You say, “With all those problems why do you keep buying Lees?” Well, it’s simple, I also own Lyman, RCBS, and Saeco moulds and all have worked well out of the box...I like them. However, check the first sentence of this article. Now disregard the second sentence, for, with about an hours work, I’ve found a way to improve the casting quality of the Lee to the level of the other commercial manufactures. Compare the price of the Lee to any of the others (don’t forget the handle purchase) and you’ll discover it’s pretty good pay for your time. I developed this method after experience with my third Lee mould (the one requiring an awl for bullet release). I was ready to throw it away and swear off Lees, when I hit upon the following technique. I used it to greatly improve my first two Lees and on the eight I have purchased since. It works!
With any mould, an off-center cavity is always possible, but it’s rare. I’ve never had one personally and personally know no one who has. I’ve heard second hand of someone who had one...and it wasn’t a Lee. You’ll know you have one when you can’t get a bullet out of one side of the mould without just about carving it out. There’s no fix for this. You need to contact the manufacturer and get a new mould.
Poor venting is the main cause of the poor bullet fill-out. (Other than bad alloy)
Bad handle-to-block fit can adversely effect the mould opening and closure. Blocks that don’t meet squarely can result in an out-of-round bullet and finning where the blocks meet. A mould that doesn’t open squarely can cause poor bullet release. In most cases excessive wear of the mould faces will result due to the aluminum faces rubbing against each other as the mould opens and closes.
A badly finished cavity with burrs, rough spots, and machining marks is the usual cause of the bullets sticking in the cavity (although too high a temperature of the mould or alloy can cause this also).
The poor venting and cavity finishing can be fixed. You can compensate for bad handle-to-block fit.
I perform the entire technique on each mould as I prefer to do the “fix” once and once only as nothing is lost except for a bit extra time. However, based on your problem, you can do each fix separately. For that reason, the problems and fixes are separated out. However, I would recommend that the “fix” for venting and handle alignment problems be used for each mould. The cavity finishing “fix” is desirable since it can only improve bullet release, however, may not be a necessity for your mould. It does appear to me that Lee, recently, has better quality control on their cavities than they did earlier.
Now remove the bolt holding the handles together. Spray each mould face with a light coat of graphite release. If you plan to fix the cavities, make sure each cavity is covered with graphite also and give each cavity a second coat when dry. When dry and with a cloth, a little water, and comet clean the block faces. The fine vent lines will stand out...filled with graphite. Take the carbide scribe and run it down each vent line, deepening and widening it (not too much but enough to be noticeable) between the cavity and edge of the block. Note: the purpose of the graphite is to highlight the vent lines especially those which do not connect with the cavity or edge and also to serve as a guide when re cutting the lines...when the black is gone you’re into the metal. Note: You’ll likely need to use the graphite as a venting guide only on your first mould. You’ll develop a “ feel” for it on additional moulds and will have a previously fixed mould with which to compare it. You might be comfortable enough with a scribe to open the lines without graphite on your first try...if so have at it.
If you do not intend to fix the cavity, make sure the cavity has no burrs left from the procedure, clean the mould release from the cavities if you wish, and put the handles back together. The loosening of the spue plate helps venting at the bullet base and the opening of the vent lines takes care of the rest. You’re done!
The best fix for this is to lay the back of the mould on a flat surface when opening and closing the mould. I use a six gallon bucket with rags in it for air cooled bullets. For quenched bullets, I tie a cloth with a slit in the middle over it and fill the bucket with water. In both cases, I lay a 1x4 inch board across the back of the bucket and lay the back of the mould on it. This solves alignment and wear problems when closing the mould and aids in bullet release when opening it.
A second method( if your technique makes use of a flat surface inconvenient) is, when closing, to turn the mould sideways so that the open spue plate is pointing downward. When the mould is closed turn it back to horizontal and close as usual. This helps to solve alignment problems when closing but obviously doesn’t address opening issues.
If you completed the venting section, your mould should now have a double coat of graphite release in the mould cavities. If not, spray two coats in the cavities and let it dry. Screw a 1 to 2 inch long screw into the hole you drilled in one of the bullets (a Phillips or hex head works best to keep the driver bit from slipping), wet the bullet, and sprinkle some Comet on it. Place the bullet into a bullet cavity and, with a drill at slow speed and the mould closed on the bullet, rotate the bullet in the cavity. Continue until the mould fully closes on the bullet. Use another bullet for the other cavity and repeat. Now rinse the moulds and with a toothbrush, clean them. Carefully inspect the mould cavities. Burrs and high spots that were previously unnoticed will be seen as bright spots surrounded by black... depressions as black surrounded by white mould metal. With a sharp knife, scrape the burrs and high spots off and smooth any sharp depressions that represent an imperfection. Go back and repeat the Comet trick twice more for each cavity, clean, and inspect the mould once more. If necessary, scrape imperfections with the knife again. Most of the graphite will now be gone. Some may remain but will be highly polished and filling imperfections. It is an aid, not a hindrance, so leave it. You now have a repaired and polished cavity...it will drop quality bullets with the best of them.
If you didn’t do the venting fix, make sure you clean out the vent lines with the tooth brush. Put the handles back together. You’re done!
As an aside, I discovered the use of graphite for repairing a mould by accident. In desperation, I tried using it to help mould #3 release bullets. It didn’t help. I then decided to try polishing the cavity once more and discovered its true value. The mould had a machining mark left under one of the cuts for the driving band. I simply couldn’t see it without the graphite. A little touch up with an exacto knife and the graphite remaining in the cut solved the problem. That “impossible mould” now works beautifully.
Keep the mould lubricated. It should be lubricated at the start of each casting section, not just when new, and when the mould doesn’t easily open during an extended casting session. If the mould isn’t adequately lubricated, premature wear will result. Be careful to keep the lubricant from getting into the vent lines or you may have fill-out problems.
The spue plate may score the top of the mould. Loosing the spue plate will help reduce this but may not eliminate it. The best fix is to remove the spue plate and with a fine file or sharpening stone, slightly round off the forwarding moving edge of the spue plate. However, once its done, it likely will require tapping a screw into the block to hold the spue plate in place. With a little care, however, all but about ½ inch of the plate near the spue screw can be touched up with the spue plate in place.
Lee moulds prefer higher casting temperatures than iron moulds. I usually run my melt about 700 degrees on a “fixed” mould. I’ve found that a “fixed” mould (opened vent lines) will deliver good fill-out at lower temperatures than one with the shallow impressed ones of a stock one. If you don’t have a casting thermometer and your smooth operating mould suddenly begins to stick bullets, let the mould cool a bit and perhaps cut the melt temperature to see if release improves. Too high a mould or alloy temperature can create release problems on a Lee.
Except for perhaps the first bullet or two, I don’t use a wooden dowel to strike the spue plate to cut the spue. To me, hammering on a plate held into aluminum by a single screw is simply asking for trouble. A better solution is to use an insulated leather glove. Once the mould is up to operating temperature, its easy to cut the spue by applying the necessary pressure to the spue plate with your gloved thumb. Also, with a “fixed” mould I now longer have to whack the handle bolt with that dowel. Most bullets fall out of the mould when opened. If one doesn’t, simply brushing the bullet base away from the mould with a gloved thumb does the trick. Use of the glove speeds casting and avoids the risk of mould damage.
Hope this helps. Good casting and straight shooting!