2 small?

[XWrench3]

i just checked the suposed .458" bullets i cast earlier in the week. they are out of round, measuring .4615 at the seam to .4525 90 degrees from the seam. this is from a lee 2 caviry mold. is this something i did wrong, or is the mould defective? i am using wheel weight lead.

[tall grass]

X

Lee says they can only be so far out of round. I can't remember what it is, seems as it is 0.002". With the boolits that far out of round you should be able to hold the halves together and see, with the sprue open, that the halves don't line up. If they look like they line up then you may not have the V ribs lubed or some other problem. Hope this helps.

Jim

[DGV]

What is wrong is you bought a Lee

[JSnover]

I own four Lees and they all cast pretty nice. Call the company and ask about sending it back for a refund or repair. If not, try beagling it.

[mooman76]

What is wrong is you bought a Lee


Yes, and we all know the other companies never have a bad mould!

[James C. Snodgrass]

That does seem a lot out of round . I have 2 lee's one the 500 gr sp the other the gc fp 500 and they both cast a good bullet . They should replace a lemon like the one you purchased . James :-D

[mdi]

I would clean the mold thoroughly. Make sure no lead, even a tiny speck, is on the mating surface of the mold halves. Heat the mold to casting temp and scrub the surfaces with a rough cotton rag (nylon, etc, will melt). Dab a SMALL amount of boolit lube on the locating bars. Also, some molds may require the melt be higher temp. I own several molds; Lee, Ideal, and Lyman. The only ones I DON"T have problems with are the Lee molds.:razz:

[Maven]

XWrench3, Does the mold cast a bore riding, i.e., 2 diameter. bullet? If so, did you inadvertantly measure the larger body and the smaller diameter nose, which would account for the different or out of round result?

[captain-03]

What is wrong is you bought a Lee


Nice response and helpful! Own many Lee moulds and they work fine ... own RCBS and Lyman also, they, too, work fine ...

[XWrench3]

Does the mold cast a bore riding, i.e., 2 diameter. bullet? If so, did you inadvertantly measure the larger body and the smaller diameter nose, which would account for the different or out of round result

well, to a certain extent i guess it is a bore rider, but it is not like it is very long. it is a 340 gr. flat nose 45 caliber rifle bullet mould, lee # 457-340-f.

and no, i measured at the base of the bullet on both axis, and at the mid point of the bullet at both axis.

it is like they made the mould, and discovered a small problem, and surfaced the faces of the mould to take care of it. i was also wondering if both halves of the mould should have a number on it so you know they were machined together? mine only have a number on one half.

i can understand it being a little big at the seam. to big is not much of a problem. a sizer would take care of that. but it is going to be tough to get the bullet to squeeze out 0.005" or so! but that much small in the center of the mould is perplexing. there is no way i could ever be able to squeeze the mould together that far, not even in a press.

just so you know, the micrometer is accurate, my "litte" brother is a journeyman machinist of 30 years, and every so often i have all my precision equipment checked by him agains his "standards" gauge blocks, and however else he does it. and i spent over 35 years as a master mechanic, so i do know how to use precision measuring equipment.

i just sent lee precision an e-mail, they are pretty good about answering, so i would think i will here back from them by tuesday. mostly, because i am very new to this, i am just wondering if i could have done anything to screw this up. and / or fix it.

[XWrench3]

What is wrong is you bought a Lee

i really dislike remarks like this, they make no sense. and helps no one. it is like saying what is wrong with your car is it is a chevy. the brand name itself has no bearing on the problem. some brands may have a higer occourance of problems than others, but even the best of the best have problems occaisionally. there is a considerable chance that the problem is ME! if you have had problems with lee in the past, fine, i have also. but to AUTOMATICLY bash them, before you know the problem is quite immature in my humble opinion. i do understand brand loyalty, and if you never want another lee product in your home, that is fine. IF the problem is the die, i am certain that lee will make it right. and that is all you can ask from any company. whether it is some exotic $500.00 mould, or a $20.00 one. like i said, i have had some trouble with lee products before, they handled it fast and fairly.

[runfiverun]

it sounds like they didn't completely close the mold all the way when cutting the cavities.
measure the mold cavities when closed with the sprue plate open if it corresponds close to your measurements and you don't see any problems[ just looking at it closely] it needs to go back.
bashing a company is not necessary. i don't own a lee mold one ,nor any of their die sets [had two of them] or sizers and only one press they sent me free with a book i bought.
but i don't knock them unless asked what i think.

[WHITETAIL]

XWrench3, Welcome to the forum![smilie=w:
As you can see we have many different vews on
each subject.
But thats what is great about this forum.
No one is right or wrong here.
Just different vews.:holysheep

[44man]

I feel it is right and proper to bash a company big time IF THEY DON"T STAND BEHIND WHAT THEY MAKE, BLAME YOU FOR A PROBLEM AND WANT YOU TO PAY FOR REPAIRS.
Other companies that advertise false claims bother me too, like the expensive mosquito trap I bought that was supposed to catch black flies and gnats too. After 2 weeks, not single gnat was in the trap, in fact they landed at the fan opening and sneered at the fan. They refunded my money so they are OK in my book.

Lee will stand behind all of their stuff and will do all they can to make you happy. Yes, I have had to send molds back but they always fixed the problem. It can be a pain sometimes, I know, but who else makes affordable molds?

When I bash a company it is because we have had a HUGE problem with them and it cost a lot of money to get a fix. Many times there was no fix at all even with part changes. Like my expensive Maytag washer that has a circuit board problem. They had a recall so I called them and was told "Oh, that is not covered." Ask me if I will buy another Maytag product! Or the Sears dehumidifier that was at the shop 4 times, replaced and back to the shop twice more. The repair guy could not even speak English!
Bashing is proper in the right context. But I don't bash Lee.

[Bret4207]

Before passing judgment, you did get the mould up to temp and are getting well filled out boolits that look correct, right? If so, you could have gotten a lemon.

[theperfessor]

If it is too small at 90 deg to the part line it can only be because the blocks weren't closed all the way when it was made. If it was too big it could be that the blocks weren't closed all the way when you cast. from your description it sounds as if it is a manufacturing problem and not an end-user problem. Send it back.

[DGV]

I must apologize for my rant. I am sure Lee makes a good mold. I have had a bad time with three diferent ones. Nothing but severe frosting. I cant get good fill-out any other way. I was having a tough time with consistent weight and oval projectiles on two of the molds. ie .003-.004 thousands at the seams. The blocks were closed all the way and no built up lead smear of any kind. Aluminum and I dont agree. I have used several RCBS molds with excellent results. Again, I apologize if I offended anyone.

[snaggdit]

I must apologize for my rant. I am sure Lee makes a good mold. I have had a bad time with three diferent ones. Nothing but severe frosting. I cant get good fill-out any other way. I was having a tough time with consistent weight and oval projectiles on two of the molds. ie .003-.004 thousands at the seams. The blocks were closed all the way and no built up lead smear of any kind. Aluminum and I dont agree. I have used several RCBS molds with excellent results. Again, I apologize if I offended anyone.

Anyone who apologizes when called on something is OK by me. We have all had issues with a product or two over the years. I use almost all Lee molds and sizing dies. This is mainly due to keeping my initial expenses low and now I am beginning to try some higher priced molds and am looking towards a lube sizer. I have been happy so far with Lee products myself. I always feel if I upgrade later, I have something to pass on to someone just getting started. Problem is I hate to part with anything...

[Dale53]

I have moulds by all major manufacturers and have successfully used them all (the brands). However, I HAVE had some problem moulds.

Lee two cavity moulds are not my favorites (I MUCH prefer their six cavity moulds) but I have used the two cavity moulds with satisfaction. This includes the Lee 457-340-F (my 1895 Marlin's favorite bullet). However, one thing I have learned with the Lee two cavity moulds is that the alignment pins (steel) mate with aluminum v-grooves. They tend to "stick" and hold the moulds apart WTIHOUT the caster realizing it. It will give the results the OP is having. The solution, for me, is to use Bull Shop Sprueplate lube on the alignment pins. This TOTALLY solves this particular problem.

NOTE: I DO NOT suggest you use ANY other lube (Lee suggests Alox and that will build up and burn on, hold the blocks apart and be VERY difficult to near impossible to remove). Bullshop's lube is so far superior to any other lube I have tried there is just no comparison. You apply it sparingly with a cue tip and the problem is GONE.

FWIW
Dale53