Lee molds

[fredj338]

I have found most molds need a break in or seasoning period, regardless of manuf. I think the venting on the newerLee molds is better & i get them up & running quicker. Hot plate is where its at for mold warm up for fewest rejects.

[Bazoo]

I really appreciate the replies folks!

I tried to cast boolits again this morning with the Lee 8mm maximum mold. Took suggestions from some that replied, boiled mold blocks in water and Palmolive Industrial dish soap, brushed with toothbrush and more soap, sprayed with electrical contact cleaner, set PID on lead pot to 800 degrees.
After about 10 casts the mold started throwing good boolits! Diameter is .329 and mold fillout is great. Variation in weight is less than 1.5 grains. Happy Happy.
Decided that things were going so well that I would empty the pot with this mold. Did so and made some really nice boolits.

I noticed that a few replies implied that I looked down on Lee moulds or considered them inferior. Nope. I started with a Lee .44 cal 215 SWC mold back in 80 or 81, still have it and it still casts good boolits after at least 10,000 cast. Have several other Lee molds and they are all good'ens and there are no complaints. The only Lee mold that I have had that was less than spectacular was IIRC a .30 cal. 170 gr. RN. that the boolits just would not fall from. I ended up having to cpmpletely disassemble the mold and carefully stoning the faces to remove burrs. After that the mold worked fine. Have also had to work on steel molds to get the to cast.

I bought three Lee molds around the same time and the problems that I had with them I had thought that maybe Lee had started using a different lubricant during their machine work on the mold blocks. Blinded me to the real problem.

As one person replied "user error", guilty as charged.

The tips that were provided were a great assist. Propane torch to the mold blocks and very high lead temp did the trick.

Thanks to everyone who helped me solve this dilemma.

Gonna work on the other molds tomorrow and see how they cast with the new approach. Confidence is high.

Awesome, glad that you were able to get it sorted out.

I often find a new technique or tip to improve my casting. I'm always seeking to make the best bullets possible.

What's hard is sometimes you discover something better and then you have a whole coffee can full of the old stuff to either use or remelt.