Guess I bought my last Lee mold.

[robg]

ive got lee molds and rcbs molds .i must admit the rcbs casts easier than the lees but the lighter weight of the ally verses the cast iron helps me cast a lot longer before my wrists give out on me.they both make boolits that shoot well.

[mold maker]

Those that are sure they can't/won't cast with LEE molds are welcome to send them to me.
I'll be more than happy to wear them out, (if I live that long) making boolits that targets and game won't complain about. Over half my molds came in boxes with LEE in bold red print. The few problems I've had were quickly fixed by me, or LEE.
The money I've saved paid for 2 more guns which love the LEE cast boolits.
Maybe I'm just lucky, but I seriously doubt it.

[Dragonheart]

Lee does make some very useable tools that I use; like their push through sizing dies, bulge buster dies to name a couple. And yes if you just want to try bullet casting Lee molds will get you in the game as cheap as it gets, but that is where it ends, as the quality is just not there. Just as there are handloaders that are just happy to hear a round go bang and not boom and have a bullet land in a general area. Then there are handloaders that want to see a one hold groups in the center of a target as repeatable accuracy and precision is their goal. If one is in the latter group you don't get there without the best equipment and Lee molds just don't make the grade.

[flint45]

I have 10 Lee molds mix of new and old all have been very good the big .50 cal rifle mold is great in my 50-70 roller.

[iraiam]

I have several Lee molds, IMO their newer molds are better quality than they used to be. My first Lee mold several years ago was a 2 cavity 429 240 grain SWC, One of the holes had an edge on it that held in every bullet pretty tightly, I was forced to "lap" the mold to get it working. I have since worn that mold out and have a 6 cavity now, the 2 cavity is still usable, but it's so worn that it doesn't close correctly without a lot of help getting the blocks lined up so it slows the casting process way down.

I don't consider them top quality molds, but I believe they are priced accurately for what they are and can accomplish. I have definitely sent some good bullets down range that were cast with Lee molds.

[Dragonheart]

My take on Lee molds is pretty simple. I think they are great for someone who just wants to try casting with a minimum investment, because I know there are lots of closets & garages fill with items that seemed to be a good idea at the time. As for me I can see and measure the difference in the bullets produced by my NOE & Saeco molds vs my Lee molds. Since I am into casting for the long haul, the quality of my bullet and the accuracy of my loads is a priority with me. As far as price goes goes, a lifetime brass or steel mold is just a few bucks more. Life is too short to go through it without the best molds.

[.30 Rem]

I find the lee molds similar to all the lee reloading equipment. Inexpensive and capable of producing quality results when used properly after following their instructions. Not the heaviest fastest or most expensive, but are quite adaquiitt for the job and an excellent value. Their customer service is excellent and they will custom build for an extra charge.

[Seeker]

All of my equipment is Lee. I chose Lee as a beginner because of price and I have no regrets. My single stage presses have made 1000s of rnds. and have never let me down. I could afford more expensive but see no need. As for casting....once again I chose Lee. My boolits are accurate and pretty. Any trouble I've had has been due to operater error and has been rectified by following instructions and asking questions here at castboolits. If Lee molds are so inferior, than why would you steer a newbie in that direction? Seems he's gonna have quite a time getting the hang of it as it is without tellin' him to start with junk.

[Geezer in NH]

Maybe one of you experts with Lee molds can tell me how to make a 50-70 Lee mold cast .513 or .514 instead of .518..

I will pay shipping and 20 bucks for that mold PM me

[clum553946]

My take on Lee molds is pretty simple. I think they are great for someone who just wants to try casting with a minimum investment, because I know there are lots of closets & garages fill with items that seemed to be a good idea at the time. As for me I can see and measure the difference in the bullets produced by my NOE & Saeco molds vs my Lee molds. Since I am into casting for the long haul, the quality of my bullet and the accuracy of my loads is a priority with me. As far as price goes goes, a lifetime brass or steel mold is just a few bucks more. Life is too short to go through it without the best molds.

I agree, you get what you pay for.

[ELFEGO BACA]

I have or had a 'bunch' of molds - Hensley&Gibbs, Ideal, Lee 6 cavity, RCBS, Saeco,Saeco Redding, NOE, and????.
They all work for me.

[SSGOldfart]

I've got almost every mold Lee has cataloged this year,never had any more trouble with them then any other,except NOE Molds and I've never had a problem with one or Al's molds.

[MtGun44]

Lee molds are usually quite serviceable, all of mine have worked well. Some
boolit designs aren't too good, but the molds while more fragile due to being
aluminum, and possibly needing deburring slightly, are good, serviceable
molds.

[rbuck351]

I have a bunch of Lee molds most of which work pretty good. The only real problem I have had is the bore rider rifle molds. Simply put they don't touch the bore. A nose on a 308 cast boolit should be at least .300 not .295 Out of the 5 or 6 bore riders that I have, the closest is .002 under on the nose. With one exception, all the Lee pistol molds I have work well. Actually all the pistol molds I have work well because I gave away the one exception. It was a .358 158gr GC SWC. It cast boolits that looked good and measured good but would go through the paper sideways at 50'. Never did figure that one out.

[Dragonheart]

The posts of those using Lee molds are making the points of why I don't use Lee molds anymore. The aluminium is fragile and easily damaged, certainly not a mold material for someone who is into casting for the long haul. The first Lee mold I purchased had burrs on the sprue cutter that gouged the top of the mold. After that I deburred the sprue cutter first thing on new molds before using. The mold blocks don't fit together like a quality mold. The blocks align and fit so well on my NOE Brass Molds and my old Saeco Steel Molds that you hardly see a mold line. But my big complaint is the Lee bullets cavities vary, even in the same multi cavity mold, so if you run two molds simultaneously as I do you can see why I no longer use Lee molds.

If you just want a round to go bang then using Lee molds makes no difference, they make a bullet and it will come out of the barrel. But if you shoot for accuracy as I do, uniform bullets make a difference. Producing a consistently accurate cartridges is a combination of little things.

[bangerjim]

+++++++++++++ for Lee molds++++++++++++++

Just got a (new) 6 cavity 429 200gn RF mold from them and, after NOT cleaning & scrubbing and scrubbing and leaning it, smoking it with a beeswax candle, lubing with 2 cycle blue oil, preheating it to FULL (very important!) casting temp, it dropped perfect boolits from the 1st pour. The boolits almost jump out of the cavities! No burrs or hangups at all.

I cast 600+ boolits and had ZERO culls. All are perfectly round, perfectly shaped, dead on size, and ready to PC.

They still do know how to make good quality usable molds. I would recommend them to anyone needing a mold in their available sizes, designs, and cal's.

And still have $$ left over for lunch............AND dinner!

bangerjim

[rbuck351]

Yep, I have had very good results with Lee molds with the exception of the nose riders. All my 6cav molds work great. I wish they would make some Loverin designs.

2 Dec. I just got my newest Lee mold. It's a 459-405HB. Trouble is it measures from .451 up to .457 depending on where you measure it and it's about .002 out of alignment. Most of the under size is 90 degrees to the parting line so I added 3 strips of foil tape stacked on each side of the cavity but it's starting to fin a bit now and it's still only about .457 with one spot about .455. Still not what I would call usable but I tried a few anyway. Grouped about 6" to 8" at 50yds. I made a .4585 die for my Swag-O-Matic and mashed some into a 395gr swc. These shoot about .8" at 50yds. Good thing they don't cost much and that I have a way to fix the ones that cast poorly. I have had very good luck with all my Lee pistol molds and nothing but bad with Lee rifle molds.