Lee Moulds

[dodgyrog]

Firstly - are your moulds CLEAN - and I do mean spotless - washed off all the oil that's on the mould when new?
Secondly, pre-heat the mould on the top of the pot to get it hot but not so hot the lead won't set when you cast into it.
Thirdly, don't run the pot at full temperature.
Grey finish to the boolit or ball usually indicates too hot lead pot. Wrinkles on the boolits or balls usually means cold mould/dirty mould/pot temperature set too low.
Good luck

[loiner1965]

Firstly - are your moulds CLEAN - and I do mean spotless - washed off all the oil that's on the mould when new?
Secondly, pre-heat the mould on the top of the pot to get it hot but not so hot the lead won't set when you cast into it.
Thirdly, don't run the pot at full temperature.
Grey finish to the boolit or ball usually indicates too hot lead pot. Wrinkles on the boolits or balls usually means cold mould/dirty mould/pot temperature set too low.
Good luck

Lol I got the lee drippy pot so now I use a stainless pan hence the hot plate

[Graysmoke]

I've ordered a melting pot, just waiting for it to come in... At the time I was using an iron pot and a camping stove, so I didn't really have much control or know how hot the lead was getting

Moulds were pretty clean, other than the beeswax I had put in them whilst I was doing it. I think its probably a combination of the beeswax and the mould was too cold, although at one stage I had the mould smoking as I opened it up and I was still getting wrinklys... I think this was the wax burning off... The bubbling was also probably the excess of wax...

- Tom

[tacfoley]

I've ordered a melting pot, just waiting for it to come in... At the time I was using an iron pot and a camping stove, so I didn't really have much control or know how hot the lead was getting

Moulds were pretty clean, other than the beeswax I had put in them whilst I was doing it. I think its probably a combination of the beeswax and the mould was too cold, although at one stage I had the mould smoking as I opened it up and I was still getting wrinklys... I think this was the wax burning off... The bubbling was also probably the excess of wax...

- Tom

Where did you learn about putting beeswax in the mould? A thumbnail-sized piece can be used a a flux in the lead, to get the dross up to the surface, but I've never heard of putting ANYTHING into a mould before.

tac

[tim56]

as above. never heard of fluxing the mould. I heat mine up on a gas ring once the lead is fluid and smoke them with a long match when new but thats
about it. Occasionally i may lube the "spigots" that keep the two halves of the mould lined up when closed with wonderlube but never put anything in
the mould itself. If too hot i generally get a blue colour on top of my lead and wrinkles in the finished product if too cold. At the end of the day it comes
down to experience and you develop a feel for it. Tim

[loiner1965]

Doesn't make any difference to the performance or accuracy so I read in bullets are cast too hot and are frosty in appearance

[arsefactor]

I cast range scrap for my .357 and pure lead ball for various muzzle loaders. I have two separate and labelled Lee pots. Tend to run about "7" on the dials but I do use a thermometer as well.

Lubing the mould : I do use beeswax on mine, but only a light touch on the sprue cutter hinge to lubricate it, then it's good for about 400 casts or so. No beeswax inside the mould ... wonder if the OP read somewhere about this but mis-understood ?

Cheers!
Paul M.

[andrew375]

Where did you learn about putting beeswax in the mould? A thumbnail-sized piece can be used a a flux in the lead, to get the dross up to the surface, but I've never heard of putting ANYTHING into a mould before.

tac

He is talking about the need to lubricate the mould alignment surfaces and spru plate as directed in the instructions. You do not need to do this with an iron, steel or brass mould, but with aluminium it is essential. No biggy really and a small price to pay for the reduced weight, faster cooling and outstanding surface finish on the balls (oooh, Matron.) Just keep the cavities clean and you will be ok. I've used Lee moulds for nearly forty years and whenever I've had a problem with one it has always been resolved with a bit of wax (I use carnuba) on the alignment surfaces.

[tacfoley]

He is talking about the need to lubricate the mould alignment surfaces and spru plate as directed in the instructions. You do not need to do this with an iron, steel or brass mould, but with aluminium it is essential. No biggy really and a small price to pay for the reduced weight, faster cooling and outstanding surface finish on the balls (oooh, Matron.) Just keep the cavities clean and you will be ok. I've used Lee moulds for nearly forty years and whenever I've had a problem with one it has always been resolved with a bit of wax (I use carnuba) on the alignment surfaces.

Thanks for the post. I've kind of figured out what he meant to say, it just didn't come out that way. especially as he actually wrote "...IN the mould...".

I've been using Lee moulds since 1965, BTW, and as I already mentioned, I'm still using the orignal Lee ROA mould I bought in 1986 with my ROA.

tac

[AirgunAndy19]

i use a lee mould for casting catapult ammo i don't lube the mould or anything always come out perfect