When did Lyman ? ?

[Ben]

When did Lyman stop making single cav. molds ?

[Guesser]

Good question, I've wondered at it myself. I really like my old single cavity Lyman and Ideal molds. With a single cavity the production is pleasingly uniform, the drop is the same every time. I use my single cavity molds a lot; 3118, 410028, 410426, 358156, 358246, and several others. The quality just seems to be better, both the workmanship of the molds and the products they drop.

[Catshooter]

Actually I beleive they are still making them. The larger sizes are still one-holers.

But I know what you mean. I too like the old single cavities.


Cat

[Ben]

Guesser :

In this day of " Let's cast 500 bullets per hour ", I still like my single cav. molds.
I have several Lyman and IDEAL's. Like you say, those guys knew how to make a nice mold.
Weight variations are held to a minimum when using a single cav.

I'm at a point now in my casting career, that precision means a lot more to me than volume.

Ben

[stubshaft]

Pope and Schoyen would'nt consider using anything else. They didn't even return the sprues to the pot because they were afraid it would alter the temper of the boolits.

[Wally]

I have a few Ideal Molds --a 429348 & a 358495, both SC...once the lead in the melter is at the right temperature I am amazed as to how fast I can cast with them. The blocks are very light and one doesn't get fatigued using them. And the reject rate is very low... Prior to obtaining them I had been using DC molds, but I find these SC aren't detrimental at all.

[Ben]

If you've got a good single cav. mold that releases its bullets easily ( if it doesn't ....that can be fixed easily also....) , you've got a good supply of hot alloy, and you get into a nice rhythm, a lot of casters would be surprised at how many bullets you can make in an hour.

Ben

[462]

My only single-cavity is an Ideal 308291. Production is a mite slow but boolits jump out of it and the finished product is outstanding.

[BWelch47]

The last time I was able to purchase a one cavity Lyman mould was in the later 1970's. The mould I purchased was the Lyman 429421(the Keith bullet).

[Ben]

I just purchased a Lyman 358495 single cav. mold.
I'm not certain that it has ever had a bullet cast in it.
A very nice mold.
I sat down with this new mold this afternoon, within
a very short period of time, I had over 200 bullets.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/Lyman%20358495/019.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/Lyman%20358495/022.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/Lyman%20358495/024.jpg

[geargnasher]

I don't mind single-cavity moulds at all. In fact, I much prefer them for water-quenching rifle boolits because it's MUCH easier to keep a fast, exact rhythm, no wondering if the second boolit to drop (because it hung up in the mould and needs a tap to loosen) will be as hard as the first. I have several single-cavity moulds and two I got cheap with one of two cavities damaged that run 6-8 pours a minute for an hour or more with no stress. If 3-400 top-quality boolits per session with a single-cavity mould doesn't keep me supplied, I don't know what will.

Gear

[HORNET]

I'm also a fan of the old single cavity molds. I really feel that they eliminate some of the variables in rifle boolits. In pistol, I'm not sure that I'm good enough to detect any real difference. I do have several double cavity molds that get run as singles for reduced variation or because they overheat FAST if run as doubles. The worst is a Lyman .375 mold that is so tight there's only about .094" between the cavities. Not fun as a double.

[Hardcast416taylor]

And to think that I considered myself "odd" because I like using single cavity molds? It`s good to see there are many others that share my "illness".Robert

[adrians]

My only single-cavity is an Ideal 308291. Production is a mite slow but boolits jump out of it and the finished product is outstanding.


:evil: ideal must have made two ,,cos mine performes as 462 does ,,,i also have ideal 31141 ,does the same ,
i love both ,,,,,,, something theraputic about s/c casting .:twisted: