Lyman 4500 problem

[chevyiron420]

I cant tell from the pic, but the pin on the bottom of the machine looks bent. I was thinking about this yesterday wile I was sizing and seating gas checks on some 32 boolits that are half linotype effortlessly. Try sizing a undersized boolit so that your just cycling the machine with no sizing going on to see if the machine is binding up on it own. I size aged linotype boolits for my 44 with no trouble. Something is wrong.

[HangFireW8]

I agree with chevyiron420, something is wrong.

I bought a 4500 in 2010, had to return it, the ram and the top punch didn't line up... at all. Trying to size on that thing was no fun. Lyman replaced it with no problems.

[thursdaymike]

So I tried sizing some 30 cal and they worked. Reinstalled 458 parts (trust me this was like the 10 th time) and walaa its working. Makes no sense. I'm thinking it was the lube. I boiled all the parts and cleaned them. Ran with no lube. I also broke one of the bolts on top. I replaced both with grade 8. So somewhere in there lied my problem.

[MT Chambers]

Not sure what the problem is but I have had to replace that handle part 3 or 4 times, that is why I recommend the RCBS model, or better yet, the Star. I have had some hard .501" bullets that none of my lubers would touch, the 700 grainer from LBT, not sure how I'll handle them!

[Bayouhunter]

I ordered two of the handle links yesterday plus another push pin, my 4500 broke at the link also.

[EDG]

I think these tools are mis-named. They should be called lubers only. I use only soft alloys and dies the same size that the bullet casts to .001 under.
I put very little pressure on the tool and have few problems because it is only lubing. I know that if I try to size a large diameter bullet using hard alloy something would break.

The last 450 that I bought was really cheap on Craig's list. It was still relatively new and it had a .358 die in it. But it obviously would not eject the bullets well because the previous owner had been using a hammer to assist backing the bullet out. The sheet metal ejector bracket hand been tapped on with a hammer many times. Though a nearly new 450 the bracket was peened from thousands of hammer taps used to back up the ejector pin.

[Travelor]

I bought the heater insert for my new 4500 and they size and lube with MUCH less force................

[Saltner]

I also had broken, see here how to repair
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...23#post3396223

[HangFireW8]

I bought the heater insert for my new 4500 and they size and lube with MUCH less force................

You got that right, even with soft lubes, a little heat goes a long way in a cool basement workshop. Also floating the top punch so it self-aligns, and then there was the defective misaligned batch I mentioned before.

But some folks would rather complain, fight their tools, give up or buy something else. I shoot a lot of non-flat-nose so a Star is not a one tool solution for me, but I might add one someday for large batches of flat points.

I figured out what was wrong with my 4500 in a day and had its replacement in less than 3 weeks, and it has sized many hard water dropped bullets since then including 8mm Maximum. Maybe I'm doing something wrong but mine just keeps on working.