Rebuilding a Lyman 450

My 40 year old Lyman 450 has been leaking lube from the bottom area and I got it empty yesterday and have it taken apart. I googled for info and there were lots of references back to our forum here. A few guys talked about using set screws to stake the plug back into the bottom of the sizer. Does anyone have one done this way that they have pictures of? I have a drill press, cross vice, drills and taps and lots of set screws and short machine screws. I'll be going into town tomorrow hunting "O" rings. Thanks!

I've rebuilt 3 over the years. The 450 is known to leak out the bottom. I've used cut cereal box scraps to put on the bottom, and bolt it down. That will stop it. If you need the 2 "O" rings that go on the pressure ring, PM me with an address and I'll mail them out to you free.

That would be great, Thanks a lot. PM on the way.

Well, I got it back together yesterday afternoon! Marlin39A sent me the correct size rings (Thanks Brother) for the pressure nut and I found the correct size "O" ring for the bottom seal at the Case/International dealer, after trying 2 different parts stores. I only looked through 5 drawers and maybe a million "O" rings! A friendly equipment dealer or an industrial rubber shop is the place to go for stuff like this! Now, back to sizing boolits!

lightman, any leaks from the bottom plug after the new o ring? How did you re-stake the plug? Got one that needs a new o ring myself, just need to find the time to do it.

Getting them to sit flat and relatively level has been a big start on getting them to self seal I've found. A little judicious file work and a new O-ring go a long way,,,,,,

No leaks so far and I did not stake it. I filed the bottom of the casting just enough to make it flat. It sits on an aluminum plate that is part of my heater and that pretty much holds it in place. I think a center punch would do it though.

Thanks guys. I've been limping this one along for 10-12 years with RTV and gaskets but its beyond that now. Its wasting maybe 70% of LBT blue so it needs to get the treatment, have had Lyman o rings for it for a lot of years.

I repeatedly had the same leakage problem and went through the process of removing and replacing the O-ring three or more times before finally deciding to seek a more permanent solution. Realizing that there was no pressing need to have that bottom plug be removable, I cleaned up the entire unit and then took it to a friend of mine who is a machinist and runs his own shop. To avoid cracking the cast iron he slowly heated up the entire body of the lubricator, carefully brazed the plug into the recess of the lubricator body and then let the brazed assembly cool in a bucket of sand. A small O-ring on the threaded shaft, a coat of primer followed by a couple of coats of near Lyman orange paint and that followed by reassembly of all parts and I now have a unit that no longer leaks from the bottom. As I'm sure you're aware, newer Lyman lubricators no longer have the bottom plug so basically all I did was to convert my 450 to a 4500!!

I don't have a 450 but have a few 45's. I get my "O" rings from Home Despot or Home Depot. They come in packs of 10 for a few bucks and I always keep a goodly supply of them.

Lyman sell a rebuilding kit for around 20 buck. About a year ago i rebuild mine.

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Originally Posted by 1_Ogre

I don't have a 450 but have a few 45's. I get my "O" rings from Home Despot or Home Depot. They come in packs of 10 for a few bucks and I always keep a goodly supply of them.

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What size?

I rebuilt my old gray 450 last year, I used a bronze oil-lite bushing in the casting and machined the ram to fit. When I set the casting to machine the bore, I also machined the bottom of the casting flat (had to use an epoxy leveler to fill the low spots), I then drilled and tapped three holes in the base to hold the pressure ring in place. I replaced the standard o-ring with a square o-ring because the normal ones don't seal very well. I repainted the casting and re-blued the linkage.I can now size without ruining even the longest 270 boolit.

I bought a bag of 100 square o-rings for $15, if anyone needs one, PM me.