Lee mold Sprue handle broke off!!

[mktacop]

I have (had) a Lee 6-cavity 200gr SWC .452 mold. I was casting this afternoon and went to break the sprue loose and the sprue-plate handle snapped in half! I mean the metal part that runs into the wooden handle.

Has anyone else had a similar issue? Any suggestions?

[stubshaft]

Could be a faulty sprue handle or you could have been waiting too long to cut off the sprue itself. Best to call Lee and try to get it replaced.

[Chicken Thief]

You're casting to cold and let the sprues get to hard.

Try filling from the hindge towards the handle (that way the hardest sprue will have the most leverage)

And finally buy this lever and have it forever:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=97479&highlight=lee+handle

[DanM]

Yep, Lee will replace your sprue handle at no cost. Just give them a call. 202-673-3075

BTW....I use a 1/4" drive, 7/16" or 11mm deep socket on a nut driver handle to open the sprue plate on my Lee 6cav molds. The supplied wood handle is discarded since they always come off or crack eventuly. The 7/16" socket is handy for tightening the pivot nut too.

[Chicken Thief]

You might try to look at the Lee mending thread:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=4790

It will get you on the right track and help you get lots of good boolits out of that mould of yours!

[462]

I'll say that the mould was not up to its proper casting temperature, and the sprue was hardening too quickly -- an all too common problem with a Lee six-cavity mould.

[mold maker]

I have 33/6 cav LEEs and have never had a problem with the sprue cutter handles. Several have had to be epoxied fast, but none have broken.
As stated in the posts above, cutting too cool sprues is most likely the problem. Bull Plate also helps.

[Wayne Smith]

Common problem with the pot metal they use. Filling all the cavities before the mold is fully heated is the usual cause. This causes the sprue to fully harden before you cut it. It needs to be just short of fully hard to cut it and not break the handle.

Solution is to start casting with one or two cavities, move up one cavity every other throw. By the time you get to all six you have a hot mold.

[Philngruvy]

I wonder if there is anyone with a Lee 6 cavity that has not broken off the sprue handle at least one time. I know I did. I made my own handle out of steel plate. I guarantee it wont break and I get a good workout when I cast with that mold. Man that thing is heavy!!! On a serious note, the suggestion that Wayne made is great advise.

[462]

"I wonder if there is anyone with a Lee 6 cavity that has not broken off the sprue handle at least one time."

Me. But I pre-heat all my moulds.

[MikeS]

I've also never broken a Lee handle. But I must agree with Chicken Thief, both in how to fill the mould, and in getting KAL's replacement handle, it will last a lifetime, and because it has a longer cam on it, it makes cutting the sprue much easier, even if you let it get too cold.

[Chicken Thief]

I have used and owned 5 Lee 6-bangers and cast over 25k+ boolits without thrashing a handle. Does that make me "weird"?
It's about reading the sprue and cut at the right time. Nothing more, nothing less.

And yes i tend to cast hot, way hot!

[geargnasher]

"I wonder if there is anyone with a Lee 6 cavity that has not broken off the sprue handle at least one time."

Me. But I pre-heat all my moulds.

That is THE solution for Lee sprue cam handles. Get the mould up to full casting temperature to begin with using a mould oven and open-coil hot plate. Don't let the sprues set all the way, cut them while they're still soft but set enough not to smear. This means that you need to cast rapidly to keep the mould hot enough for about a six second sprue freeze time, and pour pour a big sprue puddle, that way the sprue plate will stay hot and you will have time to cut them before they freeze solid.

If you use Bullplate sprue plate lube it will help quite a bit with minimizing lead smears on the top of the blocks and bottom of the sprue plate when casting hot. When I cut the sprues, I hardly feel any resistance at all, but if you don't preheat the mould very, very well to begin with, you risk breaking the handle cutting cold sprues before you ever get the mould up to casting temp by casting alone.

Gear

[mktacop]

Thanks for all the advice. FYI, I had been casting for over an hour when the break happened. The mold was definitely hot enough and I had a good rhythm going. I had cast about 400 boolits between the 6-cav and a 2-cav that I was rotating between. I guess it was just a weak handle. I'll call Lee tomorrow since it doesn't appear that the other ones are available right now.

[edsmith]

do your self a favor and get a KAL handle for a few bucks from red river rick here on this forum,you won't be sorry, you will never break it.thats a fact.[smilie=w:

[mktacop]

Copy all....PM sent to Red River Rick

[Goatwhiskers]

I broke one on a brand new mold, snapped like a dry stick. Lee made it good, but while waiting I gas welded it back together with Brownell's 5% nickel rod--the handle resembles cast iron so figured it was worth a try. So far, so good. Goat

[mktacop]

While I wait to see if Red River Rick has any handles available, I called Lee this morning. The lady I spoke with was very nice and said they would get a new one in the mail to me today. While their mold handle was less than expected, their customer service was certainly nice.

[shotman]

check with Ken [site owner] he had some

[DLCTEX]

I haven't broken the handle on mine as I learned from fellow members to preheat and cut when the sprue flashes dull. You problem may have been using two moulds and the sprue getting hard before cutting. If the mould is getting too hot then you are casting too hot as that big aluminum block sheds heat fast. I have to cast and refill quickly to keep it hot enough.

[fredj338]

Lee bullet molds are like disposable tools, you are supposed to break them, toss them & buy new. Yes, there is a reason they are so cheap. You really have to baby a Lee mold IMO/IME.

[dmize]

Hmmmmm fred.
I broke 1 and Lee had a new one to me in 3 days.
I usaully cast at least 2 6 cavities at a time,if it feels like the sprues are too hard,I take my sprue stick and smack the sprue plate a couple time and that will usually shear it enough that I can pull the handle and finish them off.

[Beerd]

Also make sure the spru plate is closed all the way before you pour.
..

[Shiloh]

I wonder if there is anyone with a Lee 6 cavity that has not broken off the sprue handle at least one time. I know I did. I made my own handle out of steel plate. I guarantee it wont break and I get a good workout when I cast with that mold. Man that thing is heavy!!! On a serious note, the suggestion that Wayne made is great advise.

I keep spare Sprue handles on hand.
I have spare original LEE priming tool levers as well. Can't get those parts anymore.

Shiloh

[HangFireW8]

While I wait to see if Red River Rick has any handles available, I called Lee this morning. The lady I spoke with was very nice and said they would get a new one in the mail to me today. While their mold handle was less than expected, their customer service was certainly nice.

Some badmouth Lee, some because they didn't get a free part (like we expect from Dillon or RCBS), some because they don't like the product and Lee won't change it to their liking.

I've found Lee customer service to be every bit as nice as any reloading manufacturer, and I've found that I catch more flies with honey than vinegar, especially with the ladies (who often know a shocking amount of reloading and casting stuff). Yes, you sometimes have to pay for a part, but the part prices are always very, very reasonable. Not going in like a snotty know-it-all, and being prepared to listen, goes a long way to getting the best service- at Lee or anywhere else.

Yes, these are the same folks I returned two 45 230-2R-TL molds before I got a good one, but I explained the problems clearly and without venom and got the next one back in less than 2 weeks without argument. No, I should have never had to return them in the first place. But I feel I did my part to help their quality control, keep Americans employed, and now I have a 6-banger mold that produces huge piles nice boolits at such stunning speed I have trouble keeping my 20 pounder full.

If I had just thrown it in the trash, Lee's workers would have never been paid to make 2 more, Mr. Lee would not have learned anything about his true reject rate, and I'd be paying more than twice as much for another mold. It took patience but it was worth it.

Having said all that, I love my MiHec brass mold even more, I paid more for it, but like the Lee it's worth more than what I paid for it.

HF

[mktacop]

Quick update....I broke the handle on Tuesday afternoon. Called Lee first thing Wednesday morning. Received the new sprue handle today. I got it installed and cast 400+ boolits this afternoon. I'm still going to order a KAL handle, but for now, I'm back in business!

[GNILOP]

i have (had) a lee 6-cavity 200gr swc .452 mold. I was casting this afternoon and went to break the sprue loose and the sprue-plate handle snapped in half! I mean the metal part that runs into the wooden handle.

Has anyone else had a similar issue? Any suggestions?

a lot of us has broken sprue cutters, i just broke my second one when the wooden handle slips off as your trying to open it * pop goes the weasel..

[paul h]

If you try and cut a cold sprue on a lee 6 shooter, you will break the handle. You have to pre-heat the mold and cut the sprue as soon as it solidifies. It's not necessarily a bad thing, I got a used like new 357 158 wc 6 cavity lee mold for the price of shipping from somebody who said it was a junk mold and I could have. I took the handle off of another 6 cavity lee and proceeded to cast lots of good bullets from that mold.

Another option is to flip the mold around in the handles so that where the sprue handle used to be is facing out. Tap the protruding end of the sprue plate with a mallet to cut the sprue.

Yes, I'd much rather have a 6 cavity ballisticast mold than a 6 cavity lee mold, but $40 vs $250, the ballisticast doesn't produce a bullet that is 6 1/4 times more accurate.

[Elkins45]

I have a couple of Lee six bangers from the first year they started making them. Each has made a darned big pile of boolets over the years. The wood sprue handles are cracked and wired together on both, but they still have their original sprue plates.

As others have said, I preheat before casting. Since the OP was working with a hot mold it might simply be a case of bad luck. No product has a 0% failure rate.

As for the quality of the Lee molds: they are the only $40 six cavity molds on the market. If Lee weren't producing them I think it's reasonable to say nobody else would be. The closest comparison I can think of is the NOE 5 cavity for close to $100...and good luck getting the exact one you want within a week's shipping time.

[geargnasher]

I haven't broken the handle on mine as I learned from fellow members to preheat and cut when the sprue flashes dull. You problem may have been using two moulds and the sprue getting hard before cutting. If the mould is getting too hot then you are casting too hot as that big aluminum block sheds heat fast. I have to cast and refill quickly to keep it hot enough.

BINGO!

Quit trying to cast with two moulds when using a Lee six-banger. It takes about all a person can do to keep as six-banger hot enough to cast with without fiddling with two moulds. If you feel any significant resistance when cutting the sprue, you're letting the sprue plate and sprues get too cold, and you WILL break the handle. When I cut sprues on a properly heated six-cavity they shear like cutting through a raw potato with a sharp knife.

Gear

[Rhino]

G'day All,

I have 8 lee 6 cav molds.

I too have broken a sprue lever when the mold/lead not at correct temp.

if i feel a little too much resistance when trying to open the mold, I will place flat sided screwdriver blade between the sprue plate lever and the side of the mold block, the little extra leverage I get will allow the mold to open without breaking the lever.

Just have to be patient and wait a little longer to get everything up to heat.

Cheers

[mulespurs]

If your sprue overrun gets up in cam area of the lee sprue handle then you will have alot bigger chance of breaking off your handle. I would bet that I am not the only one that has ever seen that.

[wallenba]

I'm pretty sure they make those parts from sintered iron. Then the possibility of breaks increases due that process.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sintering

[btroj]

I haven't broken one yet. I only pour into one or two cavities until I am sure the mold is fully up to heat. I also don't wait to cut the sprue once it hardens.
Been using some of these moulds for x5 or 6 years.

[guidogoose]

I've broken two of them when I first started casting. My new method of heating up the mold is this. I fill only two cavities at a time. I go up and down the mold like this for two passes. I then fill three at at time twice as well. Tens of thousands of cast later, not one broken. If, the sprue plate "feels" like its going to break, I grab a torch and heat the mold with that. If I have to scrap the boolits, so be it.

[btroj]

That is exactly the right bring to do guide goose. I heat the mould by setting it on the melt for 30 to 45 seconds. Gets the mould pretty darn warm. Then cast just 2 cavities and see how it goes.

[guidogoose]

Thank you sir.