Anyone ever remove the gas check shank on lee mold?

[saz]

i just bought a 440gr mold for my 500 smith, and I would like to make it a plain base mold. Has anyone ever done this? I would like to try, but at the same time I dont want to ruin the mold. They are only $25, but if I ruin 2 of them trying to get it to work I might as well order a custom mold. Any advice is welcome.

[geargnasher]

I've done it several times. The best advice I can give you if you don't have a lathe with a four-jaw chuck is to carve out the shank with a sharp utility knife until it's almost the full diameter of the base band, then carefully, and by hand, sand the remaining metal out with a dowel rod wrapped in sandpaper with the mould closed tightly. Be careful to have the dowel square to the top of the blocks and the paper tight, or you can "bell" the boolit base. I've done two GC moulds and one BB mould that way, worked great for me. Bright light, magnification, and patience are key to good results.

Gear

[Buckshot]

.................Sure:

http://www.fototime.com/5222DC16BDE75D7/standard.jpg

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

[saz]

Let me put it this way, I do not have a lathe, or even a drill press for that matter (yeah I know, what kind of a shop doesnt have a drill press) and I would be a little worried that I would screw up the mold.

Buckshot, I am guessing you used a lathe? Beautiful job!

[DLCTEX]

Send it to Buckshot, he'll do it at a fair price.

[Ben]

Ditto ! !
Send it to Buckshot, he'll do it at a fair price.
And may I might add.... to a very high degree of precision.
You can't beat Buckshot on work like this !

[bob208]

i would set it up on a vertical mill. idicate in the hole and then bore it with a boring bar. but dont take it all the way out so it will leave another grease grove.

[Chicken Thief]

i would set it up on a vertical mill. idicate in the hole and then bore it with a boring bar. but dont take it all the way out so it will leave another grease grove.

Done that on a Lee 6-banger

[Boolseye]

nicely done, Buckshot.

[OnHoPr]

A .500 end mill should do the job also in a mill or jig bore. It might be hard to find exact center on a drill press. Buckshot's mold, idea, looks good. The PB and GC combo version will allow lower pressure applications with the PB and higher applications with GC. With the combo version you should be able to find an accurate load in any scenario. I will not doubt Buckshot's ability either. You possibly could make a fixture to hold the boolit and end mill off the GC section of the boolit leaving you a PB boolit, minus about 40gr of weight.

[KCSO]

Yes I do it pretty often I use a mill and a boring bar but i have done it on a 4 jaw in the lathe. No problems.

[MT Gianni]

Asa reminder you can pull the pins and drop out the handles of a Lee mold before mailing it to save postage costs. Cut the peened over holes with an exacto knife or drill them and the pins fall out. I mark the handles for each mold but probably isn't necessary.