Lyman 356242

[Master_Mechanic]

For christmas I got the lyman 356242 mould with plans to use it for my dads 38super, I fired up the. Pot last nigh and cast a bunch of them, the mould seems to cast ok but when I got around to checking theboolits over it seemed like the bases didn't fill out properit looks as though the lube groove is the base of the boolits, almost like a gc shank, has anyone used this mould ? Any tips or tricks to it?

[340six]

I have a newer one in 90 grains I use in .380 i get it hot and run the lead hot.
I also have an old 358242 and do the same, Both fill out well
I also puor some lead large on the sprew and let it sit when i fisrt start to cast with bullet moulds i have that are hard to get get fill out

[Larry Gibson]

No "tricks to using the mould. Mine is a 121 gr 358242.

What alloy?

What casting alloy temp?

Did you clean the mould before use?

Larry Gibson

[Wayne Smith]

And did you preheat the mold before using? This is common with a cold mold and hot sprueplate.

[Master_Mechanic]

Clip on ww alloy, preheated and cleaned the mold, the rest of the mold had good fillout just the bases that were bad. Maybe hotter alloy or some tin?

[Ben]

Master_Mechanic :

It is a common practice for me to " break the top edge of the blocks " when I get a used mold or a new mold that doesn't want to offer good bullet base fill out.

I use a very fine cut flat Swiss file. Some use a fine cut flat stone to accomplish this. It is important not to remove too much metal as you'll end up with " fins " on the base of your bullets. The amount of metal that you'll remove should offer you about the same gap as a vent line on your mold.

It is best to go a little at a time and stop and make about 40 bullets to see if the metal you've removed has made a difference in your problem. Remember , once metal is removed - it can't be put back on ! Only remove enough metal to offer good bullet base fill out and then STOP !

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/001-96.jpg

This technique that I'm describing makes a BIG DIFFERENCE in base fill out on any brand of mold, steel, brass, aluminum, etc !

The mold that you see in the photos below didn't want to offer bullets with decent base fill out regardless of the mold temp, alloy temp, etc. After the vent lines were added at the very top edge of the blocks ( see the last photo ) , the mold base fill out was near 99%.

You may want to also be certain that the sprue plate is not too tight. It should swing from right to left with very little effort. This will aid in the venting of air as the mold cavities fill.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/Lyman%20Mold%20Tune%20UP/020.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/Lyman%20Mold%20Tune%20UP/023.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/Lyman%20Mold%20Tune%20UP/025.jpg

[cbrick]

Yes, add 2% tin and then pour a very generous sprue puddle. This will both give the boolit base metal to draw from AND get & keep the sprue plate hot.

Rick

[Larry Gibson]

Yes, add 2% tin and then pour a very generous sprue puddle. This will both give the boolit base metal to draw from AND get & keep the sprue plate hot.

Rick

+1 with what Rick suggests.

Larry Gibson

[Ed_Shot]

+1 for ensuring the sprue plate is loose enough. I have a 358242 I bought used long ago that initially gave me fits with poor fill out. I tried everything. Finally swapped the sprue plate from another mold and problem solved. I could not see the problem but there was one.

What method are you using to fill the mold?

[Master_Mechanic]

Ladle casting

[Dusty Bannister]

I fired up the pot last night and cast a bunch of them. The mould seems to cast ok but when I got around to checking the boolits over it seemed like the bases didn't fill out properly. It looks as though the lube groove is the base of the boolits, almost like a gc shank, has anyone used this mould ? [/QUOTE]


M_M, The Ly 358242 is the first mold I owned and I have more than one of them. If I understand correctly, the base band is deformed? One of my molds was not correctly cut with the base band very thin. I was able to cast well filled bullets, but the base band was thinner than the next driving band. If this is what you have, then you may consider sending it back to Lyman. Since I had purchased this particular mold used, I took it to my friendly machine shop and had the top of the mold milled to remove some of that part of the mold, and then cut out the lube groove area. This gave me a bullet of about 107 grains with a very substantial base band. One of the easy casting molds I now own.

As mentioned by others, determine if you have a venting problem, or a poorly cut mold and then you can decide what you need to do. Good luck, Dusty

[Ed_Shot]

I also ladle. Pardon the dumb question but do you see any difference filling the mold with the ladle touching the mold (some call this pressure pouring) as opposed to not touching the mold with the ladle while pouring. I have some molds that are finiky that way.

[Master_Mechanic]

The bottom band did fill out on a few, but the band itself is super small (guessing because the boolit is so tiny) I tried pressure casting, didn't make any difference.

[Thin Man]

Master Mechanic, please be aware that most 38 Supers are created with grooves that measure .357". You will find that many of the commercial jacketed bullet vendors announce this dimension for their products advertised specifically for the Super. Your mold states it is a .356 which will probably cast a tad larger than that and could be used best when boolits are lubed but not reduced in as-cast size. If your boolit is too small for the groove dimensions you will have leading in the bore and poorer accuracy. I have had my best success in Supers with boolits sized at .358 out of a Lyman 358242 and other .358 boolits. Leave your boolits fat from your 356242 mold, apply lube, and see how they perform.

Thin Man