A use for Lee 2-cavity handles

[dubber123]

A few days ago I bought a nice H&G 44 cal HP mold. I knew they took there own handles, but he mold was cheap so I bought it. The groove in H&G's is narrower than Lymans or RCBS, and thinning a set of those ruins them for anything else. I got the mold for 25$, and didn't want to spend 40$ for a set of handles off E-bay. (Didn't want to wait either). Here's what I did: If you take a worn out/junk Lee 2 cavity mold, you can flip it upside down on a vise and knock the retaining pins right out the top of the blocks easily, they are only about 1/8" below the surface. I then found out the pin size and loacation is PERFECT for H&G 2 cavity blocks. I then took some scrap .090" steel stock and made some 3/8" X 2" spacers. I drilled and plug welded them to the Lee handles, but you could just use them for washers. The origional holes in the Lee handles serve as pilot holes for drilling the spacers. The resulting set of handles are tight, slop free, and basically cost nothing. If you are a cheap S.O.B. like me, it's worth the time, they work great, are lightweight, and I didn't have to wait.:drinks:

[buck1]

Good tip!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DLCTEX]

I have removed molds from Lee handles by tapping the pin down slightly, then using a drill bit to remove the crimp. A little Kroil and a plastic hammer will back the pins out by inertia, as the pins are a loose fit. I used high temp silicone to hold the pins in when going back. Dale

[Sundogg1911]

I've removed Lee the handles by having the pins fall out while using them! ;-)

[Buckshot]

............dubber123, good thinking :-). Even if you have a set of the correct handles, it's nice to have a 2nd, or 3rd!

.............Sundogg1911, "I've removed Lee the handles by having the pins fall out while using them!"

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger!

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

[TAWILDCATT]

you can buy LEE handles for their 6 cavity molds they fit lyman/and others
$12.++ from midsouthshooters.com

[454PB]

And here you thought the cost of Lee moulds was the blocks!

I've been using Lee moulds since they were first produced, and I've never had one "wear out" or need repacement. I think I counted 16 Lee moulds I have recently, what happens to turn them to junk?

I have also had those pins migrate, and I just repeen them with a blunt punch. I've also had to replace the retaining screws in Lyman moulds when they got worn and sloppy.

[dubber123]

454PB, I have found that if you don't VERY carefully line up the blocks on a 2-cav. LEE it will develop alignment problems pretty quickly, and I'm not a slam and bang molder, actually just the opposite. I have seen alot of used LEE's that people said were just fine, and I thought the alignment to be very sloppy, making them "worn out" to me. As far as a junk LEE, I got a 400 gr. .475 mold that cast .003"out of round. I just bought another instead of returning it, and the replacement was .004" out. That makes them "junk" to me. Mold #3 is good.

[dubber123]

TAWILDCATT, I just saw your post, and I know about the 6 cavity handles, I think Midway has them on sale right now. I have 3 pairs, but I didn't use them on the H&G mold, because to make them fit you have to mill them down to a thinner shank to fit the one H&G I currently have. Miling them makes them useless for any Lyman or RCBS, so I didn't want to ruin them. Besides, I was bored, and really didn't want to wait to cast with this mold.

[454PB]

I developed a habit of using my sprue knocker to align the mould blocks as they are closed. I hold it under the blocks as I close them, and watch to be sure they are aligned. I quit lubing the blocks many years ago, it produces more problems than it cures. I used a soft brass bristled gun brush (ressembles a toothbrush) to remove all the carbon crud that built up from the days when I DID lube them and they have been fine since.

The out of round condition would be warranty return in my opinion.

[dubber123]

454PB, I do the same thing with my sprue knocker, and I understand alot of people lay them on a board whn closing them which I have never tried. I probably should have just boxed the junkers up, but for 16$ I just thought it easier to buy another. After the second out of spec mold, I called and got some jerk that said it just wasn't possible they were out of round, because they were made on a lathe. Right. He said it had to be something I was doing wrong. I swore off Lee products for a long time after this "customer service" incident.

[Bass Ackward]

The need to .... lubricate an aluminum mold is usually required to over come the stickiness of aluminum when it get's hot.

If you clean the mold and smoke the cavities, you can cast at 700 to 750 degrees and never need lubrication. I was casting tiny 358, 158 grain, RF's last weekend and getting frosty bullets at 750 degrees going at a VERY moderate casting rate.

Strange hold mold life goes sometimes. Understand that I am not a Lee fan by any means, but I have a double cavity that is at least 25 years old and molded thousands of slugs and it would take someone from CSI to tell that it has ever been used.