Broken sprue handle on Lee 6 banger

[khmer6]

Anyone seen this before? Brand new and it just snapped

[dmize]

Uhhh yes I have.
Call Lee and they will mail you a replacement.
You let the sprue get too hard/plate wasnt hot enough.
NOW,when I first start mine up I try to cut the sprue as soon as possible,if it still wont cut easily I smack the edge of the plate with my wooden mallet.

[freebullet]

Na I ain't broke none had defective one on a 38 mold. Not great quality, but they usually work ok. Give lee a call.

[462]

Though it's not happened to me, it seems to be a fairly common problem. Lee six-cavity sprue cutter and mould handles are not made of the best of metals, and a new caster may not be aware of how to use them properly. Pre-heat the mould (400-degrees often works) and cut the sprue right after it sucks down (search Bull Plate, it helps much). If you haven't already done so, search leementing and follow the instructions.

[khmer6]

I usually cut the sprue as soon as possible because I water drop, and letting the boolit harden too long in the mould kinda defeats the purpose of water dropping. I sent them a request. Last year I had both my small and large primer arms fall and break. They sent me both on a holiday :-) I think it was the daughter? IDK. I'm glad they did otherwise there would be 1/2 of a 5 gallon bucket of spent primers on my floor

[MT Chambers]

There's a fellow on this site that makes an excellent replacement for that cheap piece, his is made very well and prolly how they should have been made in the first place, don't know his name but i think he is a fellow Canuck.

[Muddydogs]

When you get in that situation again but a flat screw driver blade between the mold and the front of the handle where it contacts the mold. This will give you a little more leverage to cut a solid spur and not put as much pressure on the pot metal handle.

[oneokie]

There's a fellow on this site that makes an excellent replacement for that cheap piece, his is made very well and prolly how they should have been made in the first place, don't know his name but i think he is a fellow Canuck.

That is Red River Rick.

[Ben]

Here is the routine for using a Lee 6 cav. mold and NOT BREAKING THE SPRUE HANDLE :

Preheat the mold .
I have mine sitting on top of my Lee 20 lb. ladle casting pot while the alloy is coming up to casting temp.

Fill the 1st two holes ( closest to the sprue plate hold down screw ) with alloy and cut the sprue. Cast 5 cycles like this.

Next.......Fill the next two holes ( now making 4 bullets ) with alloy and cut the sprue. Cast 5 cycles like this.

Now fill the last two...........

You won't be breaking anything else, if you'll use this routine.

[smkummer]

Ben has it right. I broke 2 before finding this methold myself. Lee did send me replacements after asking how old the mold was (I believe it has to be 2 years old or younger). For some reason my 9mm and 38 molds really don't need warm up but the 45 230 grain mold has to be warmed up or sure had heck it will break. I think Lee should publish this technique pronto.

[khmer6]

Thanks for the info. I sent pictures as requested by Lee but they haven't responded after I sent them. Hopefully it's already in the mail. Sold all my 10mm fmj to fund more casting equipment

[victor3ranger]

Yep, mine broke on her first maiden voyage. Lee sent me one asap, good service. I think I will give RedRiver a line and see if I can get one that he makes.

[John Boy]

Heat the melt so the sprue puddle frosts in 8 - 10 seconds and you'll have nice bullets with no broken sprue plate

[khmer6]

Just got a confirmation from Lee. They are sending the sprue lever piece. Anyone know how to remove the old one from the handle and install it back? It looks like it is crimped

[Ben]

Just got a confirmation from Lee. They are sending the sprue lever piece. Anyone know how to remove the old one from the handle and install it back? It looks like it is crimped


Tap on the wooden handle with a small hammer , it will slide off.


( Unfortunately they slide off far too easy sometimes )

[btroj]

I do similar to what Ben does. Haven't broken one yet. Hate to think how many pours I have made with my numerous 6 cav moulds.

[khmer6]

I tried to do that with all my Lee molds. Quick cast a few rounds to warm it up and save those yucky boolits to remelt. I'll never go back to 2 cavity if they have a 6 banger! Idk what I was thinking. It's so fast and smooth on a 6 hole. The extra cost of the mold plus handles deterred me. But never again!

[Del-Ray]

Be careful that the cutter cam is straight on the sprue. A guy at my gun shop got a mold and broke it first cast. When I looked at it the edge of the cam was about a quarter on the plate. Making it impossible to open. Once I did some sanding and got the replacement he was up and running.

[khmer6]

This is why this forum is so great always great recommendations and what ifs and watch out for. Excellent if someone has issues in the future as well. This is by far the most helpful and addiction forum I've been on. I was able to cut the sprue a few times trying to warm up the mold before it broke. I'll check to see if the angle isn't right

[xacex]

I broke one in the same spot as you, and even did the warm up thing filling one cavity at a time. I ended up getting a hot plate after lee sent me a new sprue cam. Problem solved.

[Jon]

The problem was that the sprue plate wasn't closed all the way. The cam then can't hit on the mold, and all the force is on the handle instead of having that leverage for the initial cut. I've broken one too.

Take a torch and melt out as much lead as you can after installing the new handle, that way you're less likely to break the new arm.

Make sure the sprue plate is closed all the way, and you won't usually have trouble.

[Blanket]

I take them off, and use a hammer handle to smack the plate like any other mold Russ

[williamwaco]

Rule 1.

NEVER let the mold cool off with uncut sprue.

[dgill99]

Jon is correct this happens when the sprue plate is not completely closed. it's a sure way to brake the cam.

[khmer6]

Rule 1.

NEVER let the mold cool off with uncut sprue.

It didn't originally cool off. It just happened to cool off after the cam broke up.

[victor3ranger]

When mine broke I had to take the mold apart to get the boolits out and clear the spru plate. Now as soon as the puddle gets a frost I cut with the spru plate.
I can tell you that you for sure want to have the spru plate closed all the way or you will be looking for truouble.

[Jeff.L]

Had one break also , Lee replace it no problems since...