lee economy.

JonB

JonB

Halcyon member
Ben said:
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

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Yes, Nice looking bullets.
My Lee 120 TC doesn't have a bevel base.
 
P

popper

Well-Known Member
The Lee 401-180 TC OLD version with one missing pin and the other about to fall out still will cast good bullets (but I consider it worn out after several thou casts). I got the TC and tiny groove one (don't like it and don't use it) at the same time, along with a lee bottom dripper, 401 push-thru and some LLA to begin casting. Shirley's name on all of it. She was a busy gal - or that name stood for something else. Her stuff still works. The moulds I actually use are all made by Accurate. I did have the original Lee RD mould and the bullets shot very well in the 30/30.
 
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fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
i have no 6 cavity LEE's.
well i do have one, but it was bought as a blank and turned into an 11 cavity core mold.
the ones i do have are all a mix of old and new 2 cavity molds.
 
J

Jeff H

NW Ohio
Ian said:
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.
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I'll second that - the "new" 2C moulds are much nicer than the originals and still darned cheap to buy. I think I only have one of the new ones now and it has not offered any of the issues I've had with the older ones.

Earlier, I mentioned a 2C LEE, which is "rough," and which I haven't had the time or patience to fix. That mould is brand new in the box - "NOS" as they say. Everything about it is sketchy and I'd have to do some work to it just to cast a bullet to see if it's under-sized, so I've been reluctant. But, again, this one is the old design.

I feel like with the new design, LEE seems to have stepped up QC on them as well.

Makes me think I should get a couple 38/357 2Cs for the git-up-n-go kit. I don't have a lot of stuff (on purpose), but if I had to up and move in a hurry, I wouldn't be able to take all my casting/reloading stuff. Still need to assemble (at least) a 38/357 hand-loading setup, and I've been going with 4C and 6C moulds as I wore out my 2C moulds.

Ironically, several of the "nicer" Arsenal and NOEs I have are based on, replicate or have similar features to LEE bullet designs - on purpose.

Arsenal 430-210 RFN - surrogate for the LEE 429-200 RF, but with a wider drive band
Arsenal 359-158RF - "Ranch-Dog Clone" using "micro-grooves" or "micro-bands" to replace both the LEE 358-158RF and 358-158 TLSWC
NOE 360-190 RF - another Ranch Dog design, originally a LEE mould
 
KeithB

KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
My dislike of Lee one and two cavity molds is because they only have 1 or 2 holes in them. Same with Lyman and RCBS. I really wish RCBS made 4 cavity molds, and I'll always buy a 4 cavity Lyman instead of a one or two cavity. With a hotplate it doesn't take any longer to heat up a 4-6 cavity mold, and with a 20 pound bottom pour pot you can cast a lot of bullets pretty quickly.

Agree that the new Lee two cavity molds are designed and built better.
 
Mitty38

Mitty38

Well-Known Member
Before they made a tool (or at least before one was available in my area) for pressing ball joints out of lower A arms, while on the truck.
I broke a ball joint separator, a handle on a 5 lb hammer, and a rigged up hub puller in one day.
I was trying to change front lower ball joint. On a 90's 4x4 Dakota.

But.... a driver at the shop, that always had to comment and heckel, on my work, told me it would never come out without taking the A arm off the truck.

Even though it would have been a lot easier to take the lower A arm off and pay the 25 bucks to have it pressed. Which at the time was the recommended procedure.

I ended up making a tool out of plate steel, 3/4 all thread and a butchered large socket. Used a 3/4 impact to power it. After a day of breaking and making things, it took 10 minute with my home made screw press to change it, on the truck.
Sometimes it's not "ham handedness" but "hard headedness" that gets me in trouble.
 
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J

Jeff H

NW Ohio
KeithB said:
My dislike of Lee one and two cavity molds is because they only have 1 or 2 holes in them. Same with Lyman and RCBS. I really wish RCBS made 4 cavity molds, and I'll always buy a 4 cavity Lyman instead of a one or two cavity. With a hotplate it doesn't take any longer to heat up a 4-6 cavity mold, and with a 20 pound bottom pour pot you can cast a lot of bullets pretty quickly.

Agree that the new Lee two cavity molds are designed and built better.
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Valid point. I've replaced a number of 2Cs with 6Cs or 4Cs already and I dread having to use the ONE 1C I still use.

I will eventually want a couple or three 2Cs for my "when I' down to about nuthin' kit," but will keep plugging away with 4Cs and 6Cs in the meantime.

In the past few years, I've seen a lot of otherwise reasonably prepared retired people fleeced in the course of a year through medical expenses. If that happens to me, I'll at least have something to cast, reload and shoot with.
 
KeithB

KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
I have bought 2 cavity Lee molds to test the bullet design and if it works I usually go ahead and buy a 6 cavity if available. Also usually use the 2 cavity for trading or selling once that happens. But I can see having a reserve stash of minimalist casting equipment for personal use or putting together a starter kit for another person.
 
L Ross

L Ross

Well-Known Member
Bret4207 said:
I broke the wedge I was driving with it too! Never underestimate the ability of a former Marine to destroy something through sheer bull headedness!
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You aint lived until the mushroomed wedge splinters off a piece and it goes into your leg. Thank God the shin bone prevents serious penetration. After that you'll grind off that mushroomed head on the wedge as soon as it rears it's ugly head. Oh, and using a power splitter helps too now.
 
Ian

Ian

Notorious member
KeithB said:
We make it a point to dress off the head of punches and chisels as soon as any upsetting starts for the very reason you list. Once the fragments become ballistic objects nothing good can result.
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Punch and chisel maintenance is a Safety 099 imperative for me. One trip to the ER to have a fragment of metal from the tip of a universal joint trunnion cut out of my thigh gave me a whole new respect for flying bits of metal.
 
Mitty38

Mitty38

Well-Known Member
Ian said:
Just change the whole lower control arm out. The bushings are shot, too.
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Was just my yard truck.At my job,15 years ago. Rotted frame never, saw the road. Just hauled torches, tools, and parts around on 20 acres of scrap yard.
You would have loved my 2x4- hose clamp, frame repair. LOL
 
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Bret4207

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
I wasn't trying to split wood. I was trying to split ROCK! There was a crack I could fit a wedge in, so I had a couple of them in there. The old one I got at a flea market did fine. The newer one I got at TSC or HF, well she blew up into about 3 pieces. If looked like it was laminated. I kept pounding away on the other one and the whole side of the sledge cracked. I never did get that rock split. I eventually loaded manure and bedding over it until it wasn't a danger to the haying equipment anymore.

I have managed to shoot several pieces of metal into my bod over the years. One was while trying to change out a u joint. I felt a sting on my stomach but thought nothing of it. A few days later I had a wicked boil there. I was about 19, in the USMC, and of course decided some self administered surgery with a pocket knife was a good idea. Not my best idea ever. I got it out alright, but the aftermath required a trip to sick bay and some anti-biotics. Dumb!
 
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L Ross

L Ross

Well-Known Member
Bret4207 said:
I wasn't trying to split wood. I was trying to split ROCK! There was a crack I could fit a wedge in, so I had a couple of them in there. The old one I got at a flea market did fine. The newer one I got at TSC or HF, well she blew up into about 3 pieces. If looked like it was laminated. I kept pounding away on the other one and the whole side of the sledge cracked. I never did get that rock split. I eventually loaded manure and bedding over it until it wasn't a danger to the haying equipment anymore.

I have managed to shoot several pieces of metal into my bod over the years. One was while trying to change out a u joint. I felt a sting on my stomach but thought nothing of it. A few days later I had a wicked boil there. I was about 19, in the USMC, and of course decided some self administered surgery with a pocket knife was a good idea. Not my best idea ever. I got it out alright, but the aftermath required a trip to sick bay and some anti-biotics. Dumb!
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I can imagine how sterile your pocket knife was.I'm getting better as I age. I zipped open a 'possum to expose the inside so the crows, hawks, and eagles could clean him up better, and when I got in the house I washed the blade. So there! I used to just wipe it on a trouser's leg and call it good.
 
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