Lee mold fell apart..pin dropped out.

[toddx]

While I was casting with my Lee mold the pin that holds in half the block dropped out. I found the pin and drove it back in with a punch seemingly secure but after casting 4 more boolits the pin dropped out again.
Any Ideas Professors?
Thanks

[geargnasher]

Send it back to Lee or where you bought it if it's an alignment pin. If it's the pin that holds the handle tongs on the blocks, peen the metal back over the end.

Gear

[Jim]

Peen the pin in with a very small center punch. Put the center punch on the aluminum right next to the pin. One peen should do it.

[Mk42gunner]

Put the pin in place then use a center punch to stake the hole. this will displace enough metal to hold the pin in place, if done correctly

Robert

[Pigslayer]

While I was casting with my Lee mold the pin that holds in half the block dropped out. I found the pin and drove it back in with a punch seemingly secure but after casting 4 more boolits the pin dropped out again.
Any Ideas Professors?
Thanks

I had that happen. Put the pin back in & take a center punch and make a few center punches around the edge of the pin hole. The pin won't come outafter that.

[MT Chambers]

A Lee mold fell apart? No way!!

[Hang Fire]

I think the alignment pins in the mold halves are roller bearing steel, tried a file and it won't touch it.

Anyone know of an easy way to remove those pins? They are right in the way if one wants to hollow point a double cavity mold.

[fredj338]

A Lee mold fell apart? No way!!

More like a Lee mold stayed together! No way![smilie=l:

[geargnasher]

I have a whole fleet of Lee two-bangers and I've never had a problem with any of them other than some basic tuning and maintenance, I guess I've just been lucky or am more careful than other people are, although there are a few of their designs that I seem to have to beat half to death to get the boolits out no matter how much Leementing I do. Never had a pin get loose, though.

Gear

[mpmarty]

I've got over a dozen LEE molds. Never have had a problem except when I decided to take one apart and broke off the cap screw that retains the sprue plate on a six banger. Mold was about six years old. Called LEE and they sent me a new one NO CHARGE. Go ahead and knock the LEE stuff all you want. I won't be trading in my 550B for any LEE presses but their molds, sizers, scales and collet style crimp dies are fine with me.

[Recluse]

I have a whole fleet of Lee two-bangers and I've never had a problem with any of them other than some basic tuning and maintenance, I guess I've just been lucky or am more careful than other people are, although there are a few of their designs that I seem to have to beat half to death to get the boolits out no matter how much Leementing I do. Never had a pin get loose, though.

Gear


I've got over a dozen LEE molds. Never have had a problem except when I decided to take one apart and broke off the cap screw that retains the sprue plate on a six banger. Mold was about six years old. Called LEE and they sent me a new one NO CHARGE. Go ahead and knock the LEE stuff all you want. I won't be trading in my 550B for any LEE presses but their molds, sizers, scales and collet style crimp dies are fine with me.


Same here, but if I ever do have a Lee mold fall apart, I'll send it back.

I do have two Lyman molds, though, with problems. One will not align right, and the other throws boolits about .003 too small. Lyman's "customer service" assures me that it's operator error.

I keep the molds as a reminder to never buy another damned piece of Lyman equipment so long as I own a firearm and reloading/casting equipment.

But then again, I'm one of those people who can easily get 250,000+ miles and more out of my pickup truck while I know people who can't even make it to 50,000 miles before stuff literally starts falling off.

:coffee:

[evan price]

But then again, I'm one of those people who can easily get 250,000+ miles and more out of my pickup truck while I know people who can't even make it to 50,000 miles before stuff literally starts falling off.

:coffee:

Amen to that, Recluse. Seems that my Pro-1000 press and 6-cavity molds just keep trucking. But then my Cherokee has over 300,000 miles on all original drivetrain. Amazing what changing the fluids regularly and doing prompt maintenance and repairs will do for longevity.

[Hang Fire]

I have Lee molds from back in the early 1970s that are still going strong. When lived in Alaska 1969-76 I had a Bill Fuller Hawken and the Bill Large .58 barrel was 1:48 twist. I bought one of the 470 grain Lee ashcan modern mini molds which looks like a huge full wadcutter, with 100 grains DuPont FF it was accurate and in thick brush a moose killer delux.

[44man]

I have had the pin fall out and the mold half drop into my water bucket.
Just peen it back in. On several I have drilled and tapped for a set screw. Shorten the pin and put the screw in, don't tighten the screw against the pin itself or you can bend the block.
There is no reason to send back a good mold for a pin. You might get a worse mold back. :roll:

[mdi]

I have a whole fleet of Lee two-bangers and I've never had a problem with any of them other than some basic tuning and maintenance, I guess I've just been lucky or am more careful than other people are, although there are a few of their designs that I seem to have to beat half to death to get the boolits out no matter how much Leementing I do. Never had a pin get loose, though.

Gear I too, have had good "luck" with my 6 Lee molds. Perhaps the rare bad ones go to the most vocal casters...;-)