Broke my mold....again

[Wolfdog91]

Yeeeep second time , think I'm letting the mold get too hot because the sprue place was lubed and loose enough to swing open with its own weight then when it got hot enough to where I was casting good bullets it got stiffer. Then towards the end of my session I went to close it with my gloves hand and the sprew plate just fell off ,😑. Well good thing I got a easy out and spare screws lol

282559

[OldBearHair]

The good thing is that you know how to fix it.

[Calamity Jake]

Drill out the screw hole in the spru plate about .005, gives a little slack to move around, should stop the binding when the mold is hot

[Conditor22]

you need to lube the sprue plate hinge screw several times during a longer casting session.

when you cast a 6 - 8 cavity mold, start filling by the sprue plate hinge screw and working the other way.

[Mk42gunner]

I take the sprue plate off and lube the pivot area before starting, with aluminum anti-sieze compound on my six cavity Lee molds. Seems to last longer than any of the other stuff I have used in years past.

Never had one break yet.

Robert

[Eddie Southgate]

I been casting for well over 50 years and so far have never broke a mold . Your the Champ!:bigsmyl2:

[gwpercle]

I take the sprue plate off and lube the pivot area before starting, with aluminum anti-sieze compound on my six cavity Lee molds. Seems to last longer than any of the other stuff I have used in years past.

Never had one break yet.

Robert

LIKE !!!
Anti-Seize Compound is needed here ... Pivot area and re-apply often ...when things get tight !
When things get loose ... tighten up and lube ... the loose Sprue plate leads to smearing and smearing leads to damage . Keep sprue clean , tight and well lubed ... Aluminun is soft ...treat it like a baby's bottom ...be gentle , don't force things .

If you are breaking boolit moulds ... you are being too rough ... be gentle .
Gary

[TimD]

Maybe you need a harder grade bolt? Not sure what Lee uses.
At least you can replace the bolt when it breaks, verses something worse happening.

Agree with enlarging the hole in the sprue plate slightly to reduce binding.

[jsizemore]

Your mold is mounted backwards in the handles. You also need to get some 2 stroke synthetic oil to treat the mold top and bottom of the sprue plate. Drop of lube on a q-tip when the mold is up to temp and the cavities are full. The bullets will show some wrinkles for the next 3 or 4 pours so expect to throw them back in the pot.

[38SuperAuto]

Looks as if you have a Lee mold. Only issue I had with Lee molds was due to my error in positioning the sprue plate. The lee 6-cav sprue plate handle needs to be held toward the mold handles during lead pour. The initial sprue cut operation employs prying the sprue plate lever against the corner of the mold. I tried to muscle through the sprue cut and broke the handle. Lee graciously replaced the handle and explained what I was doing incorrectly. Not sure if that was your issue, but I haven't had any issues since.

rob

[Rich/WIS]

I use Hi temp copper anti-seize and spray mold release on the top and bottom of the sprue plate. Has worked well for the past 15-20 years.

[Wolfdog91]

Well y'all it's not a Lee mold is a HM2. I made sure to lube it with some two cycle chain saw oil like I've been told I need to. Did it a few times I over the session actually. Didn't seem to help, like it's frustrating because I made a post about this about two months ago and tried to do what eveyone said word for word and it happens again.

[725]

Like you, I use the two stroke oil and it works for me. When you go to replace this screw, can you use a screw of a larger size? Drill out the mold screw hole and re-tap. Have to enlarge the sprue plate hole, too, to accommodate the new screw girth. To me, the top of the mold looks pretty good. Is there a wafer washer on top of the sprue plate to give some downward pressure to the sprue plate? Good luck.

[Wolfdog91]

Your mold is mounted backwards in the handles. You also need to get some 2 stroke synthetic oil to treat the mold top and bottom of the sprue plate. Drop of lube on a q-tip when the mold is up to temp and the cavities are full. The bullets will show some wrinkles for the next 3 or 4 pours so expect to throw them back in the pot.

How is it mounted backwards exactly? Not sure how I'm supposed to use it mounted the other way.not trying to be rude really not sure.
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[winelover]

I mount all my moulds with the hinge pin towards the rear. Wolfdog's picture says it all. Don't see how the direction of the mould on the handles has anything to do with breakage, anyways.

Winelover

[Dusty Bannister]

Perhaps others made the same mistake I did. Was thinking similar to the Lee 6 cavity system, which the HM2 is not. Post #14 is the only one showing the complete mold as set up. I have read where some have installed the Lee blocks with the sprue cutter handle at the opposite end so it would fit under the casting pot nozzle easier. At some point the sprue cutter has been struck at a sharp angle, repeatedly, with a hard object which resulted in deforming the end of the sprue plate. A lot of things could be contributing to the problem. Just a matter of sorting things out at this point.

[jsizemore]

How is it mounted backwards exactly? Not sure how I'm supposed to use it mounted the other way.not trying to be rude really not sure.
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I saw the Lee handles and assumed incorrectly that it was a Lee mold. No sprue plate in the original photos and the holes for the handle screws would have indicted it wasn't Lee. I messed up. Good Luck finding a solution.

[45DUDE]

I had a screw in a Lee mold that wouldn't stay tight because threads were bad. I put the mold in a vice and drilled all the way <handles and mold>and found a hard screw from the rear of a 4 barrel Quadrajet carburetor was the same size as the original hole in the sprue plate. I put a double nut on the other side. My mole is mounted like the above photo.<right> Keep posting your events. Real life photos of what is happening. I did buy a mold that was turned the other way but worked better for me turned around. A good hardware store should have a kit for repairing the threads also.

[Conditor22]

Maybe it was the bolt you used?

I'd look for a harder bolt, maybe a grade 5.