lee economy.

I've never liked their one and two cavity molds, most more trouble than they're worth. I love their six cavity ones and wish they'd make more designs in them.

It seems I have had good success with bigger bullets in the one and two cavity ones. The REALs work well, as does their .375 bullet I cast for my .38-55.

burbank.jung said:

I like Lee molds because they do the job without costing me too much. I'm like the dad who can afford to buy a wrench set at Harbor Freight and don't need Mac Tools.

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When that Harbor Freight wrench works for you,... great.
When you have to replace that Harbor Freight wrench twice and the overall cost for three wrenches exceeds the cost of one good wrench.....you haven't saved a penny.

I don't have unlimited funds and must make spending decisions carefully; Sometimes I buy economy and sometimes I buy quality.

Petrol & Powder said:

When that Harbor Freight wrench works for you,... great.
When you have to replace that Harbor Freight wrench twice and the overall cost for three wrenches exceeds the cost of one good wrench.....you haven't saved a penny.

I don't have unlimited funds and must make spending decisions carefully; Sometimes I buy economy and sometimes I buy quality.

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I agree, coming from a decade of brick laying, I learned the importance of quality tools for specific jobs pretty quickly. In the beginning I spent a ton replacing broken cheap tools, eventually spent the extra money up front on high quality. I understand both sides of the coin but for me personally, spending $175-$200 on an Iron mold from Tom seems worth it to me

Jwatts8815 said:

......I think they’re great for what they are.

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Good way to sum up about all anyone's said so far, regardless of their position.

I got really good at fixing LEE 2Cs before using them a long time ago. When I had more time than money (have neither now), it was a good way to be able to cast more than one or two bullets.

There are some LEE designs only LEE does and I like some of them enough to keep using a LEE mould.

And t hen, sometimes the aggravation just isn't worth it.

Other times you get a gem right out of the box.

To be fair, in moulds as well as other things, I've had my share of stinkers in stuff we normally associate with quality too. My first (and only) new Smith & Wesson revolver was the worst I'd ever gotten as far as defects (mid-eighties 624) and I'm a big Charter fan. Charter only recently finally tied that Smith, but BOTH companies jumped right on it and made good.

Petrol & Powder said:

When that Harbor Freight wrench works for you,... great.
When you have to replace that Harbor Freight wrench twice and the overall cost for three wrenches exceeds the cost of one good wrench.....you haven't saved a penny.

I don't have unlimited funds and must make spending decisions carefully; Sometimes I buy economy and sometimes I buy quality.

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Cannot disagree with that, especially on the "don't have unlimited funds" part.

I don't have unlimited time either these days, so while it made MORE sense 30 years ago to fix a new LEE 2C, they still may be viable for someone.

BUT, I can fix a LEE mould most times, whereas I can't fix a HF wrench.

I have three LEE 2Cs left. One is a 358-125RF (old style), which casts pretty well. Another is a new style C309-113 RF I modified to remove the GC and it casts VERY well. The third is an older-style 429-??? TLSWC, which I haven't had the time or patience to "fix" before using, and that one is ROUGH in every respect.

Yeah I can’t fix a H F wrench either.
But most of the shooting I do is low volume shooting.
But LEE molds are a good value especially the 6 cavity molds for the volume I will be shooting. For instance I have a 160, 200, TL230, 255 LEE 6 cavities molds as well as 2 NOE 4 cavity and 2 or 3 RCBS and Lyman 2 cavity molds in the .452 to .454 range. As I only (at this time anyway. I will expand on this deficiency) have 3 pistols, think my chances of wearing out a LEE is remote. As they cost $50 there good deals for me and provide verity I can’t afford.
I like Cadillac’s but have to drive an older Toyota.
But when you want something special, well you are going to pay.
I had a NOE 358-135 HP RF 2 cavity that casted great bullets. With the HP pins in the slug weight was 127 with 50/50. But it was 2 cavity. Sold it. Ordered same mold in 5 cavity. That one is a favorite, but there’s a LEE 120 or 124 TL 6 cavity that casts nicely as well. The LEE is $50 and the NOE cost was $135 before the last price increase. Now I think they are about $150.
I like the right tool for the job as well, but each person has to figure out what their job requires.
Ben introduced me to the Tom’s version of the 315 bullet. I’m saving money in the “got to have it fund” for a 4 cavity, 2 GC and 2 PB which will be my next mold and a first from Tom. Thanks Ben

Glaciers :

You're very welcome.
________________________________________________

As to Lee, it is true that when you buy a Lee mould there is a chance you'll end up with a piece of aluminum junk. There is also a pretty good chance you'll end up with a mould that will cast many thousands of bullets that will meet your specs.

Let's not forget that Lee , throughout the years, has helped people ( many poor like me ) get started in reloading that couldn't afford Redding, RCBS, Dillion, etc.

I've been know to be critical of Lee, however, I have to stop and think about the positive aspects of Lee also.

Ben

It amazes me sometimes how Lee can sell their stuff at the price point they have established. I don't mind doing a little tweaking to make a mold work smoothly, I have to do that all the time to the stuff I make. I've had to tweak every Lyman mold I use by replacing the horrible split washer that gouges the hell out of the top of the blocks and loosens the pivot screw.

I can't make my own 4-6 cavity molds for the $50-60 Lee price, by the time I make a cutter, square up the blocks, cut the cavities etc.I've got way more than $60 shop time invested.

Not a fan of their 1-2 cavity molds but love their 6 cavity ones.

If not for the ability to buy a used lee mould for 15 and some change, I never would have started casting, beyond my muzzle loader balls over open fire.
I definitely would not have some of the Hundred buck moulds I have now.
If I had not walked into "Fin Feather Fir" and saw a "357-38special Starter kit" . Which had everything you need to make your first 38 special bullets, including suggestions on the box on which bullets and powder to start with; I never would have started loading.

So there is that.

BTW I still have all of it and it all works I still use the tedious little Lee Balance scale for a safety check comparison, on my digital one every 10 loads. It has saved my but before.

My Used lee 2 cavity 358 158 RF has had well over 4000 bullets dropped out of it after I fixed the loose handles. So has been well worth it.

So if not for lee I would not be here right now.
Of course that might actually support the argument against lee. LOL

All my molds are Lee and I’m grateful for all the bullets I can make with the money spent to buy them than buying the steel molds. I plan to buy MP molds soon but I direct my money where the need is. I don’t shoot that much. Likewise, I use my car tools to change the oil or so. I don’t work on cars like I use to when I was 18 and in my twenties. My reloading equipment is mostly RCBS and Forster because I want more precise reloads and think I can get it with RCBS and Forster. For quality and price, my favorite rifles were the Swiss and Swedish rifles.

@CWLONGSHOT the WC molds I just mentioned, was actually thinking about getting the Accurate hot on Friday. I’ve cast and shot a metric ton of those H&G50s

All of you who mentioned not liking Lee two-cavity moulds may not be aware that Lee has completely redesigned them. They now feature a pair of hardened steel cone/socket alignment pins that are, IMO, the best in the business, period. They also have vent lines scribed on top and the blocks relieved on the bottom for betrer heat control. New handle attachment pins and left-handed sprue llate screw round out the improvements.

the one thing i have noticed with them is the cavity area next to the handles is the part of the mold that heats up and holds the heat.
i'm sure it's the handles being metal holding the extra bit of heat and radiating it back into the mold.

I must have the old two cavity mold with no pins. One of the blocks has a groove to line up with the other block. They work as far as I'm concerned.

Well I am going to say this, I have 3 6 cavity lees, 2 came new and I had no idea what I was doing, but I made some bullets anyway. I just got the 3rd one cleaned up tonight. It was pretty rough with the burrs form machining, but it cleaned up in about 30 minutes and looks good now. So for 50 bucks and 1 hour of my time I have a 6cav mold ready to go.

I have 15-18 2 cavity lees and they all make bullets, yea they may be a little rough because I learned how to cast with them, but when they make 1000 bullets you really can’t complain about the molds at what then was 18.xx. They are running 25-26 ish now. Still for 26 dollars it’s hard to beat that to try a bullet. If you don’t like it, well you lost 25 dollars not 100 plus.

Economy, yes! If your willing to put a little time in and considering what your getting for the money, it’s hard to complain. For beginners all the way to the masters. If they have a design you like I doubt you will be let down.

2 of my favorites are the 309-230 and the 430-240, which is the 6 cav I just finished cleaning up. My 2 cav just can’t keep up. I wish they made the 309-230 in a 6 banger.

I don't have many production Lee's, but I have a whole big ol'mess of Group Buys and Special Run Lee's. They tend to be done a bit better than the production samples, at least they were 12-15 years ago when I was buying lots of them. They work well.

OTOH, I also have a lot of HF wrenches. I have yet to break one and I have broken just about everything you can possibly break in the way of tools. I've even broken a sledge hammer. I'm nothing if not a tool abuser. HF power tools are something else again, but these days you get the same quality from HF, Porter Cable, B+D and many other brands. Pay for the better quality stuff, even HF, and it tends to last longer, USUALLY! But there are no guarantees anymore, not like there was once. I'll say this much- If you buy a HF tool and breaks first time out, they replace it. Try that with another low cost brand out of you local store, and good luck! I wish it was all US made, but that just isn't going to happen anytime soon.

Bret4207 said:

...I've even broken a sledge hammer....

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Sir, I am in awe.

Much has been said about Lee quality in the past few days.

This is the best casting $50 mould ( Lee or anyone elses brand ) that I've ever owned. This is one of the newer moulds. I bought it less than 1 yr. ago. I used the mould today.
The 9mm, Lee 120 gr. T/C single lube groove mould.
This one drops bullets with ACWW's at a nice round .358".
I size and lube .3575"
Works great for me.
The bullets jump out of the cavities when the mould is opened.
My grandson shoots these out of several 9mm's and also shoots them out of our many 38 Special and 357 Mag, revolvers. A very versatile bullet.

Ben

I have the 124 gr TL version of that mold that has performed the same way for many years. I tumble lube them and use them as cast. The .40 caliber 175 TC -TL is the same and is the most accurate bullet I have in a couple of .38/40s. Does pretty fair in 10mm too. I could go on but I’ve had good luck with Lee molds. I still cast with the first two single cavity molds I got many years ago. One is the only .338 diameter mold I’ve ever owned.

Ben, I thought I had one of those but I checked the other day and couldn't find it. Glad to know how pleased you are with it, I plan to order one of those if a second search comes up empty. For handguns, the 6 cavity Lee is the way to go in my book.

BTW, those sure are nice looking bullets.