Lee 575 Minie ball mold info

[SHARPS4953]

Has anyone had any luck with these Lee molds. It looks like an old style minie at 500 grns. 575. I like the fact that its a double cavity. Ive been using a Lyman old style but again I would like to speed up casting time with the double.

Scott
1st Maine

[Eggman]

Love it but it's single cavity. Featured it in the March Muzzle Blasts.

[SHARPS4953]

Thanks Egg, I will have to check re-read that muzzleblast. But I just ordered the mold from Deer Creek Muzzleloading and they advertise this mold as a double cavity.

[Eggman]

Very very interesting!! I've never seen or heard of a multiple cavity minie mould. The issue is how would you provide multiple core pins. Please report back on this.

[Maillemaker]

I did not think/know that Lee made any double-cavity hollow-base bullets.

My only problem with the Lee hollow-cavity bullet molds is the core pin is made of aluminum and it galls against the aluminum mold halves. Perhaps coating it in Moose Juice (which I love) would help?

I've quite using all of my Lee hollow-base molds.


Steve

[Hal]

My experience with Lee Minnie moulds is that they cast OK the first time, but after that, they get to where the core pin gets out of whack and you can't close the mould all the way. Getting fins on your bullets is a good indicator this is going on, but what's worse is when it's not bad enough to fin the bullets and you just go on blindly casting and catch them all when you weigh them and they're all over the board. The other thing I've had happen with them is they get to where the bullet sticks so bad you have to beat the crap out of the mould handles to get them to release. I've thrown one away due to this. Actually. I threw it away twice. First time, I dug back out of the trash thinking maybe I had been a little hasty. Second time, I defaced it pretty good so I wouldn't be tempted to dig it out again.

I did buy another one for a different gun. Like the first one, it cast OK the first time, but started the same crap as the other one the second time I used it. The bullet didn't shoot well, so I haven't tried casting with it again. I still have it, but hope I never have to deal with it again.

I have several Lee Moulds and think they are better than what a lot of folks give them credit for, but for Minnies, I think I've bought my last Lee.

[Eggman]

You might want to give them another look. I upgraded my .575 minie after, I don't know, like 22 years -- they've changed the configuration of the blocks - no longer square but an elongated rectangle. Close easier/crisper. Not getting any wings after three long sessions - at least 250+ bullets (always check for block tightness each cast) . I love my Lees -- use a .50 Lee minie for Maynard, Smith and Spencer. For Maynard and Spencer use a rounded knob at the base of an old brass powder measure tapped into the base of each bullet to expand the base for fit to ctg. Minie recess also provides a nice spot for a gob of Len's Lube.

[Eggman]

My only problem with the Lee hollow-cavity bullet molds is the core pin is made of aluminum and it galls against the aluminum mold halves.
Steve
You smoke the halves and core pin before each use right Steve?

[Maillemaker]

I have tried smoking before, but the smoke residue does not last very long.

According to Lee literature included with the molds, the purpose of the smoking is to act as a thermal barrier between the molten lead and the aluminum mold blocks to slow down the heat transfer from the lead to the blocks. This allows you to start casting good bullets faster with a cold(er) mold. Hopefully by the time the smoke wears off your mold is up to temperature and you don't miss it anymore.

I solve that problem by pre-heating my molds on a hot plate prior to casting.

Now the Moose Juice is awesome stuff. I suspect it is a solution of rubbing alcohol and powdered graphite. What it does is creates a surprisingly durable coating of graphite on whatever surface you paint it on, and it resists wear surprisingly well also. I use it on the tops of my mold blocks and the bottom of the sprue plates. In fact I have started painting my entire mold blocks with the stuff as it also inhibits oxidation.

Steve

[stubshaft]

I have used Lee molds for over 40 years, along with virtually every other brand made. Many years ago I bought some graphite sticks from Veral Smith of LBT bullets. I looks like a small black crayon and is supposedly made with colloidal graphite and beeswax. I use it to lubricate the sprue plate hinge, locating pins and the bottom of the floating pin on hollow base molds. Just a smidge applied when the mold is at temperature will do it. IIRC there were five 1/4" X 4" sticks in the package. I ordered the last package about 15 years ago and still have 1 1/2 sticks left.

[Jim Barber]

Now the Moose Juice is awesome stuff. I suspect it is a solution of rubbing alcohol and powdered graphite. What it does is creates a surprisingly durable coating of graphite on whatever surface you paint it on, and it resists wear surprisingly well also. I use it on the tops of my mold blocks and the bottom of the sprue plates. In fact I have started painting my entire mold blocks with the stuff as it also inhibits oxidation.

Steve

+1 on the Moose Juice. I also paint the whole thing after I've got the interior coated. Works a treat. Got a brand new RCBS Hodgdon mold last summer & was expecting it to be sticky and fussy til it was broken in. Gave it a couple coats of The Juice prior to my first casting session & the bullets came out like buttah. BTW, if you want to save some $$ on handles for a fancy RCBS mold, the large Lee handles can be had cheap on Ebay or Amazons. Just need to mill or file the Lee handles' profile down to fit the RCBS blocks. Time-consuming, but was totally worth it for me! I used a flat file and about 5 Yuenglings to get them just right...

Jim B.

Grove City, OH

[Maillemaker]

5 Yuenglings

I'm also a Yuengling fan!

Steve

[Eggman]

if you want to save some $$ on handles for a fancy RCBS mold, the large Lee handles can be had cheap on Ebay or Amazons. Just need to mill or file the Lee handles' profile down to fit the RCBS blocks.

Are you sure you don't mean Lyman handles? I'm not familiar with separate Lee handles.

[Hal]

Lee makes handles for their 6 cavity moulds. They are pretty good for the price, which is maybe $15 give or take. They fit some moulds as is, and others require some minor modification. I had to file the thickness down a hair on a set to fit an Accurate mould I recently purchased. I'm pretty sure the ones that Moose Moulds supplies with their moulds are Lees.

[Jim Barber]

Yep, they're Lee handles. I think mine were also something like $15 total. An unexpected bonus is that they're pretty dang long so they don't get piping hot (like the handles on my Lyman Smith mold, YOW!) They're considerably thicker than the RCBS mold blocks, it took a fair bit of filing and beer to get them just right, also discovered I had to profile the ends a tad to round them on the corners. Since it wasn't a precision thing-- just needed to cut metal off the corners-- I used a Dremel for that part, went very quickly. They seem well-made, beefy, can't imagine the genuine, expensive RCBS handles would be an improvement.

Since I've gone totally off topic anyway, a public service FYI: if you have a Lyman lead dipper with a worn-out/burned out handle, you can get perfect-fit replacement wood handles on Ebay, I paid $20 for a half-dozen with free shipping. I think they cost $10 for one with shipping, so I spent extra for a lifetime supply. Was tired of watching my dad stuff toothpicks, nails, etc. into his charred Lyman handles to get through a casting session. New ones thread on just like they should. Probably Chinese oak, full of extra mercury and cadmium for extra super long strength and heat resistant quality, too!:)

Cheers!
Jim B.

[hawkeye2]

Jim do you have a link to those dipper handles?

[SHARPS4953]

Bad news, the add was a misprint. The lee mini is only a single cavity. Its a heavy bullet, 518 grns. Ive been using a Lyman old style for years. I would sure like to switch to the lee, its a really light mold to use.

[Jim Barber]

Jim do you have a link to those dipper handles?

Crud, it's been a couple years-- I can't find the source. Similar stuff I turned up on Ebay just now is unfinished wood handles. The ones I got have steel collars at the end and are varnished (again, probably with a combination of radon gas and lead, since I'm pretty sure they're Chinese).

On a completely unrelated note, I'm using a Lyman dipper and my brother bought a fancy RCBS dipper, and his collects slag like crazy. Like, it turns into a baseball-sized gob when we're casting. He has to whang the crud off periodically, while the Lyman dipper just goes about its business. Occasionally I skim the pot using the Lyman, but not often. It's a weird phenomenon. Eventually I'll dump all that slag into a pot and heat it til the cows come home, see if we can't un-oxidize it and turn it back into castable melt, a portion of it anyway.

[jonk]

I never saw the need to lubricate most parts of the mold. The sprue plate and handle pivot being exceptions. But others do, and that's certainly their choice. I have played with the Moose Juice, and it works as well as any, better than most if you choose to go that route.

As to the Lee minie moulds; now that they are using proper alignment pins, they are as good as any others imho. I've never had an issue with a lee mold other than alignment of their 2 cavity jobs before this change (and even that could be remedied easily enough). I'd be fine with using a Lee if that's what my gun liked. Since my guns all prefer the hodgdon well, that's another matter.