358495 and 429244...,

[sundog]

and a set of 4-banger handles. Eighty-five samolians. Nice lady who reduced the price as marked since I took two. We visited a little, I paid her and went on my way. I had to trim up the sprue plate on the 38 mould, as the previous owner apparently took out his frustrations on opening with a ball and peni...., ooops, ball peen hammer. Even so, a file did a fine job. I like files. But, I digress. I cleaned them up (needed some attention, for sure) and cast with both of them this afternoon, both with 50/50 WW/Range Scrap, air cooled. They make fine boolits! The 38 mould drops at 148 grains and .360+, the 44 at 260ish and .431+. Occassionally, even a blind pig gets an acorn. I have a little work to do on one of the handles.

These are some mighty fine moulds, and I am proud to be the current custodian. Hope they shoot good..., but somehow I think they will.... sundog

btw, walked my keister off. Ten acres under one roof - Wannemacher's Tulsa Arms Show. Lots to look at. I talked to my friends from Powder Valley while I was there (picked up some primers and powder). Fine folks to do business with. They said the Data Powders are going away. Too bad. Also, no Remington primers this year.

[sundog]

Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that both moulds were 4-bangers.

[MT Gianni]

All hail Sundog, we unworthy mortals. Ya done real good. Gianni.

[ron brooks]

All hail Sundog, we unworthy mortals. Ya done real good. Gianni.

+1

Sundog is the man!!

[9.3X62AL]

Thou art god-like, Sundog. We are not worthy.

[Buckshot]

............Naw it ain't Sundog, it's the GUNSHOW

..............Buckshot

[Shuz]

Congrats Corky!
Nice to see somebody do well at a gun show! We gots one coming up this weekend in Spokane. Yeah, Easter weekend! Can you guys believe it? Well, we're gonna be there Friday and Saturday, but "never on Sunday".

[BruceB]

Very nice score.

I used both designs extensively, the 358495 back in the '70s (until I finally received my special-order 4-cavity 35863 from Lyman...it took a LONG time!) and the 429244 right up until just a few years ago, when I shipped the mould to my brother in Alberta. I found I just didn't need the gaschecked design, although it shot very well for me even without checks installed.

In the S&W M52, I loaded the 495s backwards, because the gun requires an absolutely flush-seated bullet with no protrusion whatever beyond the case mouth. At indoor target ranges, 50ft/20 yards, it was fine, but was less than great at fifty yards outdoors. It worked beautifully in a .38 Colt Gold Cup, seated in the normal fashion.

I'm quite a fan of Lyman 4-cavity moulds. I've managed to acquire 4-bangers for 311291, 311413, 311467, 358156, and a couple others I can't recall off hand. I was very impressed when I checked for variance between cavities in the 467 mould: NO discernible measurement variation, and weight spread between cavities also almost unmeasurable. I don't believe there's much of a "quality question" when using these moulds for normal purposes, meaning anything except benchrest competition.

Have fun watching those bullets pile up in a hurry....

[Lloyd Smale]

just like lee 6 cavitys are alot better then the 2 i find that lyman 4 cavity molds are a much better mold then there 2 cavity molds are.

[leadshooter5]

Congrats! I picked up 4 moulds at 2 gun shows a couple of weeks ago. Single cavity Lyman 35863 and Ideal 358495, double cavity Lyman 358432, and a 4-cavity Lyman 358477. All were very nasty, and the 358477 had been sprayed
with moly after every use. I looked like a coal miner by the time I finally got it
clean. All cast great bullets, but the 358432 (160 gr WC) hasn't found a load in either my S&W M14, or the Ruger g GP100. These old moulds are a hoot!

[sundog]

Well, being the mere mortal that I am, I am just very pleased that I found this little treasure. I'm sure I paid more for them than when they were new. How many things can you say that about? Can you imagine what these would have brought on ebay? I cast some more with the 358495 yesterday, and they made some right tolerable boolits. During the week I shot some of both the 38s and 44s that I cast last Sunday, and they both shot very swell, indeed.

One thing that was necessary was 'cleaning' the details of the cavities with a writing pencil. There was 'crud' in them. Not rust, but a layer of 'age deposit' or film from not being used for some time. Yes, it was tedious and time consuming, but my just reward was nice sharp features. My usual procedure of bronze brushing just did not, and could not, get it all, so I went after it with a pencil out in the bright sunlight -- wearing my best seeing up close spetacles. Anyone else having trouble seeing things you used to be to see up close?

I've been casting for 35 years, and these are my first Ly 4-bangers. With luck, they will not be my last. Nice moulds, both. Other than being a little on the heavy side, like the SAECO 4 gang moulds, they cast right nicely. sundog