This is a Lee 6 cavity mould

[Buckshot]

http://www.fototime.com/1AE0897904B8239/standard.jpg
I apologize for the very poor picture quality, but of main interest is the alignment pins. If you'll note, the pins are steel and they go into steel bushings which are pressed into the mould blocks. No "Steel on aluminum" as in Lee's other mould blocks.

http://www.fototime.com/2F4D38B2CF5BAC0/standard.jpg
Lee block, sprueplate and sprueplate lever and cam. In order to ease the initial cutting of the 6 sprues, Lee has placed a cam on the end of the handle. The face of the cam bears on the side of the block. This arrangement greatly amplifies the force the sprueplate exerts to start the cut. A neat idea.

Over time, and especially with hard alloys, the cam WILL begin to erode or cause a depression in the aluminum (the old steel on aluminum thing again). You can stop this by drilling and taping the block for a simple steel setscrew for the cam to push against. Or drill and press in a steel pin.

http://www.fototime.com/8157BA045D5C06E/standard.jpg
End view of the mould blocks. Another poor photo, sorry. Blocks are substantial. Closest on the left block is the sprueplate holddown bolt. A headed bushing is sprung via a wave washer. The sprueplate slides under it and is held in place ( a prime lube point to be watched. It's another steel on aluminum deal.

The prime reason for going with the Lee 6 cavity mould, besides price is:

http://www.fototime.com/FC7FB74B506D8FB/standard.jpg
PRODUCTION! 8-)

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

[Catshooter]

Production!

You got that right, Buckshot.

That set screw under the cam is a good idea, I think I'll do that.


Cat

[nighthunter]

The set screw works like a dream. See my post under 314-120.
Nighthunter

[steveb]

The set screw works like a dream.
Nighthunter

Ditto! Thanks Buckshot

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a199/steveb3006/For%20Blogs/SIXCAVITYSCREW.jpg

[Four Fingers of Death]

Boy, Yer learn something every day here!

[MacGregor]

tumble lube?

[somoss]

HI. i a link to your post on this forum from the swiss guns forum. i have been waiting on a lee single cavity custom mold order for about a year now. have groups from your forum ordered for this caliber ?

[rvpilot76]

HI. i a link to your post on this forum from the swiss guns forum. i have been waiting on a lee single cavity custom mold order for about a year now. have groups from your forum ordered for this caliber ?

Can't give you an answer to the above question, but I wanted to be the first to welcome you to the forum. Glad to have you here! I would assume you are talking about the K-31, correct?

Regards,

Kevin

[somoss]

acually its for a vetterli 10/4x38

[Buckshot]

................A second welcome to the board. So far as a custom mould run for that cartridge goes, no one here has ever done one before. I don't think there are too many of them owned by board members. At least no one has had much to say about it if they do have one :-)

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

[45 2.1]

................A second welcome to the board. So far as a custom mould run for that cartridge goes, no one here has ever done one before. I don't think there are too many of them owned by board members. At least no one has had much to say about it if they do have one :-)

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

Actually, we have done several custom runs that fit the 10.4x38 nicely, but none that actually look like the the swiss military boolit. Several board members have converted the rimfire bolt to centerfire and shoot with reformed 348 cases.

[steveb]

Welcome to the forum, glad to have you here:Fire:

[somoss]

i converted mine and used commercial 44 bullets but as you know they just are not long enough to use properly in the converted 348's. i will keep an eye out for the next group order for the mould.

[steveb]

The prime reason for going with the Lee 6 cavity mould, besides price is:

http://www.fototime.com/FC7FB74B506D8FB/standard.jpg
PRODUCTION! 8)

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

Ditto, and since you have such a nice pile there Buckshot I wanted to add mine.:castmine:


http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a199/steveb3006/castingpicts006.jpg

[RGRWJB]

If you ever do another group buy on that Swiss bullet feel free to place it over on my Swiss site.

[mazo kid]

I'm not sure another 41 Swiss group buy will happen on the Swissrifles.com site as the Vetterli forum is going to shut down soon unless someone takes it over. Shame too, as there is MUCH info there on the Vetterli rifles and carbines. It may be possible to get a group buy started on a different Swiss rifle forum?? Emery

[BigSlick]

any suggestions as to screw size for the steel pivot ?

Planning to do several, and need to make a trip to Homey Depot when I get home for screws/tap.
________
Buy Glass Bong (http://glassbongs.org/)

[Buckshot]

...............Just do what Steveb did for his mould. Use a #8 drywall screw. Cut off all but maybe 3 threads under the head. The screws are HARD, so no dikes :-). Grind and snap'em off. Select a drill bit just a tad smaller then the thread OD. Drill to depth and then countersink with a drill bit to match the OD of the screw head. so it's about flush.

No major accuracy issues involved here. If the screwhead is a bit cattywhumpus it's no big. Try for perfection, but don't hurt yourself :-)

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

[BluesBear]

I don't know if I'll ever get used to all that scientific technical jargon.

[BigSlick]

Thanks for the suggestion Buckshot.

I already made an unedumucated guess and went with 6-32 x3/8" FH machine screw. I haven't drilled anything yet, since I'm still stranded in BFE, but I will definitely give the drywall screw a look see before I start drilling.

I like the idea of not having to tap a hole that small and I'm pretty sure the drywall screw would bite into the soft aluminum to hold well.

I'm already figuring on removing the sprue plate bolt and going all the way thru with it instead of doing the set screw thing. Then I'll use a new bolt with a double nut and a lock washer. It won't sit level but I don't usually sit the moulds down when I use them anyway.

Not sure if I will put the nuts on top of the sprue plate and use a round head for the bottom of the mould, or put the nuts on the bottom.

Thanks again for the info, if I'm lucky, I can get this done without cracking my GB moulds ;)

'Slick
________
Lovely Wendie99 (http://www.lovelywendie99.com/)

[Morgan Astorbilt]

SOMOSS, I shoot an Italian 10.4x47 Vetterli-Vitali. Rather than turning them down on the lathe, I turned some swaging dies to swage the base of a .348 Win. brass down to 10.4x47 specs.
Bullets have been a problem. I've used .429" .44mag. bullets with marginal success. The trouble being, the original bullets were two diameter, sort of like heeled bullets, the OD being the same as the case neck OD. Are the Swiss bullets the same in this respect? I'd sure like to go partners with a few shooters in ordering a 250gr. two diameter bullet mold, to absorb the set-up fee Lee gets for custom molds.
Morgan

[miestro_jerry]

These days, I try to do my set screws and such in metric. Trying to get used to the world standard and I live in BFE!

Jerry

[Boomer Mikey]

Lee molds require a different approach than iron molds to achieve success in making quality boolits.

For those of you that are new to Lee 6 Cavity molds the following article is a good introduction to them and how to prepare them for use and for those of us with years of experience with iron molds that have issues getting Lee molds work as well.

http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting2006/swwheelgun2/index.asp

Lee Custom 6 cavity molds are the way to go for volume casting. I actually prefer my Custom 6 Cavity Lee Mold versions of my favorite iron molds as they produce piles of boolits at warp speed without the routine maintenance iron molds require.


Boomer :Fire:

[3rptr]

Thanks for the tip on a screw for the cam to ride on.

[TAWILDCATT]

the Lee 430-310 is used by some,the case is made longer and the bullet crimoed in the crimp groove.I did it that way as theres no step just a long taper in the chamber.measure the lenth of the feed block and lay a bullet beside the case and cut case where crimp groove is.I use harbor freight mini cut off saw $29.zips right
thru.:lol:

[First Big Foot]

I have learned to prefer my Lee molds too.

Have a helpful hint.

Lee suggests using the smoke from a blown out lighted match to smoke the inside of the cavities. I tried this, and got tired of the twenty matches that didn't seem to do enough, and tried a candle. Turns out candle soot particles are too large, (You can just about see each one). So I wiped that all out, and lit a small flame on my oxyacetelene welder, but didn't use any oxygen. Anybody who welds with Oxyacetelene knows it is smoky with no Oxy. Works perfectly. Goes on fast. Lasts for years!
In Your Service:
First Big Foot

[First Big Foot]

Some years ago I bought a mold real cheap, thinking someday I would use it for something. But am not sure where to start.

My fear to start is because it is a brass mold. Makes a ball about 30 to 32 caliber, can't really tell. At any rate, I am afraid of soldering the whole thing together.

Anybody got any helpful hints on maintenance, prep, and use of such a mold?

Thanks for the help:
First Big Foot

[tackstrp]

i have a six cavity 358 tumble lube 158 grain . cant get used to the alox swirl and lube. Then dust with mica dust

Guess to old to get used to the concept will sell on EBAy.

Had six cavity 9 mm truncated cone and could not pull blocks apart without a forceing with a screwdrive . and that was before i put in lead.

if some one couls point me to a post on how to hand ladel into the sprue hole . please let me know.?

[markshere2]

Had six cavity 9 mm truncated cone and could not pull blocks apart without a forceing with a screwdrive . and that was before i put in lead.

if some one couls point me to a post on how to hand ladel into the sprue hole . please let me know.?

Use the little Lee dipper. Midway sells 'em cheap
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=161177

Sounds like lube will be your friend on the pis and pivots

[doubs43]

Ditto, and since you have such a nice pile there Buckshot I wanted to add mine.:castmine:


http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a199/steveb3006/castingpicts006.jpg

Nice piles of bullets you two. Wish I could have a heap like those but I shoot 'em up too fast to ever accumulate very many! :)

[tackstrp]

why do i read posts that accuracy of Lyman molds is superior to lee tumble lube??
IMO you cast a tad oversized , say 430 for the 44 mag or 358 for the 38 I just cant see why not go with tumble lube. Alox is alox in liquid or hard sizer type. Most of the Lee 38/357 moulds are 358 and only one for the 44 mag is 430. As cast size is generally a bit greater than the Lee stated size. Basically my logic is shoot lead at one thousandth over size from copper jacket bullets. From what I have read Lee mould are to cast wheel weights and sizing not required. Pure bulll in my opinion, every thing should be sized, but i am old and cranky. So much misinformation floating around it is sad.

Bottom line use what works, and only believe a tenth of advice.

[268darts]

Preparing a LEE bullet mold for use
http://carteach0.blogspot.com/2007/11/preparing-lee-bullet-mold-for-use.html

[Cowboy T]

And here's an example of what you can do with Lee moulds, production-wise. 120 boolits in 8 min, 30 seconds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blk6dKNinlo

Originally I used Frankford Arsenal Drop-Out to "smoke" the moulds. Now I use a standard Bic lighter, and I get slightly better results. Matches work, but they are a pain.

[Bkid]

I took a dremel and a polishing deburring tool to my mold today. It makes for some nice boolits. I removed a crack in the cavity which was causing some bad boolits. I removed burrs in the other cavities, and now I can throw 6 very nice boolits. Yes I spent some time on the mold and it was well worth it,to get the final results. My boolits look great. Now to go shooting.

[Four Fingers of Death]

That Carteach site is great, thanks.

Liberal with a gun could lay out his gear a bit better, so that he doesn't have to get up and stretch across the table every cast. But, I suppose he is young and everything still works without stiffness and pain.

Thanks, the carteach site will provide a lot of good reading later on.

[navydoc]

Thanks this thread was helpful

[Cowboy T]

Yes, Liberal With A Gun is young enough for things to still be working fine. :-)

However, after some suggestions from some other folks, I've somewhat optimized my layout. This has increased my throughput even more.

[geargnasher]

CowboyT, it's about time you joined up and learned how to cast!:kidding:

I watched some of your vids on Lee presses before buying one, thanks for putting all that stuff out on the web for us to enjoy.

Gear

[rattletrap1970]

What is that little screw for again?

[Four Fingers of Death]

What is that little screw for again?

So that the cam (the other handle) rides against it and not the aluminium. As the handle is way harder than the mould, it will wear a groove in it without the screw to ride on.

I can never figure out why casters turn their nose up at LLA. The conventional lube is Alox with the wax to hold it there. I must sound like a broken record, but I always tumble lube some unsized boolits and try that before I do anything else. A lot of the time the results are just fine and I don't need to do anymore fiddling about!

[Wots]

I'm sure someone came up with this already.
To smoke my six banger mold I heaped some sawdust in the Lee melter.
Smoked that mold, and the garage.

[NVScouter]

My LEE 250g 45 mould's cam/handle has boken off so many times its not funny. I rewelded it multiple times but it breaks at the edge of the weld. I just stopped welding it and wack the stub with my hickory handle like a normal mould.

I find preheating it for an hour first helps.

[NoZombies]

Send the broken piece back to Lee, they'll replace it for you free. An hour seems pretty excessive for preheat, what are you using to preheat?

[mold maker]

If your breaking the sprue cutting handle, your waiting too long with too cool a mold. The sprue plate has to be moved as soon as the last sprue chills. A 6 cav mold needs serious preheating and no time spent looking at the boolits, between pours.
I have 16 LEE 6 cav molds and have never had a problem cutting the sprue with minimal force.
I bought a repair kit just in case I had the problem others reported. It's still unopened.
Give LEE a chance to make it right. They have always done right by me.

[HORNET]

You also need to make sure that the sprue plate is FULLY closed before you cast. Otherwise the little cam can't do its job correctly. That requires lots more force to be exerted where it shouldn't need to be.

[snapthecat]

I am a newcomer to this site. I am sure this has been hashed out many times before, but can't find the threads. Which is the best (quality) of these two molds--RCBS or Lyman? Thanks in advance for your information.
O. P. Holder

[Calamity Jake]

I am a newcomer to this site. I am sure this has been hashed out many times before, but can't find the threads. Which is the best (quality) of these two molds--RCBS or Lyman? Thanks in advance for your information.
O. P. Holder

As it stands today, RCBS!! but for the same or slighty less $s you can get a custom mold from one of severial members of this board that make them.
Check the vendor pages.

[Scramjet]

Great topic, I like the idea of using the drywall screw having a greater surface area counter sunk into the aluminum rather than a steel pin or set screw that might eventually start sinking into the aluminum block. I am fortunate to live close to Lee Manufacturing. I call explain what I'm looking for they get it ready for pick-up and away you go. A friend had a problem with a die, we took it back and and were told to wait a few minutes and they had it corrected.

They are very nice to work with, just wish they had factory prices rather than dealer volume prices. We pay more out the door although save on shipping which ends to be a wash.

[RugerBob]

Used my 1st 6 cav yesterday. Much faster then my old 2 cav. The only thing I need to change is to a 20 pound pot instead of 10lb.

[snapthecat]

I am having trouble chambering boolits in my lever 357. The edge of the forward driving band catches on the bottom lip of the chamber. I need suggestions as to the best mold to use to correct this--preferably gas checked.
The two problem boolits I am using are Lee C358-158-SWC and RCBS 38-150 SWC.

[Carolina Cast Bullets]

For those of you having problems with Lee Liquid Alox and tumble lube, I highly recommend that you try the Recluse formula, 45/45/10.

There have been several threads on its preparation and use, all here on this forum.

Its easy and very effective, and a lot faster as well.

Jerry
Carolina Cast Bullets

[vidiot]

Hey Slick--any pics of that finished mould? I wanna see that sprue plate bolt--and what is the purpose for changing it??

[exdxgxe4life]

Hey all. Total noob here. I read every post and the two links to mold prep were great. However, I want to do this right. Could anybody make a drawing or take a picture and show WHERE I need to lube my mold. I know the pins, but all the different screws and pivots confuse me...should I unscrew and lube...do I just but the lube on the sides of the screws...do I need to/how should I lube the sprew plate...etc

Any help on how and where would be greatly appreciated.

[MikeS]

Yes, the sprue plate should be lubed. Get some Bullplate, or some fully synthetic 2 stroke oil, and using a Q-Tip lightly moistened with the lube, coat the bottom of the sprue plate, and the tops of the mould blocks with the lube. While doing that, with the same LIGHTLY moistened Q-Tip, touch the pins, as well as the screws on the top of the mould. (I lube the sprue plate pivot screw, the retaining screw, and the screw that holds the cam lever to the sprue plate on a Lee six cavity mould).

Again, I can't over emphasize that you need to use very little lube. With a Q-Tip, if you dunked it in the lube, squeeze it against a paper towel to absorb some of the oil, as you have to be very careful not to get any in the mould cavities! I also give the top of the sprue plate a light coating as that helps to keep the sprue from sticking to the sprue plate. The hinge bolt of the handles should also get some lube, here you don't need to be as careful, and can use more lube than you did on the mould itself.

The idea behind lubing the top of the blocks, and the bottom of the sprue plate (and the top of it for that matter) is to keep lead that's not totally solidified from sticking to either the sprue plate, or the tops of the blocks. I find that after doing this the first couple of times using a mould that it's not necessary to do it each time you use the mould. Before you start casting with the mould, see if you can feel a slight film of lube on the bottom of the sprue plate, if you can, you probably don't need to reapply the lube. If during a casting session you see lead starting to stick to the tops of the blocks, or the bottom of the sprue plate, you can take a short break from casting to reapply the lube. But remember, it's very important to keep the lube out of the cavities! If you lube the mould like this, and you've inspected the mould beforehand to make sure there are no burrs on the edges of the cavities, you should have a good casting session with your mould!

[nanuk]

My LEE 250g 45 mould's cam/handle has boken off so many times its not funny. I rewelded it multiple times but it breaks at the edge of the weld. I just stopped welding it and wack the stub with my hickory handle like a normal mould.

I find preheating it for an hour first helps.


Take a look at THIS! (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showpost.php?p=1049943&postcount=4)

and he is a sponsor here too!

[Land Owner]

For those of you that are new to Lee 6 Cavity molds the following article is a good introduction to them and how to prepare them for use and for those of us with years of experience with iron molds that have issues getting Lee molds work as well.

http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting2006/swwheelgun2/index.asp

Boomer :Fire:

That link is no longer active and the "error" message from that server says:

September 9th 14:00 UTC - EditDNS and EveryDNS services retired
so if the author didn't migrate to their new server, his data may be gone...

[goofyoldfart]

TO ALL: try using www.surplusrifleforum.com . they have had server problems and I believe they went to a new server sight. God Bless to all.

Goofy

[scattershot]

On the subject of the Lee 6 cavity moulds, has Lee standardized the handles for these? Can you use the two cavity handles on the 6 cav moulds, or do you need to buy a dedicated set?

Thanks

[Norbrat]

Do you mean Lee's 2 cavity handles? They are part of the 2 cavity mould assembly and not removable.

Even if you did manage to remove them, they would be too small to fit the 6 cavity mould.

The handles Lee offer seperately are for their 6 cavity moulds, and will fit many other makes of moulds as well, sometimes requiring a bit of grinding to fit.

[scattershot]

Thanks, that's the info I was looking for.

[30yrcaster]

Great thread.

This may be a really stupid question about the cam screw but the first post was made 2-2006 and here we are almost November 2011 and Lee isn't putting the screw in at the factory? If they're going to jack up the prices to include them, I guess we can do it ourselves.

Also, why aren't they beefing up the sprue handle like KAL so it doesn't break?

Thanks

[Sheldon]

Good question....broke mine on the first time out today. I was getting wrinkled bullets anyway. Bad timing as I was showing my neighbor how it's done on the Lee mold versus my H&G and the Lee handle snapped off on the first try as I was showing him. I could not get it to cast non wrinkled bullets. Will have to clean it and try smoking it....when I get a new handle from Lee.

[trench]

Are you the Buckshot with the trapping forum? That's a great idea for reducing wear on the Lee Mold.

[TNFrank]

Ok, so you've got my interest. I can pick up a 6 cavity in the same bullet that I'm using now and a set of handles and be into it for less then just an RCBS or Lyman 2 cavity. I just may need to check into this since I'd love to cast more bullets in less time if I could do it without breaking the bank.
So, these are decent molds? Do the screw "trick" on the spur cutter to make the mold work better, good idea. Now I've got to figure out if I want a good 2 cavity or a Lee 6 cavity. :veryconfu

[kelbro]

Lee 6-cavity for volume. They will spoil you. Their one and two cavity molds are not bad either. I have quite a few 'nice' iron molds but the Lee's make good bullets.

[MikeS]

To answer the questions of why Lee doesn't incorporate some of the fixes outlined in this and many other threads, it seems that Lee doesn't like to admit that something might not have been a good idea. Changing the material of the sprue plate cam lever over to steel rather than the sintered metal they currently use would be admitting that their original design was flawed. Same thing with adding the setscrew to hold the sprue plate screw from turning. If they made these changes, chances are they would also have to raise the price of their moulds to the point that they wouldn't be competitive. I mean their one BIG saving grace is that they're inexpensive, I mean you can buy a functional 6 cavity mould with handles for right around $50.00, if suddenly that price was $90.00 a lot less folks would buy their moulds. I would rather buy their moulds, and then give extra money to folks like Red River Rick for his cam lever, it's made better than Lee ever thought of making it, and it's also better because the cam is longer, making it even easier to use to open a mould that's sit longer than it should before breaking the sprue.

[Alan in Vermont]

I just got my first 6-holer Lee and it looks like it is going back to the factory. On the face of the blocks there are three distinct patterns left by the facing cutters. On one block the center section of the facing is recessed below the other two. The recess intersects the cavities right at the base of the SWC tapered nose/front band and it is deep enough to cast one very serious fin off the nose of the boolit. Then, when a small piece of that fin breaks off and sticks to the mold face it holds the blocks slightly apart and you get fins on several boolits.

When the bare blocks arrived I held them in my hand and opened the sprue plate to see a very nice scrape across the top of the blocks. It was caused by a burr on the sprue plate which was missed during inspection. Sticker in the box says this was inspected by Lucille, methinks Lucille needs new glasses.

After I put handles on I couldn't open the blocks without really yanking the handles apart. I had to seat one pin a bit deeper to get the handles to open. Unless they put handles on every mold before it left the factory they can't catch that issue in a normal inspection process. It's not a big deal to fix so I won't hold that against Lee.

Other than that it cast OK at best, surely not outstanding. I'm still in the learning curve, trying to figure out what works best with it. I love the sprue cam and light weight. A nerve injury that affects my left hand is making it pretty brutal to handle the Lyman 4 holers that I have and love. By comparison the 6 hole Lee is very easy to hold for long periods. I cast 15 lbs of boolits in one session this afternoon. Being only a 105 gr. pill, that works out to one big bunch of boolits.

One thing I cannot figure out is why I get two boolits that remain soft far longer than others. I push the mold under the pot as I fill it. Front cavity fills first, then work to the rear (closest to the handles). So, lead in the front two cavities has longer to solidify than that in the rear cavity, not much but a couple seconds. Then wait for the sprue to change appearance and cut it off and swing the sprue plate off to the side,,,,,,,, and find lead smeared from the front two cavities and the lead in them still very glossy. Anybody got a WAG about that?

If I wait long enough for those cavities to freeze before I cut the sprue it becomes quite a bit harder and I'm not sure how much is too much force on that legendary breaking handle.

[MikeS]

Alan:

By any chance did you preheat the mould by dipping the front into the lead melted in the pot? It sounds like your mould isn't heated evenly, and that the front is much hotter than the rest of the mould. If you don't already, try preheating the mould by placing it on a hotplate rather than on top of the pot, or placing part of the mould in the lead itself (as I believe Lee recommends). I can't think of any other reason for the 2 front cavities keeping the lead softer, other than a mould that's not evenly heated.

[Cowboy T]

If you mean the 105gr SWC mould, I have that model, too. Sounds like you got a bad one, so definitely call Lee and have them make it right. They will.

When you get your new mould, don't bother preheating it. Assuming your melt is up to temperature, meaning about 700 deg. F., your first two or three casts should get it hot enough to start dropping good boolits. My mould has let me turn out 6,000 perfect boolits in one day, and that's including time waiting for the pot to melt the next load of muffin ingots.

The only thing I've done to my mould is clean it and smoke it in accordance with Lee's directions...then get to casting with it. It's got over 30,000 boolits on its clock, and oh boy, do I like it. Its output is fantastic, it saves precious lead, it makes .38 Special very affordable to shoot several times a week, and it's affordable. If this mould should break now, I feel like I've gotten way beyond my money's worth already. And it's still goin' strong.

Now, for that cam lever. I broke one, too. Didn't close the mould all the way. If you do, then even if you let the mould sit too long, you can still break the sprue w/o breaking the cam lever. I've done it. But you do need to make sure the mould is in fact closed *ALL THE WAY*, otherwise the cam lever can't "cam" and you'll snap it.

[DavZee]

Saturday I tried my new Lee 6 hole .45 200gr SWC mold. Wow, for a newbie like me I was cranking out nice shinny boolits in no time! Then I had to leave the pot for a short while. When I got back I poured a set and the mold was cold, didn't cut the sprue quick enough and SNAP! I sheered that cam lever clean off. Huge bummer! I was having a blast! BTW, the PID I built with instructions from here was working just perfect. So I did cast over 200 boolits and tonight I was going to size and lube them but I can't find out what nose punch works for this boolit. I looked all over Lees web site and can't find the info. I'm using a Lyman 450 lube sizer. Can someone help me find out what nose punch to use?

[tacofrank]

Awesome thread. Really addresses the ways to refine a great mold.

[MikeS]

For a nose punch for the Lee 200gr tumble lube boolit, use the same one as for the Lyman 452460. If it's the conventional lube boolit (that's a clone of the H&G #68) you'll want to use the top punch for the Lyman 452640. I hope this info helps out.

[M Hicks]

I am going to have to try the set screw. I have a 452 230 mold that is showing the battle scars of steel vs aluminum. The screw should keep it from getting worse. I do need to find a welder to fix the broken cam arm first though. It just snapped clean off one day.:mad:

[DavZee]

I am going to have to try the set screw. I have a 452 230 mold that is showing the battle scars of steel vs aluminum. The screw should keep it from getting worse. I do need to find a welder to fix the broken cam arm first though. It just snapped clean off one day.:mad:

I bought a new cam from a guy on here called Red River Rick. Machined steel. Excellent quality.

http://www.kal.castpics.net/Molds3.html

Lots of guys here have bought from him.

[Jim..47]

I thought about getting one of these for an auto in .40 S&W. Maybe 175 Gn. Maybe 200 Gn.

Has Lee made any improvements on this mold or am I better off sticking to Lyman?

Also, I had planned on using my Lubersizer to lube and size these. Do you guys have any advice for me. Its for a Glock 22 Gen. 4
Thanks Jim

[Lights]

Do you guy's know if anyone makes a steel 6 cavity sprue plate? My new 6 cavity 356-120-TC mold's sprue plate is leaving fins on the bases because they think they need a .020" bow on the mating side for venting. I can make one but if some one already has them made up I would rather buy one.

Thanks,
Mark

[burt]

BUCKSHOT...... how do I contact you ??????
Interested in custom work on a 30 cal mold.

[myg30]

Burt, Welcome to the forum. If you Left click on his screen name, and drop menu will show up. You can choose PM or send E-mail.
I like PM (private message) since most are on the forum more than their e-mails anyway.
When you log into the site here next time or while your viewing the site, a screen message will show that you have a PM from (screen name EX: "Buckshot"). Left click private message and your inbox will have a message from him to you. Only you and him read these as they are private.
You can send him your phone number or ask for his and that might serve you better.
The private message selection is in the dark gray bar just below where the forum and Chat room is at the top of the screen under the Castboolit banner.

Mike

[varmint243]

I got a 45 200 SWC six cavity, standard lube grooves, and I really like it.
The top of the mould is getting scraped up a bit from the sprue cutter tho.
Is this normal ? It doesn't affect the bullets at all, the scrapes are away from the cavities.
I tried two different kinds of synthetic two stroke oil.
I also used anti-seize on the pins and lube points.
I tried smoking with a candle.
I tried smoking with a lighter.
For now I've just been making sure there aren't any burs on the top of the mould or sprue plate between sessions.

I have also noticed that there seems to be a magic point where the lead temp, mould temp, and wait time all comes together and the bullets fall out of the mould with no tapping.
Is this something that I'm naturally going to develop a knack for with more experience ?
It sure is nice when its happening.

[jmort]

It may help to put slight bevel on the leading edge of the sprue plate.

[varmint243]

It may help to put slight bevel on the leading edge of the sprue plate.
thanks, I'll give that a try

[Nomadnailer]

How long do aluminum molds last

[Crash_Corrigan]

I have two that have been used heavily and they are over twenty years old. I dip 'em in molten alloy for 30 seconds before using them. Once I have cast a few boolits I then lube them with Bullshops Bullplate lube all over the top of the mold with the boolits still in the cavities, lube the underside of the sprue plate and the alighnment pins and the screw pivot on top of the mold.

This usually lasts for a about 600 boolits and then I do it again. I keep a very small bottle with a squirt of Bullshops lube on the bottom and I dip my Q Tip into the stuff. All this is done after I Leement the mold initially. I seldom ever have to tap the mold handles to loosen a sticky boolit. Most time I just use a gloved hand to open any of my molds after proper preparation.

[Old School Big Bore]

Mark (Light) - Red River Rick owns KAL and makes sprue plates, cam levers etc.

[Smithy]

It's funny (getting back to the first page of this thread) on Lee's custom bullet capabilities. I was starting SASS with a pair of Ruger Old Army's and wanted a way of producing a bunch of round balls, figuring that they would work best for quick production and loading at the loading tables or just prior and cap at the tables. So I called Lee and simply asked if they could produce a custom six cavity mold in a .457 round ball? I was told basically "No way possible". It was a RB that they already had to cherries to cut as it was offered in a single cavity, double cavity, and as part of their ROA duo mold that had round ball and conical. They gave some reason as to not being able to get the cherry into the spot they needed to be able to make the cuts on their six cavity mold blocks. I offered to pay for the creation of a new cherry, but was denied. Now it's funny to see all of their buckshot molds that they produce which in essence are a very large production round ball mold. I have their #000 buckshot mold as a core mold. I pass them first through a .339 Lee sizer so then the oblong piece of lead will fit into a Corbin weight control core die of .340 diameter. Then these short little disks are passed through their HC-2 cannelure tool to impart a diamond pattern on the outside surface. This brings the diameter up to .342 which is the exact diameter I need to mate it with my selected Stretch wad and MagTech hulls from Ballistic Products. 5 disks out of a defensive 410. Pretty awesome. Soon to be Lee Loading 38's and 44 mag's I'm looking to get six cavity molds for their 158 and 240 grain respectively, tumble lube semi wadcutter bullets. Has anyone had any experience or success with their tumble lube bullets and do they need sizing? Smithy.

[petroid]

Lots of great info in this thread. I have several Lee DC molds and have been disappointed in one way or another in just about all of them. I then splurged for a Lyman 4cav. Wow! What a difference in quality and it makes awesome boolits! Just recently I bought two Lee 6cavity molds because I had heard they were overall much better than the DC molds. This is absolutely true. The 6C molds make great boolits in a hurry. I'm less than thrilled with the aluminum sprue plate and it drags and grinds on the latch but it can be replaced for much less than the cost of a Lyman or other top tier mold. For the price, they are a great value.

[pakmc]

Lee 6 hole molds,,,,, I've got about a dozen Lee 6 holers, the spruce bolt keeps backing out, and lead get under the spruce plate etc. I had a wild idea, A friend put me on a drill bit and tap of 8-32. I drill a hole in the side of the mold(6 holder) in line with the spruce plate bolt(after I get the spruce plate bolt out) and tap the hole with the 8-32 tap. The allen wench I used was 5/'64 and I put the allen screw just in to the new hole. I put the spruce plate back in tighted it like I like and then tighten the set screw with the 5/64 allen wrench, I did all 12 of them in about a hour. I tried them out today, I poured three different bullets(with 6 holder molds) and none of the spruce plate bolts backed out. I didn't need any adjustments I'm now a happy camper with lee 6 holers, I can pour about 200-300 bullets in an hour with the 6 holers. and yes, I use the bottom pour 20# Lee pot. and yes, it leaks. (Note: don't tap the rod in the lead pot with a hammer to keep it from leaking, I tapped it once too often and wound up wearing the 18 # of lead that was in the pot.) Yes, the bottom spout fell off the pot. It was a bit of a mess to clean up! one of my molds is for .38 special and I use it for 9mm(and no, that didn't work either) the thread on the spruce plate is a left handed thread. the allen screw works on the two holer also. I poured about 150 bullets with it, (and I could learn to hate two holers. I also buy Accurate molds(when I can afford them) and they have the screw already in them to keep the spruce plate screw from turning.

[Polar_Hunter]

Locking handles for the Lee six cavity mold,,,,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_DKIxervZM&list=UUujc-vPdWnZoFxu6ZhFJ37w

[fivefang]

Buckshot did a fine job of modifying the 6 cav. Lee mold, my problem was mold & sprue plate severe contact marks,which created a gap between mold & sprue plate,caused by very hard boolit metal. so I fitted wear plates to mold, sprue plte.& sprue plate cam. I removed metal from mold & sprue plte.to accept pcs. of bedrail angle which were J-B welded in place, then drilled & tapped,screws were also J-B'd in place.

133483 133484 133485 133486
the footprint of the sprue plte. cam was increased by the metal addition

[Hueyville]

Have been lurking on this site for years and signed for an account recently just because purchased a pile of Lee six cavity molds. My first bullet mold purchased 37 years ago at the ripe age of 15 was a Lee single cavity 357 wad cutter mold that poured thousands of bullets from an iron pot and dipper on my mother's stove. Before graduation from high school had Lyman Mag 20 furnace and hand full of Lyman 2 and 4 cavity molds over the past 30 plus years have accumulated a large number of Lyman and NEI molds in two and four cavity sizes which other than replacing sprue plate on occasion had no issues. Couple of years ago had opportunity to buy a dozen different Lee six cavity molds from eBay vendor who was clearing out all his stock and cutting great deals on large orders. Allowed me to fill in some gaps in mold selection and thought had made the major score. Have read about having to preheat them well and then move fast to keep from breaking the sprue cutter cam where goes into handle. Have only used six of the dozen molds thus far and broken the sprue cutter on five. Only one have not broken is the mold for pouring cores for swaging 22 caliber bullets. Really like that mold as can drop a huge number of consistent cores in a hurry. Have used the 160 grain 30 caliber mold for pouring bullets sizing at 0.312 with homebrew gas checks for 7.62x39 and poured several thousand rounds before breaking the cam. Swapped sprue handle from unused units and been running well for another thousand or more boolits. It is temperature sensitive as have to find that sweet spot to pour good bullets that fill all the holes well and not get frosting from overheating but can make it run acceptably.

My real issue comes in with molds in 40 caliber and larger. Broken sprue handles on all large caliber molds used even using the tips from this site. Have now swiped the handles off my other unused molds and replaced all the sprue handles at least once and the 40 caliber truncated cone twice. Tried leaving on preheat plate for hour, sticking directly in lead, running as fast as possible, wide range of alloy temperatures and just can't get the technique down. Only way can get them to run without breaking cams is to move so fast that one or two bullets have not hardened enough to get a clean cut as lead still molten when open mold so rear of bullet smears and has a dished base and unusable.

If run them as four cavity molds filling four center holes skipping the two outer holes they run fine. Have taken to running the large caliber molds as four cavity units and get good bullets without breaking molds. That is fine by me as price was so attractive and used to only dropping four at a time except for a six cavity mold I purchased from a nice older gentleman who had owned a small casting company for retirement income. It's a six cavity 200 grain 0.451 SWC and know have poured over 50,000 bullets maybe even double that as it runs a few hours every week for 15 years since I purchased and no idea how many it dropped before purchased. The owner had machined a large portion of the bottom off into an odd shape to fit his furnace and a bunch of dimples like a rectangular golf ball so really have no idea who made it but will pour all six holes perfectly with minimal warm up, cut sprue's clean and if cold can whack sprue plate with my big stick and as warms up go to normal stick running for hours with temperature variations from running pot low and dumping in ingots without waiting for temperature to come back up, take break and eat a sandwich, go to bathroom pick back up and start dropping perfect boolits again. So know six at a time is possible but totally different type mold.

So now have six Lee six cavity molds never used missing sprue cutter handles stolen for other molds and not excited to buy spares though understand Lee will replace the broken ones not sure want to fool with that and actually come up with better cam. The molds missing handles are all large boolit molds afraid to even try using with stock Lee sprue cutters. Have CNC machine with ability to cut non ferrous metals like brass and aluminum and considered setting up to cut a few out of T6 or use my manual mill and make them out of steel from the get go but not the best machinist on the manual equipment.

So do I send broken in for replacements and run large hole molds as four cavity or machine something tougher. Aluminum molds are just finicky enough getting to correct temperature and keeping there to keep running six consistent boolits with each drop and not break handles is a challenge for me. Feel like have two choices, tougher cams so can leave mold closed longer and last two pours have time to cool properly or run as four cavity with stock cutters. If anyone is already up and running making steel cams, give me a shout. As to advice to make them run, read all on the site and guess am just so used to cast iron can't get the rythem to keep aluminum molds running well.

[Dusty Bannister]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?138-KAL-Tool-amp-Die

Replacement cam levers, sprue plates, and mold handles. I use the bottom pour pots, move quickly and do not fill all mold cavities until well up to temp. If you ladle pour, with a 6 cav mold, you are probably moving too slow because the first couple of bullets are fully set up before you even get the last one poured. Cast fast and hot, which you seem unable to do. How about filling three, cut the sprue, then fill the last three, cut and dump?

[Hueyville]

Appreciate the link and idea to cut, refill and then cut again. Will time against filling four cavities at a time. My mention of ladle pouring was at age 15 when magically a Lee turret press, two sets of dies, scale, bullet mold and ladle appeared at the house. Closest place to obtain was Atlanta which was a 90 minute drive one way not counting wandering the side streets to find gun shop. Parents never asked till too much time had passed to punish. Same few days before when heard me in front yard blazing away with a new Smith Model 19. Store that sold it knew my parents and said to have one stop in and fill out papers next time in town. Those were the good old days when kids could have guns in their car on school property as kids didn't shoot each other back then.

I had a Lyman Mag 20 by age 17 and it still runs to this day. Have a second also so can keep rifle alloy in one, pistol alloy in the other along with a Lee bottom pour for pure lead and a new Mag 25 on order hoping arrives eventually. So am bottom pouring and not a newbie. 37 years of casting and two of it on mom's kitchen stove is probably reason for some of my daftness. Like Nero fiddling while Rome burned due to lead poisoning. Often would be melting wheel weights and pouring ingots from one eye and casting on other from time dinner dishes were put away till bed time where stuffed the evenings casting session into cases. Had a load using my wad cutters and Bullseye that allowed me to get dozens of loadings out of every case before it gave up as buying new ammo to get fresh cases was tough on a kids budget.

Moved to two cavity cast iron molds when got first bottom pour furnace in 11th grade. By senior year had four cavity molds in 0.357 and 0.451. Been obsessed with pouring bullets ever since. Honestly unsure if reason for shooting is so have reason to cast and load or reload so can shoot more. Reloading may actually be my favorite of the two though they go together. Yesterday from after church lunch till dinner time poured 45 caliber SWC's then 30 caliber rifle bullets from after dinner till bed time. Managed to set the fire alarm off in house for first time as decided to Flux the alloy in both furnaces at same time and ventilation fan could not quite keep up with the smoke. Glad my fire suppression system is heat activated or would be having it recharged today. Lesson learned. Thanx for the link and ideas. Want to get all the Lee molds fixed and running without breaking sprue plates. Anything under 30 caliber is no issue but 30's got a huge number run before breaking and 40 caliber and up just darn moving backwards. Luckily most of the big Lee molds are for backup or odd bullets just want to experiment with though the core mold and 160 grain 30 caliber mold have become regular use items.

[17nut]

I have not read all replies so bear with me if this has been covered!

When you cast fill from the pivoting point towards the opening point, ie. on a 6-banger from the end towards the handles.
That way the hardest sprue will be furthest away from the lever and easier to break.

Look at the handle on my .452-255gr, it's all i need and as you can see it has been ridden hard and long. The sprue plate used to be black anodised :) 10k boolits at least and the short handle is plenty of lever when i fill from the front and break sprues as soon as the last one has solidified.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm153/Chickenthief/Skydning/Ladeudstyr/R0012223_zpsy1jjf2y8.jpg (http://s295.photobucket.com/user/Chickenthief/media/Skydning/Ladeudstyr/R0012223_zpsy1jjf2y8.jpg.html)
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm153/Chickenthief/Skydning/Ladeudstyr/R0012227_zps2dh5ojbg.jpg (http://s295.photobucket.com/user/Chickenthief/media/Skydning/Ladeudstyr/R0012227_zps2dh5ojbg.jpg.html)

The usual Lee mending:
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm153/Chickenthief/Skydning/Ladeudstyr/R0012224_zpsryfcshe9.jpg (http://s295.photobucket.com/user/Chickenthief/media/Skydning/Ladeudstyr/R0012224_zpsryfcshe9.jpg.html)
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm153/Chickenthief/Skydning/Ladeudstyr/R0012225_zps0yje6mpm.jpg (http://s295.photobucket.com/user/Chickenthief/media/Skydning/Ladeudstyr/R0012225_zps0yje6mpm.jpg.html)