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As I posted in my thread about melting pots, I want to start casting.
I started looking for a Lyman 450/4500 or RCBS and then remembered I had an old Lyman-Ideal 45 I picked up some years back.
Is the Lyman-Ideal 45 still disadvantaged compared to one of the newer lubricator-sizers or would it still work just fine today?
A couple of the bullets I want to cast need a gas check.
I'm thinking of cleaning it up and trying to use it.
If the 45 in in good mechanical shape it will do all you need to do.I still use 4 of them, each loaded with different lubes.
It's got some surface rust in spots and still has what looks like some ancient lube in it. I'm planning to use a hair dryer to heat up and get the old lube out, then take it apart, de-grease it, and then reassemble.
It seems small and fragile compared to the modern reloading presses I'm used to.
I'll take some pictures of it and post them tonight if I can.
This is what I have. I think I need a new spring for sure.
https://i.imgur.com/5vhCmish.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/vg2lkBBh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/9QYW0nnh.jpg
I much prefer them to the newer 450 and 4500, although they don't have the leverage the newer ones have , I don't think they wear out of alignment like the ram of a 450. The large diameter lube chamber keeps everything straight, unlike my worn out 450's
It it ain't broke, don't fix it!
I sure do like all my 45 Lymans
They work well
Mike
To clean that thing, remove the handle and place the rest of it in a pot large enough to cover the press with water. Boil it for a couple hours then let cool. Remove old, now solid lube from surface of water then remove and warm press in a 250 degree oven to dry it out. Oil and go to work.
Kev,
The spring is not that big an issue, it's just there to try to return the handle to the "up" position and keep it there. I wrap a thick rubber band around the base of the handle and sizer barrel. Works fine, whatever your preference,
Might want to take the time to carefully read this thread, it helped me a lot when I figured out that the initial 450 I bought had a worn bore and the shaft was off kilter, sizing my bullets off kilter. Own a couple 450's and three 45's. Both models have their place on the bench, but if I had to stick with one or the other, it would be a 45.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...p-instructions
Clean it up and happily go about sizing bullets for a few decades. I still use one, just as others have mentioned and, if it broke I'd find another.
Home Depot has the right color orange spray paint for it.
Can't say it will work better, but it will sure look nice on the bench.
If the idea of getting a big pot and boiling it in water doesn't appeal to you I cleaned mine up with
Ed's Red Bore Cleaner , Mineral spirits will work and Acetone will clean the heavy duty hardened lube.
I had Ed's Red Bore Cleaner in a spray bottle that along with a tooth brush , shop rags , pistol cleaning rod with bore brushes and cloth patches cleaned mine right up and I didn't have to go the boiling water , steal a pot from the wife , mess up her kitchen and catch some bad words or get
" The Look" from her !
Gary
Wouldn't boiling it probably strip the remaining paint and damage the blueing?
My rust seems to be pretty minimal surface rust.
You can do a pretty fair job with a hair dryer. Unless you're wanting to take it down or it's got moly lube in it,,,,,,.
If you strip the paint and repaint it will look just like new out of the box.
I just did that with a RCBS luber, used a old slow cooker I keep just for
cleaning parts that way. First cook it with plain water to get the old lube out.
Then I used a strong cleaner and cooked it long enough to remove the paint.
The luber now has a new coat of hammer tone green paint and looks like new.
You can do the same thing with the Lyman. I know because I have done two of them.
Love mine, I cast for 45 Colt and .45/70. As others have said, to get the old lube out take it apart and boil it. Won't strip the paint or damage the bluing. I used a pot I bought at a garage sale for $1.00 as not to make the Mrs. mad :wink:. I also baked mine on a cookie sheet with a sheet of tin foil at 300 F degrees for an hour. I stripped the paint off the non-blued parts with airplane stripper. Primed it with Krylon White Primer and painted it with Krylon Pumpkin Orange. The color is almost an exact match. I replaced the original brass gasket pressure nut with the dual o-ring pressure nut for the 4500, Lyman Part # 2990708 it's $6.00. Works great! You might also need the 4500 pressure screw. I've read some early 45s were reverse threaded but wasn't the case with mine. Part # is 2990559, $7.00. Order Lyman 4500 Parts here
I use mine with an old Midway Lubricator Heater, RCBS dies, and Carnuba Red. Had it almost 10 years now never felt the need to get anything else.
The only thing the old Lyman 45 won’t do that the newer designs will is to take 3 or 4 thousandths off the diameter of a large, or a hard alloy, boolit in one pass. As long as your sizing is indeed sizing, rather than squashing or swaging, the 45 will last for lifetimes. Any attempts at heavy-duty work will probably break the handle casting. You will know by the feel whether you’re overstraining the machine.
As far as I can see from your pictures, your 45 is ready to go. Put the proper die in, size&lube until the old grease is gone; load it with new grease, and keep going. The only exception I make is if the changeover is from Alox or Ideal lubes to SPG or some other special black-powder lube. I’ve boiled and hair-dried a couple, but if the old lube still extrudes with a little warming, the x-treem removal operations are unnecessary.