Lyman 450 - issue I haven't seen anywhere

[Gunslinger1911]

So, Lyman 450, 30+ years old, literally couple hundred thousand boolets sized/lubed.
Seems the threads in the cast iron body where the collar holds the die in are gone. LOL
Really, gone, nutz !
I don't go all Hulk when tightening this collar nut - just snug.
Maybe the hundred + sticks Carnuba Red run through it have eaten them away. - JUST KIDDING ! Best lube ever !!

Ever hear of this happening ?

Emailed Lyman, they have an "exchange" program where I can get a new 4500 for half price, sweet !

Just for giggles, I'm going to drill and tap a couple holes in an attempt to have the bolt heads snug down on the retaining collar.

[Walter Laich]

only thing I can think of and it's a WAG, is the retaining nut was loose at some point and tiny up and down movement of the nut did a number on the threads in the body. Acted like a file on them.

either that or it was aliens.

[EMR]

either that or it was aliens.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180330/5390c7f738729f76a91aee7ad963c156.jpg

I honestly don’t have anything useful to add to this thread. But this seemed appropriate!


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[georgerkahn]

I bought one which had been worn out by the 87th or ???? owner ( ;) ) before me, and asked a "what do I do now?" question. The solution presented was to get some thin Teflon tape like plumber's use, clean where the threads were with acetone, followed by Isopropyl alcohol, and try that. By golly, it worked for a good many years! The only "down" was the tape got chewed up in the threading process making it un-reusable, but a small roll of it from hardware store affords enough to last "forever".
BEST!
geo

[Gunslinger1911]

I'll give Teflon tape a shot George.

I'm going with aliens for the cause !

[FredBuddy]

Gunslinger:

I have a 450, given to me recently, that looks to be in good shape.

Its yours for a donation to this site!

I'm in Danville, Ohio, maybe not far from you.

PM me if you are interested.

[Walter Laich]

Gunslinger:

I have a 450, given to me recently, that looks to be in good shape.

Its yours for a donation to this site!

I'm in Danville, Ohio, maybe not far from you.

PM me if you are interested.

this is why I love this site

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

SNIP...

Just for giggles, I'm going to drill and tap a couple holes in an attempt to have the bolt heads snug down on the retaining collar.
If you attempt this, you will probably want to drill/tap 3 holes, for alignment purposes.

[Gunslinger1911]

Fred, just wow.
As Walter said, this is what makes this site great !

I'm going to try the screws (3 is a good point JonB, thanks) this weekend.
Now I have a fall back if my mod doesn't work.

[gwpercle]

Those threads are rather fine and easy to get cross threaded, I have to be very careful to get that nut going in correctly. I'm thinking it got cross threaded once and if repeated enough the threads got worn off. Check the threads on the nut and make sure they are OK, if there are any threads left in the cast iron body maybe they could be chased with a tap to clean them up. If Teflon tape doesn't work try a few strands of 0000 steel wool wrapper around the nut threads and then try screwing them back in.
Probably won't be a great fix because you have to keep removing the nut to change sizers.
Maybe a EBay 450 cast iron body would get this one up and running.
Gary

[EDG]

The orange 4500s that I have are sort of crummy in terms of precision fit of the ram.
I have 2 of them. One has .014" and the other has .017" wiggle of the ram at the full down position.

The earlier gray 450s with the formed handle only have .004 to .005 wiggle at full down position.
The RCBS LAM AND LAMII have a little less than the gray 450s. Any I buy in the future will be RCBS.

One option for repair would be to tap the casting with a larger thread and make a custom nut for it.

[Maven]

The orange 4500s that I have are sort of crummy in terms of precision fit of the ram.
I have 2 of them. One has .014" and the other has .017" wiggle of the ram at the full down position.

The earlier gray 450s with the formed handle only have .004 to .005 wiggle at full down position.
The RCBS LAM AND LAMII have a little less than the gray 450s. Any I buy in the future will be RCBS.

One option for repair would be to tap the casting with a larger thread and make a custom nut for it.


I had the same problem as the OP'er and came to discover, that the thread Lyman uses in the body is not only fine, but also virtually obsolete. Unfortunately, I couldn't save the body of my #450, but saved all of the parts and am still looking for a #450 body with intact threads.

[Gunslinger1911]

Yea, no saving the body here either Maven.
Shoot Lyman an email, I'd guess they would offer you a half price replacement also.

[john.k]

I was given one ,apparently new,because "its impossible to get the nut in".....seems the nut was crossthreaded first use......anyway,I cleaned the threads up,still near impossible......so I made a small guide to fit into the pushrod.....and fits into the nut,keeping the nut dead square and centered.My other complaints are sloppy machining,and the O rings in the piston are too big,extruding out of the groove on one side,and forcing the piston to gouge the cylinder ....Not "Lyman Quality"..by any means.

[Echo]

Heli-Coil?

[rbuck351]

I always put the nut all the way on the die and install both together by putting a nickle on top and lightly holding pressure with the ram while tightening. It keeps everything aligned while installing the nut. To late now but I would try three set screws through the casting against the nut. It should work. The Lyman 45 sizer die is held in by a single set screw without a top nut.

[Gunslinger1911]

Thanks for all the ideas and thoughts. Threads were completely gone - no Teflon tape or steel wool (awesome idea by the way !)
My son in law and I bounced around the ideas of the heli-coil or new oversized nut (really wanted to tackle that one - cool challenge). Just really not a way to get in there and cut new threads - ram support doesn't leave much room to work.

FredBuddy is the absolute top straight shooter !!!! His 450 "in good shape" is a mis-description, hasn't ever had lube in it ! His friend must have must used it for sizing after pan lubing.

What's he want for it ?? A donation to this site (done happily), nothing for himself. A true "buddy".
I told Fred I was going to have a hard time "paying it forward" after this !! But I'll work on it.

[Rcmaveric]

Fill with JB weld and retap the threads so i can keep using it then save my lunch money to buy a new one. Down side to redneck fixes is they surprisingly work and i never get around ro replacing tue equipment.

Or retap the hole and insert a threaded bushing. Thats an improvement over helicoil. I hate work ing on equipment with helicoils. I prefer the threaded bushings. So when they strip out just replace the bushings.

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[Shopdog]

Just looking at the casting,it appears to be a cast in boss of sorts where the offending threads are.A press fit,with locktite,threaded bushing would work.Problem is,the shoptime $$.Another equally $$ vs buying another would be Tig brazing and recut with whatever thread you wanted.Another,down the $$ rabbit hole;mill off the hole front,grafting on a new mild steel "prosthetic".Oh well,glad you got the problem resolved.

[john.k]

The thread is in a very restricted spot,machining wise......helicoil and /or tap not practicable.....unless you make your own ...The only hand method I can see is to insert a custom made piloted reamer into the thread,followed by a piloted tap....followed by a thin wall screw in bushing.....The casting is hollow under the nut,for lube flow.....Could be done ,if one knew a bored hobby machinist...Otherwise ,as mentioned ,bore out the whole boss,and insert a new centre...While you are at it,bush the sloppy fit of the guide bore.

[john.k]

i gather "Star" put the thread and a nut on the sizing die,completely bypassing this problem.