Problem with a Lee 148 gr. TL WC Mold

[acl864]

Just bought a brand new Lee .358" dia. 148 gr. TL WC mold. Right out of the starting gate I had issues. The second time I hit the hinge pin to knock the bullets loose the pin that holds the sprue plate side of the mold onto the handles fell completely out. Luckily I was holding it slightly tilted towards that side so I didn't drop the mold block. I tapped the pin back in and peened the edges to hold it in place and went back to casting. A couple of drops later and I notice the sprue plate screw was loose so I tightened it up. The bullets were looking OK but they were hanging badly in the left side of the mold. I cast for about an hour using straight WW alloy and let the bullets cool then weighed and miked them. The weight was fine- 149 gr. give or take a little but the diameter measurements were strange. On the nose end of the bullet the diameter across the seam where the block meet were all around .360". I turned it 90 degrees and got measurements in the .3585" range, so that end was OK. The other end measured in the .3585" range across the seam but the measurements in the other direction were coming out around .3555". I figure if I size the to .358" and load them sprue side up they'll seal the bore and be OK for plinking- which is all they're intended for anyway. But this is a little out of my realm of experience. Anybody have similar diameter issues with this type mold? If so how did you deal with it?

[Dale53]

acl864;
The Lee two cavity moulds are prone to have the alignment surfaces stick (steel against aluminum). Sometimes it is just a small amount but plenty enough to not completely close and getting odd dimensions.

Bullshop Sprueplate lube on the alighnment surfaces solves that completely. Just use sparingly. Lee's suggestion to use bullet lube is a BAD idea. It burns on, is almost impossible to remove and does not do a good job.

Try the Bullshop lube - this may be all it takes to allow that mould to turn out excellent bullets.

FWIW
Dale53

[sagacious]

Don't let a slight dimensional disparity derail you just yet. Size to .358" and load as per usual. Your results may well be excellent. If you experience problems, you can then revisit the dimension issue.

Btw, you may wish to blend your ww's 50/50 with soft lead for your target 'plinking' application. A softer alloy may make any slight dimensional vagaries irrelevant-- sometimes everything evens out when the powder lights and goes bang.

Best of luck. :drinks:

[acl864]

I'm definitely going to try out the bullets before I do anything. I was just curious if anyone else had exerienced a problem like this one. The Bullshop lube is on my want list but I don't think that'll help this issue. The bullets are actually measuring too small instead of too big if you measure at a 90 degree angle from where the mold blocks meet up. So I don't think getting the mold closed is the problem. I'm using Silver grade anti-seize Lube now and it's working OK for me. Thinking back to unpacking and prepping the mold I remembered that there was some burr around the edges of all four cavites at the top edge near the sprue plate. I scraped it off with my thumbnail. I'm wondering if the mold blocks were not properly fitted together during manufacturing.

[Shiloh]

I have a six banger version. I size at .358 for consistancy, tumble lube, load and shoot.
A very accurate boolit. Don't be afraid to use softer lead with it.

Shiloh