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jethunter
06-02-2013, 11:34 PM
The plunger in my lyman 4500 is turning with the rod, so it's not moving up or down just spinning in place. What do i need to do to get it moving again? I turned off the heat and I'll let it cool down and try again, but if that doesn't work what else can i try?

Frozone
06-03-2013, 09:52 AM
Replace the orings with thicker ones? or wet them with brake fluid, that will cause them to swell.

jethunter
06-03-2013, 01:21 PM
Thicker o-rings might be an idea but first i have to get the plunger out of the cylinder...

454PB
06-03-2013, 01:23 PM
I've had this happen to me. I used an ice pick to reach in the reservoir and prevent the plunger from turning while I cranked the stem and removed it.

JonB_in_Glencoe
06-03-2013, 02:49 PM
re: stopping the spinning.
Cold lube will help you out.
Either room temp or if it's real stubborn,
put the entire press into the freezer for an hour.
Good Luck,
Jon

jethunter
06-03-2013, 04:15 PM
Tried it hot, tried it cold. In hindsite, I should have tried the freezer trick first. I wore the o-rings down spinning it in place with no lube before i tried the freezer and there just wasn't enough o-ring left to grab the cylinder wall.

I got it out but it wasn't pretty. It involved a hacksaw and now I need a new plunger screw, which is being built on the neighbour's lathe as I type.

I'm fairly mechanically minded. Grew up on a farm with a farmer/HD mechanic father who made everything and fixed everything himself, and I make a living operating and repairing mechanical equipment and instrumentation. I swear I have had more grief from these darn Lyman/RCBS lubesizers than all my other gear put together. That's more of a criticism of the operator than the machine obviously, but i am darned close to pulling the trigger on a star.

JonB_in_Glencoe
06-03-2013, 07:10 PM
...I wore the o-rings down spinning it in place with no lube before i tried the freezer and there just wasn't enough o-ring left to grab the cylinder wall.

I got it out but it wasn't pretty. It involved a hacksaw and now I need a new plunger screw...

Here is somemore hindsight for you. If you would have heated the reservior casting with a heat gun and at the same time, added some melted lube onto the top of the pressure nut (aka plunger)...then froze it. The pressure nut should have been well 'glued' to the reservoir inside wall to just unscrew the pressure screw out the bottom, leaving the pressure nut glued in place. Then Heat up the casting and push out pressure nut with the pressure screw.
Good Luck,
Jon

jethunter
06-03-2013, 11:22 PM
I did melt the lube with a hair dryer and then left it in the freezer for an hour. I thought that would work but it still spun.

Once I had the nut and screw out of the lube sizer I tried to unscrew the nut and found it was very tight. I had to put the screw in the vice and used a 12" pipe wrench on the nut with a cloth wrapped around it. When it did break free I found why it was stuck so hard - there was a brass sliver or shaving stuck in the threads that locked the nut onto the screw. There are no brass components in the lube sizer. I'm thinking the brass entered the sizer inside a lube stick, but i don't know that for sure.

JonB_in_Glencoe
06-04-2013, 11:00 AM
...Once I had the nut and screw out of the lube sizer I tried to unscrew the nut and found it was very tight. I had to put the screw in the vice and used a 12" pipe wrench on the nut with a cloth wrapped around it. When it did break free I found why it was stuck so hard - there was a brass sliver or shaving stuck in the threads that locked the nut onto the screw. There are no brass components in the lube sizer. I'm thinking the brass entered the sizer inside a lube stick, but i don't know that for sure.

WOW, that sure does explain the problem, and that's some bad luck for sure.

johnh57
06-04-2013, 12:41 PM
I just turned a new shaft for my 450. I added an o-ring groove to help prevent lube from leaking around the base plug. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet.

The original shaft was threaded all the way to the head of the shaft. I left about 1/2" unthreaded (about the thickness of the base plug) and put an o-ring in about the middle of the full shank area. I turned the shank area to be about 0.002 or so under the base plug i.d.

The replacement shaft I got from lyman - just in case - is more like the one I built - only no o-ring groove.