how do you lubricate a lee mould?

Stay away from putting anything on the alluminum part of the block , the spru cutter can be lubed for storage, and also the screws pins, anything steel, and just for storage. :) Smoke the inside of the mold if it starts to cause bullets to stick, another reason could be a burr, or lead not allowed to cool enough in the mold prior to dropping the bullet. :)
 
Don't know about Lee Moulds but I use grafite suspended in alcohol which can be bought from Can. Tire in a spray, just don't use it as a spray, its messy so just spray some in a bottle and then seal as it evaporates.
 
jasonburnsdundee said:
I still don't know what I am supposed to do
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Not trying to be a smart ass, but what info are you looking for. I don't lube Aluminum molds at all. When new, rinse under hot water, use Q tips and alcohol to remove any oil that's left from packing. Make sure there is no water droplets on mould when you start casting. Chances are your first bullets will look like rabbit turds, even when the mold is at tempurature, Q tips dipped in alcohol and clean mold cavity again. Mould will be hot and it will sizzle and stink, but that usually sloves the problem. Some people like to smoke a mould, but I was never big on it.
 
Don't use Lee moulds but do use some alum. ones and plenty of steel moulds that are used alot in our business, and I always lube moulds with the above mentioned grafite in alcohol solution....I lube the sprue plate, top and bottom, the top of the mould(where the sprue plate rides), with this lube you can lube inside the moulds(cavities as well), but this only applies to this lube-no others, it is a rust preventative as well, at least one mould maker(Rapine) will only honour warranty if this lube is used. Absolutely clean everthing off a new mould before using. PM me for more particulars.
 
The directions for lee moulds suggest that you lightly lubricate the steel alignment pin on the mould block by touching it with some bullet lube while the mould is warm--this is done to minimize the galling of the steel pin and the alignment groove in the aluminum block--I don't usually bother unless the mould block is showing signs of galling. If you use too much lube it migrates into the bullet cavety in the block and leads to wrinkled bullets. The underside of the sprue plate can be lubed with powdered graphite as necessary.

44Bore
 
I have only used Lee molds and can tell you that the sprue plate definitely needs to be lubed. When the mold is warm/hot, just dab the sprue plate screw with the Alox lube stick (also from Lee). You just need a very little bit. You will notice an immediate decrease in drag/resistance when using the mold. The molds will also close tight.

If you put too much lube, the lube will migrate into the cavity and cause nothing but grief. At that point, you will need to clean out with brake cleaner (I use the aerosol), then resmoke the cavities. The bullets will show bubble marks on the sides when there is lube in the mold.

I also dab the hinge pin on the handles and the hinge point on the sides of the molds. This only needs to be done once in a blue moon.

To smoke the cavity, I just use a zippo lighter or BBQ lighter. Anything with a large flame that burns butane (black smoky soot) works just fine. Really helps the bullets fall out freely. You may need to resmoke every few hundred bullets depending on the mold. When bullets don't fall out as easily, I resmoke and good to go.

Jerry
 
4 Lubricate your mold

Step four in the instructions

Lubricate your mold. Very lightly touch bullet lubricant to the sprue bushing. "V" ribs and locating cross pin.


Of this I know where the cross pin is but not the sprue bushing and V ribs.

Jason

(Thanks for the tip on using store bought bullets):D
 
Hey sorry about that :D , not funny I guess when someone is trying to sort things out. :redface: The blue /black pins are easy to see in contrast to the Alluminum block, if you get a touch of lube at the pivot point of the spru plate/cutter it will migrate down in , same for the pins, just be a bit careful not to get anything in the bullet area of the mold. Dip the corner in the lead mix for 5-8 seconds, and your ready to rock. The first few may not come out normal, thats normal, carry on , soon after you will be dropping some fine bullets.
A bucket of water (plastic) with some sponge floating on top is a great drop zone for those hot bullets. :)
 
The spre bushing is where the sprue plate rotates around, there's a screw that holds the plate to the bushing and to the mould block.
The 'V' ribs are the are the "V" shaped that run down each sid of the mould, one side of the block will have male "V"s and the other half of the block will have a female "V" .

For smoking the mould I like masking tape best. Twist it into a tight 'string' light the end and it gives off a nice thick dry soot.

Where are you?
 
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