Maybe Lee Moulds aren't all that bad

[FISH4BUGS]

OK....I am a casting snob. I admit it. I own a bunch of Hensley & Gibbs moulds and cast most everything with them. I have 4, 6 and 10 cavity H&G moulds that NEED output - I shoot many of my pistol calibers (380, 9mm, 45) in submachineguns. 2000 at a time is not unusual to load.
Other than a Lyman 4 cavity 358156 that I got in a trade, the only other mould I own is a Lee 6 cavity Group Buy 358156 style plain base. It has been worked over (lee mented) and a screw set in the side to protect the mould body from the sprue handle.
I spent a full day (actually about 5 hours) yesterday casting with this mould. I used a Lee Pro 4-20 bottom pour. I didn't count but there must be 1000 bullets. I went through 25 lbs of lead and 5 lbs of linotype and left a full pot for next time. The vast majority of the cast bullets are keepers, with the only ones thrown back into the pot are the ones with flashing at the base....and there were darn few of those.
Here is my confession: those darn Lee moulds actually seemed to cast nicely. I did the Bruce B speed casting thing, and if I left the mould to cool a bit, the bullets just dropped out with a minor tap of the neoprene mallet.
My only concern is the life span of these moulds. Aluminum never seemed to hold up to a lot of use. I noticed that the mould guide has marked up the bottom of the mould pretty well, but hey - it is the bottom of the mould. No harm no foul.
They will be loaded in light to standard velocity 38's for practice with the house guns. I expect to shoot some 200 or more rounds a month with them between my girlfriend and myself.
Here is the question: will this mould hold up? I don't pound on it much because I don't have to. The bullets all look nice and shiny, and 99+ % of them are perfect. I kinda LIKE the output (6 cavity output) and the light weight compared with the H&G moulds. Next is lube and size on the Star sizer.
Has anyone cast, let's say, 10,000 with the 6 cavity mould? Is it still working for you? Will it hold up?
What do you think?

[SCIBUL]

I think your estimation is RIGHT :drinks:

[Crash_Corrigan]

I have a pair of Lee six bangers that are over 15 years old. One casts the 148 gr TLWC and the other 158 GR TLSWC.

I had Lee mented them many years ago and drilled and tapped for a set screw to hold the hinge pin on the lever handle.

The cleaning and polishing of the cavities was done many years ago and I use Bullshops Bullplate Sprue Plate lube on the underside of the sprue plate, tops of the molds and all alightment and hinge pins.

I dip the molds in hot alloy to get them up to temp and cast like a demon using Bruce B's Method. I only use straigh WW's and water quench into a bucket.

lubed with LLA unsized I get the opportunity to shoot anywhere between 200 and 500 rounds a week. Some weeks a lot more and some weeks less.

Other than replacing worn out handles and keeping them clean they are not babied at all. I reckon that between them I have cast 200,000 boolits over the last 15 years and they still make a good boolit.

As far as them wearing out......talk to me in another 15 years and maybe I can render a valid opinion.

I know the NOI, LYMAN, RCBS, Mountain Molds and L B T's are sleek, fancy and look great but Richard Lee has his act together at least with the ones that I have and I ain't about to throw them away.

[Shiloh]

My Lee molds work fine. They have produced many thousands of quality boolits and continue to do so. When/if they fail to do so, I have back up molds.

Shiloh

[NuJudge]

If you use BullPlate occasionally on the top of the mold and alignment pins, experiment with graphite spray or smoke in the cavities, and be gentle it will cast a heck of a lot more bullets for you.

I cast with a 20 pound and a 10 pound furnace (the second as a melter), and have small ingots pre-heating on top of both furnaces. For long stretches I can get an average of 4 mold fillings a minute. The mold I've used most, a Lee 200gr .452 SWC looks new.

CDD

[mooman76]

I don't know about the 6xs because I have only done a few k with them but I have some 2x moulds that I know I have put out thousands of bullets and they aren't made near as well as the 6Xs.

[theperfessor]

If you get one that drops boolits the right size and don't mind doing a little tuning on a Lee 6X, use BullPlate lube as directed, and keep your alloy and workspace clean so you don't get scratches, the cost of the mold ($40) divided by the number of boolits you get will be insignificant.

I would bet that there are a lot of guns that would need tuning or repairing before you would need to replace the Lee mold used to cast the boolits you shot through it.

[Buckshot]

............... Since the alignment pins are steel on steel, and you have a steel screw in place for the sprueplate cam to bear on, that issue is also not one any longer. Care used to see the male alignment pin doesn't bang against the face of the opposing block when closing, lube the SP pivit bolt, and the SP doesn't pick up any crud to gall the tops of the blocks they should last a satisfyingly LOOOOOOONG time. Other then accidental damage, if the above is done I can't see why the mould wouldn't last as long as you felt like taking care of it?

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

[Bret4207]

I have a H+G 10 Cav, some Lyman 4 cavs and a mess of Lee 6 bangers. No, you can't beat on a Lee and expect it to perform well, but you can;t beat on any mould and expect it to perform well. The Lee will no doubt "wear out" sooner than an iron mould, but I think it's a case of who the guy running it is. I don't 10K through any of my Lee's, but I do have a couple thou through 1 or 2 of them, GB's from some years back. I'm not the gentlest guy in the world (read that- I tend to get a bigger hammer) but my Lee's are holding up fine.

It's just a different level of care you have to exercise.

[tackstrp]

crash corrigan. glad to hear about your good experience with Lee tumble lube. I am having a fit with my two Lee TL. one is a 9 mm and the other 158 swc TL. I am finding it requires a lot of careful pouring into the mold and hold a close to the bottom pour sprout as possible. Other wise , get wirnkles empty spots, and what i call angle wings due to the mold not being fully closed.

Wish i could remember where i saw that listing of whal alloy mixes cause smaller or larget casts.

[mroliver77]

tackstrp,
Most of us have found the Lee 6 bangers need to be run hot. I run my Lee pots on full tilt and use the Bruce B speed casting method. If mold is not closing all the way , slow down and make sure it is closed tight before pouring. Make sure you dont squeeze the sprue plate handle when casting as this can hold mold open a bit.
Pure lead makes the smallest, heaviest boolits. Alloys with more antimony/tin cast larger lighter boolits.
Jay

[atr]

I have only one Lee mold, a two holer,,,,and it casts perfectly.....perhaps I got lucky with this mold,

[mold maker]

If properly prepped, as stated above, Lee molds will produce quality boolits, beyound any one's needs. I doubt your grand kids will wear one out, unless it's abused.
I have quite a few, and will look to LEE first in the future.

[1874Sharps]

I bought my first Lee mold in 1980 and it is still casting just great! Lee molds are a bit prone to galling from the sprue plate on the top of the mold, but if proper care is given to it as mentioned above, it is not a problem. If it does get galled, it can easily be fixed by 400 grit paper over a piece of glass (this makes sure the top face gets abraded perfectly flat).

[BD]

I started feeding my action pistol habit with a pair of Lee six cavity 230 grain TC molds. They got me through the first 25,000 rounds and were still going strong when I found a used Master Caster to fill that roll. I could produce about 3,000 boolits in a long afternoon by casting them in rotation as fast as I could go. No Bull Plate lube then either, just smoke and spray graphite. If you "leement" them, and show them a little respect, they'll make an awful lot of boolits before their done.
BD

[hammerhead357]

Fish4bugs if you ever want to get rid of those over weight H & G moulds send me a PM. The weight doesn't bother me....Wes

[captain-03]

I have 13 Lee moulds from 9mm to 50cal ... With the exception of 1 (C501-440-RF) all have done the job they were intended to do. The C501-440-RF is a 2 cavity and for some reason just would not close properly after the second casting session with it. I usually drop 500-1000 per casting session. For $20.00 I just bought another one!! The Lee gives me the opportunity to try many different bollit styles without paying an arm and leg ...

[FISH4BUGS]

Fish4bugs if you ever want to get rid of those over weight H & G moulds send me a PM. The weight doesn't bother me....Wes

Wes:
My H&G's are in my will! They will be handed down to my kids when I pass on to that big casting shed in the sky.
While they ARE heavy (I have an S55 that is a 10 cavity 380 mould - one of my favorites - I shoot the bullets in a MAC M11A1 380 subgun) they are not so heavy that I will give them up. The differences are in how long it takes a 10 cavity mould to heat up. Sometimes I need four or five full loads before they come up to casting temp. at 10 at a time, they can really create a pile of bullets in a short period of time.
I guess the responses here show me that these Lee moulds will hold up for some time. I think the lesson here is just to be gentle and take care of them. I don't mistreat my tools so I should have it for some time.
Thanks to all for the responses!

[fredj338]

If yo uget lucky & get a good one, the 6cav Lee modls run fine. I think their 2cavs are just poorly done, but what do yo uwant for $30? I have a couplel of the 6cavs & they make good bullets. I only wish they made a 4cav from a bit larger alum. blocks.

[dualsport]

Lee's quality actually surprises me, many of my Lees cast way better than I'd expect for $20. The bullets are mostly more accurate than I can shoot. Don't ya just love it when you get a deal on something and it works good? They provide variety for me to play with at a low cost.

[oldhickory]

I've been using LEE casting equiptment side by side with Lyman and Rapine for around 30 yrs now and have yet to wear out any of it. True, I did get 2 LEE 2 cav. molds this summer that shouldn't have passed qc, but I sent them back and they made them right. The only trouble I ever had with LEE molds is the fact I don't care for many of their boolit designs.

[stephen perry]

At least you admit such. Like most Casters have LEE molds as part of their arsenal. The LEE people are smarter in manufacturing than most of us. Thank God.
I chose LEE molds to go along with my IDEAL, LYMAN, and RCBS molds. Never wore one out and don't plan to. Anybody claiming fault with a LEE mold needs to review their basic Casting procedures. Read the instructions LEE provides.

Stephen Perry
Angeles BR :holysheep

[FISH4BUGS]

At least you admit such.


Sorry, man.....I just can't connect those dots.
Some of us that like history, quality of materials and workmanship, and appreciate the fine machining skills it took to make an H&G mould will pay the extra price for the quality, and for some of the unique bullet designs. It is like anything in life. Quality costs money.
My question was not that Lee is junk (although I am sure there are many on this board that would make that argument), my question was about a Lee 6 cavity mould's life span.
How does that make me a pig? Perhaps you might lay out those dots and connect them for me. I am confused.