Lyman 450 base dimensions....

[mattw]

It is going to be a couple of weeks before I can get to my 450's. Could someone tell me the base dimension from the back to the drop down on the front that over hangs the bench? Also, it would be great to have the widest side to side dimension as well.

I need to find a chunk of aluminum scrap to start my heater project and I forgot to measure last week.

Thanks Matt

[lightman]

I just now saw this thread. My 450 measures 3-15/16" from the turn down to the back and is 3" wide. Hope this helps.

[mattw]

Just what I needed to know.

Thanks

[km101]

I used a 4x5 piece of.75” thick aluminum. I had enough space at the rear of the plate to mount my thermostat too.

[trapper9260]

I got a heater for my years ago on Midway. have it all set up and just bolt and then plug in when needed. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/182761/lyman-lubricator-heater

[murf205]

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Here is my homemade heater 1/2" plate and a 1/4" 100 watt cartridge heater I got off flebay. Use a dimmer to control temp and it works great. Thicker aluminum would be easier to drill but I used a drill press to minimize mistakes. Butt splice the wires together and taped them up and ran them in some pvc for protection. I had the 1/2" plate already so I have less than $10 in it.

[LeadHead72]

What keeps the aluminum base from acting as a heat sink rather than radiating more to the press? I've been wanting to make one of these and have been trying to determine how to isolate the heat from transferring to the bench top as well.

[Mike W1]

On my earlier than shown above, Midway heater there is a thin layer of cork that does that insulating.

[Valley-Shooter]

The aluminum absorbs the heats first, it will always be warmer than sizer. Once everything is warmed up it maintains a consistent temperature.
I have a cork gasket seperating my steel bench from the heater. Works great. Probably not needed on a wood bench, but it wouldn't hurt to have some insulation there.

[WALLNUTT]

You only need 100deg so it's not going to ignite anything. I bought electronic control (pid?) on ebay. I drilled a hole in the base of the luber for the probe so I get the temp of the luber instead of the AL base. Drill a hole in the base for the heating element, set the temp and wait a few minutes. The temp doesn't vary more than a couple of degrees. Cost is about $15.

[murf205]

What keeps the aluminum base from acting as a heat sink rather than radiating more to the press? I've been wanting to make one of these and have been trying to determine how to isolate the heat from transferring to the bench top as well.
Mine is setting directly on the wooden bench top and if the wood is acting as a heat sink, I cant tell. The temp is only warm to the touch and not hot. If you look at the pics of my sizer, you can tell when I got the heat a bit too warm because it ran out of the sizer way too thin. I have a mark on my dimmer switch for a reference point. The 100watt cartridge heater is plenty and you should start at a low setting to avoid melting the lube. Works great for me.