Got maybe 200 452-200 done this rainy evening before the sprue plate screw broke on my mold. Calling Lee in the morning to see if they can help. Or, is this my excuse to buy the 6 cavity mold? I have stimulus money burning a hole in my pocket.....

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I think I have the same mould! Got it used in 1984 or 5. I have made at least 10,000 bullets with it. I had a 6 cavity 9mm 115 RN in the mid 90's and thought it was trash! I have a 4 cavity Lyman 230 RN, and think the 6 cavity Lee is too flimsy for mass casting!

Ivan

I couldn't tell you how many bullets I have cast myself. I have NEVER seen nor even heard of this happening. Serious bummer.

Don't bother with calling Lee......I had a similar issues with the sprue bolt being stripped in the mold body.....So, on the advice of a machinist friend of mine that is also a fellow member....I drilled the mold body out, installed a bolt and double nutted it....works perfect.

In your case I would try to drill the broken bolt shaft out and replace with a similar sized bolt and be done with it. (Or get an EZ out and remove the broken bolt)

When I spoke with Lee, they would sell me another mold with a discount...don't remember how much but it wasn't much.

Randy

Yeah doubt lee fixes it. The newer molds are slightly better made, but their 6cav sprue plate is still poop, handle is flimsy.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

LEE will replace it at 1/2 the cost of a new one if you call them -

If you decide to drill out the old bolt, here's a great way to do it.

Get a short new bolt of the same size, that will thread into the hole.

Have someone with a lathe drill a hole down the center of the new bolt.

Screw the new bolt in and use it as a drill guide to drill out the broken one. Once you have the initial hole drilled in the broken bolt, carefully increase the size until the remains break up and can be picked out.

I have backed out bolts with a reverse drill bit.

If you are not up to fixing it yourself. Write to Lee rather than call. You get a service ticket assigned, Sometimes if you send it in to them they will replace it and mail it back to you. Can't hurt to try.


They do that for press parts, some parts you can just put in you online basket and they are free and they ship it.

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Still Running Against the Wind

Maybe it is just me...but get a REAL mold if you get a new one. Personally never had much use for the Lee molds... May be ok if you just want a mold for very light use. Not real keen on their dies either.. I do think the cast presses they make are ok..but I have a cast turret I am going to sell.

With the effort and time it will take to repair that mold just buy a new quality mold and be done.

I believe the Lee sprue plate screws are left hand thread. A left hand hit would tend to tighten the screw. Try using a regular bit. Often the bit will snag onto the screw and wind it out. Easy peazy.

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I told you not to use Lifebuoy

mine are all right hand thread - been using them since they first came out - all double cavity - never a problem in at least 40 years -

I believe their newer pinned two cavity molds are LHT ,older models are RH.

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Front sight and squeeze

While I have a few made by Lee,all my new moulds will be from Accurate.Yes,they are more expensive but the price is still very reasonable and they will last longer than me!

New production Lee molds are excellent, but the sprue plate handle is delicate. If you remove the sprue plate bolt, drill and tap for a #6 set screw to hold the sprue plate bolt, you will be very happy with the 6 cavity mold.

You do get a pile of bullets in 1 hour of casting.

EDIT: If you go online to Lee, you can order repair parts. I bought 4 or 5 items and only paid postage -- I believe.

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S&WHF 366

Ifin you would quit tightening that sprue plate bolt every few minutes, you wouldn't have brokeded it.

I find myself having to tighten mine regularly while casting.

Rosewood

When I first started casting I was having the same loose sprue plate bolt issue with all my Lee molds. The fix was to take a flat file the plate and remove just enough material so the wave washer worked as intended. I also had to add more vent channels to a few of my molds to get them to fill out properly.

Good guns deserve good boolits. Spend the money and get a good mold. The casting is much smoother, bullets more consistent, and the better molds last forever. I just finished up 63# of H&G #68 out of an 8-cavity H&G mold I bought in 1987. I cannot tell you how many thousands of bullets I have cast out of it and it looks great still, nothing has ever broken. Bite the bullet( pun intended) and you will never regret it.

Accurate molds will last your lifetime even if you cast 50K a year.They are more costly at the time of purchase but when you consider you'll never need another one,it comes out cheaper.
And you can customize them;I have many brands and while I can't badmouth Lee's molds(they'll do the job proportionally for the $$invested)Accurate are now the ones I buy 95% of the time.
You won't regret the investment!

Never liked aluminum molds. Get too hot too quickly or cool off doing multi
molds of different bullets.
Have a few and don't use them any more.
Steel is much better. Holds up better and are always tight.

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Only difference Fool/Mule-ears

The steel ones are heavier and causes fatigue on the user quicker.

Rosewood

Easy fix to try - remove the bolt , pay attention to LH or RH thread , pull 3 or 4 strands of 0000 steel wool from a pad and wrap them around the bolt threads and reinstall .
This will usually keep the bolt from getting loose .
I did it on a two cavity Lee that wouldn't stay tight ... it hasn't come loose since... I tried to remove the bolt but it held so tight Iwas afraid to force it any harder ... so I just left it alone and it hasn't come loose again .
Sounds crazy but it's working .
Too cheap and easy a fix not to at least try it.
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

I have a few lee molds & always hate using them. I have a bunch of molds, mostly Acccurate in alum or Saeco, RCBS & Lyman in iron. I love casting with a quality mold. It makes the process far easier with very few issues.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Especially if more than 4cavs. My 4cav molds are mostly Accurate alum. I have a couple iron 4cavs & while heavy, not as bad as brass. When you go beyond 4cav, you really want alum molds or casting becomes work & not an enjoyable hobby.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

All of you that hate your Lee molds, please, PM me for my address and send them to me. I have some two cavities for 40 years and six cavity for 20. Even have some Lee custom molds. They hold up as well as my Lyman, Ideal, NOE, or Accurate molds. It depends on how you treat them.

So please, send them to me and I will fix the ones that need fixing and use them.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

I am sure it depends on how much you cast but to even imply that the quality is the same is really funny. Lee makes a decent mold. Their 2cavs are better now than the old ones, better alignment with pins. The alum on the lee molds is really soft, easier to damage. The sprue plate handle on their 6cav is horrible, cast pot metal that almost always breaks at some point. I have replaced a couple with machined steel ones, a 100% upgrade.
Lee are fine for beginners that arent sure of casting, though they are more diff to work with, but the quality of anyone elses molds are superior in every way Imo. I cast 15k bullets + annually. Better gear always makes the job easier.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Have to admit that I have passed my apex of casting. Back when I competed in PPC, the only way I could afford to practice was to cast. Back then Lee did not make a 6 cavity so a pair of two cavity molds was put to work. Had a lot of time with them and still have them. Yes, I hear the new two cavities are an improvement. If they have a style I like, I may give them a try.

Since I don’t beat on my molds, I don’t need them to be hard. Pop showed me how to swing the sprue with a gloved hand. Works great and doesn’t beat up on the molds. Sticky cavity, had that problem with a lot of the companies, cast a bullet and use it as a lap to polish the cavity.

I do like the upgraded sprue plates for the Lee six. I have also made new sprue plates for Lyman and others. Same with hollow point pins. Bullet molds are rarely perfect from the factory but with a little TLC they can all be made to produce good bullets.

As far as implying the quality of a Lee mold was the same as the others, I never did that. Perhaps you read too much into what I wrote.

Your last line “Better gear always makes the job easier”. I like that. But only if you treat you gear well.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

I did not mean that Lee molds were the equal of others(altough I like my Lee more than my Lyman and I own aprox 8 to 10 of each;my Lee will cast with a much lower % of rejects).I fully agree with you and that was my conclusion that Accurate are now the best I can buy.I too will not downgrade Saeco and RCBS and I still use one from the defunct NEI which I like a lot. But I still use some of my Lee molds and they will give birth to accurate bullets.
I guess that at that point,it is getting to the ageold argumentation of which one do you prefer;blondes or brunettes?