misaligned molds?

Crankgrinder · September 13, 2011, 09:49 PM

I have a .357 mold with which i have consistantly cast 20 bhn bullets of .358 diameter on one side and then .361 or .362 diameter across the parting line which I can catch my thumbnail on where one side is sticking up over the rest of the bullet. both sides of the parting line are like this. It appears to me that the mold halves are out of line. has anyone had a problem like this with lee 6 hole molds before? does this mean a defective mold? could it be lack of lube?( i lube the dowell pins and the holes they go into as well as the sprue plate screw with alox wax lube but that is all) I have tried cleaning out the mold with soap/brush and holding the mold handles tighter while casting but then i get the same results. I would apreciate any help on this and how possibly to remedy this problem before i send it back to lee and then maybe wait for quite a while. I would hate to send back a good mold that may not have taken much to fix.

PawPaw · September 14, 2011, 10:02 AM

Try a couple of things before you send them back.

First, open the molds and inspect them carefully at the pins and mold faces for debris. A tiny piece of slag could get in there and cause the whole mold block to mis-align. Check for burrs or anything that prevents the mold blocks from closing smoothly.

Then with the mold blocks on a smooth surface, close them and see if everything aligns. I have molds that mis-align sometimes and I find it helpful to set them on a flat surface when I close them to align the mold properly. Another thing I've learned is to close the blocks before I close the sprue plate. Sometimes the sprue plate will tap the blocks out of alignment before the blocks close completely. Another tip is to use a pencil and thoroughly coat the top of the mold block with pencil graphite. I use a carpenter's pencil and completely scribble all over the top of the mold block where the sprue plate swings. The graphite helps lubricate the sprue and seems to cut down on galling the tops of the blocks.

All that said, sometimes Lee sends out a bag mold block. If you can't get the block to align properly, send it back to Lee. In my experience they'll make it good.

snuffy · September 14, 2011, 01:07 PM

I had the exact same thing happen with a lee 6 cavity 9mm mold. At first I thought it was cut wrong, it made oval boolits. .362 on one side, .355 at 90 degrees to that. I then came to realize it wasn't lining up. As you found, you can catch a fingernail on the edge created by the misalignment.

I sent an email to lee, asking what to do. They replied within a day to send the mold to them, and include some un-lubed boolits made with it along. I did so, in 5 days I had a new mold, that casts round boolits like it should. Seems they were not keeping track of pairs, just grabbing opposite halves and packaging them.

chris in va · September 14, 2011, 05:53 PM

Lee really needs to do better quality control with their molds. Someone wasn't paying attention to the pin staking procedure and one of my pins simply backed out, sending half the mold to the floor. I now look at every mold and make sure it's punched correctly.

Crankgrinder · September 14, 2011, 08:23 PM

i inspected the molds as best i could with a small flashlight and all. i also ran a straight blade gently across the surface to see if it would catch anything. pin holes checked out clean. looks like ill be paying the shipping to send it back. I live in Texas so who knows how long it might be but oh well.

September 13, 2011, 09:49 PM	#1
Crankgrinder Senior Member Join Date: July 24, 2011 Location: Texas Posts: 917	misaligned molds? I have a .357 mold with which i have consistantly cast 20 bhn bullets of .358 diameter on one side and then .361 or .362 diameter across the parting line which I can catch my thumbnail on where one side is sticking up over the rest of the bullet. both sides of the parting line are like this. It appears to me that the mold halves are out of line. has anyone had a problem like this with lee 6 hole molds before? does this mean a defective mold? could it be lack of lube?( i lube the dowell pins and the holes they go into as well as the sprue plate screw with alox wax lube but that is all) I have tried cleaning out the mold with soap/brush and holding the mold handles tighter while casting but then i get the same results. I would apreciate any help on this and how possibly to remedy this problem before i send it back to lee and then maybe wait for quite a while. I would hate to send back a good mold that may not have taken much to fix.

September 14, 2011, 10:02 AM	#2
PawPaw Senior Member Join Date: December 24, 2010 Location: Central Louisiana Posts: 3,137	Try a couple of things before you send them back. First, open the molds and inspect them carefully at the pins and mold faces for debris. A tiny piece of slag could get in there and cause the whole mold block to mis-align. Check for burrs or anything that prevents the mold blocks from closing smoothly. Then with the mold blocks on a smooth surface, close them and see if everything aligns. I have molds that mis-align sometimes and I find it helpful to set them on a flat surface when I close them to align the mold properly. Another thing I've learned is to close the blocks before I close the sprue plate. Sometimes the sprue plate will tap the blocks out of alignment before the blocks close completely. Another tip is to use a pencil and thoroughly coat the top of the mold block with pencil graphite. I use a carpenter's pencil and completely scribble all over the top of the mold block where the sprue plate swings. The graphite helps lubricate the sprue and seems to cut down on galling the tops of the blocks. All that said, sometimes Lee sends out a bag mold block. If you can't get the block to align properly, send it back to Lee. In my experience they'll make it good.

September 14, 2011, 01:07 PM	#3
snuffy Senior Member Join Date: May 21, 2001 Location: Oshkosh wi. Posts: 3,055	I had the exact same thing happen with a lee 6 cavity 9mm mold. At first I thought it was cut wrong, it made oval boolits. .362 on one side, .355 at 90 degrees to that. I then came to realize it wasn't lining up. As you found, you can catch a fingernail on the edge created by the misalignment. I sent an email to lee, asking what to do. They replied within a day to send the mold to them, and include some un-lubed boolits made with it along. I did so, in 5 days I had a new mold, that casts round boolits like it should. Seems they were not keeping track of pairs, just grabbing opposite halves and packaging them.

September 14, 2011, 05:53 PM	#4
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 13,806	Lee really needs to do better quality control with their molds. Someone wasn't paying attention to the pin staking procedure and one of my pins simply backed out, sending half the mold to the floor. I now look at every mold and make sure it's punched correctly.

September 14, 2011, 08:23 PM	#5
Crankgrinder Senior Member Join Date: July 24, 2011 Location: Texas Posts: 917	i inspected the molds as best i could with a small flashlight and all. i also ran a straight blade gently across the surface to see if it would catch anything. pin holes checked out clean. looks like ill be paying the shipping to send it back. I live in Texas so who knows how long it might be but oh well.