I have used only iron molds for my bullet casting, but was thinking of purchasing a couple of Lee aluminum molds. Can anyone tell me of any differences or quirks I should be aware of regarding aluminum as opposed to iron or steel molds?
Aluminum molds
- Thread starter TRanger
- Start date
Rick Courtright
Hawkeye
Hi,
Be sure to read, and follow, Lee's instructions for using them. Especially about getting them spotlessly clean before use!
One thing many have reported is they cool much faster than iron molds--I've only used the aluminum ones myself--so the lead should be kept a little hotter to cast well.
But it's easy to get things a little too hot, so I keep a wet sponge beside the pot to press the mold against and cool it a bit if my bullets start "frosting."
Rick C
Be sure to read, and follow, Lee's instructions for using them. Especially about getting them spotlessly clean before use!
One thing many have reported is they cool much faster than iron molds--I've only used the aluminum ones myself--so the lead should be kept a little hotter to cast well.
But it's easy to get things a little too hot, so I keep a wet sponge beside the pot to press the mold against and cool it a bit if my bullets start "frosting."
Rick C
Rusty W
Single-Sixer
For the money they're hard to beat. I use them in a lot of calibers, single, double, & 6 cavity. They may need to be Leemented or you could get lucky and it work just fine. Most size bigger than stated but that's okay with me because I can size down easier than I can size up, although you can beagle the mold to make a fatter bullet. I found that I need to keep the heat up to around 750 in order to get good fill out. There's a ton of information on Lee molds over at castboolits.gunloads.com.
Bucks Owin
Hunter
I think they are fine for the money and a little frost just helps the lube stick better...(Just drop them carefully) :wink:
If I have a "problem" with them, it's that many of them are gas check designs where a GC isn't really needed...I've had some success milling that portion off to make a PB mold in fact though the bullet loses some weight of course...JMO though
(And I freely admit to becoming more and more "anti GC" with my pistola bullets :? )
If I have a "problem" with them, it's that many of them are gas check designs where a GC isn't really needed...I've had some success milling that portion off to make a PB mold in fact though the bullet loses some weight of course...JMO though
(And I freely admit to becoming more and more "anti GC" with my pistola bullets :? )
You'll have to keep them hot and make sure they are cleaned and lubed well. Each mold seems to have it's own "personality", how they work best, and I keep notes in my casting log (one mold works well with melt just over liquid, one mold likes to be run just shy of frosting, etc.)
Tom W
Blackhawk
I've been blessed not to have any problems with my Lee molds. I have a number of them, and I've had some for almost twenty years. The 30 caliber single cavity I have I use for my 30/30 and,at times, for my 30-06 a.i. It was the second one I bought, way back when.
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