I just recieved my order from Midway, a Lee 6x mold for casting. When I opened the box there were no handles for the mold. I know the 2x have handles and therefore was under the impression the 6x's came with them also. I looked on the Midway site and did not see anything stating that you have to order the mold handles seperate. Should they have came with handles or do you have to order seperate? Thanks!

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You'll shoot your eye out kid

You have to order the handles separately for the 6 cavity molds. They are still a bargain when compared to the molds from other makers. I have used the Lee 2 cavity and the 6 cavity. I suspect you'll wonder how you ever got by with anything else. I once had a steel Lyman 4 cavity mold for a .45 ACP slug. That mold wore me out. Made great bullets, but was too heavy for long casting periods. Here's about an hour's worth of casting:

OK...I will get ahold of Midway and order the handles. I guess I will use my 2x for another week. Thanks!!

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You'll shoot your eye out kid

It should be noted that the 6 cavity handles will also work on Lyman and RCBS 1 and 2 cavity moulds. They can also be modified for use with a Lyman 4 cavity, but I had to use a milling machine for that modification.

You can get about 3 of the Lee handles for the price of one handle from the other manufacturers.

Did not know the handles would fit Lyman/RCBS. That's real good info. You're spot on about the price. The Lee handles were in short supply when I bought three sets back last Christmas. Had to order the molds from one place and the handles somewhere else. Hopefully this situation has eased.

Here's a set of 6 cavity that have been modified for Lyman 4 cavity. It's pretty easy to see how much I had to mill these down.



Here's a set of 6 cavity that may have had to have a little sanding for a good fit on either an RCBS or Lyman two cavity.



A Dremel or air powered die grinder with a flap type sanding drum is all that's needed to sand the handles with, if they're too thick for the mould groove.

Tell me, did you find it necessary yet to do the modification to the mould where you put in a steel headed screw where the camming action of the spure plate handle hits the aluminum mould yet? Or is this unnecessary on some calibers if you use a light hand to break the sprue?

I've thought about getting a Lee 6x, but have been shy to get one thinking I might wear it out compared to my 4x Lyman moulds.

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Lost it all in a boat accident

The 6-holers seem to me to be pretty sturdy, especially compared to the 2 cavity models. I have not used these extensively yet and the only potential problem I see is that the bolt that the sprue cutter pivots on has a tendency to loosen. I may have to drill and pin that bolt, or simply disrupt the threads slightly. I'm thinking on the aluminum, it would be better to pin the bolt.
I used some of the Lyman 4-cavity molds back years ago, before the widespread availability of commercial cast bullets. They made perfectly good bullets, but boy, were they heavy after a while. The aluminum Lee molds don't fatigue me like the steel molds do. I've seen some 8-cavity H&G molds. I can just imagine what a casting session would do to my arm muscles with that one!

Most of the folks at the castboolits forum like using bullshop sprue plate lube on lee aluminum molds to prevent scratches and improving it's casting rate.

I've been using neversieze. Seems to work pretty well. I lube the pins, under the sprue plate, and the bolt that holds the sprue plate in place while pouring.

For sure a Lee 6 cavity is not as robust as your Lyman iron blocks, but they are good for thousands of cycles if treated carefully. I have cast over 10K each from a 452-228-1R and a 358-150-1R and have not seen the need for the screw modification.

I use the neversieze on the pins and pivots also. Very good at preventing galling.

I and a few others have broken the sprue plate cover on the 6 cavity mold. Warm it up well by pouring one cavity for two boolits, then add another until the mold is up to temp.

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Front sight and squeeze

If you'll use a hot plate to preheat your 6 cavity Lees, or any other mould, you'll spend much less time getting everything up to temperature. A Lee 6 cavity will only need the sprue plate heated to cast good bullets, usually one or two fillings, but start with two cavities and work them towards complete filling or the sprue will be very hard to cut.

The picture I posted of the Lyman w/Lee 6 cavity handles shows it sitting on a hot plate preheating. That mould will cast good bullets on the first filling.

It's true the Lyman 4 cavity moulds are real wristbreakers. But the SAECO 4 cavity or those by the late, lamented Hensley & Gibbs are a good deal smaller, with no loss of efficiency. My RCBS furnace has an adjustable rest for the mould, which takes a lot of the pain out of using the Lyman 4 cavity numbers.