Printable View
I was casting today, I had just started to cast the first few boolits and the mould frame snapped !! Maybe from getting hot and cold over and over and over the metal became brittle possibly. I've never seen anything like this before in all my years ..... One thing I did notice was this mould frame had a steeper slant to the frame arms putting more pressure on the tips where my other handle frames are more parallel and flat to each other
Ohio Rusty ><>
Attachment 207231
It must have been meant for a fatter mold. Looks kind of like a Lyman 2 cavity handle.
It was a single cavity Lyman 429215 HP mould that was in there .....
Ohio Rusty ><>
I have a set of handles just like that.....I bet I cast thousands of bullets with it before it broke though. All the others that I have just keep working along though..
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
If they have been used hard work hardening may have been an issue, what does the break look like? I believe lyman handles are forgings so they may be weldable. I have seen the mount holes worn egg shaped in them before also. The problem working with lymann handles is they are riveted at the hinge pin making them hard to disassemble to work on. Vee out around the break good and deep. clamp together on a piece of brass or aluminum. pre heat with a tourch. Tack weld and then weld blending the fill in to the vee as you go. The heavy vees give better penetration and room for fill to remain. The pre heat also aids penetration and helps relieve warping. Let cool slowly and clean up welds to flat and true. Mig will work here but tig is better for the finer control.
I have access to a tig welder if you want me to try fixing them.
Scott
I have had 2 sets of newer Lyman handles break in the very same manner. The handles appear to be cast and have the odor of "made in China," all over them. I quit with the Lymans and will struggle along with RCBS in the future.
Nothing a dap of Elmers and some baling wire wont fix :-)
never seen that before
I found one that had broken like that. Somebody had drilled and tapped the broken pieces and screwed a short piece of metal onto the outside. I don’t know how he clamped the assembly together, but it was very skillfully done. The crack is tight together, the metal bridge doesn’t interfere with the mould blocks, you can still put the mould screws through the holes, and I use the handles all the time with no looseness or problems.
I think those handles are malleable iron castings.
I have a set of Lyman handles that are quite old.........long before any Chinese foundry might have got into the act.........that did EXACTLY the same thing. I was going to send them back to Lyman years ago, but they're still sitting next to my bench. Never did figure out what caused it either, as no pressure or excessive force was used when they broke. Fault in the casting would be my best guess.
I reckon plenty of newer Lyman handles will be breaking,last two Lyman steel molds needed a flogging to get bullets out.Thats when I found out the molds are steel,not iron.Would not have bought them if I knew that.Looks like RCBS is the only castiron mold left in production.
I have a set of handles for large two cavity that broke in the same place. I bought them new in the late 60s and they broke in the 80s. Didn't worry about it because I could replace them. The single cavity small handles are another story. They don't make an equivalent any more so I am always on the hunt for them(all the other old style as well as the new made in china ones leave a lot to be desired.)
Were you tapping the hinge to free sticking bullets or the part that broke?
This happened to me, and I braze repaired it and re-drilled the hole.
[smilie=s: Hi Ohio Rusty.The title of your thread reminds me of a lady friend.That`s got to be her favorite expression.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo