I thinking of buying a couple of Lee rifle bullet molds-30 and 338. How do you lube these bullets. Do you tumble lube them or do you use stick lube like you do with Lyman molds which are outrageously expensive. Also, are the Lee aluminum molds anygood.
Lee cast bullet molds
- Thread starter darkman
- Start date
all lead bullets can be tumble lubed.
some lee mold designs are for tumble lubbing only, those are the ones with the shallow ribs, you can see according to the bullet design on the lee website which ones are for tumble lubing only. they will also have the letters TL (tumble lube)starting before the mold design numbers
some lee mold designs are for tumble lubbing only, those are the ones with the shallow ribs, you can see according to the bullet design on the lee website which ones are for tumble lubing only. they will also have the letters TL (tumble lube)starting before the mold design numbers
Northman999
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Yukon
I've got lee molds in 30 (200gr) and 338 (220gr). I'm just new to it, but they have been throwing very nice bullets for me. For $20 with handle included, I figured I couldn't got wrong for a new guy testing the waters. I seat checks on them using the lee lube/sizing die, but I do not size the bullets, as they come out of the mold just the right size.
Once you start to use good molds like Lyman, RCBS, and others etc. you won't much like the Lee prducts. That is not to say that they do not work because they do, they just do not work near as well as the others do and there are very good reasons for that.
Graydog
Graydog
5 years and 25 Lee molds later and still buying them. Upgraded to a 20lb pot from a 10lb'er though. In 25 molds, I have had "1" give me issues. 45/70 hollowpoint 405 grain bullet. The hollow point part didn't always want to go into the slot and rounded the corners. Now I have the same mold with no hollow point, quick fix.
I have 6 cavity 200gr swc 45acp molds that have cast 30000 bullets.
My method is, when I get a new mold it gets cleaned by burning off the oils on the top of the lead pot. Then I spray/coat it liberally with graphite. Once every 1000 bullets I give it a touch up with the graphite spray. Works slick.
Some people don't like Lee stuff, but I hate dodges, go figure.
I have 6 cavity 200gr swc 45acp molds that have cast 30000 bullets.
My method is, when I get a new mold it gets cleaned by burning off the oils on the top of the lead pot. Then I spray/coat it liberally with graphite. Once every 1000 bullets I give it a touch up with the graphite spray. Works slick.
Some people don't like Lee stuff, but I hate dodges, go figure.
Lyman molds are the cheapest molds out there, except Lee......most other molds are around $100 or more, custom or RCBS, Saeco, CBE, LBT, etc.....I cast an awful lot of bullets and don't use any lee molds as they tend to fall apart. The alum. is the softest alloy, screws and sprue plate are alum. or pot metal. As someone else mentioned, once you try some of the better molds, you won't bother with the Lees, they are not for serious casters. Because of soft materials and some design faults, there are a number of fixes learned folks use. Changing out the sprue cutter and it's screws is one, drill and tap to install set screw to prevent SP screw from backing out taking the threads with it. A flat screw can be installed on the side of the six cav. molds, where the SP handle wears on the side of mold. Out of round or undersized Lees can be opened by spinning(with a drill) a casting from mold coated with an abrasive. These fixes have become known as "LEE-MENTING" a mold. I prefer to just buy a quality mold to begin with and my mold list is over 200 molds long now.
Got the same 45 acp mold and have done around 12,000 bullets. Money savings is one thing, but these tumble lube bullets are damn accurate. Certainly better than a lot of CCL projectiles (e.g. Berry's). Same goes for their 175 gr SWC .40 S&W and 124 gr RN 9mm. If their rifle molds give out the same accuracy results you will be pleased.
I have about 13 different Lee molds for rifles and handguns,some are plain base some are gas checked,some are tumble lube and some are conventional grease groove designs.
All bullets that get sized,gas checked or both are done so with the Lee push through sizers. Tumble lube pistol bullet get two coats of my homemade Lee Alox/JPW lube,tumble lube rifle bullet designs get one light coat of TL sized and gas checked and ranch dipped for the final coating of lube. After they dry overnight there pushed back through the sizer gas check first. The fills the grooves nicely and leaves the bullets nose nice and clean.
Traditional grease groove bullets both pistol and rifle go through the same process as the TL rifle bullets. It's a little slower than using the Lubesizer but it's a cheap setup and works just as well. I've fired bullets in my SKS,Mosin and Savage rifles up in the 2000 fps. range with no issue using my method.
Here are a couple of the finished products L to R Lee GC 170 gr. RNFP,Lee GC 160 gr. TL and Lee 158 gr. GC SWC.
All bullets that get sized,gas checked or both are done so with the Lee push through sizers. Tumble lube pistol bullet get two coats of my homemade Lee Alox/JPW lube,tumble lube rifle bullet designs get one light coat of TL sized and gas checked and ranch dipped for the final coating of lube. After they dry overnight there pushed back through the sizer gas check first. The fills the grooves nicely and leaves the bullets nose nice and clean.
Traditional grease groove bullets both pistol and rifle go through the same process as the TL rifle bullets. It's a little slower than using the Lubesizer but it's a cheap setup and works just as well. I've fired bullets in my SKS,Mosin and Savage rifles up in the 2000 fps. range with no issue using my method.
Here are a couple of the finished products L to R Lee GC 170 gr. RNFP,Lee GC 160 gr. TL and Lee 158 gr. GC SWC.
easyrider604
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Greater Vancouver, BC
Lee molds are ok, depending on your intended use. Being aluminum, obviously Lee molds will not last as long as the high-end iron/steel molds.
But if you will not be casting in commercial quantities in the hundreds of thousands bullets, I would say that Lee molds will do just fine. IMO, reasonable care in use and maintenance should give 40 - 50 thousand bullets from Lee 6-cavity molds, perhaps 15 - 20K from the double cavity models.
Even if they last only half of that, the mold would've paid for itself many times over.
What Lee equipment will do is give you a chance to get your feet wet in casting/reloading, with the least possible expense. If you decide you are into this casting/reloading hobby for the long haul and you want top notch equipment, by all means go to town with your Mastercard.
For my own use as well as my buddies, Lee equipment and tools are perfect. In 2010, I cast more than 17,000 bullets in four pistol calibers. This year, I plan to double that. Mostly with Lee tumble lube molds. BTW, I also tumble lube my 175 grain TC .40 SW cal single-groove bullet design, no leading and accurate out of the Ruger P91.
It depends on your expectations and quantity required, sizing, then tumble lubing is messy and slow. I prefer the Star sizers/lubers, I have 2 setup with airfeed which requires a compressor(small one), I use them whenever possible, as they size/lube nose first. One is set up for smokeless lube and the other for BP lube. I also have 2 Lyman 4500s and 2 RCBS sizers/lubers set-up with the most used sizers installed, all 6 sizers have sep. heat controls. The fastest and best job is done by the Star at about 2500 bullets /hour, the others are about 5-10 times slower and less precise. For match quality bullets I always use the Star.
I have Lee molds for few calibers.They are a great buy for begginer and once you find out how to work it they are excellent.
One thing I learned on "Cast Boolits" was use of Bullplate lube-it solves many problems and makes casting far more enjoyable.
As for aluminium molds I will be slowly switching to NOE made -also alu but they are of far better quality and can be ordered and made in HP unlike Lee.
One thing I learned on "Cast Boolits" was use of Bullplate lube-it solves many problems and makes casting far more enjoyable.
As for aluminium molds I will be slowly switching to NOE made -also alu but they are of far better quality and can be ordered and made in HP unlike Lee.
A wise man.
I have an NOE 330GR HP GC.
It's a 4 cavity and when I finally got it tuned in it work's great.
I didn't count them but here they are.
Very nice casts zuke!I bet making all those didn't take much time with 4 banger.
So far I have one 3 cavity mold for .314 198Gr spire point and it really works wonders.I couldn't believe how fast I could drain 20lbs pot with what.For you it would be even faster
Did you try bullplate lube that came with the mold?How is it working for you?
So far I have one 3 cavity mold for .314 198Gr spire point and it really works wonders.I couldn't believe how fast I could drain 20lbs pot with what.For you it would be even faster
Did you try bullplate lube that came with the mold?How is it working for you?
