Lyman 450 Luber/Sizer Rebuild

[theperfessor]

If anyone is interested, I rebuilt my Lyman 450 a couple of weeks ago and just now got around to writing it up. You can see it at the link below.

http://www.usi.edu/science/engineering/Lyman450/Lyman450LuberRebuild.htm

Comments?:-D

[garandsrus]

Cool.... Great write up!

John

[dubber123]

Great article, and well written. The machining is a bit beyond me, but my first luber was the same model as yours, and suffered from some of the same problems. It looks like you now have a dependable and accurate unit.

[buckndee]

Nice job and write up. The pictures helped this layman under stand the lathe and milling required for the rebulid. How many machine hours to rebuild a $100.00 luber/sizer?

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Great job

Dave

[theperfessor]

buckndee-

From a pure economic standpoint I probably spent way too much time on this. But every so often I like to do special projects and write 'em up.

It's a way to let my academic bosses know I'm a little brighter than a trained monkey and shows my students I can do it as well as talk about it.

And sometimes I just get the creative urge to make/fix something. Hard to explain the urge, its like sex or casting bullets.

My next long term project, on the drawing board right now, is a push-through luber/sizer to fit a standard reloading press that will have an adjustable interrupter valve to allow pressure feeding lubricant during a limited portion of the stroke, like a cross between a Lee and a Star. The Lyman, RCBS, and SAECO luber/sizers all require twice as many hand motions as necessary.

[floodgate]

Perfessor:

Gross overkill - but worth it! A VERY nice job, and a good education in what you can do with proper tooling and a bit of pre-analysis.

floodgate

[buckndee]

Thanks again for the write up, makes me want to take a machine shop class.

Retired 9 months ago but just started helping a friend in his offroad racing fabracation shop. Been eyeing his lathe and mill.

[theperfessor]

buckndee -

Jump in and do it! Machining is fun!

[blysmelter]

My next long term project, on the drawing board right now, is a push-through luber/sizer to fit a standard reloading press that will have an adjustable interrupter valve to allow pressure feeding lubricant during a limited portion of the stroke, like a cross between a Lee and a Star. The Lyman, RCBS, and SAECO luber/sizers all require twice as many hand motions as necessary.

I will buy one! Or the plans.

[scrapcan]

Good write up and great idea ont he other long range project. We have a member here who built a similar luber. here is a short thread on KTN's sizer.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=11113&highlight=sizer

Now if you made it so you could use rcbs/lyman dies!!!

I wish you were in my area teaching machine classes. Our local community college believed it was better to have nursing and dental hygenist program than the machine tools and welding classes. Just who do they tink will make the tools for those professions! Anyway glad to see others who build and share.

[theperfessor]

manleyjt -

Neat link. Got a couple of good ideas from it. Thanks!

As much as I appreciate my dentist, we're not going to prosper as a country fixing each others teeth - manufacturing is the key to prosperity. I'll reserve any other comments I have about our national educational system for the political part of this site.

Too bad about not having a machining class nearby you can take; I love teaching interested students - its not work then, its fun! And every other professional teacher I know feels the same way.

[scrapcan]

Perfessor,

Glad to have passed along the link. I had hoped to see someone be able follwoup on KTN's design. I think if you can get if figured out, a few of us would gladly work with you. Another idea is the pope lubersizer. meecham rifles had them posted a year or so back, but I have not been able to find the item on their website since.

I think you guys with the tools and skills will be our saving grace, just don't die off with out passing the skills and tools on to someone. Otherwise the tools get to go to salvage and out of reach of those of us with an interest.

And I would also like someone to start a couple week machine tool class that a person could go to for a vacation, much like the couple week farrier/blacksmith/gunsmith courses available around the country. Or hey maybe one of you gents would take a interested know nothing in for a week and teach me something? If nothing else I could sweep the shop!

[725]

Very nice. So much better to have your own craftsmanship working for you in such a great project. You should be proud.

[Buckshot]

...............Very nice writeup and a job well done. I have a Lyman with the same problems and used this remedial design as a 'fix'.

http://www.fototime.com/902DB7735B7472A/standard.jpg

Leaking out the base hasn't been much of a problem for me but the poor ram to die alignment has been a constant pain. I do not have a milling machine but I do have an 11" Logan lathe and a seperate T slotted cross slide. I had thought about using an angle plate and a couple other fixtures to secure the lube press body to the slotted cross slide.

I'd then machine a bushing to take the place of the die. I'd then machine a reduced OD on a steel bar to pass through the bushing for a suitable length wiht it's end carried in a live center in the tailstock. Across the center of the bar I'd bore a hole for a round HSS cutter ground appropriatly and then held by a setscrew. Headstock end would obviously be a deadcenter, dog, and driverplate. The carriage would then move in long feed to linebore the presses ram guide to accept (as you did), a sintered bronze bushing.

I'm sure a hardened steel ram riding in a bronze bushing would outlast several bushings. However after reducing the ram's OD a suitable amount I'd figured on having the ram hard chromed.

These 2 things are something that I just cannot understand why Lyman or RCBS doesn't do to improve the press. They have the press castings in house, along with the jigs, fixtures, machines and tooling in the first place. The ram guide could be bored to accept a bronze bushing, and the rams could be sent out for hard chroming.

So long as we're wishing, the pattern(s) they use for the press body castings could certainly have the ram guide lengthened by .250" which would materially aid guidence, and the guide's OD could be enlarged 0.100" in thickness. One of the reasons for the increase in the guides OD is to better carry a simple stamped 'snap on' steel cap to retain a round felt wiper. This to encircle the ram at the top of the guide. Since a lot of these presses live in a dusty, dirty garage environment an oiled wiper would be a definate positive.

I really can't see these improvements adding more then $5 to the price of the press, and it would make the press last more then a lifetime. The bronze bushing would naturally be replaceable.

Once again, a fine job and an excellent pictorial essay.

Re: The nosefirst lube sizer. Check back on the Casting Equipment forum I think it was, for a lengthly discussion for such a thing. Rotary lube feed valve with die side bleed off. If you think of it, the only adjustment so far as lube feed goes, is when to open the valve. Regardless the boolit's design, or diameter ALL boolits pushed up by their base require the lube feed to be cut off at the same place, each and every time.

.................Buckshot

[scrapcan]

Buckshot,

I was looking for that thread to post also, I could not remember who started it. If someone knows I hope they post the link.

Jeremy

[theperfessor]

Buckshot-

I agree with you completely - the changes you suggest would add minimal cost and would improve this product immensely, but since Lyman has gone to the 4500 model I'm willing to bet that they really won't make any changes that will drive the cost up, even if it would make a better unit. (RCBS also.)

I originally thought of using the alignment bar I made to check straightness as a boring bar. I machined the 0.450" end (to be used in a 0.451" sizer die) to be long enough to guide the bar while I drove the 0.625" end in a 5/8" R8 collet. Things lined up well enough that I didn't go to the trouble to drill and tap the bar for a boring tool.

I would be glad to send you the alignment bar if you have a 0.451" die to use it with. You would be welcome to cross-drill it for a boring tool. Don't think you would need to use the tailstock, just the spindle to turn bar and carriage w/t-slot table to hold luber and supply feed.

Might be a real dog to try and line up, but if you take your time you should be alright. I think it would be easier to use a mill, but you "shoot what you got".

Would also be glad to send post to align lube cavity if you want. Makes flycutting base easy and if you want to replace lube cavity plug it helps there too.

Let me know here or by a PM if you want to borrow anything. The only cost would be the cheapest shipping rate we could find.

Also, thanks for all the kind words from everyone. It is very much appreciated. I've learned an awful lot of things from this site since I joined; I am glad I can do something that might be of interest and spark a few thoughts in other people.

When we all share, we all come out ahead.:-D

[Shiloh]

Outstanding article.

I sure wish I had access to a machine shop and the knowledge to use the equipment!

Shiloh
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edited by Moderator:
the link in the OP is dead, but luckily the "way-back machine" has it.
http://web.archive.org/web/20120525005328/http://www.usi.edu/science/engineering/Lyman450/Lyman450LuberRebuild.htm