Lee 6 cav sprue plate slop

[MSUICEMAN]

The bolt that the sprue is held on by and pivots on has a huge amount of play on my new mold. Wave washer doesn't do anything as there is a lot of space between bolt head and sprue plate. When closed, the sprue is seemingly held against the mold block face when the sprue handle is shut over the pin.

Is this normal?

[Dusty Bannister]

Is the sprue plate pivot bolt tight in the mold block? Or did it loosen up during use? Any chance of a photo?

[MSUICEMAN]

It's tight. Tried tightening it. It's bottomed out from what I can tell

[MSUICEMAN]

tough to explain without pictures. finally on a platform that will hopefully allow me to upload pics. allows the sprue plate to be misaligned and even jump over the locking pin/lug.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Rj3weAa2aArjC8uX8

https://photos.app.goo.gl/WVcCqkuorG6nBrbf9

https://photos.app.goo.gl/YfLj5d4aCCcuygjy6

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gm9zymUeamq7Jri59

[Dusty Bannister]

Does not like my password. Maybe others will jump through the hoops.

[MSUICEMAN]

didn't mean to create any "hoops". the forum keeps on saying upload failed on pictures, even when i compress them pretty small.

so I shared links through google pics that should be able to be viewed by anyone via those links. if not, I'm unsure as to why because I've done it before successfully. I logged out of google on my laptop and can still access them without a password.

[imashooter2]

Looks like you are intentionally cocking the plate by pulling up on the cut handle. Stop doing that and show us new pictures.

[Conditor22]

You have a wave washer under the sprue plate. They need to be on top.

It doesn't matter if there is a little play IF the mold sits flat -- you can't see light between the mold and sprue plate.

[MSUICEMAN]

this is the only lee mold i have. and yes, i was putting it to show how much play there is in that interface at the extreme.

however, there is enough slop that in normal use when closing the sprue it misaligns often and has to be realigned to close. don't have this issue with my molds from other manufacturers (SAECO, lyman, MP). maybe this is normal in the lee "design"? i just find it a bit awkward, at the least.

thinking about adding a few washers to the bolt to then put a slight amount of pressure on the wave washer, as I think that *should* then allow repeatable lock up of the sprue plate. odd to put a wave washer in a place thats not under any kind of compression at all.

[MSUICEMAN]

You have a wave washer under the sprue plate. They need to be on top.

it is on top, but there is quite a bit of a gap on the shoulder of the bolt for the sprue to float. that is just open room that you see between the sprue plate and the blocks.

its a new mold. only have one casting session with it.

[Conditor22]

unscrew the bolt, put the wave washers on top --- most likely problem solved

the sprue plate doesn't need to be tight, it just has to sit flat. To tight an you get premature wear.

[stubert]

I leave my sprue plates loose enough to pivot with just a flick of my wrist. Your first picture has a washer under it. The plate needs to lie flat on top of the mold blocks.

[MSUICEMAN]

I leave my sprue plates loose enough to pivot with just a flick of my wrist. Your first picture has a washer under it. The plate needs to lie flat on top of the mold blocks.

it does sorta look like that, but thats just the shoulder of the bolt, no washer. from top to bottom it goes: bolt head, wave washer, sprue plate, mold blocks. lee had me take the measurement of the length of the shoulder for that bolt. I'm thinking that maybe they think that they used the wrong bolt for that location or maybe its out of spec. I'll let ya know if anything comes from it. if not, i'll add another washer above the wave washer to take up the extra room that is there. fwiw, the shoulder length on that bolt is .2655"

[MSUICEMAN]

after measuring the shoulder, the CS rep said that the bolt is incorrect, whether its the wrong bolt or just way out of spec I don't know. They are sending me a new bolt. being my only lee 6 cavity, I wasn't for sure something was wrong, but it sure didn't seem "right".

[PBaholic]

The bolts for the sprue and kick out arm look the same, but they are different.

Either the bolts are mixed up, or they put the wrong one on the sprue plate.

[Conditor22]

Does the sprue plate lay flat on the mold?
With the bolt snugged down do you have space between the sprue plate and the bottom of the bolt?

IF you answered yes to both questions, you can either add a washer (or 2) above the wave washer until there is light pressure on the sprue plate or go to a hardware store and buy some more of the right size wave washers and do the same thing.

[Buckshot]

.................All my photo's that I'd normally have access to went up in flames with the "Fototime" cloud storage in France, so no pics. I've used Lee moulds for years and the 6 cavity design is lightyears ahead of their 1 and 2 cav mould designs. WIth the blocks being aluminum and the sprue plate also aluminum, there is a bit of finesse, close inspection, and lubrication required for the aluminum mould to "Live Long, and Prosper".

This is what is called, "Leementing" a set of Lee Aluminum mould blocks.

In addition a thorough examination of the block faces, especially at the edges of the cavities is a good idea. On occasion there may be some 'Tag ends', where the cutting tool may have dragged a bit of aluminum across the parting line of the cavities. Easy to see with a glass, or by dragging your fingernail across the parting surfaces, you can feel it. If any are evident they must be removed.

I would also suggest that you run a steel flat headed screw into the side of the one mould block where the cam face of the sprue plate handle presses against the side of the block. The cam is sintered steel and will over time compress the aluminum of the block as it bears against it in operation.

The sprue plate should show no evidence of light between it and the blocks, when fully closed. The sprue plate has an anodized coating on it, so it will carry lube. Use a cotton swab with a dot of 2 cycle oil on it and make a single pass on the underside of the sprue plate on either side of the sprue holes. Then make a single pass down each side with a piece of clean paper towel. At first, you may have to re-apply this tiny amount a few times when first using the mould, as the anodized surface (at the molecular level) will absorb/retain some of the lube.

The sprue plate at it's pivot bolt, and on the 'Hold down' bolt slot will also require a tiny bit of lube. When you go to open the sprue plate you should apply a 'SMALL' amount of downward pressure on the sprue plate as you swing it open over the blocks. This will ensure a good clean cut on the sprues. On these Lee moulds there is a fine line between too much lube and not enough. Experience will teach what is sufficient lube, and a sufficient amount, isn't very much AT ALL, but it IS some, and not none. Don't forget the alignment pins too.

............Buckshot

[MSUICEMAN]

Well, I got the new bolt and it's wayyyy different in length of the shoulder. Swapped it out and all is well. Knew that amount of play wasn't right. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210404/f278d9109e9a23cc13c65b9b7ebfb0db.jpg

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[Conditor22]

That explains everything. Glad you got it fixed.

[jim147]

That's what I thought I saw in the pictures but wasn't sure. Glad you got it fixed.