Bought a lyman 45 on ebay, 50$. Was complete, no problem with the buy...but then the USPS left it out in the rain, crushed the box, ripped it open, and then left it behind the bushes at my house.
So, by the time it got to me, I got the sizer, with the handle detached, and the little handle screw missing. The guide rods were completely rusted, and the paint was starting to flake off.
Water poured out of the box, when I went to open it. It didn't take much to get the whole side of the box to fall off...
But, after scrubbing some of the rust off, I was able to get it to make a full stroke. No wobbles, no major issues besides being wet and handled rough. No cracked or broken castings.
So, since I have one of these in hand now, it's all got to come apart and I'll draw all of it, I guess. I've already made new guide rods today, hunted up a new return spring, and melted out all the black/green/orange lube. It's an early model, no rubber or leather seal on the piston, just the expanding bushing. Pressure screw, pressure tube, and cap are all perfect, and nothing appears worn other than the guide rods I had to polish to uselessness in order to remove them.
Bad thing, the post office lost the top punch and die that was in the box, and the wrenches.
I'm waiting on another ebay auction for a die and top punch that I really don't need, to look at the feasibility of making the dies and punches myself-the top punches for sure will be easy to make, but I'm not entirely sure what all is in the die yet. It looks like a sleeve with an ejector pin in it, but I'll know when I get a set. I don't really need a .25 cal sizer since I don't have a mold or rifle for it yet, but I do have a set of dies for .256 Win Mag, so I might as well start building a rifle for it...to match the .220 Meteorite that I've already got started.
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