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Thread: .490 lead ball from Lee mold

  1. #1
    Boolit Mold
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    .490 lead ball from Lee mold

    Balls from my new Lee mold aren't perfectly round. With the sprue up, I get .490, then measuring at a 1/4 turn I get .493. I keep a good grip on the handles when pouring. Tried different temps.
    I used 70,75,and 80gr of Goex FFg. I cut my ballistol treated patches. barrel is 1:48 CVA Frontier.
    Accuracy is not up to par. I'm going to order a .495 mold to see if that will get me a better group.

    My question is, Does it matter? The ball being 3 thou out of round? If it does, I'm sending the mold back.

  2. #2
    Boolit Buddy
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    I think it would matter, changes the center of gravity on the ball so it's oscillating and wobbling when it leaves the bore. I would send it back.

  3. #3
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    Try some lighter loads, 60-65 gr.
    The solid soft lead bullet is undoubtably the best and most satisfactory expanding bullet that has ever been designed. It invariably mushrooms perfectly, and never breaks up. With the metal base that is essential for velocities of 2000 f.s. and upwards to protect the naked base, these metal-based soft lead bullets are splendid.
    John Taylor - "African Rifles and Cartridges"

    Forget everything you know about loading jacketed bullets. This is a whole new ball game!


  4. #4
    Boolit Master


    dondiego's Avatar
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    You stated that you keep a good grip on the handles. Loosen your grip a little and see if that has an effect.

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy freakonaleash's Avatar
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    Send back the mold.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    I have had similar problems with several molds and not just Lee.
    Most of the time it was because I was not holding the handles consistently.
    There were also times when some lead film got on the face of the mold blocks.
    I have a Ball Mill from Harbor Freight that I tumble the balls in and it makes them really round.
    But not all the balls come out the Exact Diameter if what came out of the mold was not consistant.
    Most of the molds I had problems with were bought Used.
    But if you bought that mold New .
    Contact Lee about returning it.
    They will fix your issue.

  7. #7
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    JonB_in_Glencoe's Avatar
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    Time to start over.
    First, clean the mold real well, Lube the alignment pins and cast some more while concentrating on how you close the mold halves together and trying to have a consistent hold on the handles.

    Then measure several of those balls to see if they are consistent, because if they aren't consistent, then the problem is likely the person holding the handles.
    If after measuring several balls, and they are all a consistent and are still .003" off, then you know it's the mold and I'd send it back.
    Good Luck.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
    ― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001

  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master


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    Whether or not it matters is hard to say. Just about every other mold maker out there produces a round ball that is out of round .002" to .004" or so. Lyman, TC, JT, etc. Even Hornady swaged balls are hardly round. Lee is generally top of the heap, they are the only brand I've ever seen make a RB mold that drops as concentric as they do. It's not uncommon to find them .001" out of round or less. So the question is are all of those other brands worthless? I don't think so. Given the choice, I'll take the more consistent bullet every time, but I don't think .003" out of round is a large source of inaccuracy with a patched round ball. Consistent weights have shown to be more of an issue to me, specifically I weight sort for the heaviest weights only.

    Now the question is why would a mold be casting out of round. Of course if the mold cavity is out of round, there is nothing you can do about it, but I think there may be more at play. Any schmoo on the mold face will cause it. I have also seen both poor venting, as well as improper temperature cause out of round balls, and even bullets. I would actually lean more towards a too hot lead being the culprit. It's easy to get carried away with round balls since they cast so easily, but if you are pouring 850F lead into a mold that doesn't want to run at that temperature, you can definitely get out of round balls.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by bojac View Post
    Balls from my new Lee mold aren't perfectly round. With the sprue up, I get .490, then measuring at a 1/4 turn I get .493. I keep a good grip on the handles when pouring. Tried different temps.
    I used 70,75,and 80gr of Goex FFg. I cut my ballistol treated patches. barrel is 1:48 CVA Frontier.
    Accuracy is not up to par. I'm going to order a .495 mold to see if that will get me a better group.

    My question is, Does it matter? The ball being 3 thou out of round? If it does, I'm sending the mold back.
    1) its not easy to consistently measure soft lead round ball (calipers or micrometer?)
    2) weigh your round ball -if the weight is consistent you proly dont have an operator problem
    I have shot a lot of round ball and the only time I had accuracy problems (that wasnt me!) was a batch of stuff I bought for a 54 - it looked fine - I was a bit rusty in my shooting - but that stuff was off weight (inconsistent) and soon as I switched back to the few Hornady swaged ball I had left - accuracy came back.
    3) when you measure - keep the sprue up - make sure to measure across the ball at 90 degree to the seam then across but parallel to the seam mark

    Its not only LEE has hiccups - I bought a Pedersoli .462 mold - dont know how they achieved this in the factory but one half of that pair of mold blocks was a .458 ball and the other half was a .462 ball - to get out of jail with the project I hung a 5 thou steel spacer between the blocks - not fitted to the ball profile - just a spacer shim - that thing ran beautiful and made almost perfect ball (wished I kept it) we sent it back to the dealer for exchange on a .464 which suited our project a little better

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by waksupi View Post
    Try some lighter loads, 60-65 gr.
    I agree with Waksupi -- your loads seem a bit excessive for a 48 twist barrel

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    I forgot to mention.
    On my Lee Molds.
    The aluminium blocks seem really loose on the mold handles on the double cavity molds.
    I take the blocks off the handles.
    On some of them, You have to drill a hole on one side of each block to be able to drive out the pin that holds the block to the handle.
    Then install a shim made out of brass sheeting to help fill the gap between the handle tips and the slot in the block.
    It helps a bunch because the molds when closing.
    Seem to line up better and quicker.
    Take a look at your Lee Molds and see if you agree that the mold handles flop around a little bit.
    Last edited by LAGS; 02-22-2023 at 11:42 PM.

  12. #12
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by LAGS View Post
    I forgot to mention.
    On my Lee Molds.
    The aluminium blocks seem really loose on the mold handles on the double cavity molds.
    I take the blocks off the handles.
    On some of them, You have to drill a hole on one side of each block to be able to drive out the pin that holds the block to the handle.
    Then install a shim made out of brass sheeting to help fill the gap between the handle tips and the slot in the block.
    It helps a bunch because the molds when closing.
    Seem to line up better and quicker.
    Take a look at your Lee Molds and see if you agree that the mold handles flop around a little bit.
    on the later style LEE molds I have had to drive the locating pins through a bit to get a better fit up. Also usually drill the sprue plate hole out a couple sizes bigger (on the bigger capacity molds)

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check