LEE on a roll?

[dubber123]

I am happy to report LEE has been on a winning streak with me lately in regards to their new style 2 cavity molds. I have gotten 3 excellent ones in a row, and that has never happened to me before :)

I have gotten their 175 gr. .40 cal mold that is an excellent shooter, and one I like much better after de-bevel basing it, a 255 RF design in .45 cal that casts great and very round, and tonight I tried a 100 gr. RN .30 cal mold that I plan on modifying for use in .32 ACP. It casts very well, at just a tick over .312", and within .0005" of round as best I can measure.

I hope it's not just a lucky streak, but the new molds are looking pretty good so far. How they can make a profit at $20 each is beyond me :)

[OS OK]

How they can make a profit at $20 each is beyond me :smile:

Probably because those machines kick those molds out quicker than corn through a greased goose?

[dubber123]

[QUOTE=OS OK;3641933]How they can make a profit at $20 each is beyond me :smile:

Probably because those machines kick those molds out quicker than corn through a greased goose?[/QUOTE

I agree, except I think there are about 20 individual parts involved, and a machine alone can't be assembling all of them :)

I wish their catalog was more diverse, I'd roll the dice on a few more at this point.

[gwpercle]

The last 6 double cavity moulds ,
358-105-SWC
C358-158-SWC
356-120-TC
356-125-2R
410-195-SWC
C312-185-1R
Were all keepers , after the usual prep and smoothing of sharp edges of course. I am not complaining , $20.00 complete with handles is a bargain . I don't mind doing a little TLC and smoothing up for that price.
Gary

[FergusonTO35]

How do you guys prep them? I like Lee molds but i just can't get them to drop freely. I've smoked and Leemented them to no avail. I've got a 7 month old and no longer have tons of time to fiddle with molds, I'm lucky to be able to cast a little bit when everyone else is asleep. Do Lyman molds tend to drop boolits just fine without alot of fuss? If so that might be the best way for me to go.

[dubber123]

No Lymans don't always drop freely, in fact the worst mold I have ever dealt with is a 4 cavity .45 cal Lyman. A light lapping is the most I normally have to do. In truth, I have only lightly lapped the .40 cal LEE, basically just because I wanted it to cast .0005" bigger. The other two I haven't touched.

This hasn't been my past experience with LEE, which is why I am delighted and impressed with the last 3 I have purchased. I hope it becomes what I normally expect.

[Wally]

In the later part of last year I bought 3 new Lee DC molds...no problems with any of them and all with no bullet sticking.




How do you guys prep them? I like Lee molds but i just can't get them to drop freely. I've smoked and Leemented them to no avail. I've got a 7 month old and no longer have tons of time to fiddle with molds, I'm lucky to be able to cast a little bit when everyone else is asleep. Do Lyman molds tend to drop boolits just fine without alot of fuss? If so that might be the best way for me to go.

[country gent]

My basic prep on any new mould or new to me mould. Is clean it with solvent good, MAybe a short soaking even. This is to remove oils machining fluid residues and preservatives. I then give it a good soap and water cleaning sudsing it up a couple times. I then use a low heat to dry completely and lube hinge points and a very light coat on sprue plate top of blocks and pins alighnment surfaces. I then cast with it to determine what it does. Theres no point in guessing what it needs until you cast a few measure them and evaluate the mould. then go from there.

[FergusonTO35]

I tried the 358-148-WC out again before bed. I found that it would drop pretty good as long as you kept everything really hot, as in boolits coming out dull gray to full on frosty. My Lyman pot was set to around 80% power, which is alot more than just melting the lead. If I lowered the temperature to where they come out shiny silver I had problems with rounded grooves and sticky cavities.

It seems like Lee molds have gotten more sensitive to temperature since they redesigned the two cavity blocks. Mebbe I should just aim for frosty boolits everytime and be happy. The only problem is that when they are this hot coming out of the mold they are more likely to deform upon hitting the pile. My .38's really like these boolits, I carry them in my S&W 637.

[rbuck351]

I have had very good luck with Lee pistol molds. None have taken more than a bit of deburring or a bit of polishing with Flitz on a boolit spun a little in the mold. The Lee rifle molds have not worked so well for me except for a new 356-200 that has worked great right from the start. All of the Lee bore rider rifle molds I have, cast noses from too small to way too small. The last one, a 459-405HB throws boolits with a base band of 457 and a front band of 454 to 456 depending where you measure it. If I didn't have a way to swag it up to 459 and make it round it would be worthless. But even if I had to throw out one of every ten Lee molds I would still be money ahead.

[FergusonTO35]

Hmm, my Lee rifle molds have always been good to go. My Marlins love 'em, especially the C309-150-RF sized to .310. Flitz sounds like a great idea, I already have some that I use on pistol action parts. Will give it a try and see.

[gnostic]

They're just trying to bury Lyman and RCBS mold sales. Why buy a mold for a hundred bucks when you can get one that's just as good, maybe better, for 20 bucks?

[John Boy]

How do you guys prep them?Like any other mold ... rinse in hot water - scrub with Micro-90 cleaning solution & tooth brush - rinse with hot water and dry = Done

[gwpercle]

How do you guys prep them? I like Lee molds but i just can't get them to drop freely. I've smoked and Leemented them to no avail. I've got a 7 month old and no longer have tons of time to fiddle with molds, I'm lucky to be able to cast a little bit when everyone else is asleep. Do Lyman molds tend to drop boolits just fine without alot of fuss? If so that might be the best way for me to go.

Most important is to smooth off all rough edges and any burrs.
Might want to try Liquid Wrench Dry Lube in the cavities, works amazingly well . The stuff is Teflon based so the treated cavities are Teflon coated like a non stick skillet.
Once you have determined what mould you use the most , get one from NOE in a similar design.
Lyman are priced near what an NOE sells for and the two NOE's I have bought put a smile on your face and a song in your heart when using them....Sweet ! They are priced higher than LEE's , but I have to admit...yes, they are worth it. Especially if you cast a lot of boolits in that design.
Gary

[FergusonTO35]

Ooh, good idea on the dry lube. I never thought about doing something like that. I'll give it a try.

[RogerDat]

Brake Clean spray followed by dish soap and water with a tooth brush. I think heat does play a big role, but it may be that the hotter lead is indirectly solving a problem with the mold needing to be hotter. Another thing that a member passed on to me is cut the sprue then flip the mold over to open. Using a gloved hand. Then gentle tapping on the mold handle by the ferrule with a mold knocker, about like tapping the table with a pencil yields good dropping bullets.

Since if things are hot enough you know the bullets drop ok then you know you don't have any burrs or irregularities snagging the bullet.

Hanging bullets mean my rhythm gets slowed way down with the mold open and cooling off. Makes the next cast more likely to be into a mold that is too cool On one of the molds I give a 3 or 4 count with the sprue cut before I open mold, I think it lets more heat from the lead go into the mold, and the lead shrinks as it cools, making it more likely to drop out when I do open. Out of about 6 Lee molds I really only have one that tends to annoy me, so I have at least 5 good molds for $100 in contrast with 1 mold for $79 for 38 SWC. Hmmm, I'm not feeling bad about this.

Not to say I won't pay more for a mold, I have 2 NOE molds, soon to become 3, and my eye on at least one more. Sometimes the extra is worth it sometimes it's just 38 swc making holes in paper and dirt.

[blikseme300]

Lee molds have always worked for me as I don't mind tinkering or tweaking things. Yes, I have a collection of other manufacturers molds and appreciate their quality but at the prices that Lee go for I can experiment so much more. At last count I had just over 40 different Lee molds with only 1 that is ***** because of my own stupidity.

[FergusonTO35]

I won a Lyman 35891 on GB for a fair price so I guess i'll find out soon if there is much of a difference. Even if not it certainly never hurts to have a spare mold of a favorite design.

[joesig]

I broke in a new 6 cavity 420-200-RF Lee mold tonight. Washed with Dawn. Set on top of pot and plugged the pot in to drive the moisture off and came back 25 min later. By the third fill the boolits were keepers and didn't require much to get them to drop out. I was impressed.

[HiVelocity]

My go-to 9mm mold is the Lee 356-120-RFBB. This 6 cavity mold drops perfect bullets every time, period. I empty a 30lb pot in mere minutes. Love it.

HV

[Good Cheer]

My version: Old tooth brush and soapy water cut with alcohol.

[big bore 99]

I've bought three new 2 cavity molds from them in as many months and every one is a winner. I just scrub them out with a little comet on a toothbrush. I too can't see how they do it. I retired a few years ago after spending 48 years as a mold maker for the precision electronics industry. They don't get spit out that fast. Even with numerically controlled 3 and 4 axis milling machines. Best deal I've seen in a long time.

[FergusonTO35]

My Lyman 35891 showed up. It is practically new as far as I can tell and mounts to my Lee handles perfectly. This thing takes awhile to get hot, as in let it sit on top of the ladle for the entire time the lead melts. Once it's warmed up this mold drops some really nice boolits. I love how this design is more like a SWC with a really short ogive. If they shoot as well as they look I might just use nothing else in my .38's from now on.

One problem, this mold is just as sticky as any of my Lee molds, maybe even more so. I notice the problem on this mold and all my others is that the boolits almost always stick in the right side block. Is there a known cause of this? Is there a way to cut the sprue and drop the boolits that could solve it? Right now I have to tap on the right side block to get them to release. Not only does this slow things down but I fear it could wear the mold and/or handles.

[dubber123]

My Lyman 35891 showed up. It is practically new as far as I can tell and mounts to my Lee handles perfectly. This thing takes awhile to get hot, as in let it sit on top of the ladle for the entire time the lead melts. Once it's warmed up this mold drops some really nice boolits. I love how this design is more like a SWC with a really short ogive. If they shoot as well as they look I might just use nothing else in my .38's from now on.

One problem, this mold is just as sticky as any of my Lee molds, maybe even more so. I notice the problem on this mold and all my others is that the boolits almost always stick in the right side block. Is there a known cause of this? Is there a way to cut the sprue and drop the boolits that could solve it? Right now I have to tap on the right side block to get them to release. Not only does this slow things down but I fear it could wear the mold and/or handles.

I would very lightly lap it. I have found NUMEROUS molds that stuck hard to one side, the worst of which was a Lyman .45 ACP design. The explanation is simple, the holes aren't bored centered between the blocks. If bored off center, the boolits are effectively locked in place in that cavity. If it's close, your tapping is using their mass and soft as-cast state to force them past the curved in edge of the cavity. Sometimes a light lapping will make them release just fine. That one Lyman I have is so far off there is no hope for it, except as a rebore to another larger caliber.

[GONRA]

GONRA's olde Lymans (purchased in late 1950's, early 1960's) sometime "stick to one side" a little,
but a sharp hit with my wood stick makes boolits "fall off" into the water pail Just Fine.

[Thin Man]

dubber123 you're going to love that 30 caliber 100 mold once you get it regulated for the 32 auto. I had that same plan a while back but first tried using the 93 grain mold. The nose profile of that mold is too short for proper function in the case unless you want the lube groove slightly ahead of the case mouth. Not a good thing. My next stop was with the 100 grain mold. Removed the bottom driving band and lube groove. My final result is a 78 grain boolit that is absolutely reliable in feeding. This weight boolit has applications in all of the "30" calibers - 32 auto, 30 Luger and 30 Mauser. While I was looking primarily at the 32 auto, the others are just a bonus. Enjoy.

Thin Man

[dubber123]

[QUOTE=Thin Man;3669518]dubber123 you're going to love that 30 caliber 100 mold once you get it regulated for the 32 auto. I had that same plan a while back but first tried using the 93 grain mold. The nose profile of that mold is too short for proper function in the case unless you want the lube groove slightly ahead of the case mouth. Not a good thing. My next stop was with the 100 grain mold. Removed the bottom driving band and lube groove. My final result is a 78 grain boolit that is absolutely reliable in feeding. This weight boolit has applications in all of the "30" calibers - 32 auto, 30 Luger and 30 Mauser. While I was looking primarily at the 32 auto, the others are just a bonus. Enjoy.
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I think it was your posting that prompted me to try this. My version ended up at... 78 grains :) I found a top punch that I can adjust to smoosh a nice flat on the nose when bottomed out so they are all consistent. I had my brother run some with 3 grains of Herco through his Walther PPK, and they fed slick. I haven't dug deep enough in the gun locker to locate my Walther PP yet.. I'm sure it's on the bottom :) Thanks for the inspiration!