Lyman four cavity handles?

[armed_partisan]

Hi fellas. I bought a well-used Lyman four cavity 358429 with handles. The handles are the ones with the hinge in the front of the mold, not near the handles. The problem is, the mold uses headless screws, and the unthreaded diameter of the screws seems too large for the holes in these handles. They have holes which are tapered, and the threaded portion on the pins is all that fits through the holes for mounting, so they hold the mold onto the handles, but they don't screw in more than a thread or so. I'm afraid they'll fall out while I'm casting!

Is this normal for the pins to stick out and not thread in fully? Are these the wrong handles for this mold? I tried a pair of Lee handles, and my four cavity SAECO handles without success. It seems obvious that the various two cavity ones I have won't work. Anybody have any idea or experience with these? Should I drill them out or something?

[462]

I suspect that the screws are not correct, as they should not extend beyond the bottom of the handles. You can order the correct screws from Lyman. Or, you can turn the un-threaded section down to fit. I would not enlarge the holes in the handles.

Lee six-cavity handles, which I find much easier to use and operate, can be modified to fit by grinding and filing.

[casterofboolits]

All lyman cour cavity moulds use headless screws to mount the handles to the mould blocks. Check the screw threads for damage.

[armed_partisan]

The threads look okay, except where they end up rubbing the holes in the handles. The pins are tapered their whole length past the threading, which is why I wonder why the holes are so small. They're about a 1/32 under, which doesn't make sense to me. I might turn down the screws a bit, since they're probably easier to replace.