Lee molds

[drinksgin (deceased)]

Well , just call me Rip Van Drinksgin, I had not bought a new Lee mold in a couple of years, just got one, they have made some changes, rather than the nedle bearing presed in one face and a matching groove in the other face, they now have a ss truncated cone in one face and a matching ss socket in the other, should be much more durable.
I have not had problems with the old way, but several people have, guess they did not do a good job of lubing the guides or got rough or too fast and managed to mess up the aluminum receiver part of the guides.
I also noticed they have changed the method of attaching the handles, a socket head screw rather than the pin.
I think both changes are going to make the molds easier to use and more durable.
Best part, the price is up only about $1 from 2 years ago.

[gitano]

Lee molds are GOOD. Period. In fact, most of Lee's stuff is GOOD.

Paul

[j0e_bl0ggs (deceased)]

I have a couple sets with the needle bearings fitted, honestly they are junk as they will not align without a lot of faffing around, so much so that I don't use them much.
Lee has made loads of good reloading stuff but truly let themselves down in the application of cost cutting sometimes.

[gitano]

I don't have any of the new molds to which Don remarked. The only ones I have are the older types. I must have at least 20, and haven't had a notable problem with a single one of them. I recall one of them having a minor alignment problem that was so simply solved that I can't remember how I did it.

Hunterbug told me that someone told him that if you get them too hot by pouring too many too fast, that they will melt! Next thing we'll hear is that when you get them too hot they turn radioactive. People love to hate them. Like I said, I have many of them and haven't had a problem with a single one.

One of the things that really chaps my cheeks about ALL other molds is that you HAVE to buy handles separately. First you have to pay AT LEAST 3 times as much for the mold. Then you have to cough up almost $40 for handles! Which is more by $15 than LEE supplies the mold AND HANDLES for.

All of that said, the primary complaint I have heard about Lee molds is alignment.

It's not likely that I will be buying too many more molds. I have pretty much all I need of them. I will continue to use Lee molds and dies until I have a reason to stop using them.

Paul

[drinksgin (deceased)]

My personal count is up to about 50, I sent one in, most odd, one cavity made good bullets, the other cavity NEVER made a good bullet, even after about 200 tries but Lee replaced it, no problem.
The other brand molds I have are all able to use  a Lee 6 holer mold handle I have, the one of those I have that is a mess is a RCBS .358, the bullets look like a profile of a pine tree, I have done everything the people on the RCBS forum have recommended and nothing helped.
I did sell my Lee 6 holer, I am just to slow to be able to pour 6 at a time, 3 or 4  was my limit and then the sprues were getting pretty hard to cut, was just a waste of time for me, a 2 holer is plenty fast for me.
I have had to adjust a couple of Lee molds that were not wanting to line up, but a bit of shimming took care of the problem.
I do think the new system is more easily aligned and is an advancement, HOWEVER, I am not going to replace the other style.
Oh, I am going to buy another mold shortly, found a 1857 Rem. .36 for a steal, less than $200, steel frame, brand new in the box.
Now I need a .375 ball mold.