Problem with lee 6 cav

[speedracer211]

Ran into a little problem today. I casted a few hundred the other night with a lee 6 cav mould. Today it was giving me some problems, but most notably was the sprue plate. The sprue plate wont close all the way without putting a wrench on the sprue plate lever. Then when it cuts the sprue it can be lifted up at least an 1/8". So now some bullets show a raised center portion where the sprue was cut. Is it okay to shoot them or should i pitch them back in.

[fredj338]

Ran into a little problem today. I casted a few hundred the other night with a lee 6 cav mould. Today it was giving me some problems, but most notably was the sprue plate. The sprue plate wont close all the way without putting a wrench on the sprue plate lever. Then when it cuts the sprue it can be lifted up at least an 1/8". So now some bullets show a raised center portion where the sprue was cut. Is it okay to shoot them or should i pitch them back in.
They will shoot, but accuracy is likely to be poor. The base needs to be as prefect as possible for best accuracy. I shoot wrinkled nose bullets, but poor bases get remelted.

[MakeMineaP99]

That's the great part about casting, melt them down and repour.

For most of what I do with handguns, plinking, it wouldn't make much difference. It's a freakin' handgun, it's not going to shoot .25 MOA.

[daboone]

The sprue plate wont close all the way without putting a wrench on the sprue plate lever.

Look at this article Leementing Kit Documentation in
http://www.castpics.net/

There are other leementing articles there. Here is a quote about what to expect from another article there.

"Lee moulds lack the finishing quality found in the more expensive moulds. That finishing costs money and is why Lee moulds also lack the higher price. If you’re willing to put in a bit of your own finishing on a Lee, you can raise its casting quality to equal that of its much more expensive competitors. Notice, I didn’t say mould quality or durability. Competitors will always have the edge there. Aluminum can never be as durable as iron but that doesn’t mean that most can’t get a lifetime of bullets, with care, out of a Lee. Lees also lack the close handle to mould tolerance that the higher end manufacturers provide, but that doesn’t mean you can’t compensate for it…" by MTWeatherman

[Glooooock]

Then when it cuts the sprue it can be lifted up at least an 1/8". So now some bullets show a raised center portion where the sprue was cut. Is it okay to shoot them or should i pitch them back in.

There is a bit of breakin for LEE molds , watch to sprue plate hinge bolt. It might need lube ( antisize ) to keep it swinging at tighter bolt torques . Once everything fits and swings open smoothly ,,, you,re good .

Some of my old H&G molds had a 3/8" thick spure plate that would swing freely . The weight of it held it in place .

[BigSlick]

Like Gloooock says, check da sprue plate pivot bolt. They a back out on ya when da mould gets hot when they new. Heat up ya mould, screw down da bolt just enough ta where it's where it should be to allow proper sprue plate travel. No need to tighten it down, just take out da slack.

If ya tighten it down while ya mould is cold, you'll bugger da threads. If ya tighten it down (as in snug it up) while it's hot, it'll prolly warp on ya.

Heat it up good, turn da bolt down enough so da sprue plate operates like it should an forget about it. When ya mould cools, drill a small hole for a set screw and tap it. A 6-24 works perfectly.