I can see daylight through roundball mould

[piwo]

Just got a Lee .690 roundball mould delivered last week, and finally took a close look at it. I know, how can you wait, but I'm a one armed paper hanger right now, having had the old rotator cuff surgery on the right shoulder a couple weeks ago. Anyway, when I look down the sprue hole with the mould closed, I see daylight clear through. Won't close up no matter how I manipulate it. After checking my other moulds, only one does the same. That one is a maxi ball, and across the flat top I do get a raised line of lead. Easy enough to knock off that mould, but for a roundball?

Before I call the merchant and tell him I don't want it, I thought I'd check in first to see if this is at all acceptable...

What sayeth you, get money back??

[mooman76]

If it's a small hair line, I would think it wouldn't matter especially with a RB. Try moulding a few and see how they come out. Maybe it will shrink with heat expantion.

[mold maker]

If you bought it new, I'd give Lee a call. Most mfg. back their quality pretty well.

[Fleataxi]

Piwo: Was this visible with the mold handles mounted?

The handles provide alignment, and if they're out of alignment, it can LOOK like the mold is bad. Try unmounting the mold, carefully clamping the two sections together, then shine a bright flashlight right into the sprue hole, and look for a dot on the other side.

If you see a dot, bad juju - a thin line might rectify itself once the mold heats up.

Fleataxi

[Southron Sanders]

I have a .36 caliber RB bullet mould AND YOU CAN SEE DAYLIGHT THRU IT WHEN THE BLOCKS ARE CLOSED-that being said, it casts FINE ROUND BALLS!

So cast some balls in your mould and see how they come out. Having a hairline gap between the blocks might be a GOOD THING because air can escape from the mould as the melt in poured in, thereby lessening the chances of casting bullets with voids inside of them caused by trapped air.

[windrider919]

I too had a Lee round ball mould like yours. It casts just fine. When I called Lee about it they told me that the gap was intentional, that the mould face was dish shaped and that the corners were higher. The explanation was that when the mould heated up to operating temp the center of the block expanded and the 'dish' flattened out. I don't know if he was blowing smoke or not but I have been using it for years and I like my balls just fine.

[shotman]

cast in the dark --no gap and your balls will feel fine shotman