Lapped my Lee six bangers tonight.

[websterz]

The bullets all fall freely now, no more tapping on the handles to get them out. All three calibers are now casting .001-.0015 oversize now and are not dropping egg shaped. I might not have to size them anymore. :-)

[sigep1764]

How did you do it?

[Magnum1944]

Yes, please explain exactly how you did it. I need to do the same thing. thank you

[websterz]

I started by casting three sets from each mold, making sure to keep the bullets sorted by cavity number. I drilled a pilot hole in the center of each bullet base and mounted each bullet on a wood screw. These are the laps that are used to polish the cavities. Make a slurry of Ajax, Comet, Bon Ami, whatever abrasive cleaner you have, dip a lap in this, close it up in the appropriate cavity and start turning while holding the mold tightly closed. It's easiest if you remove the sprue plate first. I sloshed the mold around in a bucket of water and cleaned the cavities with a toothbrush each time, making sure the mold closed up tight before moving to the next cavity. It took about thirty minutes per mold. If you smoke the mold before you start you will be able to tell when the cavity is fully polished as all the soot will be cleaned out. I used each bullet only once then pulled the screw and tossed the bullet into my scrap lead pile for resmelting later. I used a screwdriver to spin the bullets and not a drill like it's shown in some YouTube videos. You don't want to have the bullet grab and drive a sharp screw through into your mold. It's a pretty easy project and very much worth the effort IMHO. I didn't resmoke the molds when I finished, just gave them a good soap and water scrubbing with a toothbrush and a good rinse before I dried them out on the hot plate. The bullets practically fly out of them now!

[captaint]

Good job websterz. Good write up also. I gotta polish up a couple of my Lee's and I have one older Miha 6 cav aluminum H&G68 clone that could use a very slight polish. Just a little sticky.
Thanks for a good write up. Mike

[websterz]

I can't take any credit, just posting what I learned on YouTube. Like I said earlier the video I watched showed using an electric drill to spin the bullets in the mold. Really bad idea... my 6 cavity 9mm is now a 4 cavity. :-( I'm going to make lemonade from that life lemon and convert the two end cavities into hollow points. That way not all is lost. LOL

[dondiego]

When you made your slurry form Comet, did you use water or an oil?

[websterz]

Just plain old water.

[snake river marksman]

I found the little screw on a shaft that comes with a Dremel tool is a great tool for spinning the lap. The Dremel tool on slow speed works pretty good and the short screw won't go all the way through a lap.

[Nrut]

I found the little screw on a shaft that comes with a Dremel tool is a great tool for spinning the lap. The Dremel tool on slow speed works pretty good and the short screw won't go all the way through a lap.
Great idea snake river..

[beex215]

i might have to do this on my 40sw mold. thats the only mold that doesnt drop so freely.

[websterz]

My .401 175 grain TC was the worst of the three. Cavity 4 and 6 were a pain in the butt. Now all 6 drop free with just a gentle shake.

[Garyshome]

Works good i do this on all my Lee molds.

[toolness1]

So this can be an alternative to "beagling" a mold also? Sounds pretty easy, and you wouldn't end up with out-of-round bullets that way.

I have a Lee .329 for 8x56R I was going to try to beagle in order to get around a .331-.332'' but I might do this instead...

[Grizzly Adams]

I prefer to use a powered screwdriver, slower speed than drill or dremal, with a hex head screw and a nut driver bit to reduce the risk of gouges. 5 to 10 minutes should be all it takes, but I only use 3 -4 bullets running each one through every cavity, there is no wrong way to do it (? screw through bullet? ok maybe there is)😌

[cdngunner]

So, silly question. What did you use to find the center of the bullet so that you could drill your hole?

[websterz]

I drilled them in my lathe. You can put the bullets back into the mold, after everything has cooled, and use a sharpie to mark them by using the sprue plate as a guide.

[Shiloh]

My Foredom flex shaft has a extra low speed, high torque coupler. Helped a lot with my two stubborn LEE molds.
All LEE molds get a good scrubbing with a Comet and water paste. Drops with a light tap if even that.

Shiloh