another 6 cavity mold question

[bigboredad]

I've been casting everyday with a 2 cavity lee mold for my .45acp .45colt and .45/70 my question is is a 6 cavity a good investment or are they more hassle than they are worth? I would like to hear from real users not theories on this subject.
Thanks for the help guys

[Buckshot]

.............Actually they're quite nice. You can sure produce a BUNCH of boolits with them. The 6 cav blocks are a magnitude better then the 2 cav Lees. However there are a couple of suggested upgrades. You'll find a couple here: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=4790

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

[HeavyMetal]

Yes the 6 bangers are worth it!

I agree the up dates are very important for long usage.

I always buy two, if I can, so that I can use a hot plate to keep the mold and more importantly the sprue plate hot while casting.

I set the molds on there side between two pieces of square steel bar welded to a 1/4 inch steel plate. This keeps the sprue plate in contact with a "preheater" so it never looses it's temp then rotate fill and empty until I get tired.

Done correctly this technique can empty a 20 lb lee pot in minutes!

[chrisx1]

6 cav is definately better than the 2 cav design.

Read up on the sticky posts regarding 'Lee-menting'


Heavymetal, I'm curious about your pre-heater - do you have any pics?

[HeavyMetal]

I have had no luck with posting pic's think I got software glich.

All my pre heater is: a 10.00 electric hot plate from Walgren's and a piece of steel plate with a couple pieces of square stock welded to it.

Send me a e mail addy by PM and I can send a pic or two by my cell phone. That I can do!

[Shiloh]

Once you get a rhythm going, you can create a mountain of boolits. With HeavyMetals technique, you'd have boolits for a long time.

I'm planning to cast up some LEE 148 gr.TLWC this week. A couple of hours, and I'll have enough for many falling steel plate sessions at the range.

Shiloh

Shiloh

[bigboredad]

Thanks for the advice guys my hope is of course increased production I had good luck with all the lee 2cavity molds but a have a semi auto that I struggling to learn how to shoot and it would be a lot nicer to have a mountain of boolits to at the ready. but I've also heard of guys having quite a bit of trouble. Ill be using a hot plate and a pot that can easily hold 30 pounds of lead and my ladle is a big soup ladle that can easily hold 2 pounds and it has a 3/16 inch hole drilled in the side for more controlled pour Ill be casting a 230 grain truncated cone in.45

[mooman76]

They are worth it if you use allot of one style bullet and you want to knock out a bunch. You can really put out a mess of bullets quick. They are a little more hassle though so if you don't go through allot of a particular bullet I find for me anyway that the two cavity is fine plus I can have allot more bullet moulds to select from. They take longer to get going and and you have to keep production up to speed or you start getting more bullets that don't turn out. I have something like 6-8 6x moulds and about 40 2x Lee moulds. So if you are going through allot of one style bullet, yes it is well worth it.

[TAWILDCATT]

I just got a 148 WC,I have a mod 10 for compitition bullseye.
firt thing I do is stone the faces.then fine file to break edge of mold to take of sharp edges.I dont smoke mold.but do put lube on certain parts to prevent galling.if I had bull plate I would use that.you MUST run melt HOT.and keep pouring dont stop and didle.
Lee molds need a little prep but they dont cost any way near what others go for.
and if you have a problem ask dont get mad and curse it,sit down and think about it and ask.

[MtGun44]

The six holers are great, but they take a bit of technique, plus you should do yourself a
favor and get the Bull Plate Lube (Bull Shop, bottom of the page)and use it sparingly on
the top of the mold and the bottom of the sprue plate. Scrub the mold cavites well with
Comet cleaner or similar mild abrasive and a toothbrush, rinse and let dry. A spritz with
brake cleaner is good, too - if any possibility of petroleum product contamination of the
cavities has occurred. Get the mold hot, and you will get lots of boolits. Oh, put a dab
of Bull Plate on the alignment pins (any molds) too.

Bill

[tackstrp]

I gave up on dip and pour and purasched a lee bottom pour 20# pot. Far fewer winkled rejects due to poor pouring techinique.

[arcticbreeze]

I gave up on dip and pour and purasched a lee bottom pour 20# pot. Far fewer winkled rejects due to poor pouring techinique.

With a 6 cavity I agree, but with a single or 2 cavity mold I get far superior results with a ladle. I now only use a ladle for rifle boolits and use the bottom pour for higher volume pistol.