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| I have always had good luck with Lee molds, in fact as of two weeks ago I've sold or given away all my Lyman and RCBS molds. I still have a couple of H&G and some other off makes I'm saving for other reasons I'm not casting anything with them. I have an old Lee that I bought in the 70's, a 38 wadcutter that will cast a perfect second bullet and has never missed in all these years. The custom 6 cavity molds that groups of us have gotten from Lee are great. I've sent new molds back RCBS and they have replaced them, but I've never had to send a Lee back. Many people automatically equate expensive with high quality, but if you use them you will see Lee give the most quality for the money. |
| | | Posts: 363 | Location: Missouri Ozarks, USA | Registered: 10 July 2002 | 
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| Mike, I'll top Aladins offer. Not only will I store them for you , I will clean and polish them. ohshooter |
| | | Posts: 36 | Location: Ohio | Registered: 23 December 2002 |
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| quote:
Originally posted by ohshooter:
Mike, I'll top Aladins offer. Not only will I store them for you , I will clean and polish them. ohshooter
Ok Ok... ohshooter. I'll clean, polish AND cast some darn nice bullets with them!! ![[Roll Eyes]](images/icons/rolleyes.gif)
Top that! |
| | | Posts: 1529 | Location: Central Wisconsin | Registered: 01 March 2001 |
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| Only thing tricky about the Lees is that you have to lube the locating points and the sprue plate pivot. I just get them up to casting temp and touch those points with a candle. Repeat every hundred casts or so.
The very early HPs were made with insufficient clearance between the bottom of the mould and the plate that holds the HP pin. An overfill will clog that area. I just dip the whole mould in the casting pot to melt that out.
If you have one of the heavy .38s (166 or more) in that box, I'd be interested in buying. |
| | | Posts: 1570 | Location: Base of the Blue Ridge | Registered: 04 November 2002 |
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| I find you have to run them a little hotter than iron, but have never had a problem making good bullets. |
| | | Posts: 30 | Location: Pennsylvania | Registered: 30 August 2003 |
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| Seems to be a few differences of opinion on Lee moulds!
I have a score or more of them now, including a few of the custom designs, and all of them turn out pretty reasonable bullets. I use exactly the same casting technique with both the Lees and all my iron Lyman and RCBS moulds....the furnace is turned up to its max temperature, 870 degrees, and I cast as fast as I can. (For example, I cast 159 GOOD .30-caliber bullets in a timed 30-minute run one day, with a SINGLE-cavity Lee mould)
Lube the critical points as already mentioned, and generally clean-up and de-burr the new mould before using it, and the Lees will give great value for the price.
They aren't as good as an RCBS mould, but they don't cost $50, either.
Regards from BruceB (aka Bren Mk1) |
| | | Posts: 437 | Location: nevada | Registered: 01 March 2003 |
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| I have to agree with BruceB. I have a fair amount of Lee and they cast fine. Sometimes you have to deburr them buts that's no big deal. You do have to use the lube like said. I like them, they are light and do seem to make good bullets faster when first starting to cast.
Mike, if you want to get rid of them, put up a list on the forum here and put a price on them.
Joe |
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| I've used a bunch of Lee moulds and have FAR less trouble with them than Lyman or RCBS...both of which can be tempermental at times. The only negative thing about Lee moulds is they won't last forever. Ultimately you will probably beat them to death.....but that will be MANY bullets down the road.
Aladin - Good to see you. Have you been gone or have I not been paying attention? |
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| Hey Pecos!
Gave the shooten a break of sorts, about 7-8 months worth. Hadn't been around here for maybe a yr. But it's getting cold outside-- been fling'n cast a few times and I've relit in here for now.
Say you paid $125 for a Lee mold, say like a Mos or Barnett. You'd it treat better than a blond girlfriend [if your a nutty caster...]. If that Lee bullet mold throws what ya want- all it needs is polishing and care. It'll last in direct porportion to how it's used.
I can't find a copy of my Lee-ment posting on shooters which I thought I had. But tuning one is just simple common sense. More than one Lie-man or RCBS needs some tuning/polishing also. I think any caster of long experience winds up either learning to tune molds.. or has the dollars and sense to go strictly custom molds. But a well tuned Lee takes a back seat to no mold anywhere.
Hey to trk/Tim too, got your PM. |
| | | Posts: 1529 | Location: Central Wisconsin | Registered: 01 March 2001 |
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| I just ordered some moulds from Lee's online "surplus" page, a single cavity 457-325-FN, a single .309-130-R, and a 6-cavity .429-214-1R. Also got a hand press for load development at the range.
I figure those round nose .44s will be handy for visually distinguishing .44 Special-class loads in the .44 Magnum cases from the hot loads that I normally load with various sorts of SWCs or HPs.
[ 11-10-2003, 05:14: Message edited by: NotRicochet ] |
| | | Posts: 424 | Location: Bristol, Tennessee, USA | Registered: 28 September 2003 |
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| I tend to buy Lee molds when I don't think I will be using them for high production. I also use Lyman, RCBS, Saeco, etc. All seem to have their quirks at times. Do read and follow their instructions which most of the posters have already mentioned. For the money and the included handles, I think they are good value for the money. (BTW, I have about a dozen Lees). |
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| Lee 1 and 2 cavity moulds are a crap shoot IMHO. Almost half of the moulds I've ordered are unusable even after Lee-ment. The .452 45-70 mould is a good example.
The only Lee moulds I'll buy are 6 cavity. I've yet to have a problem with any of these, and lee-ment isn't necessary.
I might try a 2 cavity mould if I'm curious about a bullet style. If I like the bullet, then I'd get a 6 cavity mould. If a 6 cavity wasn't available, then I'd just buy an iron mould. |
| | | Posts: 8 | Location: South Carolina | Registered: 07 September 2003 |
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| Mike, all the Lee moulds I have needed a little tuning. Most will show light between the blocks. I work on them until they close all the way and have cast the roundest bullets with them of any molds I have. They are a very good deal for the price. I think that Lee is good for us because they keep other companies from getting out of sight with prices. They make a decent product. Their lead pots put Lyman and RCBS pots to shame, holding an even temperature and lasting forever. Cheap too. If one does go bad it does not cost an arm and a leg to replace. |
| | | Posts: 4068 | Location: Bakerton, WV | Registered: 01 September 2003 |
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| Bottom line is Lee builds some exceptional equipment for the price. They market some products that I won't use, but their moulds aren't among them for sure.
As with all Lee equipment, pick and chose what you buy and you'll have a long, happy relationship with this company. IMHO |
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| I use Lee molds--in fact, I used two of them today. They are not my favorite, and they tend to have more "personality elements" than the other makes. That's fine for us castaholic types, but I'm not sure they are the best first choice for a novice caster. All that "Lee-menting" may be a discouragement to new folks.
Lymans tend to have almost as much "personality" as the Lees, and charge you twice as much for the privilege of dealing with them. The difference is that the Lyman steel molds tend to get easier to use with age (like a cast iron frying pan), while the Lees will eventually crap out. I have a Lyman 311291 that I used today also, and it is a delight to cast with.
I have yet to use an RCBS mold that was not excellent in every way--same story with NEI and Mountain Molds. SAECO is a one example experience, and it was a fine tool. |
| | | Posts: 299 | Location: Yucaipa CA | Registered: 21 December 2002 |
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| bfrshooter:
I bought a Lee six cavity mold about a year ago. It threw bullets six thosands out of round. I inspected it carefully but could not figure out what was wrong. I never used the mold. I threw it in into a drawer and forgot about it swearing never to buy another Lee mold.What method did you use to fix your mold? Any help would be appreciated.Maybe I can salvage this thing.
cedarbrook |
| | | Posts: 4 | Location: painesville ohio | Registered: 11 November 2003 |
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| quote:
Originally posted by cedarbrook:
bfrshooter:
I bought a Lee six cavity mold about a year ago. It threw bullets six thosands out of round. I inspected it carefully but could not figure out what was wrong. I never used the mold. I threw it in into a drawer and forgot about it swearing never to buy another Lee mold.What method did you use to fix your mold? Any help would be appreciated.Maybe I can salvage this thing.
cedarbrook
Send it back to Lee with a note and they'd send you out a new one no sweat. |
| | | Posts: 1529 | Location: Central Wisconsin | Registered: 01 March 2001 |
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| I have several Lee molds. Sometimes I just can�t find a bullet shape I want from another company. They just don�t seem to last, but when I do cast it is by the three pound coffee can measure. I make 2 cans full then I have enough for a while. I have many Lee molds that the screw has striped out of. They galled easy and smear on the top a real pain in the but to clean up. As for Lee the six cavity is the way to go. Speed and a decent price and after all look at the cost of factory cast bullets. If I cast two three-pound coffee cans full the mold has more that paid for its self and anymore is a bonus. My favorite molds are the Hensley & Gibbs but sad to say they are out of business. The only problem I had with the H&G is the price and wait for months to get them made. I have several RCBS they are not a great choice either. I like the Lyman for a reasonable cost steel mold. They are durable and when the Lee has crapped out the Lyman is still going strong. ![[Big Grin]](images/icons/grin.gif) Just my 2 cents worth. Swede44mag |
| | | Posts: 1608 | Location: Central, Kansas | Registered: 15 January 2003 |
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| For sure I'd send that bad 6 cavity back to Lee.
I've cast at least 10,000 bullets out of my .452 220gr 1R mould without a problem. I recently bought a second mould to speed up production and it appears to be as good as the first one.
I've also got a 200 SWC 6 cavity that has cast several thousand bullets without a problem.
I wish I could say the same thing for my collection of Lee single and double cavity moulds. |
| | | Posts: 8 | Location: South Carolina | Registered: 07 September 2003 |
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| You guys with the Lee 6 er's, how do the bullets compare from cavity to cavity for dia etc? |
| | | Posts: 1529 | Location: Central Wisconsin | Registered: 01 March 2001 |
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| quote:
Originally posted by Swede44mag:
I have several Lee molds. Sometimes I just can�t find a bullet shape I want from another company. They just don�t seem to last, but when I do cast it is by the three pound coffee can measure. I make 2 cans full then I have enough for a while. I have many Lee molds that the screw has striped out of. They galled easy and smear on the top a real pain in the but to clean up. As for Lee the six cavity is the way to go. Speed and a decent price and after all look at the cost of factory cast bullets. If I cast two three-pound coffee cans full the mold has more that paid for its self and anymore is a bonus. My favorite molds are the Hensley & Gibbs but sad to say they are out of business. The only problem I had with the H&G is the price and wait for months to get them made. I have several RCBS they are not a great choice either. I like the Lyman for a reasonable cost steel mold. They are durable and when the Lee has crapped out the Lyman is still going strong. Just my 2 cents worth.
Swede44mag
Swede give the Lee-ment thread a read. I apologize for the length, a refined copy has escaped my search so far.
I have a couple Lee SC's that cast like a dream with thousands of cycles. And no wear factor that'll shorten their usefulness.
Course polishing molds isn't everyone's bag and that's fine. Just when I find one that works I slick it up nice and find it a spot in the cabinet for the long term.
[ 11-11-2003, 08:34: Message edited by: aladin ] |
| | | Posts: 1529 | Location: Central Wisconsin | Registered: 01 March 2001 |
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| Cedarbrook, I pull the handle pins. Then carefully sand. scrape or file where the locator pins seat in each half and or the dovetails on the sides until the mold halves just close tight. Takes a lot of care. Then I drill and tap the bottom of the blocks where the handle pins go for 10-32 setscrews. This way the pins can be removed anytime. It helps to drill a small hole all the way out the top so a punch will push the handle pins out easy. I know it's work, but saves a bundle and I have great accuracy from my .44's and .45's. |
| | | Posts: 4068 | Location: Bakerton, WV | Registered: 01 September 2003 |
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| Aladin, Lee will replace it no questions asked. |
| | | Posts: 4068 | Location: Bakerton, WV | Registered: 01 September 2003 |
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| BRF shooter:
following your suggestion. I sanded the location pins and used steel wool to clean out the location holes. The bullets are now within .005 out of round. Goes to show you not jump to conclusions. thanks for the advice.
cedarbrook |
| | | Posts: 4 | Location: painesville ohio | Registered: 11 November 2003 |
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