Removing a bevel base on a Lee

[44man]

This is driving me nuts. I have a .357 bevel base boolit mold that shoots like crap and started to remove the bevel. I started with a drill a little undersize. I have no way to chuck and center the blocks on my lathe. The aluminum is so soft I used a scalpel to cut more away. I then made a series of brass laps to use with Clover paste. The problem is that the blocks are so soft that they load with the abrasive and cut the brass lap away. I got them close and went to a steel lap but still have a tiny section that I can't lap out. The boolits look pretty good but I would like to get a smooth side on the base section. This aluminum is so soft I might have to make lead laps that will load before the aluminum does. Maybe a rod with fine sandpaper glued to it.
I never had this problem with my molds with a better grade of aluminum. A few seconds lapping would make a gas check fit perfect.

[ARKANSAS PACKRAT]

44man, As usual inforimtive ideas and projects from you!!
I've been thinking about how to remove the gc bore from a lee 6 hole, take out 3 and keep three. Would it be possible to make a pilot to fit in the cavity then use a piloted reamer or in aluminum a simple ground cutter to open it up? Maybe done by hand with centers in a drillpress?
I'm looking at the GB .360 180 GC, be more useful to me as a "twofer" mold (save $60 too!!!)
Just an idea
Nick

[hornetguy]

I did this just today. I had posted earlier about my Lee .378 mold that was bevel based, and the boolits didn't group all that well.
I have access to a shop at work... I used a mill to take out the bevel. I indicated it in, then used a 375 reamer to take out the majority of the bevel, then used a boring bar to take out the rest.
It actually turned out (no pun intended) really nice. I now have a plain-based Lee mold for my Big Bore.
I cast a few tonight just to see what they looked like. Not bad at all. Can't wait to try them out.

[44man]

Very nice work. I wish I had the tools. I was going to chuck the blocks in my 4 jaw chuck but it would take me a week to center each hole with what I have. Then the sides of the blocks might not be square to the boolit holes.
A piloted reamer would most likely work but it would take forever to make too.
I looked in the Lee catalog to see if there was another boolit with a flat base but there are none like this one. I don't like the others they make for the .357.

[Buckshot]

.............A way to centerup pretty quick in a 4 jaw is to open the jaws, place a parallel across the bore, then pin the mould against it with a center in the tailstock. Yup, you'll have to clamp the blocks together :-). Then crank the jaws in to just touch. Back the tailstock away and use the test indicator to get it to the gnats ass. You should be within 0.010" at the most. Even if the jaws in the chuck are pretty worn you're turning out such a short piece in the base that runout at the nose won't make any difference.

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

[44man]

Sounds like a good way, next time I will try that. Anyway, I got it fixed and removed the bevel. I turned a steel rod so that with a piece of 280 paper glued on it measured the size I wanted. I just turned it by hand in each cavity and it cleaned up nice.
I was having trouble with my old Lyman pot freezing lead and eliminated the thermostat. I replaced it with my voltage regulator and adjusted to between 750 and 775 degrees. The first batch of boolits came out .3575 to .358 after aging a few days. I need to fit these to throats when my friend brings his gun over so I wanted larger boolits to start with. I turned up the voltage and raised the temp about 50 degrees. My next batch came out .360 with the base at .362 right out of the cold water. This will give me a lot to work with. If way too large, I will just lower the heat but I can size them to what I need for testing.
So a 50 degree change gave me a more then .002" larger boolit. Now to see how they age expand.
Cast hotter, cast larger, it works!