I have this old mold....

[BorderBrewer]

Hi All,
I have an Ideal PP mold. It is a 457-500 PP mold. I have not been able to find any reference to it in the old Lyman Handbooks that I have dating back to 1950. I wanted to ask if anyone has this listed in their handbooks and if so, can you share what it says about it? I have included pictures of the mold for your reference. Thanks for your help.

BorderBrewer

[Buckshot]

................Floodgate would be the man to run this one past.

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

[scrapcan]

I agree that Floodgate is the one to talk to. Send him a PM as he may not see this one.

[floodgate]

Border Brewer:

That IS an interesting one! The cherry number "500" was originally assigned to a .38/.357 Harvey zinc-washer-base mould #355500/#358500, and the way it is stamped, I think it more likely that it is a custom order, with the "500" indicating the weight; does it cast at that weight? And what is the as-cast diameter (should be 0.450" or a bit under)? The "IDEAL" stamp indicates manufacture before about 1964, when they replaced it by a "LYMAN" stamp. I can't see whether there are vent lines; if it has them, they were added in the mid-50s. Does the stamping on the patch template match that on the mould? If not, it was probably made by the owner - I don't think Lyman would have made it at that late date. If value is at issue, I'd cheerfully go $75 for it. PM me if you want to follow up.

Floodgate

[BorderBrewer]

Hi Floodgate,
Thanks for the information. The mold does have vent lines. On one half of the mold is stamped "380". The other half is stamped "17" under the 457 500 stamping. The patch template is stamped 4575 500GN. I have not cast with this yet, but I will do so this weekend and measure as cast diameter. I have been shooting 405 gr. cast out of my 1895CB and am looking forward to trying this one in it. I really enjoy listening to the thump as the bullet strikes downrange.
Regards,
BorderBrewer

[floodgate]

Border Brewer:

OK, that helps, and raises another thought or two. The "17" and the "380" would - in a finished mould - be the same on each block; a "match number" to keep the pair together through machining, finishing and packing. Since these are a mis-match, I suspect Lyman (sometime between the mid-'50s and 1964) responded to a customer's request for a specially-cherried set of blocks by culling a "right" and a "left" that had lost their mates from the discard pile, pairing them up, cherrying, and sending them off. I assume the two blocks "register" correctly. They would be fine for the customer's purposes, as he should have had no problem keeping them together as a set.

We thus learn two additional "facts" about Lyman's process; the blocks are - or were at that time - (1) match numbered and (2) vented BEFORE the cavities are cut. All more grist for the Ideal/Lyman mill. Thanks for sharing these with us. I'd still be interested in adding this set to my "hardware files", once you're through tinkering with them.

I wonder if the owner was really using this in a .45-75 repeater (Win. '76 or Marlin 1895) - that cartrdge usually took a 350-gr. bullet. Maybe a single-shot??

Floodgate