New Lee molds

[Chuck 100 yd]

I own over 75 bullet molds but have not bought a new Lee mold for several years. I have always preferred iron molds from Lyman,RCBS,Saeco and a couple others + a couple custom made nose pours.

Looking on utube , I see Lee has improved the design of their two cavity to now have alignment pins instead of those grooves and ridges that I disliked a bunch.
I went ahead and ordered a 6 cavity 200 gr. RNFP Mold and handles from Midway . I have had that bullet design in the two cavity mold for years and like the bullet but not the mold. I had to rob another mold to get a sprue cutter just to keep it running a couple years ago so I retired it to the junk box. And switched to the RCBS 45-230 CA bullet,that is a great bullet but a little heavy for CAS.

Today I ordered a few spare mold parts from leeprecission.com ,just in case. When the invoice came up is showed the cost @ $ oo.oo but shipping at $6.30. Now that is a good deal.
I have read that the 6 cavity molds sprue cutter is prone to failure when improperly used. I have two spare sprue cutter levers coming with that order.
What are your experiences with them ?

[marlinman93]

Never cared for, nor had good luck with gang molds. Rarely found that all 6 cavities would drop the same size bullet, and often those farthest from the handles are slightly larger, or slightly out of round over time.
I have Lee molds, but not a fan of the galling that happens on the top of the mold where the sprue plate cuts the riser off. I every so often polish the back side of the sprue plate, and the top of the mold, and they're good for awhile again.

[6pt-sika]

I to didn't care for the Lee 6 cavities . But when Ranch Dog was sending me test molds for each new lever design far be it for me to complain and over time I got so I was comfortable enough with them .

Now with that being said I recently got a pair of Lee 2 cavity round ball molds and while they are serviceable they need to have the sprue plate constantly adjusted . Well they worked very nicely for the first 200 or so pours and then the problems started . But what can one expect for a $22 mold .

[Steelbanger]

Good morning 6Pt,
It must be a bit over one year ago that Lee changed the pivot screw for the sprueplate threading from right to left hand which works better at keeping the screw tightened.

I didn't discover this until I was packing that mould up to send back to Lee. Down in the corner of the box was a small slip of paper which was the official news of the change.

Frank

[guido4198]

My experience mirrors that of 6pt-sika.
Casting with Lee molds is fraught with little issues, adjustments, slight modifications, etc.etc. but as noted: what does one expect from a $22.00 (including handles) mold...???
I am using a .395 double cavity a LOT these days casting roundballs for my flintlock rifle. I did some calculations based on weight the other day and figured I've run something like 3,000 RB's in the past year. The mold needs maintenance of the sprue plate, and holes in the top of the blocks as well as occasional buffing of the tops of the blocks themselves, A little lube on the pins, tightening of the sprue plate screw is a regular fact of life while casting. All that said once I get up to temperature, and get a good rhythm going, I get real good results when I weight the balls individually, which is ALWAYS part of my casting routine.
I don't know how much better a $140.00 custom mold would do..my $22.00 Lee seems to get me what I need.

[6pt-sika]

My experience mirrors that of 6pt-sika.
Casting with Lee molds is fraught with little issues, adjustments, slight modifications, etc.etc. but as noted: what does one expect from a $22.00 (including handles) mold...???
I am using a .395 double cavity a LOT these days casting roundballs for my flintlock rifle. I did some calculations based on weight the other day and figured I've run something like 3,000 RB's in the past year. The mold needs maintenance of the sprue plate, and holes in the top of the blocks as well as occasional buffing of the tops of the blocks themselves, A little lube on the pins, tightening of the sprue plate screw is a regular fact of life while casting. All that said once I get up to temperature, and get a good rhythm going, I get real good results when I weight the balls individually, which is ALWAYS part of my casting routine.
I don't know how much better a $140.00 custom mold would do..my $22.00 Lee seems to get me what I need.

My recent Lee molds are a .380" and a .395" round ball mold both two cavity . I kinda wish I had gone on and bought six cavity versions of both , as they seem to me to be a bit better in quality . But then the six cavity is almost triple the cost of s two hitter .

[BenT]

When using the six gang mould fill the bullet closest to the sprue cutter handle last, so start filling on the other end. This way when cutting the sprue the last bullet will be the softest when starting to cut. Also make sure the sprue cutter is closed all the way. Do that and the Sprue cutter handle will last a long time.

I like the six gang moulds for all my pinking handgun bullets. You can make a lot of bullets in short order. Ranch Dog had on his website things he did to prep a new Lee Mould. It was good info , not sure if it is still there.

[Bill in Oregon]

I'm not a gang mold guy either, but the newest version of the Lee two-cavity mold is really a great value. Perfectly happy with them.

[Bulldog]

For dumping a pile of pistol bullets in a hurry, you can't beat the LEE 6 cavity molds. I have several, and if you use a little common sense with them, they will last a long time and make you tens of thousands of bullets.

[mikld]

Well, I must be doing something different than the other casters here. I have a 6 hole 125 gr. 38 cal. RNFP mold from Lee and when I warm it on a hot plate and keep the melt even, I can get good bullets from the first pour (not 100% but usually 4 to 6 until everything comes up to casting temp., three or four pours then it's 99%). I kept a log when I was learning to cast and all my molds were Lee, so I identified the "quirks" of each mold and easily overcame any "deficiencies. BTW I don't "smoke", or use anything in the cavities just a bit of Bull Plate sprue lube on the mols top...

[Sixgun]

When using the six gang mould fill the bullet closest to the sprue cutter handle last, so start filling on the other end. This way when cutting the sprue the last bullet will be the softest when starting to cut. Also make sure the sprue cutter is closed all the way. Do that and the Sprue cutter handle will last a long time.

I like the six gang moulds for all my pinking handgun bullets. You can make a lot of bullets in short order. Ranch Dog had on his website things he did to prep a new Lee Mould. It was good info , not sure if it is still there.

Thanks Ben for saving me a mess of typing. I personally think the 6 bangers are great for plinking bullets in handgun calibers and rifles that use handgun cartridges.

Like Ben said, fill the cavity farthest away...first. I too learned that the hard way.----6

[JohndeFresno]

Good thread, Chuck; and great info, all. Thanks, to all.

[Lefty Dude]

The Plate and bolt will stay hot, even with the 2 cavity mold I start the pour at the opposite end of the sprue plate. Same as I do with a six holler.