Lyman 358 429 4cavity

[Joel Chavez]

So my buddy brought this mould to me yesterday to cast some lead pills with it and before casting with it I cleaned it with warm soapy water(Dawn dish soap) using my wife’s toothbrush(jk) and smoked the cavities. After several attempts I couldn’t get rid of the flashing at the nose. I’ve inspected the mould and discovered that there’s a minute gap(less than a mm) between the blocks. The gap is more pronounce in the two center cavities, but does exist throughout the parting line. Is there an easy remedy for this?








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[MT Gianni]

From what I see it is showing it's age with worn alignment holes and the warped center showing a gap. I would check diameters, size and check the weights on them. Odds are they will all shoot to the same impact point. Unfortunate but they seem cosmetic errors. If you were in business I would have replaced the mold but if just shooting handguns or levers enjoy it.

[Joel Chavez]

Yeah, it’s cosmetic only. I did mic the boolits and with my alloy(BHN16) water dropped, they are mic’ing .358 and weighing 171 with no lube.

[725]

The first mold picture seems to show somebody attempted to "work down" the corner to minimize the gap. At least there are lines going in different directions than the vent lines, there. If it works, I'd not mess with it too much. If it causes a problem, I'd just do a better job of working out that gap.

[kungfustyle]

I have inherited a Lyman 452374 that was warped like yours. Check the alignment pins first if it is still out of wack. Get a vice and a turkey firer. Heat the mold up to red hot and put it in the vice and crank it down. Do this a little at a time and it will go back into shape. Some one was fast casting with it and would hit it on a wet towel and that is what probably caused the warp. This will save the mold for you. Any questions pm me. Good luck.

[Joel Chavez]

I have inherited a Lyman 452374 that was warped like yours. Check the alignment pins first if it is still out of wack. Get a vice and a turkey firer. Heat the mold up to red hot and put it in the vice and crank it down. Do this a little at a time and it will go back into shape. Some one was fast casting with it and would hit it on a wet towel and that is what probably caused the warp. This will save the mold for you. Any questions pm me. Good luck.

I’ll pm you next week. Thanks for the insight sir.

[Petander]

Some one was fast casting with it and would hit it on a wet towel and that is what probably caused the warp.

Guilty.

In the beginning of my casting career, 20+ years ago, I read somewhere about the "wet towel method". Without further thinking I tried it with a nice custom double brass 458 mold that's easy to overheat.

I warped it right away of course.

To the OP good luck salvaging the nice mold.

[Joel Chavez]

Guilty.

In the beginning of my casting career, 20+ years ago, I read somewhere about the "wet towel method". Without further thinking I tried it with a nice custom double brass 458 mold that's easy to overheat.

I warped it right away of course.

To the OP good luck salvaging the nice mold.

Thanks for the insight. I don’t want to bugger the mould any further since it’s not mine. I was attempting to rectify the issue without going overboard. I (we) might just have to live with it and cast away lol. Thanks again gents.