Problem with Lee mold

[hornady]

I think this mold is going on the for sale page. I think my main problem is, I use a Lyman Lube / seizer, and it just dose not like the shallow lube rings on the double lube groove lee molds. All my other molds are Lyman, and work great.
But the Lee 452-252 SWC, its just more trouble than it’s worth.
I have adjusted the bullet depth in & out of the lube / seizer, I have tried With & With out heat, to get the grooves full, but then I get a run of about 6 or 8 bullets and then the lube will get under the bullet. So I end up stopping clean everything and start again.
I am lubing with White Label BAC- Special blend, it works great with all my Lyman molds.
I don’t trust this Lee bullet, with just the BAC lube, and have been mixing Lee Liquid Alox and mineral spirits 50 /50, and tumble lubing these bullets, but double lubing is getting old.
Am I missing something? The Bullets shoot well enough; this is just getting to be a real pain.

[Bwana]

I think you'll find it's not the lube grooves that are the problem it is the short length of the base band.
With the Lyman sizer bodies there are so many holes for the lube to come through it is sometimes hard to get the base of the bullet between the holes at the bottom of the stroke.
Sometimes it requires maintaining just the right pressure on the lube.
I find the RCBS sizer bodies more forgiving in this respect with their lube ring groove.

[hornady]

Thanks that’s what I thought, I just put an order into Mid-south, I ordered the Lyman 452424 mold, it’s a little heavier bullet, but should work a lot better. Other than the Lyman molds I do have the Lee 90368 .309 – 170 GC rifle mold and I have no problems with it. Live and learn, I thought I would save a couple bucks with the Lee 45 colt mold; it just did not pay off this time. But thanks again, its good to be able to reaffirm your suspicions.

[roarin 54]

I have the lee 452-255 RF mold and am not pleased with the way the boolits size and lube in my 4500. I have great results with an old used Lyman 429421 mold for my .44 Magnum. I think I will be investing in Lyman 452424 or maybe the RCBS 454-270. As far as the Lee 452-228 RN is concerned, I'm having fair results in my Kimber 1911, but I wished I would have gotten the Lyman 452374 instead. I don't want to knock lee products because 60% of my reloading equipment is Lee. I just think Lee molds were meant to work in conjunction with the Lee sizers and lubes and I don't really want to buy a lot of different equipment to perform the same task.

[10x]

Lee Liquid Alox will work to lube these bullets after they have been sized.
Don't give up - you may find a sweet shooting load....

[MT Gianni]

Pull your sizing die and clean it. Take it apart and put some shot in the row of holes so that you only have one row of lube holes exposed. Reassemble and that should solve your problems. I forget what size shot to use but a search should help.

[Frank V]

I have the lee 452-255 RF mold and am not pleased with the way the boolits size and lube in my 4500. I have great results with an old used Lyman 429421 mold for my .44 Magnum. I think I will be investing in Lyman 452424 or maybe the RCBS 454-270. As far as the Lee 452-228 RN is concerned, I'm having fair results in my Kimber 1911, but I wished I would have gotten the Lyman 452374 instead. I don't want to knock lee products because 60% of my reloading equipment is Lee. I just think Lee molds were meant to work in conjunction with the Lee sizers and lubes and I don't really want to buy a lot of different equipment to perform the same task.


Roarin
I'd fiddle with that bullet a bit to get it to lube & size. I have the same mould & that bullet shoots very well for me. My lubrisizer is an old one though. I'd play with it some before I gave up. I really like mine & when I shoot something with it you can hear the whaaaaccck. When it hits.:grin:
Frank

[leadman]

Also if the boolit is just being "touched" by the die it will tend to get lube under it. Lap out the mold a little or add some antimony to increase the size. Could also try Carnuba Red and see if the thicker lube will cure your problem.