Lee Loader

No, I’m not talking about the alloy that goes into the mould, rather I’m curious about the alloy from which the moulds are made. Rumor has it that at one time a higher grade of aluminum was used to make the multi cavity moulds and a lesser grade for the basic 2 cavity moulds. At some later time, the alloy for the 2 cavity moulds was upgraded to be equal to their multi-cavity siblings.

First, is this information accurate, and second, if it is accurate, when did the upgrade occur? Any and all accurate input will be gratefully received.

Froggie

Am I the only one who has heard the stories about more than one alloy of aluminum being used at various times in Lee moulds? As many Lee enthusiasts as hang out here, this would be amazing!

Froggie

I’ve not heard it.

I have to admit that back in the day my opinion of Lee moulds was based on the relatively soft alloy which was subject to easy damage and fairly rapid wear. According to the urban legend though, the six cavity moulds were “professional quality” being better finished and more importantly being made of a better grade of aluminum alloy. Those “in the know” were advised to avoid the 2 cavity moulds in favor of the much better quality 6 bangers. It does seem that the current 6 bangers and even the 2 cavity moulds have had a big bump in quality.

Now I know I didn’t make all of this up... my imagination has its limits. Surely someone on this forum of Lee enthusiasts has been around long enough and remember something about this. It would be especially useful to know whether the older 2 cavity moulds were made of a lesser quality alloy and if yes whether (and when) this was changed? Is there a secret to identifying which is which? C’mon guys, we’re all friends here... how about sharing the knowledge or destroying the myth?

Froggie

Problem was that the old 2-bangers were extruded ie. pressed through a die that made the final form with the aligning "ridges". all that was needed was the pins so it wouldnt flex up/down.

That nessesitated a soft alloy to work.

The 6-bangers relied on mashined blocks and alignment pins from git go, so could be made of better alloy. And with the new 2-bangers relying on pins too can be upgraded to a better alloy.

Thank you very much mr chickenthief. That’s just what I needed to know. With this information in mind, may I assume that I should look for 2 cavity moulds with alignment pins rather than the (for lack of a proper term) steel alignment bars found on most 2 cavity moulds? When would such a change have occurred?

Froggie

Its been in the last 4-5 years I can't vouch for the alloy specifically but the industry standard aluminum mould alloy has be AN 6061 (I think that's right) those alloys are assigned a T suffix indicating hardness from a T1-T81 for aircraft structural uses . Because of the temperature moulds operate at most are from T4-T6 which machines well but is pretty meaningless in the finished tool as they are basically annealed back to a T1 or alloy raw alloy soft .

The older V block and pin moulds were from a different alloy but it wasn't just basic aluminum but it was a cheaper alloy .

Green Frog wrote:Thank you very much mr chickenthief. That’s just what I needed to know. With this information in mind, may I assume that I should look for 2 cavity moulds with alignment pins rather than the (for lack of a proper term) steel alignment bars found on most 2 cavity moulds? When would such a change have occurred?

Froggie

The only Lee mold I have had that I could not get to cast (nor could the guy I got it from or the guy I gave it to) was a 2-hole with the older style bars.

GasGuzzler wrote:

Green Frog wrote:Thank you very much mr chickenthief. That’s just what I needed to know. With this information in mind, may I assume that I should look for 2 cavity moulds with alignment pins rather than the (for lack of a proper term) steel alignment bars found on most 2 cavity moulds? When would such a change have occurred?

Froggie

The only Lee mold I have had that I could not get to cast (nor could the guy I got it from or the guy I gave it to) was a 2-hole with the older style bars.

I’m thinking that may be an indicator to me at least, of which moulds to look for and which ones to avoid. This was the purpose of starting this thread. I very seldom buy any piece of reloading equipment for its rarity or collectibility, rather for its potential usefulness. This is why I tend to pick up specific Lee items since the useful ones really give a lot of bang for the buck. I just need an approximate time frame for the changeover, or was it Lee Custom vs even the earliest Lee Precision production?

Thanks again to those who responded with such useful info!
Froggie

Just look at the alignment mechanism to tell. The date really doesn't matter.