Weird Hollow Point Set up...How does it work?

[lts70]

My other two hp molds have the twist out handle and were pretty straight forward. This one has me a little stooped. I tried casting with it but something seems off. The hollow point shaft is bolted directly to the base of the mold and is not removable like my others with out undoing a long screw. It does have a some wiggle room when the mold is empty but does not come close to having enough play to swivel away from the mold half. Once the mold is full with a boolit it gets even tighter.

I will post so pictures...any advice?

The mold is an Ideal 358429-A890 Hollow Point= 38 sp./.357" - Predecessor to the Lyman 358429

[Southern Son]

What make is it? It is an odd one, ain't it? I have not seen anything like that on here before.

It looks like the hollow point pin is only short making a shallow hollow point. Possibly the idea was the boolit would have enough room to pivot around the pin, but in practice.............

I think that if you are in the US, you would be able to send it to someone who could convert it to a more conventional design. But it may be worth more to a collector, too. Don't worry about me, it was a long day at work and I am rambling. In need a beer.

[Bret4207]

Looks like a standard 358429 Lyman that someone modified when they lost the spud. Buckshot or Eric should be able to make you a spud that will work.

[lts70]

The weird thing is that it does not look improvised. It looks and fits like it is original equipment. I just can’t figure out how it would work all that good. I tried casting with it to see if it would magically work but I basically had to use a small screw driver to get it to pop loose. Don’t worry I did not pry against the mold. I put the screw driver in the center of the boolit base and wiggled it free.

I think I will retro fit a new turn out pin and handle set up if I cannot figure out how it works. If I do that I would like to do one side of the pin for HP and then have the pin reversible so that I can pour Flat nose traditional SWC.

I am kind of new to this...what is the purpose for a HP SWC?

[Gswain]

Looks like the pin has enough wiggle room to clear the depth of the grease grooves, which is all it really needs to have for the boolit to slip free of it. If you try casting with it I bet itll work just fine!

[lts70]

I thought it would work as well but when I tryed it out those little suckers did not want to let go. I wonder if kroil would help when used as a form release.

[scrapcan]

have you tried to loosen the base screw just a tad to let it swing free? it looks to me like the base plate could rotate toward handles to release bullet from cavity. is there another hole where the stop pin would be on an ideal/lyman hp mould?

I too ask what markings are on the mould. just the lettering on the mould, not the interpretation from another source. Is it marked ideal?

I think Bret is right in that it is likely an owner modification. do you have another ideal/lyman mould that you can compare the dimensions to if you take the base screw out? Just be careful to to break the screw off. Also do the vent lines look like they are factory or added later, it is hard to tell from the picture.

[lts70]

It has Ideal / 358429 / A890 stamped in to the side of the mold. I have already taken the screw that holds the hollowpoint mecanism in place all the way out without any problems.

I do have two other Lyman molds that are HP. I can take some pictures tonight to see how they compare.

[Bent Ramrod]

I have one like that but it is not hollow pointed; it's a nose pour target boolit. It looks like the mould halves were done in a split brass cylinder which was attached to drilled out mould blocks with the little movable platform added. It wiggles just enough to allow the boolit to loosen from the block half.

Does yours have a name on it? Mine has nothing. I'll try to get a picture up in a couple days.

[lts70]

Yes stamped into the side of the mold is Ideal / 358429 / A890

[Bret4207]

Then it's an aftermarket or home made set up. I bet someone lost the spud or thought they had The Next Big Idea. I'd consider attaching a handle to that spud and slicing a corner off the insert where the screw is. Then the screw can serve as the stop. Won't be perfect, but it'll show if the spud and mould are workable.

[lts70]

It had me fooled it looks anything but home made. I think I will convert it back to the spud type so that I can get some use out of it.

[Bret4207]

Home made doesn't necessarily mean crude, sloppy workmanship. Some of the finest guns ever built came from little hole in the wall shops that were the smaller than todays average sized bathroom. Pick up a copy of "The Home Shop" machinist sometime and see the work a guy can do in a converted garage or 8x12 shed.

[Bent Ramrod]

Here are a few photos of the mould I have with the little screwed-on round plate. This one couldn't swivel because it is trapped by the cavity cut in the mould half. Maybe it wiggles enough to let the boolit loose. I haven't used it yet because it is a .33 caliber, so I don't know how it casts.

It is made by drilling out a Winchester mould and attaching a split brass cylinder, which contains the cavity, by screws through the body of the mould. The little platform screwed on the bottom allows a smooth base with no seam without the necessity of making the top-and-bottom sprue plate that are a feature on Pope and Hoch moulds.

[thehouseproduct]

That's a cool mold.

[lts70]

I tried casting with mine again and I had better luck. It does defiantly take more persuasion with the tapping than a normal mold. I also have to tap it on the side of of the handle that is attached to the mold itself. I still want to make a reversible spud that will do flat point as well as HP but I will keep this part as well.

[beagle]

Some guy did those modifications way back in the olden days. I have never heard a name attached to the work though. I have a 311397HP like that and also a 358395HB modified the same way. I beleive the 358395 was a modified Ideal factory job but whoever did it was a good machinist.

Both use a small shanked screw that runs through the mould side and attaches to the HP/HB cavity pin. This screw can be loosened and after casting, you cut the sprue, open the handles, turn it over and tap the screw. This causes the HP cavity pin to seperate from the mould and the bullet falls off.

Moulds of this type that I have examined all have the Cramer type HP/HBand they work very well once you get use to the operation./beagle

[MikeS]

Here are a few photos of the mould I have with the little screwed-on round plate. This one couldn't swivel because it is trapped by the cavity cut in the mould half. Maybe it wiggles enough to let the boolit loose. I haven't used it yet because it is a .33 caliber, so I don't know how it casts.

It is made by drilling out a Winchester mould and attaching a split brass cylinder, which contains the cavity, by screws through the body of the mould. The little platform screwed on the bottom allows a smooth base with no seam without the necessity of making the top-and-bottom sprue plate that are a feature on Pope and Hoch moulds.

Your mould looks like it was designed for interchangable base inserts, so the weight of the mould could be varied by how deep it went into the mould. If it went in deeper, it would cast a lighter boolit.