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View Full Version : Does this new LEE Mold look OK to you !?!



derek45
09-25-2022, 10:58 AM
I think I'm gonna reach out to LEE Monday morning

Lee 6-Cavity Bullet Mold 452-255-RF

https://i.imgur.com/yXFb6JR.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/IGff75p.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/xXpKo4I.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/tkO8Q4K.jpg
.
.
.
OK, I guess, if I want bullets that look like this...

https://i.imgur.com/MtODJR1.jpg

Targa
09-25-2022, 11:32 AM
No sir, not ok at all. I’m with you, send it back.

JoeJames
09-25-2022, 11:42 AM
I'm wondering - how'd they do that? Weird.

Dusty Bannister
09-25-2022, 12:03 PM
How do they shoot and what is the as cast diameter? One of my RCBS molds is very roughly machined, but shoots better than most. Your mold is quite interesting, but after sizing and going through the forcing cone will look a lot different.

derek45
09-25-2022, 12:24 PM
How do they shoot and what is the as cast diameter? One of my RCBS molds is very roughly machined, but shoots better than most. Your mold is quite interesting, but after sizing and going through the forcing cone will look a lot different.

I'm not even gonna clean nor smoke it.

It's going back.

Time to see what kind of customer service LEE has. ( I expect they will make it right )

the 452-252-SWC 2 cavity I picked up at the same time, looks very nice.

schutzen-jager
09-25-2022, 12:30 PM
i hope your experience is better then my recent one -- i will never buy another Lee product !

super6
09-25-2022, 01:38 PM
Quality control must be working from home! LOL,

Polymath
09-25-2022, 03:58 PM
I'm wondering - how'd they do that? Weird.
I would say the cutting cherry was chattering a bit.
Must have been made on a Friday.

45workhorse
09-25-2022, 04:03 PM
Does that go with the Asprely aimless pistol?:kidding:
Send it back!

Mal Paso
09-25-2022, 06:42 PM
Maybe the flutes will help airflow like the dimples on a golf ball? I would try casting a few before I sent it back.

gwpercle
09-25-2022, 07:08 PM
I wonder if this might be just the ticket for Powder Coating .

Those striations on the boolit body may help powder , or whatever type coating is used , stick to the surface ... I know when I paint something ... the paint sticks better if I sand the surface to roughen up the old surface and give the new paint a place to grab on better .

You might think about this mould before you send it back ... it may be a keeper .
One of those accidential discoveries that turns out to be a real good idea.

Gary

Kosh75287
09-25-2022, 07:45 PM
GWPERCLE beat me to it! I think the striations are unintentional, but perhaps serendipitous. Try casting a few and shooting them before doing much else.

jonp
09-25-2022, 08:05 PM
i hope your experience is better then my recent one -- i will never buy another Lee product !

My last one sucked too. Asked to send a melting pot back then said it was modified so no warranty. All I wanted was a heat shield so out a pot.

jonp
09-25-2022, 08:06 PM
Maybe the flutes will help airflow like the dimples on a golf ball? I would try casting a few before I sent it back.

I'm with you on this. Cast a few first and see what happens.

HWooldridge
09-25-2022, 08:14 PM
I would say the cutting cherry was chattering a bit.
Must have been made on a Friday.

New tools tend to chatter to some degree before they break in. Toolmakers often will lightly stone a sharp edge to assist with break in.

country gent
09-25-2022, 09:17 PM
Tool chatter isnt usually that consistent. Looks more like an issue with the servos or ways. May have been a circle pocket type program with to much "step over" in it. May have been to high a feed rate for the cutter, or a missing finish pass. Tool chatter would show on the flat nose also

725
09-25-2022, 09:31 PM
I'd think the chatter marks would create a physical lock for any cast bullet made in that mold. Depending on where the ones at the part line fall, I'd think the bullet would stick in there.

derek45
09-25-2022, 10:04 PM
...., I'd think the bullet would stick in there.

that's why I sending it to LEE

. . . . not gonna mess around with....a mess

BLAHUT
09-25-2022, 10:31 PM
I would cast a few and see how they shoot? you have pictures before you cast? they may be more accurate than any other ??

derek45
09-26-2022, 10:50 AM
I opened a ticket on LEE’s webpage, included these photos

called them this morning

she said that was “ normal “ for larger caliber molds.

i asked why all my other 452 and 429 are completely smooth inside

she said a tech support guy would email me

so far….I am not impressed with Quality nor customer service

derek45
09-26-2022, 11:34 AM
Wow…

304994



Derek,

Brand new sharp tooling tends to chatter until the cutter is broken in or dulled from use. Molds on the shelf here exhibit the same finish. The lite chatter shown in cavity will have no effect on cast bullet performance or release from the cavity.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Brenda
Customer Service

schutzen-jager
09-26-2022, 12:58 PM
after email + phone conversation with Brenda is one of the reasons i will never buy another Lee product again -

rosewood
09-26-2022, 01:36 PM
Wow…

304994



Derek,

Brand new sharp tooling tends to chatter until the cutter is broken in or dulled from use. Molds on the shelf here exhibit the same finish. The lite chatter shown in cavity will have no effect on cast bullet performance or release from the cavity.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Brenda
Customer Service

All you can do now is follow their instructions on a new mold, cast a few boolits and see what you get. Then you can contact them back and tell them it ain't working and show them what you are getting. I am with others, I doubt the boolit will drop out.

I have never seen any that bad and I have multiple molds. Just got a new one last week. It looks smooth.

I might even ask if she can send you a picture of one of those on the shelf that she says is just like that. Then ask if she can send you one that was made after the "new tool" was broken in.

Rosewood

Hannibal
09-26-2022, 03:11 PM
That's a shame. I'd had good luck with Lee the few times I needed something. Honestly I'll remember your experience if I'm comparing products in the future.

bedbugbilly
09-26-2022, 06:37 PM
Hmmmm . . . . lube grooves in two directions.

Any way you want to cut it . . . poor quality control and a "good 'nuff" attitude.

I purchased a 2 cavity Lee a number of years ago - arrived with poorly installed alignment pins as well as poorly cut cavities that when closed, the half cavities in one side of the blocks was offset from the cavities in the other half block of the mold by .004" to .005". When I talked to Lee CS, after e-mailing photos to the supplier and Lee - I was told "you don't know how to cast" - gee, guess I had been doing it wrong for 50 years.

I have 100 + molds af all makes including a number of Lee molds that have served me well . . . . but about the only Lee mold I'll buy now is if I want to try a certain design I can't find in another brand . . . . all I can say after the experience I had with the individual I talked with at Lee CS Dept. is that I really love my NOE molds . . . my guess is that the CS Rep you talked to has never hand their hand on a machine tool but has all the "canned answers".

Soundguy
09-26-2022, 07:02 PM
How do they shoot and what is the as cast diameter? One of my RCBS molds is very roughly machined, but shoots better than most. Your mold is quite interesting, but after sizing and going through the forcing cone will look a lot different.

Remember.. the ogive of the bullet isn't riding the bore.. only the driving bands.. once you size the bullet, or once it jumps thru a cylinder mouth or a forcing cone, or once it engages into normal rifling.. those micro lines won't mean ANYTHING.

I'd see how it shoots. besides.. they probably iron out on the driving bands during sizing anyway..

Soundguy
09-26-2022, 07:05 PM
Wow…

304994



Derek,

Brand new sharp tooling tends to chatter until the cutter is broken in or dulled from use. Molds on the shelf here exhibit the same finish. The lite chatter shown in cavity will have no effect on cast bullet performance or release from the cavity.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Brenda
Customer Service

I bet those bullets shoot fine. I have molds that are vintage that had poorer aged machining that once you lube and size will eat the center out of a target. small imperfections on a non contact portion of a bullet for non long range shooting is BIG minutia. Even minor cosmetic flaws in the driving bands of most ammo won't affect anything unless you are a long range shooter.

derek45
09-26-2022, 07:13 PM
MIDWAYUSA gave me a pre-paid UPS return label, I just shipped it back and got a refund.

That is what I call great customer service.

rosewood
09-26-2022, 08:22 PM
MIDWAYUSA gave me a pre-paid UPS return label, I just shipped it back and got a refund.

That is what I call great customer service.

Good deal!

405grain
09-26-2022, 09:21 PM
I only have one Lee mold left. I threw the others in the trash. The only reason I still have the one is because I haven't used it in years. If I ever use it again, and it behaves as bad as the others did, it will go in the trash too. I've got plenty of higher quality molds so I'm not going to fight with a hot mold just to try and make it work correctly or product acceptable bullets. Other people say that they've had good luck with Lee molds - I haven't.

rosewood
09-26-2022, 09:51 PM
Love my lee molds. Only one I have issues with is the one i bought used. I know better now.

JonB_in_Glencoe
09-26-2022, 10:07 PM
I had a Lee 2 cav 501-440 RF mold with chatter lines, I've cast many, they shoot fine in a handgun. I'd be less thrilled about chatter if it were a rifle boolit mold.

Soundguy
09-26-2022, 10:16 PM
Love my lee molds. Only one I have issues with is the one i bought used. I know better now.

80% of my molds are Lee. The only molds I have that make marginal bullets are old world Lyman molds..
I have no special problems making good bullets out of a wide range of ages of Lee molds. Chewing the center of a target out has a lot more to do with a lot of other factors other than the mold.........

jonp
09-27-2022, 04:16 AM
Wow…

304994



Derek,

Brand new sharp tooling tends to chatter until the cutter is broken in or dulled from use. Molds on the shelf here exhibit the same finish. The lite chatter shown in cavity will have no effect on cast bullet performance or release from the cavity.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Brenda
Customer Service

Yeah, Brenda was the one that asked me to send my melter back to them and then told me they were not going to fix it because it had been modified which was what I told them in my initial correspondence right in the first sentence. All I wanted was a heat shield. Cost me $30 and I have no melter

Hannibal
09-27-2022, 10:16 AM
MIDWAYUSA gave me a pre-paid UPS return label, I just shipped it back and got a refund.

That is what I call great customer service.

I'm glad to hear that Midway took care of you. I recently ordered a Pro Shot stainless cleaning rod from Midway and when I received it the box was damaged and the cleaning rod looked like an old bow. Midway gave me a return label and gave me a full refund. I'd try to order it again but I'm convinced UPS can't get it here without bending it so I'll look for one locally. Anyway, glad it worked out for you and I'm happy with every order I've ever placed with Midway.

1hole
09-27-2022, 02:04 PM
... Other people say that they've had good luck with Lee molds - I haven't.

Hummm ... wonder if there's a secret message in that?

super6
09-27-2022, 02:33 PM
Hummm ... wonder if there's a secret message in that?

The secret is buyer beware.

jonp
09-27-2022, 05:26 PM
IDK, ive had good luck with the molds

Hannibal
09-27-2022, 05:55 PM
I find aluminum molds in general to be a bit harder to run consistently because they heat and cool faster but otherwise I've had no particular trouble with Lee.

derek45
09-27-2022, 06:22 PM
I should have taken better photos

lots of burrs in each cavity

305049

1hole
09-27-2022, 07:12 PM
The secret is buyer beware.

Perhaps. But, when a few people get poor performance from their tools and many others get good service from the same tools it makes me wonder if the problems really aren't in the tools.

derek45
09-27-2022, 07:48 PM
Perhaps. But, when a few people get poor performance from their tools and many others get good service from the same tools it makes me wonder if the problems really aren't in the tools.

I have several LEE molds, that work well.

also, NOE, Arsenal, RCBS, Ideal, etc.

but this is lousy quality control, and doubling down on poor customer service.

Call Midwayusa and order one yourself, I'll patiently wait to hear what it takes to get them to drop out.

I'd rather get my money back and hunt for quality

Targa
09-27-2022, 11:35 PM
Good on Midway for stepping up. I am a fan of Lee products but that is poor customer service. Maybe Brenda should suggest that the new tooling get broken in properly before sending that stuff out to the customers. I’m not a smart man but that would just seem like a good way to conduct business

Kenstone
09-29-2022, 12:59 PM
Good on Midway for stepping up. I am a fan of Lee products but that is poor customer service. Maybe Brenda should suggest that the new tooling get broken in properly before sending that stuff out to the customers. I’m not a smart man but that would just seem like a good way to conduct business

Yes, cutters could be "broken in" by using them to ruff-out molds to be finished in a bigger diameter/caliber.
Doing it that way, the cutter would not be producing finished molds with the fluted/ruff finish shown in the OP's pics.
jmo,
.

1hole
09-29-2022, 08:31 PM
Yes, cutters could be "broken in" by using them to ruff-out molds to be finished in a bigger diameter/caliber.
Doing it that way, the cutter would not be producing finished molds with the fluted/ruff finish shown in the OP's pics.
jmo,
.

Look again at the mold close-up photos. Note that the surface ruffness is only longitudinal and that's quite odd!

Making large quantities of inexpensive bullet molds with common lube grooves and driving bands are made by precisely closing the mold halves around a rotating cherry of the bullet's design. Therefore, any remaining surface ruffles must be circular, not lengthwise. Think about it.

I don't know how that mold was made but I can't visualize any possible way to machine cut a bullet mold that will leave such precise longitudinal ruffles/chatter cuts.

Soundguy
09-29-2022, 08:49 PM
Perhaps. But, when a few people get poor performance from their tools and many others get good service from the same tools it makes me wonder if the problems really aren't in the tools.

I've bought 'throw away' molds that produce decent looking and great shooting bullets.

People are too used to pretty drawn copper cladding these days..
Remember the days of CHEWING on a lead ball??

Kenstone
09-29-2022, 10:14 PM
Look again at the mold close-up photos. Note that the surface roughness is only longitudinal and that's quite odd!

Making large quantities of inexpensive bullet molds with common lube grooves and driving bands are made by precisely closing the mold halves around a rotating cherry of the bullet's design. Therefore, any remaining surface ruffles must be circular, not lengthwise. Think about it.

I don't know how that mold was made but I can't visualize any possible way to machine cut a bullet mold that will leave such precise longitudinal ruffles/chatter cuts.

It's called chatter, could be bad spindle bearings, spindle speed, lack of coolant, and/or any other variables or combination of.
That, and it's already been posted that Lee claimed it was chatter due to a new cutter not yet "broken in".
Sometimes if you count the chatter marks/flutes that number is equal to the number of balls or rollers in the spindle bearing, indicating bad bearings.
jmo,
.
Edit: I have often dulled the cutting edge of drills (and endmills) to eliminate chatter when drilling aluminum.
We called it dubbing the edge.

Sixgun Symphony
09-30-2022, 10:26 AM
Cast a few and see what comes out.

1hole
09-30-2022, 02:10 PM
It's called chatter, could be bad spindle bearings, spindle speed, lack of coolant, and/or any other variables or combination of.

Milling chatter occurs in the same plane that the cutter is moving. Milling chatter does not precisely occur in the long axis of a rotating mold cherry.

Kenstone
09-30-2022, 09:54 PM
Milling chatter occurs in the same plane that the cutter is moving. Milling chatter does not precisely occur in the long axis of a rotating mold cherry.

Thanks for reading/quoting my post.
I am not understanding what you have described, how were the "flutes" as pictured by the OP produced then?

I have to believe mold cavities are now machined on CNC mills with the mold halves clamped together, pilot holes are drilled for every/all cavities, and an undersized form cutter is fed into the pilot hole, it is offset and orbits around the cavity center line out to the proper diameter, not the old school process of the mold halves being closed around a full sized "mold cherry" as you have described.
We cannot see how Lee machines these molds unless you have a Pic/Vid.
If you do, please post it.

Here's a pic of what I believe is what milling chatter can look like:
305139
To me, that chatter looks a lot like the OP's pics...

I love these type of debates, my anecdotal experience is better, more relevant than yours.
Nobody is going to say anything that will change another's opinion including mine, so what's the point?

I could agree with you here but believe we would both be wrong.
jmo,
.

Jack Stanley
10-01-2022, 09:16 AM
New guy running the cutter ..... just transferred from shipping department .

Jack

derek45
10-01-2022, 11:13 AM
to me, how it was milled is not as important, as why it was allowed to ship.

when bean counters take over a company, quality goes out the window.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkQ58I53mjk

schutzen-jager
10-01-2022, 11:45 AM
to me, how it was milled is not as important, as why it was allowed to ship.

when bean counters take over a company, quality goes out the window.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkQ58I53mjk

not only quality control but customer service + customer satisfaction are no longer important to them at all ! -

Hannibal
10-01-2022, 12:02 PM
The mould has been returned to Midway. They took it back even though Lee couldn't see any problem. So trying the mould isn't possible anymore.

BentSprings
10-01-2022, 12:16 PM
Lee is the king of coming up with good ideas and then executing them poorly and cheaply. They sell junk and you get what you pay for. They have tricked me out of my money for the last time. I have had nothing but issue with their molds. It is almost like they are built to fall apart with use. Bought a 22-55 Lee 6 holer last year. It made 6 different size and weight bullets with each cast, the alignment pins moved when using allowing misalignment and massive parting lines. It was pure junk and now that mold is a "custom" fishing sinker mold. I think the guys that love lee molds do not make as many bullets as I do as they simply are not long haul tools. They are cheap junk that does not last, nothing will change that. With the custom makers we have available today, there is no excuse to buy junk other than being a cheap***. I have learned my lesson.

elmacgyver0
10-01-2022, 12:48 PM
If it is junk quit buying it.
Geesh!

1hole
10-01-2022, 06:24 PM
Thanks for reading/quoting my post.

I like to use quotes because it's the only way I know to make sure people know exactly what I'm responding too. Seems a lot of web disagreements rise from people talking passed each other without realizing it.


I am not understanding what you have described, how were the "flutes" as pictured by the OP produced then?

I don't know how the OP's chatter flutes were made so it's a real puzzle. But I don't believe such precise longitudinal mold chatter marks could possibly be made with either a cherry OR a single point boring cutter because the chatter would be circular! Your photo is what I would expect from a boring bar, meaning you show a similar but by no means precise chatter pattern. ???


Here's a pic of what I believe is what milling chatter can look like: 305139
To me, that chatter looks a lot like the OP's pics...

Yeah, it does. A lot ... but they're not the same! ???

Kenstone
10-01-2022, 07:30 PM
I like to use quotes because it's the only way I know to make sure people know exactly what I'm responding too. Seems a lot of web disagreements rise from people talking passed each other without realizing it.



I don't know how the OP's chatter flutes were made so it's a real puzzle. But I don't believe such precise longitudinal mold chatter marks could possibly be made with either a cherry OR a single point boring cutter because the chatter would be circular! Your photo is what I would expect from a boring bar, meaning you show a similar but by no means precise chatter pattern. ???



Yeah, it does. A lot ... but they're not the same! ???

I believe the cavities in the OP pictures were cut with a form cutter with straight flutes and that's what made the marks parallel to the centerline.
The pocket in the pic I posted was cut with an endmill (not a boring bar) with spiral flutes, thus the chatter looks more angular (spiraling).
So, yeah different, not the same.
Here's a vid of endmill chatter, if you care to watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aog0syGaZzQ

jmo,
.

Elpatoloco
10-27-2022, 12:00 AM
Lee is the king of coming up with good ideas and then executing them poorly and cheaply. They sell junk and you get what you pay for. They have tricked me out of my money for the last time. I have had nothing but issue with their molds. It is almost like they are built to fall apart with use. Bought a 22-55 Lee 6 holer last year. It made 6 different size and weight bullets with each cast, the alignment pins moved when using allowing misalignment and massive parting lines. It was pure junk and now that mold is a "custom" fishing sinker mold. I think the guys that love lee molds do not make as many bullets as I do as they simply are not long haul tools. They are cheap junk that does not last, nothing will change that. With the custom makers we have available today, there is no excuse to buy junk other than being a cheap***. I have learned my lesson.

I just purchased the little APP press. I am impressed with it. I knew it would be cheap built as its sold by Lee.
I am one who finds their moulds to be complete junk. I've purchased several in attempts to get a good one. I have one 6 gang that has 5 usable cavities. The rest have gone away in the garbage. I have several Accurate brand moulds and they are best in industry. I thought maybe it was aluminum blocks that just didnt agree with me. I wont buy a mould from anyone but Accurate now.
Beats the britches off of RCBS and Lyman as well.

racepres
12-16-2022, 07:57 PM
I just purchased the little APP press. I am impressed with it. I knew it would be cheap built as its sold by Lee.
I am one who finds their moulds to be complete junk. I've purchased several in attempts to get a good one. I have one 6 gang that has 5 usable cavities. The rest have gone away in the garbage. I have several Accurate brand moulds and they are best in industry. I thought maybe it was aluminum blocks that just didnt agree with me. I wont buy a mould from anyone but Accurate now.
Beats the britches off of RCBS and Lyman as well.

Don't throw any more in Garbage!!! I'll Pay Shipping!!!
One Man's Junk ya know!!! We-uns on a Budget Might Benefit!!!

farmbif
12-16-2022, 08:19 PM
The mould has been returned to Midway. They took it back even though Lee couldn't see any problem. So trying the mould isn't possible anymore.

if they got it back it just might be in the closeout section for 1/2 price next week.
I guess ive been lucky, never had a problem with a lee mold. my most used lee molds are for the 30-30 one in 150 grains one in 170 grains that have cast many hundreds if not thousands of bullets and still work great I'm able to lube size at .310 with my wheel weight alloy. never saw a need to buy any other mold for 30-30 anyway. but back about 45 years ago I got one of the little c type aluminum presses and that thing would flex just resizing 222rem shells. so lee is hit and miss its an inexpensive entry point but sometimes the quality is not as good as products at 4 or 5x the cost.

country gent
12-16-2022, 10:47 PM
We did some circle pocket milling with form cutters on the cnc mills and with form electrodes in the edm. They form the round part not cutting true circle but a large series of small interpolated straight lines. When the Steps become to large it needs to be changed in the program a major undertaking. The other is the straight flute form tool and feed rates. Bearings arnt nearly as consistent of a pattern.

Our tool room had the job of making several hundred brass throttle plates, not a big job, a .100 thick plate 2 screw holes and the edge round to a 30* angle. A fixture was made up and the first few parts showed this same finish around the dia. This was from how the fadells interpreted the circle. The cure was a boring head set up to turn the od in the fixture with a straight down feed. These were for the R&D department when the actual changes proved out A progressive die was built to produce them.

Elpatoloco
12-16-2022, 11:22 PM
Don't throw any more in Garbage!!! I'll Pay Shipping!!!
One Man's Junk ya know!!! We-uns on a Budget Might Benefit!!!I am very budget minded. Thats why I dont biy that crap anymore. Ill use the mould that has 5 or the 6 cavities good until it dont throw any more. Thrn you'd be welcome to it or I will repurpose it as a trot line weight.

I honestly dont know how anyone can afford to purchase production molds anymore. It always a gamble. Esp. With lee. Too many custom makers and the price is not out of line.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

racepres
12-16-2022, 11:29 PM
I am very budget minded. Thats why I dont biy that crap anymore. Ill use the mould that has 5 or the 6 cavities good until it dont throw any more. Thrn you'd be welcome to it or I will repurpose it as a trot line weight.

I honestly dont know how anyone can afford to purchase production molds anymore. It always a gamble. Esp. With lee. Too many custom makers and the price is not out of line.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
All Good... but... if ya feel the need to throw stuff Away...Give a poor Fellow a Shot...Shipping is Shipping!!!! and One Mans Junk.......

Willie T
12-17-2022, 10:43 AM
That mold should not have got past QC.

I cast with Lee molds. When I got into casting I was learning to shoot 200 yard silhouettes with a revolver. The volume I was shooting was about to put me in the poor house. I love the six cavity Lee molds. I’m not dismissing that some of their molds I own benefited from lapping and or polishing. When you buy a Lee mold you are not getting a premium mold or paying the price for one. You may need to de-bur, or polish, or lap a cavity(s). Before you clean up the imperfections you will fight some of their molds. Once done though, they rain perfect bullets. If saving a few bucks isn’t worth the elbow grease involved in squaring away an inexpensive mold, or if you are not handy enough, then pony up the money for a premium mold that has all the details tended to out of the box. It is the same way with buying brass. You can pay for Nosler with all the prep work already done or you can buy less expensive brass and go all the way through it before you load it. As for durability I have some Lee molds that I have cast 20-35 pounds per session with, several times per year for decades that are still going strong. I don’t beat on them either.
“Inexpensive” and their sprue handle is where Lee’s shine.
Willie

Hannibal
12-17-2022, 11:50 AM
I have bought and used many Lee products since I started reloading. Some have met my needs as received, some required a bit of 'tuning', and some I found that I needed to change my way of doing things in order to get them to work the way I wanted.
Having said that, I would be VERY disappointed to receive a mold that arrived new looking like the one the OP received. I find it particularly disturbing that Lee claimed that the mold met their QC standards. I've not bought any Lee moulds in quite a while as I've not needed any more to fit my needs, but I will definitely keep this experience in mind if I do decide to buy again. No way is this acceptable and I don't understand why Lee would claim otherwise. Failing to admit to a problem and correct it is a sure-fire way to lose my business.

Iowa Fox
12-17-2022, 07:59 PM
I have bought and used many Lee products since I started reloading. Some have met my needs as received, some required a bit of 'tuning', and some I found that I needed to change my way of doing things in order to get them to work the way I wanted.
Having said that, I would be VERY disappointed to receive a mold that arrived new looking like the one the OP received. I find it particularly disturbing that Lee claimed that the mold met their QC standards. I've not bought any Lee moulds in quite a while as I've not needed any more to fit my needs, but I will definitely keep this experience in mind if I do decide to buy again. No way is this acceptable and I don't understand why Lee would claim otherwise. Failing to admit to a problem and correct it is a sure-fire way to lose my business.

Failing to admit to a problem makes a statement about ones character.

MP molds stuck a half dozen of us guys with dud molds and does not/will not make it right. That's 120 bucks in the garbage can.

I've gotten 2 - 6 cavity lee molds in the last six months. Both excellent molds regardless of cost. Since our group buy days here that brings me up to about 15- 6 cav lee molds, no duds in the bunch.

Outer Rondacker
01-31-2023, 02:29 PM
I hope your experience is better then my recent one. I grabbed a double cav 457-405 from midway and the cherry they used to cut the mold dug out one side of the blocks. Called Lee and that same old guy got on the phone and said well mail it back and Ill look at it and tell you its ok and just send it back to you on your dime. So its like this. Buy cheap get garbage customer service.

I emailed pictures of the mold and got back an email saying yup looks defective. Called them back and lady told me to mail it to them and they would take care of it. I said send me a RMA label she said sorry NO.

But I do love inexpensive things so I will continue to get boned I am sure.

Yes that mold looks like crap and if you call them they are going to tell you how to fix it.

deces
01-31-2023, 03:23 PM
I hope your experience is better then my recent one. I grabbed a double cav 457-405 from midway and the cherry they used to cut the mold dug out one side of the blocks. Called Lee and that same old guy got on the phone and said well mail it back and Ill look at it and tell you its ok and just send it back to you on your dime. So its like this. Buy cheap get garbage customer service.

I emailed pictures of the mold and got back an email saying yup looks defective. Called them back and lady told me to mail it to them and they would take care of it. I said send me a RMA label she said sorry NO.

But I do love inexpensive things so I will continue to get boned I am sure.

Yes that mold looks like crap and if you call them they are going to tell you how to fix it.

Why didn't you just return it to widway? They cover everything that is a blem.

Outer Rondacker
01-31-2023, 04:21 PM
Why didn't you just return it to widway? They cover everything that is a blem.

That part is my fault. I ordered it and set it aside until I had time to use it. Three months later. Past return period. My fault so I called the maker. Midway did not make the mould wrong Lee did.

Silvercreek Farmer
01-31-2023, 06:50 PM
My Lee molds used to come with a sticker, “Inspected by (name) ”. My last mold didn’t have a sticker, so maybe they no longer inspect? Mold casts fine, by the way.

john.k
01-31-2023, 09:01 PM
Just maybe the ally is the problem.........we ran a part for years ,mirror finish ,couldnt go wrong........then the customers MD is in the office with a carton full of our parts with a torn finish ,like a piece of stone had turned them...........the parts had come off the machine perfect for so long ,no one bothered checking anymore...........anyhoo,fault was eventually found......supplier of ally ran short of stock,and included one "Chinese" bar in each customer delivery,just to see if it was noticed ......yep,it was.

Outer Rondacker
02-01-2023, 10:00 AM
As I look to order another lee mold lol

Cosmic_Charlie
02-12-2023, 01:27 PM
I'm wondering - how'd they do that? Weird.

Boy, I guess! I just got a 6 cav 356-120 and it looks fine.