Did Lee change their mold design?

D

Doc Hoy

New member
Just purchased a Lee mold for 9 MM through Titan Reloading.

I own six or seven other Lee molds and the design of this mold is worlds ahead of the other I own.

Three things are apparent which I like.

1. This mold is held onto the handles by use of Allen screws which (I think) can be removed. I don't know that I would ever want to change molds but it is entirely possible that I might be interested in putting these mold halves on a different set of handles. I put together some spring loaded mold handles a while back but they only work on the steel molds that can be easily separated from the handles.

2. The locating pins are far superior to the locating ridges or shafts that were part of previous designs.

3. The mold is cleary marked with the caliber and weight of the bullet. No more mystery numbers that don't really mean anything on the mold.

LeeMold003_zps3a34f87c.jpg



LeeMold001_zps72e8474e.jpg
 
They definitely look improved with the pins. Last 2 cav I got was 4 or 5 years ago, the old style. Never really had much problem, though. Bought first Lee mold in 1981. Have more Lee's than any other. Been getting the 6 cavs recently. They ARE an improvement.

edit: don't see vent lines in the blocks.
 
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Just got done casting 200 bullets with this thing

It works pretty good although for now it is a little finnicky.

Seems to want to cool down pretty quickly.

The revised design on the locating pins works pretty well.

In my opinion, I have yet to decide that they are perfect, but they are an improvement over the previous design.

I wouldn't replace my existing molds just to move to the new ones.
 
There's a lot of bearing surface above the grease groove. Let us know how they shoot. I've been using the 358-125 designed for 38/357 sized to 357 in my 9's. Work great in both but need to be seated deep for my M659 Smith.
 
MWELLS

They are the standard Lee issue. A replacement for the former design. According to the Lee folks, they figure it'll take about a year for all of the old stock to work its way out of the system. I bought a 45-70 mold about two weeks ago and it was of the old design.
 
Guess the answer to the original post is "yes". The 6 cavs were made this way from the beginning, just took 'em awhile to see the advantage, I guess. Or maybe took that long to run outta the parts for the old design. Put a set-screw in for the sprue plate pivot and they'd be near perfect. Then maybe "Lee-menting" would be a thing of the past.
 
I've used a number fo the old style Lee molds over the years and they alwas worked fine. All of 'em that I have are round ball. This looks like a few good improvements with the locating pins instead of the rods. Once I start running balls with mine and they get heated up, I can get a good rhythm going.

I'm anxious to hear from Doc on how he likes this mold after he uses it for a while. I usually "pre heat" mine before molding. I've been looking at some multiple cavity ones for 38 spl. slugs. I've never used a "gang mold" for molding multiples - any "unique" tricks to them?

Doc - did they raise the prices with the improvements that they made? Of course everything i going up but I was wondering if they pumped the price on the new design ones?
 
Threads like this reinforce the wisdom of spending time over at Cast Boolits. The new two cavity Lee Precision molds are a definite improvement.
 
I have the .458 405 grain Hollow Base nose pour mold. It is by far the best Lee mold I have ever used. It is single cavity. No pins. It lines up every time no problem. I do have to keep it lubed. A pipe cleaner with synthetic motor oil works well for that.

I would love to have one like this that is a hollow point mold.
 
Two responses. Bedbug and Snuffy

Snuffy,

"Beat ya to it."

Ya sure did. I should have known better.

Bedbug,

It lists on the Titan Reloading site for the same price. It was less thatn 25.00 delivered using priority shipping and it took three days from the time I hit the "Submit Order" button until the post person put the package on my doorstep.

I simply can't say enough good stuff about Titan Reloading. Good prices, good service. Good product.
 
My newest Lee mold was still the old style just like my other 13 Lee molds but it still cast great bullets. I wounder if there shotgun slug molds are or will have the new features,I'll be casting slugs after the first of the year.
 
Res....

If you need to buy a mold, and are interested in the new design, you might try calling a vendor to see whch version they have in stock.

You can always go directly to Lee but they will charge top dollar. I think it works out to be about 25.00 plus shipping.
 
Thanks Doc,I started buying most of my Lee stuff from https://fsreloading.com/ you can ask a question about any product they carry.

Really doesn't matter if it's the new design or not,I've not had any problems with the old designs yet.
 
100% agree

I have used Lee molds for as long as I have been shooting and in comparison to Lyman Molds, they stand up, especially for about one third the price.

I am not a purist and I can certainly understand and respect diverging viewpoints.
 
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