My long awaited purchase.

Mitty38

Well-Known Member
Got my hands on about 100 or so .358, 158 RF bullets, a while back. Played around with them and managed to develop a great .38, bottom end of plus p load, that shot like a dream up to 30 yards in my .357.
Leaving me with 10 bullets:sigh: left to shoot.
Today, I actually put in a chump bid to a trusted seller, at the last minuet on ebay. Got it dirt cheap.
Now just to wait for my Lee .358 double cavity 158 RF mold with handles to arrive!
Now just to learn how to properly cast them, and size them. Then, I will be able to do head shots on rabbits, with my .357.:D
 

KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
That's a pretty good mold to start with. I like Lee molds, I just remember they're aluminum not steel so I treat them gently. A little good lube to keep the sprue plate from galling and you should be good to go.

One thing I've learned from these guys - its mostly the mold temp, not really the alloy temp, that determines how good your bullets will come out. Lee molds heat up quick but lose heat just as quick, so getting into a cadence and keeping the mold closed as much as possible will help stabilze the mold temp.
 

462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Keith wrote: "One thing I've learned from these guys - it's mostly the mold temp, not really the alloy temp, that determines how good your bullets will come out."

Amen to that.
For too long a time I went by the "crank up the heat" method, and very unfortunately stated so on that other site. Man, I still feel foolish for saying so, and for what others thought about it.
 

Spindrift

Well-Known Member
Nice! Now, you’re getting started! I have several Lee moulds. I like them. They are easy to work with, easy on the wrist and easy on the wallet.
For sprue plate lube, I use two-stroke oil. I have a rag with some oil on it. As the mould comes up to temp (=sprue easily cut with gloved hand), I wipe the top of the mould every 10 pours, maybe? Absolutely minimal film of oil (just enough to generate a little smoke)

What I do to lube the sprue plate, is
1) cut the sprue
2) don’t open the mould, yet
3) check for fillout. Don’t lube if the base is not completely filled out! Then you get oil in the cavity (=bad)
4) quick wipe across the top of the mould block (the surface where you can see the base of your bullets)
5) drop the bullets from the mould, and continue casting

Keep a screwdriver that fits the sprue plate screw at your casting place. You might have to adjust the tension every now and then. Beware, the threads are counter- clockwise.
 

Walks

Well-Known Member
Treat GENTLY.
I was told that by the Old Gentleman that My Dad bought Our 1st Lee molds from. They were used, but not abused. Very old style, all 2cav .44Caliber as DAD and I were getting into Cowboy Shooting.
He wanted RN as that was period. A 214grRN, 240grRN and a 208grWC. It was an all or nothing deal.

Sadly DAD passed less then a week Later. He stuck his COLT SAA in .44Spl in My Shooting bag as We packed up to leave the Range the Day after the Gun show.
Maybe He knew it was time.

I've cast at least 10,000 each from each of those molds. Lubed with 2-stroke they are still going strong.
My M624 3inch just loves that 208WC.

And the Lee #358-158-RF is a great bullet. I have a 6cav. Feeds like greased butter in My Marlin 1894C.
 
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Ian

Notorious member
Old Lee moulds had clockwise sprue plate screw threads as I recall and they changed to left-hand when they updated the block stule with the tpaered alignment pins.

Spindrift outlined the technique very well, all I can add is run your alloy at about 725⁰F if it is anything near wheelweight metal and cast at a rate of four pours per minute until you start getting complete fillout. Get an analog wall clock with a second hand and actually time your casting. The single biggest problem I see with new casters is they go too slow and never get their moulds hot enough. Also, pour a big sprue puddle on top of the plate to add extra heat to the plate and blocks. When the miuld is hot enough you can cut the sprue by flicking the plate with a gloved thumb rather than whacking it with a mallet. You'll have to watch the sprue carefully as it flashes over and gets just firm enough to not smear when you cut it.

You might wish to do a "dry run" with your mould and casting setup, just go through the motions of filling the cavities, topping off the sprue, setting the ladle back in the pot if using one, watching the sprue flash over, cutting the sprue, inspecting the bullet bases for sharp fillout, opening the blocks, dropping (or tapping out) the bullets onto a cotton towel, carefully closing the mould blocks and sprue plate (remember they will be HOT so even with a glove you can't be touching any of the mould parts for more than about 3/4 second), and resuming the next pour. Pretend-casting until you acquire some muscle memory is time well spent in my opinion, same as dry-fire practice before actually shooting for the first time.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
set yourself up to cast in a circular motion.
fill-count, out-go left/right, bullet ,sprue in hand to box, back to the pot, fill.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Oh yeah, learning the difference between mould temp and pot temp is a major step for a lot of people. Lee moulds are fine, the 1/2 ton pickup of the mould world. Easy to use for a lot of stuff if you know how to drive them, easy to abuse if you aren't paying attn. I will tell you right off the bat that a new Lee will often (always for me) need a couple of heating/cooling cycles before it acts right and gets with the program. I've always thought it was left over lube from the cutting process that caused this. Wash the thing out, even though yours is used, and let it warm on the edge of the pot. When you start pouring, fill the cavity and let a good amount of alloy pour over the sprue plate. I assume you'll start with a ladle. Hold the mould over the pot and let it run back into the pot. Let the alloy "freeze up" and give it a few more seconds before you open it. Don't make the mistake of standing there with and empty mould in your hand looking at what you just dropped. Keep filling and dumping and within a short time you should be getting pretty close to filled out, or well filled bullets. It's worth a look at the various "Leementing" articles out there that will fill you in on tuning a Lee mould. Thing to remember is that cool moulds don't make good bullets. Hot moulds do. When the mould reaches temp you'll find yourself having to slow a bit to let the casting cool enough to drop it without smearing the top or bending bullets as they drop. Yes, fresh cast bullets, especially longer ones bend, dent and otherwise get marred if they aren't quite cool enough when you drop them. You'll get a rhythm going eventually that allows you to pour, wait, drop, pour and the bullets start piling up. This is where the little 10lbs pots fail IMO. My pot holds an easy 30lbs and there have been times I've had to stop and add alloy. Feeding a 10 cav H+G can be too much of a good thing sometimes! The little 10lbs pots empty real quick.

Well, I see I'm prattling on again. Anyway, just be aware the mould temp is not pot temp and that you don't fix fill out, usually, with pot temp, but by casting faster.
 

Mitty38

Well-Known Member
You might wish to do a "dry run" with your mould and casting setup, just go through the motions of filling the cavities,
Kinda like I was a teenager practicing for a relationship.
Sorry, could not help myself there.:embarrassed:
But some real good advice for getting timing right, kinda like taking a dry run in a strange town while the traffic is light. Or practicing dry firing like you said, to get trigger discipline down.
I have casted sinkers over an open fire before and a few ingot, pure lead round balls. But shrinkage was not an issue there.
I tried casting wad-cutters one time, but with a steal mold. It was still a disaster, to tell the truth. I only got like 1 in 5 to turn out right and the rest went back into the pot and became sinkers, then I sold the mold.
This is my first aluminum bullet mold.
Now I have a lee 10 lb pot with a pour spout, so that may make things a bit more consistent. Difference now is I really have a desire to master this.
 
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462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Might want to search pre-heating a mould, or mould furnace.
There are several methods, but the idea is to get the mould up to its optimum operating temperature prior to the start of casting, rather than going through the motions of twenty wasted pours waiting for the mould to reach temperature.
If done properly, the first pour will produce keepers.
As with the entire casting process, experience is the best teacher.
 

Ian

Notorious member
With all two-cavity moulds I dunk the front bottom edge of the blocks into the melt about 1/4" deep and hold it there until the fresh film of sprue plate lube on the sprue plate pivot just starts to smoke. Then I pull the mould out, wipe off the alloy with a cotton rag, dip the tip of the sprue plate into the melt for 10 seconds, wipe that off and start casting. This usually yields perfect bullets in two or three pours.
 

Walks

Well-Known Member
I pre-warm all My molds on a hot plate. Dump the 1st cast, all others are GOLD.

Mitty is right, get a smooth rhythm going and you'll get far fewer rejects.
 

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
Pretty much same opinion here. Im not a LEE fan as a rule. But Im no hypocrite either. Some things that they make are pretty good. But know mostly they are light duty/limited use. Mostly prices on the cheaper side reflect that.
I have about a doz lee molds and majority have vast beautiful bullets. Couple have been stinkers. Like the 230 TL 30 cal blk out mold. Probably a 40% caster. Meaning 60% are junk bullets/culls that go back in the pot. Then I have a 175/40 TL that casts beautiful. But wont shoot in any of 8 diff 40 cal guns. But there 40/175 & 40/145 conventional are GREAT! The 358-125 & 358/158 are favorites too!

good luck
CW
 

Ian

Notorious member
I have two Lee 309-230-5R moulds and they both cast perfect bullets no problem, it's all in the technique. Cast fast, wash out the sprues and then pour as much extra metal on the plate as it will hold without running off, those bullets pull a lot of metal from the sprue as they cool and you can easily get base porosity. The problem I have with both moulds is one is undersized and the other is double-undersized. Even with powder coat, I had to lap one of them .002" on the nose to make .300" with the coating. I think it was Ben who got one of them that had the tips of the bullet cavities chewed up real bad like the lathe cutter chattered, but mine are fine.
 

462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
I had a Lee 459-500 with "the tips of the bullet cavities chewed up real bad". Bits of aluminum were folded back onto the block faces, and the bullet tip was cut all the way through to the bottom of one cavity. Thought I started a thread with pictures, but can't find it so maybe I didn't.
I should have returned it, but decided that fixing it would be a fun project. I was able to get the mould halves mating close enough so lead didn't ooze out of the bottom of the one cavity, however both bullets were so out of round I called it quits and threw the mould in the recyclable trash can.
 

Ian

Notorious member
That might have been what I was thinking of. I have one of those also and the points almost break through the blocks and there were a couple of small chips/burrs but nothing major. I dressed it a little and it casts fine.
 

Rally

NC Minnesota
Mitty,
When you buy a used mould it's a real good idea to clean the bajeebers out of it. You never know what the previous owner used to clean or lube it with and there is junk out there. Hardest part for me when I started out was getting the mould to temp. Most any second hand store sells used hotplates for under $5.00. Wish we had an info outlet like this site, when most of us started with steel moulds with big blocks.
 

Mitty38

Well-Known Member
Mitty,
When you buy a used mould it's a real good idea to clean the bajeebers out of it. You never know what the previous owner used to clean or lube it with and there is junk out there. Hardest part for me when I started out was getting the mould to temp. Most any second hand store sells used hotplates for under $5.00. Wish we had an info outlet like this site, when most of us started with steel moulds with big blocks.
Like degreaser and muratic acid clean. Or wash with a cloth and Dawn clean?