Are Lee Pots just garbage?

[pcmacd]

My own experience has been that I do not like LEE Molds, Lee Dies, Lee Loading Tools, Lee Presses, or anything else "Lee", other than that I have been happy with my small electric Melting Pot, and I use a very old "IDEAL" Dipper.

I have a dozen or so LEE molds.

They are AWESOME VALUES!

They make EXCEPTIONAL PROJECTILES!

A few things to note:

Clean the mold with brake or carb cleaner to get any mfg. residue off the mold faces.

lubricate the points that the directions instruct (you did read the directions?)

spray some conventional graphite in a 100% evaporative carrier across the mold faces before you even begin.

---> Something like "Blaster Industrial Graphite DRY Lubricant" that you can get from Home Despot.

It MUST have an evaporative carrier such that no residue except the graphite is left on your molds!

Screw this "smoking the cavities" stuff.

Do it as I have described and you will nothing short of a _delightful_ time with these economical and well made molds.

[gambler2200]

Lee pots are OK just a pain at times!


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[Patrick L]

I have both a 20 lb and 10 lb Lee. Both have worked just fine, although yes there is a little dripping. Nothing to cause me fits. The 10 lb is easily 30 years old, the 20 lb is approaching 20. I think they are an adequate pot, certainly not the best, but adequate. And if you figure the price differential, I think even more so. Last I checked, an RCBS was about 4x the cost of a Lee. It is certainly better, but is it 4x better? You would have to work hard to convince me. But then again some people want the best and will pay for it. That's their right.

[white eagle]

Are Lee Pots just garbage?

if they are I should be thankful mine has only lasted for the last 10 years
now I don't use the bottom pour models, being a ladle man, however mine is still a Lee

[Polymath]

I have two, about 8 years old and close to 800 lbs run through including melts from COWW. Most folks problems are from zero maintenance and poor casting habits, like leaving the pot full and letting it freeze. Never cleaning the pot after a run, never cleaning the pin or valve hole, not paying enough attention to using clean lead. (that is : zinc WW). I don't have even half the issues that some seem to have. Just been doing it enough to know how I guess. Sorting your WW is the best answer to most problems.

[imashooter2]

I’m happy with them. If you aren’t, you should spend more.

[slim1836]

I gave my 10 lb LEE pot to a friend after I got their 20 lb pot and never looked back, works for me. I'm a simple man and they are simple to use. As previously stated, modifications help and can be done by anyone.

Slim

[Hahndorf1874]

Had 2 pro melts since the 70s still as good as ever!! Only adjustment ever made was to adjust the temp control with the aid of a pyrometer. Cheers Mal.

[Cast_outlaw]

Well I have a lee dipper pot and a lee drip-o-matic I got from my dad he used his for probably 20 years now I use it but I built a P.I.D. For it and temperature controls is easy now the little one is only used occasionally when I’m making duplex Boolits

[45-70 Chevroner]

I've got both a Lee bottom pour and a ladle pot. Can't for the life of me understand the hate for Lee pots. Yes, the bottom drips but it's a minor inconvenience. Both hold temp, both have casted thousands of boolits and probably thousands more in the future. Not the best in the market but good, solid casting tools at a reasonable price Lee is known for.

Both are used and if needed, pot parts are reasonable.

I have gotten parts free several times. I am on my second 20 ponder bottom pour. The first one lasted a very long time, I bought it when they first came out. I rebuilt it once, free parts. I have two 10 pounders that I.bought before the 20 came out. I'm still using both. One is set up for pure lead only.

[GhostHawk]

I have 3 lee pots, one 4 lb dipper pot bought here used, very reasonable. 4 years later still works, no problems.

Then I bought a new 4 lb dipper pot, this one had a thermostat. Worked fine. Still used from time to time to melt pewter.

Then I bought a 20 lb magnum melter, man that pot is awesome! No runs, no leaks, no drips, gets the lead melted faster.

With 5 x as much lead I can pour till I get tired. Then refill and shut it off. So next time tis ready to go.

I'm a believer, love my lee pots. But won't have a bottom dump in the house. Just my preferences.

As to molds, I have yet to have an issue with a Lee 6 cavity mold. Or my 7/8ths oz slug mold, or my 20 ga pumpkin ball mold.

Call me a happy Lee Camper.

Without Lee I would have about a third as many guns as I have. Because I could not have afforded the gun, dies, mold.
And you need all 3.

[Finster101]

Common theme in the Lee bashing threads is when the OP has trouble using the product it must be junk because they could not possibly be doing something wrong.

[414gates]

No they are not junk.

Lee make budget equipment, They are well worth the little that they cost.

There are some Lee products that nobody does better :

1. Lee sizing dies
2. Lee collet neck sizers
3. Lee quick trim system - this does a better job than competitor products costing ten times more
4. collet bullet sizing system
5. Lee single stage cast press - as good as the most expensive units
6. bullet moulds

These are just the ones I use and am familiar with, and have compared to competing products myself. You can go buy much more expensive, it won't be better.

The APP and bullet sizer press are interesting little units, brilliant concepts, but the reliability issues bother me. The same way the Lee progressive press priming bothers me. I want things to work all the time, and not have to fiddle between sessions.

For people on a tight budget, Lee is fantastic.

[BattleRife]

None of them have ever held steady temp for me.

Lee pots are reasonably well built and offer great value, but the temperature control is a notable problem. The control design involves a bimetallic switch mounted in the switch housing. Heat must transfer from the pot housing to the switch housing, then to the air around the switch, before the switch can react. This lag time is about 3 minutes. Worse, the warm switch responds with only partial power, flicking on and off rather than full on like it would if it was cold. This mode is okay if you have a pot at temperature and are simply trying to compensate for atmospheric heat losses, but it is frustratingly inadequate if you are trying to recover from upsets, such as adding a fresh ingot of cold lead to the pot.

Bypassing the factory switch and going to a PID is a massive improvement.

[Ithaca Gunner]

My 10lb. LEE pot is over 30 years old and still chuggi'n along.

[Carrier]

I would guess that there have been more bullets cast from Lee pots than all others.

[Bmi48219]

I bought a Lee 10 lb bottom tap along with 7 like new Lee molds, two tubes of ALOX, a can of some magic flux, a pan of lube, a Lyman ingot mold and 100 lbs of range lead for $50.00. I sold 3 molds I didn’t need and got my $$ back. Between casting balls, boolits and sinkers I’m well past the original 100 lbs of lead.
Once in a while when the flow gets weak I have to run a SS needle up through the spout.
I’m sure there are better pots out there, I’m happy with mine.

[BunkTheory]

The best way to describe it is....

would you rather melt your lead in a tuna can or spoon held over a camp fire?

[BunkTheory]

If I bash Lee stuff while saying I'm not a Lee basher should amuse everyone.

Lee's "junk" casting pots - and molds - have been selling very well for what, some 35+ years now? Maybe everyone will finally get the "junk" message pretty soon now?

Maybe self proclaimed "perfectionist" people should know what they're doing and buy what they want right off? I mean, it's kinda hard to sympathize with dissatisfied people who really want a Rolls-Royce but only spend enough to get a Chevy ... then knock Chevys for what they ain't instead of enjoying them for what they are ... but I try.

If a person is just going to stand 5 yards from a pie plate and shoot,, they will be happier with a taurus or ruger or heritage then with a Korth

[RogerDat]

I only worry about drips when making ingots of nice clean lead. My Rowell 9# ladle tends to drip. My Lyman little dipper ladle used for casting doesn't drip. Yep you ladle pour and all those drip issues just go away. I imagine if one has limited time and needs high production for say competition shooting then one gets the bottom pour and deals with the steps required to control drips.

Clean lead, some rubbing compound to seat the valve well, regular cleaning, including the occasional twist of valve back and forth. Plenty of mods people have posted to increase the weight on the handle to pull valve down tighter. I might think that bottom pour would be more susceptible to cool lead from adding ingots. Spout being a bit more inclined to clog and not seal if lead isn't hot enough.

PID by all accounts are great but they cost more than the Lee pot. Might be a fine addition but not really a fair comparison to compare bottom pour with built in PID to a $70 Lee pot.

Lee molds are Lee molds. At the price point they are a good value. The 6 cavity seem better made than the 2 cavity but ability to get some bullets in a weight or profile for $25 is the only reason some of my family can have cast bullets. I'm not going to spend $100 on a mold in a caliber I don't use to make a few boxes once in a while for one of the kids. Comparing a $25 Lee to an $80 - $120 premium mold is hardly apples to apples.

I have bought Lee as first mold in every caliber I cast for except .22 where I needed a heavy weight they didn't have so went with NOE. I follow that original mold with some higher end mold after I find some idea of what firearm and myself like. Can't beat a nice brass mold or a heavy aluminum 6 cavity from MP or NOE but they are too expensive for a trial run mold. Accurate molds also gets mentioned a lot as a premium mold. I even have a couple of Lyman iron molds that I love (and one that annoys me like the devil). But I didn't start with those, they were added to the Lee mold in that caliber over time. Lee SWC in .38 gets followed by a used Lyman WC in 38 which is followed by a brass HP mold from a group buy. All three still get used all three provide good value.

I still have all my Lee molds, most have worked and continue to work after a decade of use. I do modify the 2 cavity Lee molds to have a set screw that locks up the sprue plate pivot bolt. Drilling a hole and tapping it take little time or effort and man do they improve the casting experience. Higher price molds seem to often have that set screw already done.