typical typical how typical

[guncheese]

i have 7 or 8 Lee 2 cavity tools
and it seems that the same thing happens to all of them but to a lesser degree at some point
but i got a new one today and the pins slipped right off the bat
i didnt get a dozen good shots from it
ive fixed it now by driving the pins where i want them and then peening some aluminum in from behind
but geee whizz!!
i know i could send it back, but that would be on my dime and they would just send me the same thing!
these little fellas got up to .016" offset
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-veW-Etv-sLo/U73b1HJENDI/AAAAAAAAHkM/6gtBHewSHEw/w1064-h798-no/IMG_20140709_191801.jpg
so i have a whole basket of baddies to remelt, its like i kept trying to see if it would work!
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-I3bxZ2G5wak/U73Z4OGeWDI/AAAAAAAAHiQ/RzH6yGs50Q0/w1064-h798-no/IMG_20140709_190951.jpg
and look at the offset in the blocks!!!
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-zPtXAaiOlog/U73co6RxJOI/AAAAAAAAHlI/YksJkYgPnBA/w1064-h798-no/IMG_20140709_192133.jpg
this is one the latest ones with the lefthanded sprue bolt

[357maximum]

Sometimes in life you get exactly what you pay for......you pay for recycled soffit...you get cheaply machined recycled soffit in this case you may have overpaid.

[RobS]

Sometimes in life you get exactly what you pay for......you pay for recycled soffit...you get cheaply machined recycled soffit in this case you may have overpaid.

That's true however I've used quite a few Lee molds and they are fine especially for the price. I wouldn't go as far as saying they are complete recycled junk but they may need some work. I do have to admit though an alignment pin would be a bunch of sheeeet which has been a problem as of lately with the newer Lee molds.

[runfiverun]

at least you can bump the pins on these and correct the alignment of the cavity's.

[DrCaveman]

Only one of my new style lees has done that, and it is bad...ive bumped it back several (dozen) times and the pins wont stay in place long. It is a bummer because that was a pretty nice boolit

Ive got four other new style, they are OK. Im pretty sure i overheated the one with funky pins

None of my old style have lost alingment...i always had to settle them into proper alignment with my hand or the base plate of the furnace anyway

[500MAG]

It seems like this is happening more and more with Lee lately. I wonder if it's because they hurried to get out more items because of the demand. Either way, it's not fair that you would have to eat the postage cost.

[GhostHawk]

I'm with Excess, call me happy. Recently bought a pair of molds both in .312 a 155 and a 185 gr lube groove design.

I did notice on the 185 that my sprue kept hanging up on the sprue cutter. So I took the sprue plate off, chucked a round nose dremel stone in my drlll press and polished the pour holes. They looked ridged almost serrated before. Now they are smoother, and work much better. Instead of having to grab pliers to remove sprue 2 out of 3 pours its only 1 pour in 5 now.

Both cast great bullets. Ok yes they could be made better, sure. But in a world where a supper out costs the same as a new lee mold.
Well call me tickled pink.

Sure if you are going to end up casting thousands and thousands of a particular bullet you may be better off going with a NOE or even a custom mold.

But for the average guy to find out if he even wants to get into the whole casting, gas checking, lubing thing. You can't beat lee molds, sizers, or even the lee hand press.

Top quality? Perhaps not, Normally good quality for the price your paying? Absolutely.

[Casting_40S&W]

When you "driving the pins where i want them", did you move the male pin or female bushing, to make it cast correct?

[guncheese]

When you "driving the pins where i want them", did you move the male pin or female bushing, to make it cast correct?

well you need to determine which ones have moved
measurement and observation will find the answer
i thought i had peened enough material in behind the pin when i reset them
but poof one moved again
this time i moved alot of material and it should hold
Lee is so close to making tools and fixtures that are perfect for us at a great price
its not the design its merely the execution
so close yet so far
I know they watch this forum so i hope they work on these really very small issues and give us a great product and sell even more of them!


ohh if your looking Mr. Lee
the sprue plates should be stress relieved before they are ground, that will help keep them flat (i have been lapping all my plates, it really helps)

[CGT80]

I started out casting with lee and rcbs molds. I bought an MP and then an NOE. I haven't had to use my lees since I have used the custom molds. The rcbs works well but they are heavy steel molds and only two cavity. The NOE 5 cav is so easy to use. I doubt I will buy any more lee molds. The lee 4 20 pot works pretty well, but I prefer to use higher quality tools when I can. The lee boolits sizing dies did work well for PC boolits, so that was money well spent. It seems lee equipment can be hit or miss. I also only use a dillon 550, 1050, and a hollywood 12 position turret press for loading, so it goes to show I have high end taste.

I would contact lee about that mold that is offset and get them to pickup the shipping on it. I assume all of their product is US made. I hope they can figure out how to keep the quality up to US standards. I hate seeing mostly Chinese junk on the market and I would like to see the American companies stick around and produce quality parts. Cheap products are not so cheap when they don't do their job.