More " Lee - Lementing "

[Ben]

I received a used , 2 cav., Lee 105 gr. SWC from a friend here on the board yesterday.

A nice mold, when I attempted to cast with it this morning, the two bullets didn't want to drop & release from the mold very well . I took a super sharp exacto knife and cleaned up the edges of both cavities. I thought that would " do the trick", not so , still no joy........! The mold continued to be very stubborn about releasing the bullets from the cavities. The old routine of tap-tap-tap on the hinge bolt to get the bullets to release.

So I thought.....Time to spin a bullet in the cavities. PRESTO ! ! !, that made all the difference. The bullets jump out of the cavities now.

If you have a Lee mold ( or for that matter any other mold ) that is stubborn about releasing it's bullets, I highly recommend this process.

Photos:

Here is my abrasive compound :

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/PICT0001-22.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/PICT0002-16.jpg

Here is the coated bullet after it has been spun in the mold cavities :

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/PICT0003-17.jpg

I used my cordless drill on slow speed :

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/PICT0005-11.jpg

Once the cavities were smooth, the mold really began to produce some very nice bullets , I cast these in a fairly short period of time. The way the mold cavities were sticking prior to the Lee Lementing process, this would have been near impossible :

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/PICT0010-5.jpg



Bullets are very round and you can see what they mike. I can use these in 38 Spec., 357 Mag., and size them down a little more and use them in the 9 mm Luger also :

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/PICT0008-7.jpg

[beanflip]

pics of the mold would be nice after the polishing you did. must be an aluminum mold mine is doing the same thing. I smoked and it helped out but they dont fall out. watch out from all the taping on the mold the pins will come out or become very loose! I will be sending mine back to Lee

[PatMarlin]

Awesome Ben.

What would be an accurate way to drill the boolit and intall a screw so it would be dead nuts center?

I was thinking I would chuck piece of rod, or drill sized that was close and slid inside the mold block acvity. Set my drill press vice and centered the cavity, remove it and place the boolit inside to drill, then check center again.

How did you do it Ben?

[beanflip]

to center drill it a lathe works fine then I taped it ( 1/4-20) thats what I did... now going to get some compound to polish my mold

[PatMarlin]

That's a great idea.. :drinks:

I've got to learn how to align my lathe if it can be done. The 3 jaw chuck is turning drill stock at at least .010 out.

It's a harbor freight cheap chicong 3-in-1.

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

I bought a double cavity mold of same caliber/wt/style you have some years back from the "return section" of Gander Mountain. It gave me fits. Had to increase venting and remove all burrs as you did. The resultant bullets deliver 1.5 in groups at 50 ft from my FEG PA-63 .380 ACP over 1.2 gns Red Dot and Federal small pistol primer. Mild target and rabbit load.

[Ben]

Pat:

This probably sounds a little " non - precise " to all the lathe owners out there.

I took the bullet and set the nose on a wood block with the base pointing up. I then took a small finish nail that I'd sharpened and placed it by " eye balling " as close to dead center as possible and lightly center punched a hole. I figured if I spoiled the job, I'd toss the bullet back into pot and remelt it. Then I'd pick up another , and so on and so on.....until I got it right. To my own amazement, the 1st one came out just fine.

I picked a super sharp drill bit that was 1 size smaller than my screw threads and drilled my " pilot hole ".

The rest is history.........worked great for me, your mileage may vary.

Best,

Ben

[Doc Highwall]

If you hold the mould in one hand and the drill in the other hand with just enough force that they don't fall out of your hand, they will wobble and find there own center. I learned this while learning about turning necks on cartridge cases.

[Ben]

beanflip :

I think you wanted to see the mold cavities after the " Lee Menting ".

Here is a pic, both cavities are very slick and very smooth now...... :

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/PICT0003-18.jpg

[NSP64]

Good job Ben, I use CREST tooth paste, just enough to make them smooth. I leement all my lee molds:drinks:

[Ben]

I've heard of the tooth paste idea, as soft as this aluminum is, I'd think it would probably work just fine.

Ben

[beanflip]

Nice job Ben on the mold job. Thanks for showing me the mold.

[crabo]

Pat:

This probably sounds a little " non - precise " to all the lathe owners out there.

I took the bullet and set the nose on a wood block with the base pointing up. I then took a small finish nail that I'd sharpened and placed it by " eye balling " as close to dead center as possible and lightly center punched a hole. I picked a super sharp drill bit that was 1 size smaller than my screw threads and drilled my " pilot hole ".

Ben

I have done this several times and it's been a pain to get center. I used Ben's idea, but I took a spring loaded center punch to get the center indention and it works really well.

Crabo

[TexasJeff]

And I, in turn, learned this from Crabo--he showed me what he was doing and how to do it the very first time I ever saw a boolit born of the silver stream.

I use Mother's Aluminum polish to finish off the polishing job after the initial round of either toothpaste or Comet/Ajax, or a mild compounding/lapping agent.

Once finished with the first polishing go-around, I clean the cavities thoroughly with brake cleaner and a toothbrush, then some denatured alcohol to remove any remaining residue. A q-tip swapped in the Mother's then in the cavity, then on the new boolit finishes it off VERY nicely.

I've yet to get a screw perfectly centered on the boolit--so I just make sure I slowly rotate it in the cavity until it gets seated and "finds its groove."

The result is some very clean, slick cavities that produce fine-looking boolits.

Jeff

[Ben]

I'm learning a good bit from a lot of you guys. Many thanks for your input.

Best to you,

Ben

[Buckshot]

............On a base pour mould you have the sprue cutoff to use to help center your punchmark. Your eyeball is amazingly accurate in centering stuff up (Reason peep sights work so well). In fact if the sprue is off center this is easily recognizeable and your eye can compensate to get the punchmark centered to the boolit's OD. Best if you do this centering with the boolit out of the blocks, as the blocks' size may defeat the eye's ability to center things up as well.

It was mentioned earlier, don't clamp the blocks in a vice or anything when lapping. Hold the drill motor in one hand and the mould in the other. Run the drill fairly slow hold the 2 losely to let them wobble around however they need to.

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

[Ben]

" Run the drill fairly slow hold the 2 loosely to let them wobble around however they need to. "

That's exactly how I did mine, it worked out great ! !

Many Thanks,

Ben

[jonk]

I have a few stubborn Lee molds. One in particular (9mm mak) mold was giving me fits. So I tried leementing using a little comet cleanser as an abrasive, mixed with enough water to make a paste. Now the mold fills out better and 99% drop without tapping- and if I DO need to tap, just the lightest touch and they drop.

Next I gotta try it on a 30 cal 200 gr mold of theirs.

[STP22]

..."you have the sprue cutoff to use to help center your punchmark"

Good grief, I never looked at getting the tap centered using what`s already at hand as a guide... Sheesh!

:rolleyes:

[Miner]

Of course I would overlook the easy button. :roll:

[docone31]

I cheat.
I open the sprue plate, put a 1/4-20 nut over the cavity, fill and let solidify. That gives me two castings with a way to turn it. I then open the mold let the castings fall out.
I take the castings, smear some Clover on them lightly, put ONE casting in a cavity, lightly close the mold, and turn as I close it. I do this with both cavities. When the castings spin easily I then either consider it done, or switch castings and spin again.
Piece of cake.
I then toss the castings with nuts in the pot. I recover the nuts when I shut the pot down.
The grit, being corundum floats on the melt.
I cast a few in the mold to clean out the residual grit.
Simple for me. But, effective.
I had a mold I had to clobber with a rawhide mallet each time to get release. Now, I just tap it with my dowel I use for opening the sprue plate.

[Beaverhunter2]

Here's how I drill the center of a boolit for Leementing. I actually have a mould to do today.

I don't have a lathe so I use my drill press. It's one of the cheap ones they have at Harbor Freight. I put the drill bit in the chuck- point up. Then I run the drill down until I can grab the bit with the vice I have on the drill press table. I open the chuck to release the bit and run the drill back up. I chuck the boolit in the drill bottom down (gently or you'll squash the boolit). Then turn the drill on and run the boolit slowly down on to the bit.

It works pretty good.

John

[cabezaverde]

I have done this using JB Bore paste for the abrasive. Works good.

[madcaster]

Good job Ben, I use CREST tooth paste, just enough to make them smooth. I leement all my lee molds:drinks:

Now THAT makes it a Crested Leemented Mould!:kidding:

[cabezaverde]

I also did one this weekend with a product called Bartenders Helper, or Friend, or something like that.

Made a paste with water, and it was a lot cheaper than JB paste.

[mtgrs737]

I use Crest toothpaste, I don't worry about getting the boolit drilled perfect if it wobbles a tad it seems to work just fine anyway. You are only polishing the cavities anyway and not removing much material.

[dubber123]

I did a Lee .512" 500 gr. mould today. I managed to drill off center. I didn't seem to matter, as you are turning the drill relatively slowly anyways. 1 boolit with some 320 grit compound, and it went from actually tearing some of the drive bands off, to falling out. It's so easy to make such a drastic improvement, more casters should try it.

[Ben]

dubber123 :

You're right, more casters should be doing this. It takes a troublesome mold and turns it into a smooth running piece of machinery.

Thanks,
Ben

[mag_01]

I use automotive rubbing compound to polish my molds with a small piece of cloth chucked up in a drill.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
I am partial to the 1/4 20 nut (or larger on the big ones like 45) .... No drilling just eyeball center the nut and pour away. One boolit for each cavity. I then use my 1/4 " drive socket and tiny breaker bar spinning it with two fingers.
God Bless ya

[mold maker]

If you use the drill and screw method, it's more important to get the screw in straight than centered. Off center will just wobble while crooked will twist against the bands. At slow speeds, and loosely held, neither will hurt seriously.
Just make sure the mold halves can't move against each other.

[wallenba]

Clamp a chunk of wood, squared, onto a drill press plate. Select a bit the same diameter of the bullet and drill a hole. Insert a bullet in the hole and change to a smaller bit. Drill a pilot hole for the screw.

[JSnover]

Good morning
I am partial to the 1/4 20 nut (or larger on the big ones like 45) .... No drilling just eyeball center the nut and pour away. One boolit for each cavity. I then use my 1/4 " drive socket and tiny breaker bar spinning it with two fingers.
God Bless ya

The nut is a lot easier than the screw but I had better luck using a 3/4" nut. The great big hole lets me see all of thethe cavity. Makes it easier to get it centered before pouring. Depends on how well your eyeballs are calibrated, I guess.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Hullo, there are many variations of this method , I'm sure everyone has a pet , [smilie=1:depending on what they like. The best thing about this , is that it works very well for most folks , and with all the options offered , I think those that haven't tried this can find one that works for them.:drinks:

[handyman25]

Finding the center is not that hard. If you have a set of calibers measure the boolit, lets say its .358. Divide by two which is .179 set your calibers to .181 or .182 and with one inside on the out side of the boolit drag it across and press down hard enough to make a scratch. Now rotate the boolit 90 degrees and repeat. Do it again and again. You will have four lines, two each parellel with a small gap in between. Where they cross you will see a very small box and the center is very easy to find with the naked eye.

[handyman25]

Finding the center is not that hard. If you have a set of calibers measure the boolit, lets say its .358. Divide by two which is .179 set your calibers to .181 or .182 and with one inside on the out side of the boolit drag it across and press down hard enough to make a scratch. Now rotate the boolit 90 degrees and repeat. Do it again and again. You will have four lines, two each parellel with a small gap in between. Where they cross you will see a very small box and the center is very easy to find with the naked eye.

[Sprue]

I also use the Docone31 & Missionary5155 method.

Its quick, only a few minutes before you can start the lementing process.

[Rocky Raab]

I did my first mould this weekend. Got the screw in a bit crooked, but it did not seem to matter (as mentioned above). I used JB Paste and spun the bullet for about a minute at low rpm.

Cast some today, and the Lee C309-170-F bullets simply fell out. I had to whang away on the hing pin before. All the bands and edges look as sharp as before even under a loupe.

I'm convinced.

[shotman]

Kroil is better

[dogbert41]

Clamp a chunk of wood, squared, onto a drill press plate. Select a bit the same diameter of the bullet and drill a hole. Insert a bullet in the hole and change to a smaller bit. Drill a pilot hole for the screw.

OMG. Talk about a "Why didn't I think of that" moment :groner:

[Beekeeper]

Pat,
To true up the three jaw chuck jaws take a ring and chuck it up on the outside of the jaws.
Then grind the jaws with a tool post grinder and they will come out true.
Watched my Dad do it several times as a kid and did it once myself on a Navy ship I was on after someone tried to destroy the lathe.

Jim

[Circuit Rider]

Didn't see anyone say, but can this be used on other than aluminum molds? Have a Lyman that's very sticky. Thanks, Circuit Rider:lovebooli

[HORNET]

Circuit Rider,
Yep, you can use the basic process on aluminum, iron, brass, or any other material you can find molds made from. You just need to be more careful with some combinations of abrasives and mold materials than other. Basic rule: Its easier to remove more material than it is to put it back on. Stop and check often.

[phaessler]

Well, I was struggling with a "Lee" yesterday, the bargain of the month I figured. But gave up early and polished the mold this morning. Will give it another try this afternoon.
Has anyone ever changed the "as-cast" dimensions by over polishing them?

Thanks, this is great info

Pete

[Circuit Rider]

I tried the Kroil method, didn't work for me. Tried the abrasive and worked on all my molds,falling out easy. Didn't change diameter, boolits look better. Circuit Rider:cbpour:

[1874Sharps]

Gentlemen,

I just have to ask all of you who use Crest toothpaste to polish your molds: Do your molds now have 20% fewer cavities?!!! (hee hee hee hee)

[slvrwraith]

Ok, so I'm a rookie, both here and to the ages old art of casting the silver stream. I purchased my first mold, a 2 cav TL452-230-2R. I started casting my merry @$$ off, not thinking much of the need to "gently" tap ever boolit out of the mold as I has smoked the thing to death, pre-heated and lubed as per the instructions, with many an off-color innuendo in the process. then I find "Cast Boolits" and realize that the instructions actually meant the boolits should *fall* out, not get whacked out via concussive force applied to the hinge bolt. I just 'lemented' my mold with a tapped boolit and Crest (I'm a dirt poor, full-time father/student and apartment dweller, I have no shop, little room and few tools to speak of... making do). Upon finishing, there is still 'soot/varnish' in the cavities, and it only seems to have polished the cavity edges. Is that normal?? gonna go throw a few through it, see if things have improved.


P.S. Anyone know a good way to "re-crimp" the pin holes the hold the blocks to the handles??

[high standard 40]

Others here have far more experience than I but here is my advice based on my results so far. If you smoke a mold, it will decrease the diameter of your bullets. The result will be that when you try to lap the mold, you may be merely removing some of the smoke soot. Clean the mold squeaky clean, examine it closely with magnification and carefully remove any visible burrs at the part lines, cast some more bullets and then try lapping again. If the Crest does not help, you may need to try a more aggressive compound but go slow. I used fine valve grinding compound followed by toothpaste for a final polish. My bullets now drop freely.

[Etienne Brule]

Hi,

GREAT thread !!

I have some problems with 2 pedersoli molds and I will do the procedure " Lee - Lementing "

I tried some mold prep without any success:

So, I will "break free" them, then treat with acetone.

Then I will do the suggested procedure.

Question:

I would like to know if the Brinell of the bullet is important; I use to cast pure lead (BN 5-6).

Thank you for all infos on that thread.

Merci beaucoup.

Gerald

[mold maker]

Hi,

GREAT thread !!

I have some problems with 2 pedersoli molds and I will do the procedure " Lee - Lementing "

I tried some mold prep without any success:

So, I will "break free" them, then treat with acetone.

Then I will do the suggested procedure.

Question:

I would like to know if the Brinell of the bullet is important; I use to cast pure lead (BN 5-6).

Thank you for all infos on that thread.

Merci beaucoup.

Gerald

The short answer is yes, it can matter a great deal.
To fully answer though, We need a little more info. What caliber are you casting for?
What velocity load will you use. How close is your "boolit" size to the actual bore of the weapon?
Each of these answers, can effect the BHN needed, and can contribute to your boolits success in your weapon

[Etienne Brule]

The short answer is yes, it can matter a great deal.
To fully answer though, We need a little more info. What caliber are you casting for?


Hi,

45 cal in a muzzleloader Pedersoli Gibbs


What velocity load will you use.


1250 fps



How close is your "boolit" size to the actual bore of the weapon?


Bore size is .4485 and the boolit is the same.



Each of these answers, can effect the BHN needed, and can contribute to your boolits success in your weapon

Well... I think that I do not understand where I am goeing with your interrogations...

I am sorry, but maybe I did not understand the whole process.


In fact, I want to know if a "pure lead" bullet is fine to polish the moulds or if I need to use a harder bullet to do the job.


Maybe it is my "translation" of the problem that is wrong.

Thank you for the attention.

Gerald from Quebec city

[ilcop22]

What would be considered TOO abrasive to use on the Aluminum Lee molds? I use Mother's Mag and MAAS metal polish on various other projects. Too harsh for the Lee?

[Etienne Brule]

Hi,

GREAT thread !!

I have some problems with 2 pedersoli molds and I will do the procedure " Lee - Lementing "

I tried some mold prep without any success:

So, I will "break free" them, then treat with acetone.

Then I will do the suggested procedure.

Question:

I would like to know if the Brinell of the bullet is important; I use to cast pure lead (BN 5-6).

Thank you for all infos on that thread.

Merci beaucoup.

Gerald

Well,

I did the " Lee - Lementing " method WITH a pure lead bullet and JB Boring stuff on a Lyman mold ( 125 turns... ).

As expected the pure lead mold did the job for the "beagle".

And everything was just right.

I repeat the procedure with Crest dental stuff.

The mold was shiny and the bullets fell from the mold on opening.

Thank you.

Gerald

[sljacob]

great thread.........bump to the top for other newbies to see

[deerslayer]

Wow, great thread I learned a new trick and I can not wait to try it thanks for the bump.

[deerslayer]

Unbelievable the simplicity and ingenous of the idea and it works great. Just tried it in my lee two cavity 9 mm mold which is almost new and I had already stopped using one of the cavities because you had to beat the s$$t out of the hinge bolt and it would make my wrist hurt after a while. Either way I tried this trick and I did not have any abrasive paste in the garage so I used mothers polish for aluminum rims. The bullets just fall out now, no smoking required and no beating.

[deerslayer]

One more thing if you open half of your mold and occasionally inspect before dropping the bullets like I do then you will want to pay particular attention to the angle you hold your hand at. The bullets will fall right out, do not forget like I did they are to hot for my wrist to handle.

[a.squibload]

Great idea, I have a couple of molds that give me trouble, will try "Leementing"
(what the heck does that mean anyhow?)

I have some Simichrome paste, suppose that's too fine?

Thanks, I have gone through a couple of hammer handles trying to get boolits
to drop out. Of course I'm using a Coleman stove so temp control is hit or miss...

[deerslayer]

I have a hammer handle that I drilled a half inch hole 2 or 3 inches deep in and put a finish nail in from the side and then filled the hole with lead so I could hit it harder. I gues I don't need that any more just the slightest tap if any thing at all.

[Just Duke]

This should be a sticky.

[MT Gianni]

That would be the reason it's here.

[snake river marksman]

If you have a Dremel tool, you probably have an attachment that looks like a screw on the end of a shaft. Run that into the base of a Boolit and you have your "lap" ready to go. You've probably also got a small container of "polishing compound" in the Dremel kit. Anybody wanna guess what thats good for? Here's another tip, heat your mould up just a bit and that polishing compound melts so that you get really good coverage with your lap.

I learned all of this yesterday after reading this thread then going out to my shop to see what I had laying around so that I could Lee-ment a particularly stubborn aluminium NEI 45 mould. It worked like a charm.

[wistlepig1]

Snake, great idea, I was going to Lee ment one of my molds and I will tryit. thanks

[Ervin]

For what its worth I have worked at many different jobs, climbing towers (young & stupid) gun smith, jeweler, etc. Women would come into the jewelry store and complain about yellow gold rings turning their fingers black. The cause was Jergens Lotion. It is a very mild abrasive and coats the finger with a thin coating of gold. Powdered gold does not reflect light well and looks black. Could make a good final polish. Haven’t tried it, but knows? Ervin

[Cookie]

Great thread and great forum! I just registered because this was exactly the info I was looking for!

However, a word of warning to others using this method!

In my eagerness to finally fix my Lee mold, I wasn't careful to make sure the screw didn't punch through the tip of the boolit. So, when I was running the boolit with my drill, the screw tip completely gouged the aluminum! :groner:

I was wanting to order a different size mold anyways, so it's not a total loss. But pretty irritating nonetheless.

In any case, I'll try this first thing when I get my new mold, and I'll be more careful next time! :Fire:

[Recluse]

In my eagerness to finally fix my Lee mold, I wasn't careful to make sure the screw didn't punch through the tip of the boolit. So, when I was running the boolit with my drill, the screw tip completely gouged the aluminum! :groner:

Cookie, welcome to Cast Boolits. Lot of good stuff in here--it's the virtual Library of Casting.

For Lee-menting, you don't need to have your screw/bolt that far in the boolit for lapping. I've found that between a quarter inch and half-inch is usually more than sufficient.

It's easier to lap if the bolt is in the boolit dead-center, but again, if it's off-center by just a fraction, no big deal. What's important is to lap SLOWLY and not just let your drill fly at top RPM speed.

Believe it or not, there are folks who have done this. . .

:coffee:

[Buddy]

After reading this entire thread I decided to give it a try on a Lee 200gr SWC mold that I had to beat the **** out of to get the bullets to drop. This was a new replacement mold form Lee. After a little thought I decided to use a 45acp empty that I slid the bullet into carefully and used the primer hole to centerpunch a starting point. It actually worked very well. I then took the arbor from my Dremmel that has a machine screw end and carefully screwed it into the hole I drilled. When I turned the drill I was amazed at how straight I got it. I used a water based valve grinding compound, used just enough pressure on the handles to keep things nice and snug. I changed direction of the drill every 5 or 6 rotations and turned it slowly. It cleaned up very nicely and now drops bullets out with only a little shake every now and then. Thanks for the info folks. I think I'm going to do all my Lee molds.

[jerry_from_ct]

That's a great idea.. :drinks:

I've got to learn how to align my lathe if it can be done. The 3 jaw chuck is turning drill stock at at least .010 out.

It's a harbor freight cheap chicong 3-in-1.

I had the same problem if what your taking about is run-out.

Finally got it fixed.

[Rokkit Syinss]

I had the same problem if what your taking about is run-out.

Finally got it fixed.

Little Machine Shop had a fix for it on their site, IIRC it was shimming under the headstock as the problem is usually a height mismatch between the headstock center and the tailstock center. All those little 7X10 to 7X14 minilathes are made in the same factory with slightly different specs, options, level of finish and paint color for the various importers (Harbor Freight, Grizzly, Micromark, etc.).

[bslim]

What a great thread, learn something new every day. I have 3 molds that require gentle persuasion to get the bullets to drop out.

[DLCTEX]

Etienne Brule: I noticed in your post #53 you referred to the procedure as "Beagle". Just for clarity, beagle is a different procedure that uses high temp aluminum tape to slightly hold the mould open to increase the diameter of the boolit. The method in this thread is known by members as "Leementing".

[Etienne Brule]

Etienne Brule: I noticed in your post #53 you referred to the procedure as "Beagle". Just for clarity, beagle is a different procedure that uses high temp aluminum tape to slightly hold the mould open to increase the diameter of the boolit. The method in this thread is known by members as "Leementing".

Hi sir,

You are right ! Sorry for the confusion.

Etienne Brule

[M-Tecs]

JB Bore paste, Rem clean or Iosso bore paste are all very mild abrasives that work well for bur removal in the cavities.

[meshugunner]

I haven't read all 4 pages so I may be repeating what has already been said but this is a another trick for centering round objects on a drill press - say you want to drill a hole in a bolt or somesuch. I have not tried it with a cast bullet, but I will soon.

Take a 1/8" drill bit, clamp it in a drill press vice with the point sticking up. Lower the drill chuck and close it around the drill bit. The bit is now centered with respect to the drill chuck. Clamp down the vice, loosen the chuck and lift it clear. Chuck in your bolt, bullet whatever, start the drill and lower it onto the bit. You can stop as soon as you have the mark you want or continue drilling with the bit in the vice.

If your chuck can accept bullets of the dia you use, I imagine this would do well enough.

[Ben]

meshugunner

Chuck in your bolt, bullet whatever, start the drill and lower it onto the bit.

A cast bullet is relatively soft, when you chuck the bullet , how do you keep from damaging the bullet ?

[williamwaco]

............On a base pour mould you have the sprue cutoff to use to help center your punchmark. Your eyeball is amazingly accurate in centering stuff up (Reason peep sights work so well). In fact if the sprue is off center this is easily recognizeable and your eye can compensate to get the punchmark centered to the boolit's OD. Best if you do this centering with the boolit out of the blocks, as the blocks' size may defeat the eye's ability to center things up as well.



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

This is what I do but then I drill a starter hole directly through the center of the sprue cutoff hole. Then take off the sprue plate and start the screw into the starter hole.


.


I don't have any of that really nead

[Bzcraig]

[QUOTE=STP22;510755]..."you have the sprue cutoff to use to help center your punchmark"

Good grief, I never looked at getting the tap centered using what`s already at hand as a guide... Sheesh!

Of course I would overlook the easy button.


:rolleyes:

Dang it......that snake just bit me while I was in the forest I could not see because of the trees.

[Tinbender]

Oldfeller did a great post on this that is a sticky which I followed on three molds.

Lots of good info there and I think the most important part is rolling the CB between two plates with grit (used 400 diamond) then scrubbing with a toothbrush and dish soap to clean-up and enlarge if desired the O.D. areas and then polish in the same manner.....I used bartenders friend.

The last step is to make the lap as before and sprinkle with Moly powder and burnish the cavities.

Those couple of techniques are so simple and effective .......makes me wish I could take credit.

[theotherwaldo]

I've only had to do this once. I did it "backwards", though. I chucked a hard bullet in the drill press, base down. I put the drill in a clamp block in my milling vise (although a regular vise would work). I turned the drill press on at its slowest speed, brought it down until it was almost centered by eye, brought it down into contact, spiraled it in to true center, and drilled my center hole.
Then I turned in a stud, wiped the boolit in Flitz, chucked the stud in a hand drill, polished the cavity, washed the cavity with naptha, re-smoked it, and started casting.

That was in 1979. The mold is still working fine.

[Rushthezeppelin]

Going to have to try this on my 312-155. Once it gets up to temp I'm getting some pretty nasty stickers.

[glockmeister]

Another way to center the punch mark, use a transfer punch. Got mine a Harbor Freight years ago, less than $10.00, don't know about now. Find a transfer punch that just fits thru pour hole in sprue plate, punch your mark and deepen if necessary. Drill and proceed as usual. Take care, John.

[Handloader109]

Two of my three Lee 2 cavity molds had sticking bullits. I drilled small hole, used a 8-32 screw that I had cut head off, screwed into a bullit and used a paste of barkeepers friend to polish the molds. Cleaned well with spray carb cleaner and the molds drop like a champ. Just shake them and bullits fall out. Thanks guys for the tips! Makes the molds a joy and easy to use.

[rondog]

Sure learn a lot around this place.....

[Ben]

Well ......this is the 84th post.
Looks like this one has been beneficial.
I hate tapping on the hinge of mold handles as much as anyone to get a bullet (s) to release from the mold.

This technique will help all of us, all you have to do is to apply it to your troublesome molds.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/PICT0003-17.jpg

Thanks,
Ben

[SSGOldfart]

Well so much for cheap molds that don't work now that we know how to fix them

[62chevy]

Bought 3 new molds this winter and got to try them out for the first time today, well 2 anyways, the 452-200-RF dropped 'em like it should but the C309-180-R not so much. May have to do some mold maintenance on it.

[Rhino45]

I'm going to do this with my 45 mold and tell a friend so he can do his very old 38 mold

[psychicrhino]

Well, I have now read this thread 3x, cast about a thousand boolits ye
sterday....lots of tapping and fingering of moulds....gonna have to try this.

[DLCTEX]

I Lee-mented a Lee six cav. 356-121 mould today. The boolits were sticking some in two cavities until the mould got hot enough to frost and then started alternating side in which they stuck. The boolits were slightly out of round and when sized .357 left a small portion of the drive band untouched. I used fine valve compound in the cavities and did not get too aggressive. I tested the mould after the first attempt and really couldn't notice much change. I let the mould cool down, which didn't take long in our wind today, can you say dust bowl? I got more aggressive the second time and when I tested it the second time the boolits dropped .359 and were very round. The .357 die easily sized them to a nice, smooth round band. The boolits fall from all six cavities with a shake of my hand now.

[Ben]

The .357 die easily sized them to a nice, smooth round band. The boolits fall from all six cavities with a shake of my hand now.
-------------------------------

Success ! ! !

That's Great
Ben

[nekshot]

I love Lee molds, easy to get to cast well, cheap enough to play around with like hping, or making a better meplat, or shorter and liter boolit, boy what can't you do with them and all for less than 20.00 bucks!

[a.squibload]

Thanks for bumping this back up, I posted in 2010 and forgot to post my success with this method.
Used a phillips head bolt instead of a screw, not pointy, no chance of it screwing through the boolit.
Turned the bolt with a phillips driver. No need for speed here, slow works fine.
Centering or angle are not an issue at a slow speed.
Polished a Lee and an old RCBS steel mold to get a little more diameter, works like a charm!

[DLCTEX]

Break the head off a 1 5/8 drywall screw and chuck it in the drill deep enough to leave only enough screw exposed to get a good bite in the boolit. The chuck will keep it from driving through the boolit. The screw will break fairly easily using two pair of pliers.

[nylocmik]

I just thought it was funny to read about using Crest toothpaste to actually make a cavity bigger.

[Ben]

I'm no expert on ANYTHING, but I'd hate to have to enlarge a mold .002 using toothpaste......Might take a long time.

Ben

[oopso]

I am truly amazed at the creativity, ideas, sharing of knowledge, and attitude of everyone on this site. Just finished reading all the posts on improving Lee molds. I have reloaded since 98 and decided to cast my own about 6 months ago and am yet to cast a boolet. I have been busy reading and absorbing as much as I can before I start. With six new molds for Christmas I was looking for info on the breaking in of the molds and came across this post. One more new guy to casting who is truly grateful for all the info. Hopefully I will start casting next week and with more research a lot of practice and a little luck will be producing good quality boolets.

[russs]

On a multi-cavity mold can you use the same bullet to do all the cavities or should you use a bullet that was made in each cavity to leement?

[fast ronnie]

I know it's probably a lot too late for information on centering on a lath, but just saw this post this morning. There will always be some wear on the scroll inside of a three jaw chuck. The wear is caused by use, and over the years, the wear will not be even. chucking on the outside of the jaws may or may not help as the wear will not be even, and chucking on outside will not be bearing on the worn side of the scroll. If you need accuracy on a lathe, there are a few options; #1 use a four jaw chuck #2 use an adjustable 3 jaw chuck. They can be expensive. #3 use soft jaws in the 3 jaw and cut them to the inside diameter of what you are going to work with. This will need to be very close to the size you are going to use, because the wear is different at different openings. You have to close the jaws on something on the inside, not the outside. Again, different wear patterns on the scroll. #4 depending on accuracy requirments, if it's something that doesn't have to be closer than say a thou, you could use a collet if available. I know that all old lathe hands will know these procedures, but someone new to machining will probably not. It's just like this forum with casting. I've been around machine shops for 45 years, but casting is new to me and I'm thankful for everyone on this forum that has contributed to my increasing base of knowledge. To those of you who have "been there, done that", thanks for sharing the wealth of your knowledge. To those of you in my trade, please bear with an old man who shares some of our tricks of the trade with those trying to improve their skills. Any questions, pm me and we can go a little more in depth.

[woodbutcher]

:) Hi Ben.Thanks for an outstanding post.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[Ben]

Leo,

I hope that all you guys enjoyed it and it will make life a bit simpler for all.

Ben

[marshhawk]

Thanks for the tutorial, I tried this and it worked great, I used semi chrome polish as it was all I had! it worked fine!
Marshhawk

[JesterGrin_1]

Just thought I would ask before I jump into this.

I just purchased a New Lee 358-200 RNFP/GC mold for my 35 Remington and the reports tell me that this new Lee mold will drop at what it says believe it or not lol at .358 - .3585. So I am pretty sure I will have to open it up to at least .359 but probably .360 for my Marlin 35 Remington.

So the question is should I use the Fine Valve Lapping compound first to open it up the .002 and then use say Mothers Mag polish to polish the cavities?

Thank You.

[Ben]

That would be my routine to the letter.

You'll be amazed at how quickly the Lee aluminum is worn away with the fine valve grinding compound.

Lee's aluminum seems much softer than NOE's and other quality aluminum moulds.

Getting a .360" should be no problem at all. You'll also reap the benefits of a bullet that will " jump " out of the cavities when the mould is opened.

Ben

[JesterGrin_1]

Thank You Ben.

One more question. The boolits I will use with the fine valve grinding compound should they be soft as say pure lead or use pure lino or something in between?

I ask as I wish to do this right and actually in as little time as possible to do it right due to the well HEAT down in South TEXAS. As it is right at 100F or so outside of which means in my non cooled garage it gets a good bit warmer than that lol. But I wish to shoot this thing lol. :)

[Ben]

I've always used air cooled WW's.


Ben

[JesterGrin_1]

Thank You Ben but after melting in the South TEXAS heat all evening and onto this morning I gave up on that Lee mold as it is more undersize than a thought. It is right at .356-.3575. I did try the valve lapping compound some but it has a long way to go. And in this TEXAS heat it was just too much for me and far to aggravating to attempt to make the mold work. Soooooooooo

I picked up my old BRP-360-220 RNFP/GC mold and cast about 15LBS worth of boolits with it. And I have to say in the end the Lee mold even if free is not worth the cost of admission. As that BRP mold casts BEAUTIFUL bullets and sized at .361-.362 on the driving bands and just falls from the mold into my bucket of water like they want to cool off lol.

So I will probably do some work on the brass to make those BRP boolits work in my 35 Remington ad they work great in my .358 Winchester.

[Ben]

There are few things that frustrate me more than a mould that throws an undersized cast bullet.

[Vinne]

I'm with you Ben...talk about all over the paper. Just a waste of good powder and I want more than just the BANG!!

[Wally]

I have an old Lee DC .38 cal 155 SWC bullet mold that allows light through the blocks and I get some fining. It is a discontinued mold, as it casts a plain base bullet---not a gas check one. I cannot get a replacement, but I would like to fix it so that the blocks close all the way---any suggestions?

[Vinne]

Check to see if there is trash around the pins that will keep it from closing completely. Use an old toothbrush to clean the surface of each half. Also, remove them from the handles and try to close them. If they still see the light then you may have a warped mold. Any misalignment will case problems. Let us know what you find.

[Wally]

I have tried all that--they are indeed slightly warped/twisted.


Check to see if there is trash around the pins that will keep it from closing completely. Use an old toothbrush to clean the surface of each half. Also, remove them from the handles and try to close them. If they still see the light then you may have a warped mold. Any misalignment will case problems. Let us know what you find.

[slohunter]

Same here, Semi Chrome and a slow drill speed did the trick. Will do all my Lee Moulds the same way.