Lee .454" round ball mold, six (6) cavity mold blocks, with cam-action sprue plate, a snug fit for best accuracy in .44 Army percussion revolvers, requires Lee handles
Cast a revolver cylinder full, six balls, each time you fill this mold!
Lee Six (6) Cavity Mold Blocks require our #LEE-HANDLE sold separately. The special alloy sprue plate can never attract solder smears, and has a cam action assist to ease cutting all six sprue.
This round ball mold produces six (6) .454" diameter round balls with each use. You will soon cast hundreds of balls per hour.
Before you start, scrub the new mold (cold) with liquid detergent and hot water, using a toothbrush to remove any invisible preservative oil from the mold cavities and surfaces. Heat the mold to dry it. Continue to gently heat it until any traces of preservative oil are vaporized. You can sometimes see oil vapors evaporate, when viewing the mold in strong light, or holding it in front of a window on a bright day.
Round balls for percussion revolvers can be made of slightly harder alloy, if your chamber mouths have been deburred to allow compressing the whole ball into the chamber. Percussion revolvers have loading levers with mechanical advantage to compress the lead into place. Pure lead is easier to load, but may not shoot more accurately.
Round balls for muzzle loading rifles must be cast of soft lead, so the ball's equator and patch will be easily engraved by the rifling at the muzzle. Round balls for smooth bore muskets, or used as buckshot, need not be dead soft.
These six cavity molds work so smoothly that you may be amazed. Perhaps you have fought with Lyman ball molds that refuse to release the balls. Lee molds allow the balls drop out easily when the mold is opened. No need to bang away on the mold to dislodge balls. One tap on the mold handle pivot bolt head will cause the balls to drop into your cloth lined pie pan.
Tools you may need include a sturdy wooden stick to gently tap the mold open, closed, drop the sprues, and drop the balls. We use our standard hickory tomahawk handle, as-is. Order #HANDLE-STD.
Keep a 7/16" six point box end wrench handy. Dab a tiny amount of #BC-CTL Birchwood Casey's choke-tube-lube where the sprue plate slides under the shouldered bolt head, and where the sprue pivots.
Lee's 6 cavity ball molds are aluminum alloy. Aluminum blocks won't rust, lead won't adhere, and they heat quickly. But they are softer than blued steel and require gentle handling. If you treat these high precision molds with care and respect, they will last a lifetime. The cavity cannot rust. Six cavity molds require #LEE-HANDLE sold separately.
Gently break in your new mold. New molds require a break in period, and are most likely to be damaged during first use. Wash the mold cavity, dry, and lubricate the cavity and the underside of the sprue plate with candle smoke. As you cast, increase your casting speed to increase temperature and bullet quality. Apply more smoke, as needed. Be gentle!
After the wooden handles with metal ferrules are heated over time, tap them with your mold stick to keep them snug. Eventually you may wish to drill a 1/16" or appropriately sized pilot hole centered through the metal ferrule and through the steel handle extension. Insert a panel nail or appropriate finish nail to permanently lock the wooden handle in place. Yes, a mis-drilled pin hole will weaken the handles, so plan your hole carefully.
After a few hours of use, this mold will "break in" and become even faster to use, and smoother to operate. Custom made by Lee, this six cavity mold is offered only by Track. We offer a few other ball molds in six cavity blocks, including .380", .395", .440", .454", .490", .520"
