Adding a heater to my Lyman 45 lubrisizer for 15 bucks.

[Elkins45]

I have my Lyman 45 sizer mounted on one of the Lee wooden bench plates. I bought a 3/8" by 1.5" 120v 50 watt cartridge heater on eBay and thought I would just strap/ tape or wedge it onto my sizer, but after a little thinking I decided I would try a different approach. I unbolted the sizer from the base plate and broke out the wood carving tools. I made a cavity that just barely holds the cartridge so the top edge is even with the surface of the wood.

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm35/elkins_pix/F01790B1-7A20-47DA-A91F-7B0905B3B391_zpsnov8obp4.jpg

I then bolted the sizer back into place, wired in a plug and plugged it into my dimmer control. Oh yeah, I don't count the dimmer box in the price because I made it 25 years ago to control the bulb in my photo enlarger. Remember darkrooms?

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm35/elkins_pix/3C0BF711-9F8E-4B4E-BBC4-FEB8FE387DDA_zps5yrmeqfr.jpg

Sorry my bench is so messy. One thing I learned: 50 watts is WAY too much for this application. Even with the dimmer turned all the way down I only need to turn it on for 20-30 seconds every 5-10 minutes to keep a carnauba-heavy lube flowing well. But it works great and I like the fact the apparatus is contained so I don't have to bolt an extra device like an iron or a floodlight to my bench.

If I were to do it again I would try to find a lower wattage heater, or find a 240V version and run it at 120v to reduce the output.

[Sweetpea]

HMMMM...

I picked up a chunk of aluminum at the scrap yard yesterday...

My plan is to cut it to approx. 4" x 4", and it is approx. 1" thick.

Going to drill a hole from the back, so that I can pop the heat element out of the 4500 next to it, and pop it in the new base for the 45!

[Alvin]

HMMMM...

I picked up a chunk of aluminum at the scrap yard yesterday...

My plan is to cut it to approx. 4" x 4", and it is approx. 1" thick.

Going to drill a hole from the back, so that I can pop the heat element out of the 4500 next to it, and pop it in the new base for the 45!

I have my Lyman 45 mounted on a piece of aluminum that's been there since the beginning. I recently thought of and tried different heating elements to use. Started witha soldering iron, worked well enough but it was somewhat dangerous and heat control wasn't the best. I ended up using a heating element from a coffee maker. The picture should give you a good idea of what I did. I reworked the wire into a Y shape so it would fit. I like it because after at the temp I need I can keep it on low heat. Theme unit has a self start alarm, so I can program it to start at a certain time so when I go to size it's all ready to go.


I did some googling and found an almost perfect design that I used. I have a different heater, but it's almost identical. Very effective, safe, and professional looking. I got my mine for free after donating some clothes at the goodwill. They told me they throw them away all the time because it has no pot or it's too damaged or dirty to sell.

[osteodoc08]

I've got my RCBS mounted on 2 strips of aluminum with a tail section to rest a $5 mini iron on it. I set it on low and it heats perfectly. I'm using LBT Blue Commercial but may switch to their soft and give it a try next go round

[Duckiller]

Walmart hair driers are cheaper.

[Elkins45]

Walmart hair driers are cheaper.

I used a heat gun initially, but I get nervous about exposed heating elements around powder.

[gefiltephish]

About a year ago I made a 1/2" thick steel (it's what I had) base plate for my star, sanded the far end and stuck one of those 50w silicone crankcase heaters on it. I also made a dimmer box. Works perfectly. You can also get 'em in 25w but it may take a long time to heat up. Mine currently takes about 30min and then is good to go. Not at home so can't upload a pic.