Lyman 525 Mold Repair

[Charlie U.]

Success!

My new Lyman mold had a base pin handle that was not very sturdy. It failed after only two casting sessions and the wooden handle broke right off. The wood was too thin and the poor fit of the handle made it so that I could not easily repair it.

Being a new mold I contacted Lyman and requested a replacement handle. Lyman blew off my request and would not do anything for me. Rather than waste my time kicking up a fuss about the warranty I came up with a repair of my own.








A quick look around the garage turned up this steel handle from a water valve. Welding it on was a quick fix and it works as good as new. Even better really, because the shape of this handle affords a better grip and prevents the base pin from rolling away the way the original would do when you set it down. Only down side is that it adds a few extra ounces to the weight of the mold.....not a big problem.

[Hogtamer]

Nice Charlie, you're Really!! welcome here.

[54bore]

I own several lyman peep sights, and a few of their molds, luckily i have never needed to TRY and use their customer service, i have heard a TON of bad about their customer service, and nothing good. To me good customer service means a LOT, i have shyed away from MANY of their products and went with other brands due to all the bad i have heard from friends, and read

[Y-man]

Sorry to have to burst your bubble a bit: the purpose of the WOOD handle is to insulate a bit against HEAT. Your improvised STEEL handle will conduct heat. I am sure by now you might have, sadly, been burnt a little by a too-hot handle?

See what I did here - old discarded Heat Resistant Screwdriver handle: made out of ceramic/ glass infused plastic:

[Cowboy_Dan]

Heat conductive or not, I like the shade of orange for a Lyman accessory.

[elvas]

Wooden cabinet knobs work good as well. Used them when I made some extra base pins.