leementing a lee 6 cavity mold...if you can follow directions have a lil common sense and lee was not having a bad day when they cut the mold you should be in great shape. So far i am 8 for 8 in the positive and 2 of the molds were from fellow members that obviously did not like the mould.....a boolit mould is a relatively simple piece of equipment, but it must be handled with common sense....as smart man I knew used to say ......................"simple sh** people,,..simple sh**"...




go here and pay attention.


.http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=654

[Dale53]

I have been casting for a long time for a lot of calibers. As a result, I have moulds from all of the commercial firms, several different custom makers and Lee 2 cavity and Lee Six Cavity.

On occasion, I have had a minor problem with a mould from many of the different makers. Most all have been easy to fix. The Lee Six Cavity moulds are world's better than their 2 cavities (better materials and better design, both). I have occasionally had a minor problem with them too. See a little in common between makers, here? After a bit of loving attention, all have proved worthy. Last count, I had upwards of sixty moulds. None have been sent back to the makers as I was able to "tune" them satisfactorily. During that same period of time, it has been necessary to send two revolvers back to Smith for serious problems that I couldn't fix and one Ruger Revolver. They were fixed correctly (S&W charged me a ton to repair bad guns [this was during the couople of years that the British firm owned Smith and guarantees were not worth spit]. Ruger was apologetic, charged me nothing, and gave me a two week turn-a-round.

I have cast thousands of bullets with Lee moulds (as well as a number of iron moulds from different makers, both single, double, and four bangers). I am getting older now [some would say, "Older than dirt"[smilie=1: ] and appreciate the lighter weight of aluminum moulds, particularly in the multiple cavity style, and I LOVE Lee moulds. If I order a mould from NEI, who makes both iron and aluminum, I order the aluminum moulds.

I treat all moulds as if they are extremely valuable, extremely fragile, pieces (which they are whether iron or aluminum) and have been well served. One thing I have never done is "not cast" with my moulds. They are used and used a LOT.

FWIW
Dale53

[Willbird]

The Lee 6 cavity molds are one the few things Lee makes that are worth the money, some of their stuff is plain junk but the 6 cavity is worth a bit more than they cost IMHO :-)



Bill

[Sundogg1911]

sounds like it's worth a try. i'm going to order a .40 S&W and a new 9mm. hopefully it will change my opinion of lee casting equipment. (although I have had good lick with a lee single stage press, and I do like Lee Dies!)

[9.3X62AL]

1911--

I'll pile on with another "thumbs up" for the Lee 6-bangers. Considering what you pay for what you get, they're a stone bargain. The 6-holers are a better product than the 1- and 2-cavity molds. Just remember during use that they are aluminum, and not as durable or forgiving as steel or iron might be. That Lee-menting piece is worth a look, for sure.

[KYCaster]

I'll repeat what others have said. Read and follow MTWeatherman's "Sure Fire Lee-Menting Techniques" (What happened to him anyway? I havent seen his name here for a while.) Especially the parts about VENTING and a SET SCREW ON THE PIVOT PIN, I've found those issues to be very important.

I just recently got some Bull Plate Lube, it seems to be working well. I also want to try the soap stone thing. That sounds like a cheap and easy way to do the job.

Don't be afraid of the Lee six cav. molds. With a little TLC they'll give you lots of service.

Jerry

[warf73]

I like my Lee 6 banger in 40S&W it spits out around 600 good bullets an hour if I do my part.

When you get your mold take it apart and boil it out with Dawn or what ever good degreasing dish soup you have on hand. After you boil it for 5 mins or so then rinse it off with hot water and let dry (that may take all of 2mins). Smoke the mold with a candle or wood matches. Then reassemble them and pour some boolits.

This is the procedure I use on my Lee molds and it works our great with no muss of fuss and I'm pouring usable boolits in 5 or 6 drops.

Warf

[Springfield]

The MOST important thing is to make sure the mould is up to temp before casting. I have LEE 6 cavity moulds that I have cast 50,000 bullets with and still work fine. I have bought used moulds that looked brand new except for all the galling on top. Doesn't take long to wreck them if you don't treat them right.You just gotta heat them up before casting. Good choice on the Star, I have 3.

[arkypete]

I would venture a guess and say itwas YOUR fault/or you simply got a dog...all manufacturers make one from time to time.......I recently got a lee custom 6 cav from a member here and it had soooo much aerosol graphite on it one could only assume he was having difficulty with it.....I cleaned all of that crap off and out of the mold ... leemented it a bit and BINGO good boolits...made a bunch of em right quick for a buddy....there are instructions in a sticky called leementing a lee 6 cavity mold...if you can follow directions have a lil common sense and lee was not having a bad day when they cut the mold you should be in great shape. So far i am 8 for 8 in the positive and 2 of the molds were from fellow members that obviously did not like the mould.....a boolit mould is a relatively simple piece of equipment, but it must be handled with common sense....as smart man I knew used to say ......................"simple sh** people,,..simple sh**"...




go here and pay attention.


.http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=654

357
It's highly likely that it's my fault that the Lee six cavity fell apart in my hands. I've used four cavity molds for twenty years and I thought that I could use the same technique. Excepting using that little lever for popping the sprue. When the wood handle for that little handle fell apart fifteen minutes into the casting session, I switched to tapping the remaining metal stub with a leather mallet.
After a couple hours into the casting session and using the hinge pin as a place to tap the bullets from the cavities both of the wooden handles left cracked and had to be taped.
Eventually the bolt holding the sprue plate sheared off. I thought about sending it back but decided that I really didn't want a second copy of that mold.
The bullet was a 45 SWC for tumble lube. Found I didn't like the tumble lube either, gunked up my dies and revolvers.
Lee products with a few exceptions are higher maintainance then what I'm willing to do. They are not good not bad it's just a choice what each individual is willing to put up with.
JIm

[357maximum]

357
It's highly likely that it's my fault that the Lee six cavity fell apart in my hands. I've used four cavity molds for twenty years and I thought that I could use the same technique. Excepting using that little lever for popping the sprue. When the wood handle for that little handle fell apart fifteen minutes into the casting session, I switched to tapping the remaining metal stub with a leather mallet.
After a couple hours into the casting session and using the hinge pin as a place to tap the bullets from the cavities both of the wooden handles left cracked and had to be taped.
Eventually the bolt holding the sprue plate sheared off. I thought about sending it back but decided that I really didn't want a second copy of that mold.
The bullet was a 45 SWC for tumble lube. Found I didn't like the tumble lube either, gunked up my dies and revolvers.
Lee products with a few exceptions are higher maintainance then what I'm willing to do. They are not good not bad it's just a choice what each individual is willing to put up with.
JIm

So...what did you do with the remaining mold carcass?

[Willbird]

On smoking the Lee molds, I reccomend trying it without smoking first, some of them will run that way, and if you do smoke it try smoking a HOT mold first, the last resort is to smoke a cold mold, that leaves a thicker layer of soot....I have found smoking a cold mold will result in a bullet as much as .001" smaller than no smoke or smoking a hot mold.....important info for mold honcho's who have to eval the group buy molds and decide if Lee did their job properly :-)

I have also found when they are cranky on startup that some respond to filling the cavities from the handle end out to the other end, some like the reverse...when they are really poppin it don't seem to matter :-).

If you puddle your sprues together IMHO they cut nicer and fall free nicer........and you can fill a 5 gallon bucket with sprues pretty quickly :-).

I do sometimes save the sprues from 45 and 44 bullets to cast 32 bullets because they are sort of double smelted and maybe the WW or other alloy is maybe just a tad cleaner.....if your anal you could save the 32 sprues to cast 22 boolits but I'm not THAT anal........yet


Bill

[Cloudpeak]

Smoke the mold with a candle or wood matches.
Warf

I thought I read here that candles were a no-no?

Cloudpeak

[Sundogg1911]

i'm not saying that my Lee Mould didn't cast a nice looking Boolit. I'm just saying that it self destructed. The pins kept falling out of the handles, sprue plate refused to stay tight, etc. I wasn't beating the snot out of them to get the Boolits loose. I smoked the mould and they dropped free only sometimes needing a light tap with a leather covered dowel rod. My Daughter has just purchased a Lee 2 cavity mould for .380. I have not seen it yet, but we may try it out this weekend after I get the range hood installed in my garage. i'll report my experience. (we'll also be casting for 45 ACP using RCBS, Lyman, and a Hensley and Gibbs

[arkypete]

357

"So...what did you do with the remaining mold carcass?"

I'm not sure I think I sent out to be recycled wit the rest of the Aluminium.
Jim

[IcerUSA]

Just a heads up on the 6 bangers from Lee, I think there handles are MIM, so give a second thought to hitting them very hard, was trying to tweek a sprue handle that was too close to the mould handles and broke it, looked kind of like cast iron, made a new one from a piece of hot rolled and that sprue handle is out of the way now :) Other than that all 3 of my molds are doing well, still need to do a little leementing on the 452-190-TLSWC, got in a little bit of a hurry on that one but the bullets sure do shoot good :). I have 2 for the 45ACP and 1 for my 9mm.

[Sven Dufva]

I dont like the quality of LEE moulds i spend same dollar more and have quality iron mould from saeco,mimek, Lyman, etc

[MTWeatherman]

I'll repeat what others have said. Read and follow MTWeatherman's "Sure Fire Lee-Menting Techniques" (What happened to him anyway? I havent seen his name here for a while.) Especially the parts about VENTING and a SET SCREW ON THE PIVOT PIN, I've found those issues to be very important.

IJerry

Hey it’s nice to be missed! Just thought I’d say that I’m alive and well.

It’s been a busy past couple of months although I have tried to check in fairly regularly. There are now so many helpful knowledgeable members on the board that when a question is asked or an opinion wanted, its usually well covered by the time I see it…so most of the time, I really don’t feel I’d have much to add. Not trying to avoid anyone…just listening more than talking.

Glad you found that Lee-Ment post of some use.

[Sundogg1911]

just got back from a gunshow. Picked up the Lee 6 banger in 40 (not the tumble lube one) and another 6 in 9mm (They are both a TC design with a single lube groove) Hopfully i'll finish mounting the new range hood in the utility building (the Bullet Barn) and try 'em out tomorrow.

[Nrut]

Sundogg1911.....I have bought/received 10 Lee group buys in the last year...One was sent back to Lee for being undersize...Two others have misalined blocks....one is grossly misaligned and it will go back for sure...the other might work but I won't have time to do range work until this spring....Thats a 30% screw-up rate on what is considered their best mold product .......still I have 2 group buy molds on order and will be ordering a third in Feb.....
The reason being is that I like the boolit designs, and have use for them...

[Sundogg1911]

i don't see why Lyman, RCBS or Saeco don't offer the 6 cavity moulds. I wouldn't mind paying more for a mould that will hold up. I have some Lyman and Hensley and Gibbs 4 cavity moulds, and they work great!

[arkypete]

Sundog
What I did was get two copies of my favorite molds. In effect I'm working with an 8 cavity with out the weight and bulk.
Jim

[Sundogg1911]

arkypete,
I was thinking that, but if I can get away on the cheap i'd like to. If I have good luck with the Lee's I may buy a Few of each, and really speed up the process.
I just bout 2 of the six bangers on Saturday. I'm waiting for handles (the Guy at the show that had the moulds, didn't have the handles for some odd reason :roll: )
i'm hoping to try them out on saturday (If I have the handles on time)

[ELFEGO BACA]

I have/ had a few 6 cavity Lee molds. I broke one sprue plate handle - the metal part - my fault. The others have worked well for me. I have/had Lee molds in 45acp, 45 colt, 40s&w,9mm, 30 cal, and just today got my 32-120RF. The Lee 6 cavity molds are not as durable as my Lyman, Saeco, or Doughty 4 cavity molds but they work!

[Sven Dufva]

I agree with Sundogg1911 if lyman, saeco etc produce 6 cavitys in cast iron i have bye a coupel direktly.

[Sundogg1911]

Well...Iused the new Lee 40 (175 gr) and the 9mm (125 gr) neither was a tumble lube design. I like them both! other than the wood on the sprue plate cam/lever cracked. after looking at the funky grain, it looks like it was bound to happin. But other than that im pretty happy with them. I cast a little over 1000 of each. (I was also casting 45 ACP SWC's in a 4 cavity H&G mould. (about 700 of them) the Lee's don't compare with the Lyman, RCBS, or H&G moulds for Durability, but I can buy a lot more for the same money, and tossin' 6 at a time is better than 4 any day. I'll be buying more.

[Murphy]

Sundogg1911,

I've been using the Lee six bangers for 15 or so years. Of the 6-7 that I have used in that time, I have no complaints.

You just can't drive a Lee mold as hard as those of iron. Once you get the hang of it, you'll find them very user friendly and be up to speed in no time.

As for the sprue cutter handle, it is usually the 1st thing to go down hill. I found out long ago the easiest cure for me at that time was to grap a short length of conduit and use it to cut the sprue's.

P.S. Something you may really want to consider is Bullshops Plate Lube. The only other issue I 'used' to have with Lee molds was galling on top of the mold blocks. This is of course due to my own fault, but Bullshops Plate Lube should end that worry.

Murphy

[GW_45ACP]

Well...Iused the new Lee 40 (175 gr) and the 9mm (125 gr) neither was a tumble lube design. I like them both! other than the wood on the sprue plate cam/lever cracked. after looking at the funky grain, it looks like it was bound to happin.

My Lee 6-Cav sprue plate handle cracked at about 500 bullets and kept falling off. During the learning curve I also managed to gouge the top surface and had gauling at the sprue hinge point surface. Then the screw holding the sprue plate and the bolt and nut at the sprue plate handle loosen when the mold heats up. the bullet lube/wax I used wasn't enough or applied often enough to prevent it. My fault on all except the sprue plate handle. Those just aren't strong enough to handle the leverage. I guess using Bull Plate Lube would reduce the torque needed to cut the sprue and some anti-seize at the hinge points would have reduced these problems. They just require a little more care and feeding than I first expected.

[MT Gianni]

MY experience with the Lee 6's is they have to be hot to cut 6 sprues. I cast 1 hole at first and add a hole after every 2 pours until I'm sure the mold is hot enough. This is with BullPlate and after leaving the mold in the melt for a couple of minutes. Gianni.