How much quicker is a 6 cavity

[Jevyod]

Does anyone know about how much faster it is casting with a 6 cavity vs a 2 cavity mold? I doubt it's 3x faster, because I assume getting 6 bullets to drop takes longer than a 2 cavity mold. Speaking of Lee molds. So with a 2 cavity 10mm 175 tc mold it took me about 4.5-5 hrs to cast 1000 bullets. How much could I reasonably expect a 6 cavity to cut down on that time? And is it worth it to you casting with a 6 cavity vs a 2?

[Winger Ed.]

If both molds are in good shape and don't have 'issues'--- Actually, the 6 hole one is noticeably faster than only 3x as fast.

You are only pouring, letting cool, and cutting one sprue, then opening the mold one time to drop 6 boolits instead of 2.
If it takes 15 seconds to pour & drop 2 boolits in a double, it'd take about 20 seconds to drop 6 with the other.
More time is made up since you won't make as many trips back & forth from pouring to dropping.

If it took you 4-ish hours to cast 1,000 with a 2 hole--
You could probably drop 1,000 in about one hour or less with a 6 cavity.

[kevin c]

By way of comparison, using a single 8 cavity MP mold, a bottom pour with a feeder pot, and inspecting and culling as I go (which means I could go much faster with the limiting factor being mold overheating), I can comfortably cast around 800 keepers an hour.

Action pistol consumes a lot of boolits if you practice and compete regularly (25K a year is easy), so anything that reduces quality ammo production time is a plus.

[wilecoyote]

among other things, I feel the 6 cav. better balanced when it is placed over the mouth of the Lee pot to warm up while the alloy melts,
I started with the six, and where possible I always preferred the six.
with a little dexterity, two 6cav. they can be managed alternatively during the same casting,
with extreme advantage
I've never timed myself, but the downside is that the production of any other mold seems painfully slow by comparison, and this counts when you work indoors, with a mask.

[ACC]

Does anyone know about how much faster it is casting with a 6 cavity vs a 2 cavity mold? I doubt it's 3x faster, because I assume getting 6 bullets to drop takes longer than a 2 cavity mold. Speaking of Lee molds. So with a 2 cavity 10mm 175 tc mold it took me about 4.5-5 hrs to cast 1000 bullets. How much could I reasonably expect a 6 cavity to cut down on that time? And is it worth it to you casting with a 6 cavity vs a 2?

A Lot! No more two cavities for me!

ACC

[45DUDE]

I just bought a 6 cavity LEE 125 38 flat base that drops at .360 and a 6 cavity 228 flat base that drops .454 and they fall like pecans. I size lube anyway so they are great for me. A six cavity LEE is lighter than a two cavity iron. My six cavity H&G makes my left arm larger. They took about 100 boolits to drop good.

[D.Bullets]

I cast 250+ of .452/230 gr. in a Lee 6 cavity. Once pot was ready it took about 30 min. and the pot was low on lead. Mold gets to hot if you go to fast. I would touch it to a damp soaking spong (a few seconds) to maintain temp before each cast. You should be able to drop 6 every 35 to 40 seconds.

[sukivel]

A Lot! No more two cavities for me!

ACC

Yep, same here!


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[MT Gianni]

I would rather cast with a quality 4 cavity than any of the 6 cavity molds I own. Just saying, look at accurate, NOE, Mihec and some others. Even a well broke in Lyman just rains bullets. The Lees bring out the hammer handles for tapping.

[GhostHawk]

I'm with WingerEd, more than 3x as fast. And I feel like they are built better.

Granted they do benefit from some prep work. Finding any burrs on the cavity edges, polishing them out with a bamboo skewer or similar does help a lot.

I have been slowly replacing all the 2 cav molds I use with 6 cavity where I can.

[Dub_from_GA]

I'm with WingerEd, more than 3x as fast. And I feel like they are built better.

Granted they do benefit from some prep work. Finding any burrs on the cavity edges, polishing them out with a bamboo skewer or similar does help a lot.

I have been slowly replacing all the 2 cav molds I use with 6 cavity where I can.

I'm just now getting the stuff I need to get started.

I saw the Memorial Day sales this weekend and ordered two Lee 2-cavity molds (one for 9mm/.38Super & the other for .45acp swc) and then thought about it and went back and ordered the Lee 6-cavities for the same bullet styles. I figured I'd get started with the 2-cavity and get my sea legs beneath me....and then hopefully grow my skills to use the 6-cavities.

Looking forward to casting, coating & sizing my own.

Sure has taken me long enough to finally get around to it.

[pworley1]

For me it is 3x as fast. I always cast with 2 molds at a time. This gives enough time for the sprue to cool, so I pour one then empty the other then repeat. Sometimes it will be a six cavity and a two cavity so 3x.

[farmerjim]

As pworley1, I use 2 6 cavity molds at a time for all my high use boolits. For some of the low use bollits, I will still use 2 molds but of different caliber.

[Dusty Bannister]

OP mentions casting the Lee 175 grain bullet in a 6 cav mold.
That will use 1,050 grains per cycle to fill the cavities, and perhaps another 200 grains in sprue puddle. You will get 5.6 pours per pound. Running the pot dry is never a good idea due to dross being drawn into the nozzle area so many will top off the pot at half full. Then there is the waiting time for the pot to return to casting temperature. This is where you lose time of production. A second pot would be needed and then you will also have to stop and clear the bullet drop area of castings so you do not drop soft bullets on hard bullets and dent the freshly cast bullets.

It would be a shame to turn a relaxing and productive casting session into a race to produce bullets that are about "good enough", but could be better with a bit more attention to the quality and not the quantity. But we are all the final word on quality control of our own efforts.

[georgerkahn]

Does anyone know about how much faster it is casting with a 6 cavity vs a 2 cavity mold? I doubt it's 3x faster, because I assume getting 6 bullets to drop takes longer than a 2 cavity mold. Speaking of Lee molds. So with a 2 cavity 10mm 175 tc mold it took me about 4.5-5 hrs to cast 1000 bullets. How much could I reasonably expect a 6 cavity to cut down on that time? And is it worth it to you casting with a 6 cavity vs a 2?

Being three-quarters of a century old (75), I need add/comment that the big multiple cavity moulds do come at a cost -- their weight! Whether your mould is aluminum, iron, or brass -- what's going in the cavities is lead! A few years back -- when into Bullseye big time -- I went gang-busters with a H&G 8 cavity mould. Unbelievably quicker production than the Ideal single-cavity I started with! But -- and it is a big "but" -- as the years passed the 8-cavity kind of stopped being fun to use. As were my 6-cavity moulds.
Now I pretty much -- 99% of the time -- use double- and single- cavities.
Just another factor to consider in your decision, Jevyod.
geo

[Hickok]

For me, the 6 cavity molds are much faster than the 2 cavity molds.

It is amazing how many bullets the 6 cavities will throw in a couple of hours of casting!

[Harles Dawson]

Does anyone know about how much faster it is casting with a 6 cavity vs a 2 cavity mold? I doubt it's 3x faster, because I assume getting 6 bullets to drop takes longer than a 2 cavity mold. Speaking of Lee molds. So with a 2 cavity 10mm 175 tc mold it took me about 4.5-5 hrs to cast 1000 bullets. How much could I reasonably expect a 6 cavity to cut down on that time? And is it worth it to you casting with a 6 cavity vs a 2?

I usually empty my 40 pound Master Pot in about 45 minutes with my Lee 6 cavity molds. They’re very good molds. Depends on caliber, the number of bullets I get per pot. About 600 with .44s and .45 s, about 1000 with 9mm and .38s.

[gwpercle]

Don't forget alloy supply ... to cast with one or two 6 cavity moulds you want a lot of metal hot , up to temp and ready to cast ... at least two 20 pound pots ... casting from one while the other heats / melts more lead .
A 40 lb. pot is good if you can get one .

Even casting with 1 & 2 cavity moulds you waste way too much time with those small 5 & 10 pound pots ... go large pot .

I increased my production by going to a 3 cavity mould and 20 lb. Lee Magnum Melter ... I pressure cast with a spouted ladle ... my old 10 lb. pot was slowing things to a crawl .
Gary

[MEHecker]

Save your money up for a while longer. Started out on the Lee 2 hole for 45 Auto Rim and .357. They do get the job done. The six hole get the job done faster with the same quality of bullets. I don't shoot very much but my grandkids love the amount of shells I can make.

[mdntranger50]

I still only use 2 cavity because I already have a dozen of them and I'm kind of slow anyways, not just physically but mentally too.