T/L Lee, 6 cav., 158 SWC

[Ben]

It is always a fun day when a new mould arrives.

 

[telebasher]

Perhaps my favorite of all the Lee moulds I own .

 

[Ben]

Yes, a great cast bullet.

 

[JWFilips]

One of my first moulds that I ever bought! Still cast great

 

[Ben]

The 1st thing I noticed when I lifted the mould out of the box was the sprue plate bolt had WAY TOO MUCH pressure on it . A great way to scar and ruin the tops of the blocks.

I used my standard " mod " on this one today .
Now the sprue plate runs smoothly on the tops of the blocks without damaging them . I find it interesting to note that most all mould manufacturers today offers a sprue bolt and a sprue bolt lock screw. Not Lee. If you want that, you have to do it yourself. I guess there are sacrifices that are made when you get a 6 cav. mold for $46.00.

40 Minutes later :

 

[Ben]

Got outside this morning to cast some with this 6 cav. Lee.
20 minutes work.

 

[Ben]

The Lee 158 gr. Tumble lube 6 cav., Mould , bullets are now sized .3575" and ready to load , I'm very pleased with this one :

https://rumble.com/v3ngq5m-october-6-2023.html

 

[Reeferman]

The Lee 158 gr. Tumble lube 6 cav., Mould , bullets are now sized .3575" and ready to load , I'm very pleased with this one :

https://rumble.com/v3ngq5m-october-6-2023.html

What alloy mix and temperature are you using?

 

[Ben]

What alloy mix and temperature are you using?
------------------------------------
Old clip on WW's , about 700 degrees.

 

[richhodg66]

This is a good bullet design. I have a mostly full coffee can of them cast up, I need to load up and shoot some .38 Specials.

 

[ChestnutLouie]

The bullets cast from the Lee 158 tumble lube SWC are excelent for 38 special lubed with alox and with somewhat harder alloy and powder coating shoots very nicely form my Henry 357 lever action at 1,600 fps

 

[bruce381]

do you lube first then size or size then lube? I do not have any TL molds

 

[JonB]

When I tumble lube bullets, I lube, then size, then lube again.
but, honestly, there is no right answer.

 

[Bazoo]

Nice writeup, thank you for sharing. What did they measure before sizing? I tell ya, they are some darn nice bullets. I had the same for 44, the TL430-240-SWC, and other than casting a tad small, It cast great. I still have a small flat rate box to powder coat. They are a handsome bullet that's for sure.

 

[Ben]

Mine " edged " .359 when they fall from the mould.

Ben

 

[JonB]

Ben, you must have the luck of the Irish with those Lee TL molds. I've only had one or two of them drop big enough for my gun's tastes...out of probably a dozen of them that I've bought.

 

[Ben]

Have you thought about a couple of thin pieces of metal foil tape . ( Beagle the mould ) You can usually get an extra .002 " with zero casting problems.

Of course, Lee moulds are super soft. You can coat a bullet with fine abrasive and spin it in the mould cavity. Just don't over do it.

Ben

 

[fiver]

powder coat fixes that small problem.

i've still got a couple thousand of the 44 version coated with the old Alox 350 sitting here.
i love that mold in the 44 special, but I don't wanna buy another 44 cal. mold to go with the over half a dozen i got now.