LEE Mould gets a haircut!

[Silverboolit]

I have the LEE copy of the H&G 68 mold, and the bevel base is just too much to contend with. Lubing in the RCBS LAMll gets too messy with all of the lube going under/around that bevel base that the mold comes with now.

Took the mold to the machine shop and will have them mill off the top and remove the bevel base. I know that it will throw a little light, but the convienence of not having to scrape off lube will be worth it.

Anyone else done this??

[Nocturnal Stumblebutt]

Why not just mill out the bevel?

[petroid]

Haven't done it but have you thought about having it milled so that its a PB instead of bevel base? It will then drop a little heavier rather than lighter. If you want, you can then have it milled down to lighten the boolits up. Or maybe you don't want boolits that long...

ETA Nocturnal beat me to it

[Whiterabbit]

for those of us interested in doing it ourselves, how dead nuts do we have to get the blocks clamped down? I don't have a 4 jaw chuck for my lathe and would need to do it on the mill table.

[375RUGER]

I cut the bevel out of one with a sharp pocket knife, kershaw.

[dubber123]

for those of us interested in doing it ourselves, how dead nuts do we have to get the blocks clamped down? I don't have a 4 jaw chuck for my lathe and would need to do it on the mill table.

If you have a dial indicator, it's pretty easy, just fiddle with it in the vise until you have it as close to level end to end and side to side as you can get, and mill away. I've done a few, and the ring left on the base by my lubrisizer says I got them right on the money, even all around. I de-GC'd a LEE 310 RF to make a 290 gr. plain base last.

[enfieldphile]

Not for nothing, but I never had trouble w/ that boolit getting lube in the BB on my old LAM.

Perhaps the pressure is to high on the LAM?

I use a Magma/Star now, much, much faster & easier die change. But the LAM Lubed w/o trouble.

[Whiterabbit]

If you have a dial indicator, it's pretty easy, just fiddle with it in the vise until you have it as close to level end to end and side to side as you can get, and mill away. I've done a few, and the ring left on the base by my lubrisizer says I got them right on the money, even all around. I de-GC'd a LEE 310 RF to make a 290 gr. plain base last.

right, but I wonder about the tolerance. you get it to within a .001? .0005? .003? how good enough is good enough?

[dubber123]

right, but I wonder about the tolerance. you get it to within a .001? .0005? .003? how good enough is good enough?

I think I got them within .0015". It was a lot easier to indicate the Saeco than it was the LEE.. You are assuming the original holes were perpendicular to the block tops.. :)

[Silverboolit]

The mold has always poured good bullets. Never had any 'off kilter' so to speak. Will get it back in a day or two and let you know how it went. A LOT cheaper to cut the top than to try to cut each hole.

[smokeywolf]

I wouldn't have the top of the mould milled down. I'd have the bevel bored out. I would paint the cavity(ies) with dykem and on a mill, I would slap the mould into the vise on some parrellels, indicate the cavity(ies) and carefully bore them out to the correct diameter. Remember to set your quill stop and watch your depth so you don't go into the bottom lube band.

smokeywolf

[cbrick]

I wouldn't have the top of the mould milled down. I'd have the bevel bored out. I would paint the cavity(ies) with dykem and on a mill, I would slap the mould into the vise on some parrellels, indicate the cavity(ies) and carefully bore them out to the correct diameter. Remember to set your quill stop and watch your depth so you don't go into the bottom lube band. smokeywolf

Geez, I would never do that . . .

Ok, only because I'm not a machinist and I have no machine tools. If I was and I did I that is exactly what I would do. However Erik is a master at that very thing and he's done several for me. Hollow Point Bullet Mold (www.hollowpointbulletmold.com)

Rick

[smokeywolf]

Rick, even if you don't have the tools to do it yourself, it can be helpful to know the process.

Good to know that Hollow Point Bullet Mold does custom machining.

[375RUGER]

The other option is to use some of that egg carton material or similar meat tray foam under the boolit. I haven't done it but read about it on that castboolits.com thing. IIRC that was a solution to lube on the bevel.

[yondering]

I agree with having the bevel removed rather than milling the mold off. That bullet shoots really well at 200gr with a plain base.

It doesn't have to be as complicated as setting it up in a mill or lathe though; you can do it in a drill press easily. A 29/64" reamer is just about perfect (.4529") and will self center in each cavity if the blocks are kept level but allowed some sideways (x-y) freeplay. I do have both a mill and a couple lathes, but have used the reamer/drill press method several times with great success, and it's a lot faster than indexing each cavity.

[Silverboolit]

Got the mold back. Slugs weigh 188 gr. machinist did a good job for a fair price (13.00). Poured 200 of them this weekend. Can't wait to shoot.

Thanks to all for thier input and we'll have to wait for the litmus test at the range.

[leadman]

Glad it was so cheap to have it milled for you. can't get anyone around here to look at anything for less than $50. The choice of lube do make a difference on this boolit in a luber/sizer. I was using Carnuba Red and would sometimes get lube on the base. I mixed up 2/3 Carnuba Red with 1/3 Magma lube by weight and got a lube that did not get on the base and also could stand more heat. Here in Az this is important if you leave your boolits or ammo in a place that is not cooled. Performance was no different than straight CR when fired.

[smokeywolf]

Silverboolit, that's an unbeatable price. When not doing jobs for friends and relatives, I typically charge a piece price. When I do charge by the hour it's anywhere from $25 to $35.00 an hour for machining time.

smokeywolf

[Silverboolit]

Good to know about the lube. Been using LSS 2500 and it has been working well. I may try some carnuba red next go aroound, I hate emptying the lubesizer jusst to try a different lube.

[HABCAN]

As yondering said above (post #16) I used a 5/16" drill bit in my little hobby drill press and PB'd a LEE C309-115F by letting the drill find its own center. I wound masking tape around the bit for a depth mark. Worked just fine. Precision work is wonderful if available within reason, but sometimes you CAN get away with a bit o' 'Bubba', LOL. I wouldn't recommend this for an expensive mold!

[yondering]

Just to be clear, I recommend a 5/16" reamer, not a drill bit; they can be had for less than $10. I've found a good reamer will self-center on the mold cavities pretty well if you get the face of the block square to the axis of the drill press.