cleaning out sizer/lubricator

[porthos]

i know that this has been discussed before; but, i need refreshed. bought a bunch of stuff yesterday and with it is a lyman 450 lubricator. i have all that i need; so i want to clean out the old (very old) lube so that i can sell it. its pretty frozen up with the hardened lube. is all that i have to do is to boil it in a big pot of water? should i add anything to the water like detergent or tsp??

porthos

[rwadley]

Just water. Heat gun or hair dryer works, too.

[Skunk1]

Why not let the new owner do it? I use a heat gun and let it drip out in a bucket. Wife gets mad if I ruin the kitchen pots.

[FatherAbraham]

Ditto, Just had to do what your talking about yesterday!!!
Bought an older 450 & a top punch, sizer dies for $ 45. didn't look as though it had been used much.
I found out why, it was assembled wrong it had the lube stick on top of the washer that is supposed to force the lube down.
instead it wanted to force it out the top.
Works great now..

All I used was a heat gun, rags, mineral spirits
Also put spacers on the handle in three spots to give it strength & keep it centered on the die. (has old handle still )
Am going to use it for a push-thru sizer for PC-ing instead of a luber
Father Abraham

[gwpercle]

Warning ....DO NOT use one of your wife's good stock pots , it will not clean up and she will not be pleased. Ask her if she has an old one or go get a cheap one , check out Good Will store or garage sale.
Just in case you're new to this.
I cleaned my old 450 with a heat gun, scraping tools and Ed's Red bore cleaner (plain mineral spirits is just as good) but it wasn't in that bad a shape.
Gary

[Ed_Shot]

Boiled my 450 in the same cast iron pot I use to smelt in over a turkey fryer. Nothing else needed. Run a piece of wire thru it to make it easy to fish out and hang to air dry.

[dragon813gt]

I haven't seen anyone get more money because all the old lube has been removed. I've always had to do it w/ any that I've bought. To each their own but I wouldn't worry.

If you have to use a heat gun.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

yep, boil it in water.

[g17]

I bought a Lyman 45 awhile back that was froze up, disassembled what I could and put in into a bucket and covered with hot water. Within a few minutes, I started seeing oil/grease globs on top of the water and after about 30 minutes everything was freed up. Finished cleaning it up and it now works great.

[marlin39a]

Take a couple of close up pictures of the linkage before stripping and boiling. They will make reassembly easier.

[porthos]

in reference to the above. "sell it as is" one of my hobbies is "restoring stuff". military rifles, old reloading presses, old south bend lathe, gerstner tool boxes ect. ect. part of the lot of stuff that i bought on sunday is a lot of 24 older lyman molds. they are soaking in kerosene as i write this to remove the dried oil or whatever it was that they were stored in. when i sell them; they will be clean. thanks for the information; i think i'll try the boil method

[dragon813gt]

The boil method may leave a film of lube on the outside of the press. I only use that method when refurbishing a press. It gets stripped after the boiling so the lube film isn't a big deal.

[Walter Laich]

heat gun here--being around large amounts of boiling water is not allowed by the wife--past history and all :-D

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

in reference to the above. "sell it as is" one of my hobbies is "restoring stuff". military rifles, old reloading presses, old south bend lathe, gerstner tool boxes ect. ect. part of the lot of stuff that i bought on sunday is a lot of 24 older lyman molds. they are soaking in kerosene as i write this to remove the dried oil or whatever it was that they were stored in. when i sell them; they will be clean. thanks for the information; i think i'll try the boil method
in case you didn't know this (you probably do, since you've restored stuff)...unless there is rust in the cavities, be careful not to remove the patina finish in the cavities, as that patina is quite useful...it inhibits future rust and also acts like a mold release. Of course that patina can be built up again over the course of many casting sessions, I would be reluctant to buy a old mold that has been cleaned up to look like new.
my 2¢

[beagle]

Heat gun in the winter. In a box full of newspapers in the trunk of your car in the sun in summer./beagle

[Engieman]

Heat gun here as well. Heated up the body in advance to soften the lube via a pipe warmer for plumbing (winter)

[Iowa Fox]

The easiest way that I have found is to put it over a bucket or old cookie sheet and turn my halogen shop light on a few inches away. It doesn't take long and the lube runs right out. At that point you can pull the sizing die very easily without marking it up. Turn the sizer to let all the lube run out and after a few more minutes under the light wipe it down with paper towels inside and out. Works well on the old gummy sizing dies also that you find at different places.