Old Ideal lube sizer

[Green Frog]

I’m with pressman on this... if you can come up with a large enough pot in which to boil the whole thing (in plain water) you will have the best shot at getting out all of the old lube and other accumulated stuff while having the least chance of damaging your press. An added bonus is that most of the lube will float to the to so it can be skimmed off. Be sure to disassemble the press as much as you readily can to give the melted lube a pathway out!

Froggie

[abunaitoo]

I'll try boiling it today.
That's how I normally clean lube sizers.
Only problem I run into, is some of the paint comes off.
Have to paint again.
Have a deep pot just for this.
Sure hope the die comes out.

[Gewehr-Guy]

I just saw this thread today, and if you haven't got it out yet , you can make a puller out of a socket, washers and a piece of 1/4 inch allthread rod. If you can get the ram out of the die, and it is a big enough caliber for a 1/4 inch bolt, you put the 1 inch socket and washer over the die, and run the threaded rod up through the bottom. Screw a nut on top and bottom, and tighten the top nut. It will pull the die up inside of the socket. Watch out that you don't pull it up into the socket too far, or you will run out of room to remove the socket.

I just pulled mine out about half way, then dissembled the puller, and finished with a padded pliers. Some heat helps. Good Luck!

[abunaitoo]

Success!!!!!
After over two hours boiling and trying, it finally popped out.
No lube in there, just black rock like stuff.
Most of the paint came off, so going to have to repaint.
Maybe powder coat?????
Attachment 270688Attachment 270689Attachment 270690

[Bent Ramrod]

The one I got that was complete had almost all of the Japanned finish still on it. The one without the clamp had a lot of bare spots. I stripped the rest off and painted it with Wal-Mart spray gloss black.

There may be some subtle difference that somebody with better aesthetic sense than me can spot, but they look the same to me.

[abunaitoo]

Wire brush and steelwool the whole thing.
Ready to paint.
I found a stamp on it, next to the tube.
W 9 39
Any ideas????

[abunaitoo]

I noticed that the die is a very tight fit.
Even with everything cleaned.
I'm also guessing it uses no oring.
I tried three different dies.
Some go down more, but not all the way.
Looks like it 's going to have to be forced to get it back out.
Is it suppose to be tight???

[Bazoo]

Very interesting, Thanks for sharing.

[Pressman]

I found a stamp on it, next to the tube.
W 9 39
Any ideas????

I have an idea that it's the date of manufacture, but I don't have a large enough sample size to verify that hypothesis with certainty. I have two Middlefield sizers and both have numbers that indicate WW2 production.

I posted a thread earlier this summer about this and asking for information/numbers but got no significant response. The numbers only apply to tools marked Middlefield on the handle, as made by Lyman.
The numbers may be hard to see as they are right against the tube and can be covered in grime.

Ken

[abunaitoo]

Noticed the stamping only after wire brushing.
I'm also thinking it's a build date.
The "W" is confusing.

[Green Frog]

Looking at the pictures of the die that come out, I would opine that the bore of the press, into which it fits, is probably pretty badly scored also. I would look into polishing the bore with crocus cloth or some other abrasive to smooth it up so that a new die slides in with only mild friction.

BTW, I haven't returned your e-mail since I posted the pictures you requested of the clamp here on this thread. If you need pictures from different angles or whatever, let me know. I still haven't seen another orphan clamp to be picked up separately... and IIRC the last one I followed on fleaBay ended up at close to $50 (for just the clamp!)

Froggie

[abunaitoo]

Thanks
I figured the posted pictures were just as good.
I did copy them for my reference.
Also posted a WTB just in case.

I don't see any marks where the die rides.
I will try and clean it up a little.
It is still dirty.

[Green Frog]

Thanks
I figured the posted pictures were just as good.
I did copy them for my reference.
Also posted a WTB just in case.

I don't see any marks where the die rides.
I will try and clean it up a little.
It is still dirty.

It is a very tight slip fit with as little clearance as possible since it has to form a lube-grease-proof seal. I think the newer ones, with the O-rings, may have a little more clearance.

Froggie

[Bent Ramrod]

The dies were normally a tight fit in the lubrisizer, as GF notes. O-rings were a much later invention, allowing a lot of slop in fittings that would still be air or water tight.

The moulds of the period generally cast closer to sized diameter than later, too. Don’t try to take too much off any boolits you size in that #1; the 45 and the 4500 came about because swaging down oversize boolits broke parts on the lighter lubrisizers.

The inside of the die is likely the old style that shaved the excess lead off the sides of the boolit, rather than swaging it down. A few minutes’ work with a 320 grit wet-or-dry on a split stick, held at a slight angle, will eliminate this step. Best with the die in a lathe, but can be done with the die in a vise and an electric drill.

The black glop is the old Ideal lube, that Lyman kept making into the late 50s or early 60s. I’ve still got a Lyman 45 full of it that I use for pistol boolits for plinking.

[Bazoo]

Well I was setting here, and I was looking at my shelf where I have my meat grinder clamped. It dawned on me, the table clamp on a meat grinder looks just like the clamp that abunaitoo needs. Provided the dimensions where correct, be a simple matter to lop the grinder off of one. I reckon a grinder could be found cheap at a yardsale or thrift store.

[Gewehr-Guy]

Bazoo, that a good idea,I used to see those old grinders all the time at farm auctions. I probably have one somewhere if I look around in my future project piles of junk!

[abunaitoo]

Cleaned it up with some steelwool, on a rod, in a drill press.
Other dies go in all the way.
Tight, but they go all the way down.
I'm thinking all the pounding on the old die, may have deformed it.
Even the mandrel is tight going trough.
I have extras, so not a big deal.
Later I'll stick it in the lathe, and clean it up.
I also noticed that it does not sit flat.
There was a tiny burr that I filed off, but it still is not flat.
I assume it's suppose to sit flat and not wobble.
Need to work on that before starting on the clamp.
Question..........
The plunger (dics that pushes the lube) has a brass seal.
It's in good condition, but one of the alignment holes is now a slot.
I know the answer, but can I still get this part????
Also there is another disc for the lube tube.
Anyone have a picture of what order these are suppose go back in????
Don't know if it was correct, but I'm thinking not.
It's coming along.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

The pressure nut has different threads, I've never seen anyone selling them.