Lee sprue handle

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On July 17th I ordered a Lee six cavity 358-158 TL SWC mold. The second casting session the sprue handle broke off. Called Lee and they told me they had a bunch of sprue handles that had been made with metal that wasn't up to par. Checked the archives and saw quite a few fellows had the same problem. Bought the mold from Brownells and they are sending a brand new mold and I am sending the broken one back. Can't beat that. Does anybody know if Red River Rick is still making replacement handles? I sent him a p.m. I wonder if this is a common story with Lee molds? I have molds from Mihec and NOE and Lee comes no where close to these two gentlemen. I have to admit that casting with the Lee you can make a pile of boolits in a hurry.

[Hickory]

Sometimes the bean counters should just look the other way.

Two examples

1) In the early to mid-70's GM and other car companies were using for the first time "on-board computers" in their vehicles.
I know that the bean counters were trying to save money due to the difficult economic times, as a result a lot of cars just stopped running, leaving the owner stranded alongside the road,
After paying millions of dollars for warranted service repairs the decision to spend an extra $3 dollars per car for the better computer the problem was solved.


2) Second case-in-point, GM chose to put a cheaper ignition switch in it's vehicles that resulted in the death of some car owners and billions of dollars in recalls when a few extra dollars spent would have not only solved the problem, but, there would never have been a problem.

[OKSaddletramp]

If you are referring to the cam on the sprue plate, I have also had this happen with a brand new six cav mold. I emailed Lee directly and they asked that I email them a copy of my original receipt and a picture of the broken cam. As long as the mold is less than two years old, and not a custom cut mold, they will replace the broken part (or entire mold, in some cases) free, even if the mold was abused. Didn't even have to ship the bad cam/handle back to them.

I currently have 5 six cav Lee molds, and only one has given me any problems at all.

[multigunner76]

Im dealing with FS reloading on the same problem. Second casting on a 9mm mold. Broke the cam in half.

[MT Chambers]

This has been beaten to death on here, broken sprue plate handle, mold falling apart, mold out of round, mold wrong size.............you get what you pay for.

[StrawHat]

This has been beaten to death on here, broken sprue plate handle, mold falling apart, mold out of round, mold wrong size.............you get what you pay for.

True, but for many, the less expensive option is a good first step into reloading and casting. And to have a company stand behind the product is very helpful also. I have many molds but all of my six cavity are from Lee. Yes, they are GBs and tested but still from Lee and have provided good service to me.

I also have NOE, SAECO, Lyman and RCBS, all have good features but none are perfect.

[goblism]

Lee recently came out with a new style of cam which I really like. I think the new one will work better.

I agree that Lee is not the same quality as most of the other companies but they still will cast good bullets. I have 5-6 of the 6 cavities and even got an old neglected one for next to nothing, they all cast great when used correctly

[Pb2au]

My first 6 banger had the sprue handle snap off. One email to Lee with pictures and new one was in my possession in 6 days.
I have two others and they have been trouble free. The end game is that all three make fine boolits. I just think Lee missed the boat on specifying the material for the sprue handle, or their supplier dropped the ball.

Like many things in manufacturing, either the specification for the work was poor/wrong/inappropriate or the quality control in the stream at some point was bad. Lee walks the tight line of bringing a product to market at price verses value point that is desirable to a lot of people.
NOE and other mold makers like them put out absolutely fantastic products. Their specifications are quite detailed and the QC is excellent. The price reflects that, and that in my mind OK too.
In the end, it is your money, your budget, and only you know what you can afford.