Lee Loader

I was casting up some 309-150 bullets last week when I noticed the resistance of the sprue hinge getting greater. As I learned from Mr. Lee's excellent book I touched the edge of the hinge screw with tip of a beeswax candle. It melted so fast that some got into one cavities. That put an end to the session and I had to wash the mold and re-season with soot.. Does anyone use another lubricant on the hinge besides beeswax?

I use Permatex anti-seize and a tooth pick or something similar.

Make smoke,

I, like Ohio3Wheels, use the permatex anti-seize on the initial first use,but I then switch to synthetic 2 cycle oil till the anti-seize is almost totally gone. I use a Q tip to apply the tiny amounts needed.

Don't ask me. Keeping the sprue plate smooth and not letting the screw get loose are two problems I've had since I started casting a few years ago.

I too use 2-cycle motor oil, but very sparingly. I use a damp (not wet) q-tip and rub the underside of the plate and parts of the top of the mold. I just got a new steel mold and I am trying some sprue lube I had on my bench. It's "key/lock lube"; black graphite suspended in a very light solvent more like a penetrating lube. Very, very thin and creeps in tight areas easily. When I saw how it penetrated I went to a q-tip so I wouldn't get any lube going stray and getting into a cavity. So far after casting about 100 slugs (Lyman 525 Sabot Slug) it seems to be working good...

2 cycle oil, wax, Hi-temp anti seize, Bullplate (2 cycle)???? Tried them all, like the
2 cycle with a tooth pick as applicator the best.

Along with that I use a Carpenters pencil and run the Lead (graphite) on the underside of the Plate; doesn't seem to hurt the base of the bullet and makes the Plate easier to open. YMMV

Another user of 2 stroke oil . I'm thinking about finding some more dry graphite spray lube to try on the sprue plate faces . Long ago I painted a troublesome mould with it ........ I don't remember it making any difference but I was pretty green to casting then .

Bull Shop Sprue Lube and a Q-Tip...
Has always worked well for Me...Never seen a Reason to try anything Else...

2-Cycle oil, applied VERY sparingly, as in from a barely damp Q-tip application to a hot sprue-plate and then wiped (one swipe) with a cotton cloth after a brief period - less than a minute. For direct application to the hinge - the toothpick, as mentioned above, but very sparingly. "Too much" is not much at all and it can migrate to the cavity closest to the hinge without being able to see the drip. If that doesn't work, don't apply more - stop and take off the plate and clean/check for burrs or galling.

Carpenter's pencil (graphite) scribbled onto the bottom of the plate and then blow off the loose residue. This works fairly well as a "scrubber" too, to remove those nasty lead swipes. Don't use harder than #2 or enough graphite won't rub off the pencil onto the plate. If you polish up your sprue plates, this method may not look like it works, but if you see pencil lines while turning the mould in the light, you got it as good as you're going to. Again, if this doesn't work - stop...

One of my favorites - a metal-worker's or welder's soap-stone, used to mark steel. The rectangular ones. One of these will last for decades. Apply as the pencil is done above. Same as above regarding if it doesn't work. Over-application of any of these methods won't make it better, so you might as well let the mould cool and do some sprue-plate traige.

I followed LEE's recommendations for years to use bullet lube and it never worked all that well for me. 30+ years and some of them still have stains, which don't hurt anything but they remind me there's a better way.

If any of these ideas don't work, especially bullet lube or 2-Cycle oil, resist the intuitive urge to try a little more. You just get deeper into trouble and then have to clean it off in addition to cleaning up metal surfaces with files and abrasive papers.