I bought a new lee mold and cast my first hundred with it. It is a two cavity 255 gr round flat nose bullet in .452 that I plan on using in my 45 colt. Like I said I cast my first batch with it and they are all coming out right about .450 to .449, is there some thing I need to change to get the size up or did I get a bad mold? I am using almost pure WW lead
Or are these safe to use? My 45 is a vaquero and has a bore size of .452

First what alloy are you suing? If you are using WWs the mold will throw one size and weight, Where if you use Lyman #2 the bullet will be different from the WW ones.

Do you have a set of micrometers? You can check the inside of the mold to see if it is spec. If it is way out of spec, call Lee and see how long it will take to redo your mold or send you a new one. Just a note, Lee is backed up over a year at the moment. If you got it from some place Midway, call them up and explain what is happening, they will take the old mold back and ship you a new one if they have any more in stock.

Jerry

Well out of 3/4's of a 5 gallon buckett of wheel weights I had a small amount of pure lead that I got from an electrician at work. He had stripped it off some cable at the power house. And I added a pound of 95% tin 5% antimony plumbers solder. Mixed it all in a large cast iron pot and fluxed it with parifin wax. I checked the mold like you said with my micrometer and it was like .453. I had used the lead and WW combo before in a 230gr mold I have and had no trouble what so ever. Only thing I have done different was before I used the lead I got from my electrician friend and the tin and a few wheel weights at a time. Now I put it all in one pot melted it all together and now this is what I got. It's very consistant and the bullets has a nice frosty finish and sharp edges just under size. I thought if maybe I add more tin maybe it would help? I want to find out if I was doing some thing wrong before I trashed this batch of lead?

Sheedy,

Did you clean the mold well before you used it? Lee uses a cutting fluid that seems to repel lead if you leave it in place. Did you let the mold heat up enough? If you are running your melt too low, you may not have, in which case it will cast small. Adding tin will help it fill out better. It doesn't require a lot. I would put a pound of lead-free solder (mostly tin) into every 30 lbs of lead, at least. 20 is more common. Before doing this, do check online for the solder maker's MSDS. You want to be sure no zinc is in the solder alloy. Usually it isn't, but some zinc solders have been made, and zinc inhibits mold fill out and has to be kept out of casting alloy.

Also, call Lee. Periodically I hear of someone who gets a mold that is incorrectly gauged and Lee replaces it.

__________________
Nick

__________________________
Orange Hat Family Member
CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor
NRA Certified Instructor
NRA Patron Member

"First contemplation of the problems of Interior Ballistics gives the impression that they should yield rather easily to relatively simple methods of analysis. Further study shows the subject to be of almost unbelievable complexity." Homer Powley

I cleaned the mold with alcohol real well and set the mold on the pot as it heats up. Then I put the spur plate and mold in the mix about 20 sec or so and I do keep a wet rag for cooling the mold.

I cleaned the mold with alcohol real well and set the mold on the pot as it heats up. Then I put the spur plate and mold in the mix about 20 sec or so and I do keep a wet rag for cooling the mold.

I could be running my pot to cold I suppose.

Lee moulds are regulated using 10 parts lead to 1 part tin. Lee states that the bullets should drop + .003" larger than the diameter marked on your mould. Seems you have a bad mould. Add antimony alloy to increase your bullet diameter as it drops from the mould or add linotype. Info from Lee > http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/faq/index.cgi

Thanks, I added a little tin and that did not help, turned up my pot and that did not help. I had another mold that I use in .452 230gr TC from lee and with the same mix it cast a solid frosty 232gr .453 bullet almost every time. I called midway which is where I got it from and they where more than helpful and are going to replace it and cover all shipping charges. You can't put a price on great customer service!

You say they are "frosty" I was always led to believe that is an indication of too hot or of "something" in the mix ie..zinc

My last batch of WW actually had a few marked with a Zn, which I assume is zinc.
Opped not to use them.
I agree with the too hot for frosty bullets as well, time to cool the mold a tad.

Ok thanks for the information. I am new to casting so I got a lot to learn

I have the same mold, did almost the exact procedure as you and have the identical diameter bullets. At the same time I cast 4 other bullets in different weights and calibers using 2 and 6 cavity molds, same lead, same temp same procedure and they all came out fine.

Spoke with Lee about it and they said to ship it to them and they would replace it. I got it from Midsouth, and also I shot them an email this morning and see if they have it in stock am hopeful they will exchange it instead of Lee to possibly get a quicker turn around.

Could have been a bad run on this particular mold.

You didn't mention it but are you using the downpour spout on your furnace or are you using the ladle? Reason being, on my Lyman Cowboy mould for .45 Colt, the mould likes the ladle. I get much better detail ladle pouring with this mould. Just a thought . . .

Yeah i called Midwayusa where i got mine from and they said no problem send it back to them they will ship me a new one and cover shipping. they are also going to credit my account for the shipping cost to them. gotta love great customer service!

Frosty bullets is a sign of your mold being hot but will not affect the bullet. I like my bullets being frosted and find my Lee molds drop better when very hot. Very hot. Zinc is another matter. You will know when you have a lot of zinc in your alloy. Nothing will seem to work right. If using a bottom pour furnace your spout may become clogged. Your mold will not fill out well and the bullets may look like chewed up bubble gum. Worst than with a cold mold. Been there, done that. It's a pain to try and remove the zinc from your pot also. Best to smelt your wheel weights seperatly and pour ingots to add to your pot. Removing any zinc in the process.

__________________
If a man has nothing greater to believe in than himself, he is a very lonely man.