Lee 6 cav discussion

H

hornetguy

New member
This may have been covered elsewhere, but I tried my RanchDog 6 cav 45-70 mold the other day, and had a few issues. I thought I'd see if anyone else has had the same issues, and if there is a "known" fix for them.
First thing I noticed was that the mold would not open very well. Usually the back would start to open and the front would hang together. I got it to be a touch more reliable by swinging the sprue plate almost 180 degrees, where it is sticking out the front. I still have to tap at the hinge bolt of the sprue plate to get it to open, about every other cast.

Another issue is that the mold sometimes doesn't close all the way, leaving a hairline gap that is difficult to notice when trying to maintain a "deliberate" rhythm of casting and inspecting. This, of course, leaves flash at the mold line, and out of round bullets.

The only thing I've done so far is to file the ends of the mold handles in order to make them not bind in the groove down the side of the mold... thinking that the handle might be "gripping" the mold half and causing it to bind. This seemed to make the mold a little easier to close, but hasn't completely solved that issue. I haven't cast with it since I made that change.
Anybody else have problems with the 6-holers? I thought about buffing the steel alignment pins a little, to make sure there are no rough spots, but haven't done that yet.

Or, are these problems that will go away as I "wear in" the mold?
 
Most problems go away as you use the mold more. Some advice:

1. Lube locating pins and holes where they seat (just a little bit of lube goes a LONG way).

2. After cutting sprue and before you try to just open the mold, give the handles a couple little whacks (on the bolt, don't hit the mold) while you open the mold. The little whacks help open the mold evenly.

3. As far as a little gap in the mold halves, the lube should help, but I have also given the handles a gentle rap when the mold is hung up and this helps it close all the way. Some people lay the mold on a flat surface when closing it to ensure the pins line up perfectly. As your mold wears a bit bit it should get easier to close. I have also found that with the way the 6 cavs cut the sprue that sometimes after the mold halves are closed, the action of closing the sprue plate too far can cause the mold halves to creep apart a bit. Close it carefully and make sure this isn't happening (LIGHTLY lube the sprue plate locating bolt thingy so it closes smoothly and easily).

Good luck!
 
I have had some times with my 2-cavity molds where they did not want to close completely, leaving a hair-line crack. What I do know is when I am closing the mold I close it gently with the handles, and then tap the hinge bolt while gently squeezing to allow it to "jump" closed the last little bit. It's all very light and just lets the mold halves seat together if they were mis-aligned a tiny bit. It's all part of my motion of opening and closing the mold now. A little tap or two on the hinge bolt during closing and she closes right up.

Steve
 
4 words

Bullshop , Bullplate , sprueplate lube !!!!


The 2 cavitys jumpin together is the grooves are either dry or joobered up with lube that`s burnt, & needs cleaning & lubing with ^^^^^

My 1st brand new 6 cavity I cleaned it dried it & lubed with Bullplate as per instructions & never had a minutes problem from openin/closing or lead stikin anywhere !!!!

To get ya sum ,go here !! http://bullshop.gunloads.com/

Just remember I told ya not to spill it !!!!
 
"Just remember I told ya not to spill it !!!!"

I won't ask you how you know....;)

The more I think about this, the more I think that it's just a new mold, and needs to be "worn in" slightly.
Tapping on the handle bolt while closing is probably a good idea.
One thing I didn't do before using it the first time was smoke the cavities.
I did degrease with methanol, then washed with soapy (Dawn) water, thoroughly rinsed and dried... just forgot to smoke 'em...
The bullets dropped out fairly well, with a little judicious tapping on the mold handle bolt. That wasn't an issue... it was mostly the difficulty in opening/closing that was frustrating. :(
Well, that, and the fact that when I got up to filling all 6 cavities, my pot was empty almost before I got my rhythm going... guess I'm gonna have to get a 20# pot. I'm using an old Lyman that I bought brand new in about 1970 or so.
We've both seen better years... :rolleyes:
 
Hornet guy , acheap single burner "hotplate" to preheat the mold on will make a world of difference !!

Especially on a 6 banger & when I get the pot full weither using 10# or the 20 I lay ingots arond the top to preheat them also or at least dry em out a bit !!

I could imagine a 10#er goes qwik with a 6 banger !!!
 
GP100man said:
I could imagine a 10#er goes qwik with a 6 banger !!!
Click to expand...

Hey, Buddy! A ten pound pot goes real quick with a 6-cav mold. But then, you've got a pile of bullets to lube.
 
Yeah, I did the hot-plate thing. It helped quite a bit. I also followed instructions by RanchDog... said to start with one cavity, and when it was throwing good bullets, add another cavity, etc... till you are filling all of them. It minimizes the "bad" ones, supposedly, and doesn't run you out of alloy too quickly.

I'm thinking I might need to add a Lee 20# pot in the near future.
 
I smoke my bullet cavities, because that is what the Lee manual suggests. But I wondered if it was necessary. Much of the smoke is gone after pouring just a few bullets.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top