Lee tumble lube mold

[vmthtr]

How do you guys like these. Would save on the initial investment of a lubesizer. Looking at the 45-230g RN for the 45 acp.

Mike

[Jim]

Been usin' 'em for ten years or so.

[midnight]

My 45ACP shoots Lee's 200gr SWC as well or better than anything else. I also shoot the 124gr RN and TC in 9mm and the S&W 59 shoots those well too. Funny thing though, both the 124gr 9mm bullets come out of my molds (using range lead) at about 104 gr.

Bob

[Carolina Cast Bullets]

I've used Lee molds for a long time. If you use em, get a small hot plate and and old circular saw blade. Use the blade for a plate on the heating element and put your molds on it
to heat before casting. I do and I seldom get more the two or three "wrinkled" boolits
when starting up.

Jerry
Carolina Cast Bullets

[Ranch Dog]

I work with the Lee equipment quite a bit but I do have a Lyman 4500. My personal choice is the simple Lee stuff. I cast a lot of bullets each year for a quite a list of firearms and you cannot beat the setup with the Lee dies, there is none to speak of. May be I would feel different if I didn't favor the Micro Bands for lube grooves and Alox as a lube. Also, the lube sizer stuff might be different if I didn't work with so many different bullets.

Here is what my investment looks like between the two styles of lubing. I have 23 Lee sizing dies, almost half are custom diameters but I'm only in it for $19 die on the average. Of course, you use a reloading press with the dies so there is no other investment. Wait, I dip my bullets in a small crock pot which I bought for $10 along with 5 cookie sheets to set the bullets on to dry which was another $10.

For my Lyman 4500, I have 17 Lyman sizing (H&I) dies, with about half of them custom sizes. They have averaged $28 a die. The 4500 cost me $216, it is heated and has a pressure lube feeder. I like it but consider it slower, start to finish as compared to the Lee method I use.

Here is what my dipped Lee bullets look like after they pass through the Lee sizer. My 25 and 45 ACP Micro-Band bullets.

http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/images/TL25650RF_01.jpg

[Sonnypie]

http://home.earthlink.net/~pie/Sonny's/P8260200.JPG

I don't like it.

I don't like so much that I made mine into a hollow point mold when it arrived. (Thanks again, Rangefinder)

http://home.earthlink.net/~pie/Sonny's/P8260194.JPG

I only have one lament about tumble loobing, transfer of the loob into my seating die.
Other than that irritation, it works well.
My cure was to use Ranchdog's method of dipping. Keeps the noses clean.
I expanded on that and use the plastic inserts from boxes of ammo at the range, to dip 50 at a time. Now we are talking production!
And I trim (kake kutter), then size, then final clean for loading.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_199184ed5847fd9e4e.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=2834)
(Them's 30 cal's, but you get the idea...)

[TheGrimReaper]

I love the Tumble Lube design. Use them in 9MM, 40/10, 41, 44,and 45 cals. Now if they would offer a 9mm 147gr TL and a .30 cal 100gr flat base in a TL. Lee are you listening???

[Boolseye]

I have the mold that you're looking at, and I'm currently researching how to lap it so the boolits will drop bigger. Other than the boolits being on the small side, it's a nice mold, and they feed perfectly in my 1911. Some of the TL molds are better than others–the TL358-158SWC is a tack-driver, right up into magnum velocities. The TL356-124TC is on the fussy side, but shoots well with some work. The CTL312-160-2R is a great boolit for .308, 7.62x54 & other .30 cal rifles. I think that covers it for MY TL boolits.


Funny thing though, both the 124gr 9mm bullets come out of my molds (using range lead) at about 104 gr.
what?! That's way beyond any margin of error.

[Reload3006]

I have the mold that you're looking at, and I'm currently researching how to lap it so the boolits will drop bigger. Other than the boolits being on the small side, it's a nice mold, and they feed perfectly in my 1911.

pour your mold then drill a hole in the boolits keeping track of which cavity they came out of screw a drywall screw in the holes you drilled chuck it up in a drill and smear tooth paste on it and away you go

[Boolseye]

Yes, I'll be doing something like that...http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=134379
I've been researching for a little while. Thank you, though!

[Love Life]

pour your mold then drill a hole in the boolits keeping track of which cavity they came out of screw a drywall screw in the holes you drilled chuck it up in a drill and smear tooth paste on it and away you go

Just be careful if you drill holes in the boolits while they are in the mould and don't drill through the bullet and into the mould. You could end up with Lee 452-255-RF with one corect cavity and one cavity that looks a little ridiculous.

[DLCTEX]

And don't drill the hole too deep into the boolit, or you may drive the screw through and damage the mould.[smilie=b:

[357shooter]

The other alternative is to remove the sprue plate, and place nuts on each cavity. That works much better than drilling out each bullet, IMHO. I have some pics at http://357shooter.blogspot.com/2011/05/lapping-mould-what-to-do-if-your-mould.html