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Sunbeam

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Oct 30, 2019
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Hi,

Question from the UK.

I have been casting my own soft lead balls for a few months now (I'm new to BP shooting about a year) and have so far had very good results with the two Lee moulds I have. However, my two nice shiny new moulds now look like 30 year old roasting trays with lots of burnt on carbon.

The way I started my moulds from new was to smoke them with a match to carbon the inside and then once up to temp put a 'touch' of beeswax onto the pivot, and I mean a 'touch' just enough to allow the the bolt to be lubed.

However, after casting sessions of about 1500 balls each over three goes per mould, the moulds have baked on carbon and they look well used. The moulds are in great shape and are NOT galled up and produce a beautiful casting. I don't seem to be able to use an oven cleaner on alloy and the carbon does not to shift with any cleaner I've used. Could I use an ultra sonic cleaner with dish soap??

Is this normal or am I abusing my moulds?

I have new 457 mould coming in the next 24 hours for my Ruger Old Army and would like to keep it cleaner than my other two 'new' moulds.

Thanks for any help.
 
So long as you are not having casting problems the carbon buildup is normal, even desirable.

I own a bunch of Lee molds BP, handgun, rifle... and the only cleaning I have ever done on them is hitting them with a degreaser when I first got them and brushing out the cavities with a toothbrush and dish soap.

From there on out I just cleaned up any "flash" that might accumulate in areas that affect line up. Never really cleaned any of them and some I have, have produced thousands of bullets for me and I have had them for literally decades. I still have the first one I bought, a single cavity 9mm 105 gr semi wadcutter design that I don't use much anymore, but have cast many bullets it with and have never cleaned it, other than to brush it off and remove and flash. i purchased that one in the early 80's IIRC and it still works fine.

One thing I like about Lee's aluminum molds is that you don't have to "grease them up" to store them, as you do with steel/iron molds. I generally just brush them off, pop them back in the box they came in and put them on the shelf until the next use. I have on occasion lubed the steel parts, being careful not to get any oil on the mold block itself.
 
So long as you are not having casting problems the carbon buildup is normal, even desirable.

I own a bunch of Lee molds BP, handgun, rifle... and the only cleaning I have ever done on them is hitting them with a degreaser when I first got them and brushing out the cavities with a toothbrush and dish soap.

From there on out I just cleaned up any "flash" that might accumulate in areas that affect line up. Never really cleaned any of them and some I have, have produced thousands of bullets for me and I have had them for literally decades. I still have the first one I bought, a single cavity 9mm 105 gr semi wadcutter design that I don't use much anymore, but have cast many bullets it with and have never cleaned it, other than to brush it off and remove and flash. i purchased that one in the early 80's IIRC and it still works fine.

One thing I like about Lee's aluminum molds is that you don't have to "grease them up" to store them, as you do with steel/iron molds. I generally just brush them off, pop them back in the box they came in and put them on the shelf until the next use. I have on occasion lubed the steel parts, being careful not to get any oil on the mold block itself.
I have some aluminum molds that were new around 1980. Some have cast untold numbers of bullets and roundballs. Never considered or worried about cleaning them. Many do not look very pretty, but are still working great.
 
Put a micrometer on the balls/bullets , and if they are of the advertised size. Do what the instructions say that came w/ the mold , lube the cutoff and it's bearing point , and you should be good. oldwood
 
Think you are overthinking. I have 19 Lee moulds. Some over 20 years old and they still pour good projectiles.
 
It's the inside that counts. I use a high temp oil for mine. 2cycle oil will work but very sparingly. I apply with a toothpick. The new Lee moulds look a little different and they have improved.
 
Most of my moulds are Lee and require almost no care. Back in the dream time I used a lot of and still have Lyman and RCBS moulds which are steel and require more care. I left a .490 RCBS double cavity out on the bench with the holes facing up and an errant dirt dauber decided he could squeeze a family into one of the cavities. So it got a layer of rust from the mud and the balls cast from it now have a quaint 'frosted' appearance. They don't seem to shoot badly, I can't tell any difference in accuracy, but then I'm not a competition quality shooter, LOL!
 
Is aluminum anti seize the same a copper slip anti seize?
I'm sure either will work. The advantage is longevity due to high temp rating.
I've been experimenting with it on internals and cylinder pin. Really cuts way down on binding.
Smoothes function and lasts a long time. Not PC but sure eliminates crud issues making shooting less eventful.
 
The only reason I would buy a Lyman mould , is if there is no Lee mould of the size needed. I have too many Lyman molds that are slightly oversize from the published size. Only by a few thousands , but enough to cut patches,etc.. If I wanted an over size mould , I would have ordered one. Lee moulds are easy to use , never saw one over sized , unless something stuck between the blocks. Enough whining.....oldwood
 
Hi,

Question from the UK.

I have been casting my own soft lead balls for a few months now (I'm new to BP shooting about a year) and have so far had very good results with the two Lee moulds I have. However, my two nice shiny new moulds now look like 30 year old roasting trays with lots of burnt on carbon.

The way I started my moulds from new was to smoke them with a match to carbon the inside and then once up to temp put a 'touch' of beeswax onto the pivot, and I mean a 'touch' just enough to allow the the bolt to be lubed.

However, after casting sessions of about 1500 balls each over three goes per mould, the moulds have baked on carbon and they look well used. The moulds are in great shape and are NOT galled up and produce a beautiful casting. I don't seem to be able to use an oven cleaner on alloy and the carbon does not to shift with any cleaner I've used. Could I use an ultra sonic cleaner with dish soap??

Is this normal or am I abusing my moulds?

I have new 457 mould coming in the next 24 hours for my Ruger Old Army and would like to keep it cleaner than my other two 'new' moulds.

Thanks for any help.
I never clean up those moulds. As long as teyy are casting fine balls do not clean them. I am casting lead balls with Lee moulds for 30 years I think never had any prblem/
 
The only reason I would buy a Lyman mould , is if there is no Lee mould of the size needed. I have too many Lyman molds that are slightly oversize from the published size. Only by a few thousands , but enough to cut patches,etc.. If I wanted an over size mould , I would have ordered one. Lee moulds are easy to use , never saw one over sized , unless something stuck between the blocks. Enough whining.....oldwood
What are you using to cast the bullets in the Lyman molds? Pure lead should cast to the sized diameter as pure lead will shrink on cooling. The alloys, such as wheel weights, don't shrink so you end up with a ball a few thousandths larger in diameter and harder to boot. Little wonder that patches are being cut.
 
In my shop are at least a half dozen brands of molds. Total is probably over 3 dozen, and most are Lee molds. If they cast well then all is copacetic.
 
My problem is I have been lent two moulds.
The lender has said he has used them, but they look almost new.
So I would like to give them back to him after using in the same condition as I have them now.
This is the real reason behind the question.
 
Grenadier.......... I've been blessed to procure the best pure lead used in the radiological and microwave shielding applications. Any hard lead I got went to guys casting pistol bullets. Friend of mine borrowed my Lyman .490 mould and found the same result , it cast .493 balls. Also have a Lyman .530 renders 535's.. All the other moulds of all different calibers I have ,Lyman and others render balls of published sizes. I've been casting for about 65 years , and those two Lyman's must be a fluke. I've not seen these irregularities in Lyman products before , say 1995. I just bought a Lyman for a French 16 ga. trade musket because Lee doesn't make that size, and the cast balls are size as indicated........oldwood
 
The only reason I would buy a Lyman mould , is if there is no Lee mould of the size needed. I have too many Lyman molds that are slightly oversize from the published size. Only by a few thousands , but enough to cut patches,etc.. If I wanted an over size mould , I would have ordered one. Lee moulds are easy to use , never saw one over sized , unless something stuck between the blocks. Enough whining.....oldwood
Lyman still uses a cherry to cut their moulds. as they get worn they get smaller until they deem them too small. I assume they start out a little big to stretch how many times they can use them. Lees are cut on a lathe so they should come out the same size every time. Lyman has slipped in quality over the years as allot of companies seem to do, that is unless they have improved recently. I know for awhile some people would jump on a used Lyman mould quicker than a new one.
 

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