PDA

View Full Version : Grr! Broken part---> no happiness!



jonk
04-13-2009, 09:24 AM
Ah, sweet innocent lil' me... casting away happily with my Lyman 314299. 30 bullets done, mold up to temp, getting a good rythm going water dropping bullets....

Then with a whack on the sprue handle something I've never seen happens. The mold handles break (cheap pot metal)- the hole that the mold screw goes through just broke clean off leaving me with a stump on one side of the handles.

You guessed it, 1/2 of the mold sailed into the quenching bucket.

It appears to have warped. Not enough that I can't cast with it but enough that when I size, one side of the bullet is shinier, suggesting more is now being sized off that side. All I can say is I'll have to shoot and see how they perform.

Just one of those days...:roll:

Dale53
04-13-2009, 09:44 AM
First of all, I am sorry for your problem.

This is another vote for using a gloved hand to open the sprue plate. After the mould is up to heat it is EASY to do and MUCH less strain on the mould and handles, etc.

Dale53

par0thead151
04-13-2009, 09:47 AM
if this is one of the lee 6 cavity molds, just buy a new one. no sense shooting defective boolits if you can get a new mold for 30-40$
that's why i dont water quench. im too clumsy to trust my self with the mould over the bucket.

runfiverun
04-13-2009, 10:25 AM
gloved hand here too it leaves tings square longer too i.m.o.

fatnhappy
04-13-2009, 10:38 AM
Ah, sweet innocent lil' me... casting away happily with my Lyman 314299. 30 bullets done, mold up to temp, getting a good rythm going water dropping bullets....

Then with a whack on the sprue handle something I've never seen happens. The mold handles break (cheap pot metal)- the hole that the mold screw goes through just broke clean off leaving me with a stump on one side of the handles.

You guessed it, 1/2 of the mold sailed into the quenching bucket.

It appears to have warped. Not enough that I can't cast with it but enough that when I size, one side of the bullet is shinier, suggesting more is now being sized off that side. All I can say is I'll have to shoot and see how they perform.

Just one of those days...:roll:

Sorry to hear of your troubles Jonk. Ironically I bought a 314299 that was warped from someone here. A friend was kind enough "to look at it for me." IIRC he heated it up damn near cherry red and clamped it in a hydraulic press. Worked like a charm.
Anyways, since you're in the market, get yourself a set of handles from RRR and you'll never have to worry about something like that again. They cost the same as a set of new lyman handles, but they're quality steel.

bobk
04-13-2009, 10:42 AM
+1 on Red River Rick's stuff. The handles are beautiful.

Bob K

Dennis Eugene
04-13-2009, 10:55 AM
Sorry to hear, I also use gloved hand to open sprue when ever possible. One other thing I never open my sprue plate over the water bucket I collect sprues seperatly and readd them to the pot periodicaly. Dennis

GLL
04-13-2009, 10:59 AM
Were the handles the older Lyman cast model ?

Jerry

jonk
04-13-2009, 11:36 AM
No, the handles were of some indeterminate manufacturer; bought a bunch of them at a gun show. They look old, that's all I know, but they all fit Lyman large cavity molds.

markinalpine
04-13-2009, 11:40 AM
...suggesting he should contact another company's customer service. I had a problem with using a new Lyman M die, contacted their customer service via their web-site, and had a response that afternoon. Since this happened on a Friday, it took a couple of days, but it turned out they had assembled the die with a wrong part :(, and after we figured out the problem, they mailed me the correct part, USPS 1st class and I had it by the following Friday :-D. 1 week, not bad.
Good luck :mrgreen:

jdgabbard
04-13-2009, 12:11 PM
Or, he might also be able to talk Lyman into fixing his mold for little to nothing. Worth a shot.

jonk
04-13-2009, 12:20 PM
If they were Lyman handles I would be speaking to them right now; given the used unknown maker status, I wouldn't try to hold Lyman responsible in any fashion but that's me.