Help with Lyman #45!!!

[ElCheapo]

Hey folks! Not sure if I should post this here or not, but here goes. I've used my old Lyman #45 sizer for years and it's always performed well, but lately I've noticed it's getting really hard to seat gas checks with. It takes considerable force to start the bullet (Lyman 311041) into the seating die with the gas check on there. It makes a loud pop sound at first, then you can lower the handle the rest of the way and size the bullet. I don't want to keep using it as is and possibly damage the unit, so I looked it over to find out what was going on. I noticed right away that the screw attaching the handle to the upper casting was bent. I have no doubt it's the original screw. It's 1.325 inches long and the threaded part measures .246 inches. The unthreaded section measures .310 inches, and on the end is a slot for a flathead screwdriver. I've seen pics of other folk's 45's and they drilled out the threaded part on the casting and inserted an appropriate sized bolt (5/16ths) through the handle and secured it with nuts on the end. I'm sure this works well enough, but was just looking for some advice on the best way to get the old girl up and running again. Don't want to reinvent the wheel if someone has a better solution! Thanks for any help and advice!

[Mk42gunner]

It worked well for you before right? Then once it started balking you found the bent screw? If that is what happened, I would clean the whole thing, H&I die included, and replace the bent worn and or broken parts.

It should then work as if it were new again.

I just realized I was thinking of the 450 not the 45.

Robert

[ElCheapo]

Yeah, it's the older model 45.

[Char-Gar]

Sounds like the pop is trapped air escaping and the hard pull is due to air being compressed between the bullet base and the gas check. I would clean the die inside and out, plus anything else that has old lube on it. If that doesn't work trying seating the gas checks on the bullet before running it through the machine.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

ElCheapo,
welcome to the forum.

SNIP...

It takes considerable force to start the bullet (Lyman 311041) into the seating die with the gas check on there.
If the amount of force needed to seat/size a GC boolit, was enough to bend the 1/4" pivot bolt...Then I have to ask if anything changed from when that amount of force was NOT needed?
Harder alloy?
larger GC shank (that would need to be measured) caused by a different casting technique?
and the most obvious, a different brand of GC? Besides GC thickness, some GC material is harder than others and may need to be annealed, which can make seating/crimping the GC onto the boolit much easier.

[ElCheapo]

The bolt was slightly bent when I got the sizer, and with use it's gotten progressively worse. I have no issues with sizing or lubing, everything works just fine. Seating the gas checks takes a little force, but I think if I get the bolt situation sorted out it will smooth things up. I did buy a 5/8 ths bolt with a nut and washer, but it doesn't look like the nut will fit on there unless I grind it down or something. May just have to drill a hole in the bolt and run a cotter pin through it.

[ElCheapo]

Just drilled out the top casting to allow the 5/8 ths bolt to fit through. Cleaned and lubed the new hole, bolt etc. and sized a few bullets. BIG difference when everything is kept straight and true! Lube/sizer operates smoothly now, and gas checks go on with little effort.

[kungfustyle]

I had the cross bolt break on my 450 so I ordered two from Lyman. Didn't realize that so much pressure was placed on that joint.

[ElCheapo]

Hope my 45 holds up! I definitely don't want to abuse it. I've sized a couple hundred bullets with it and so far it's working great. Time will tell!

[oconeedan]

I used a grade 8 bolt, and have not had any problems with this pin/bolt since. Dan

[William Yanda]

1/4 to 5/8, now that's a jump.

[1hole]

The first model was indeed the #45, followed by the #450 and now #4500. The changes were not major, just a series of of worthwhile improvements which I believe were also slightly less costly to fabricate.

Lyman's major L.S. problems always were and remain toggle linkage breaking or bending because of too much operator pressure on the lever. Shouldn't be that way, after all, it's just a cast bullet lubricator-sizer not a .30-06 FL case resizer!

I believe that little device is the oldest handloading tool on the market by a significant margin and it's still going strong!

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

The changes were not major, just a series of of worthwhile improvements which I believe were also slightly less costly to fabricate.

While the different models of Lyman bullet lubesizers still lube and size a bullet, I would consider the design changes from the 45 to the 450 to be quite major.

Also...here is a bit more history, as the #45 wasn't really the first model Lyman made. The #45 came out about 1947.

Ideal was bought by Lyman in 1925 and Lyman continued their production of the #1 lubesizer until they came out with the #45.

Now, if you are interested, Ideal's lubesizer model history was best laid out by jrmartin1964 in post #19 in the thread linked to below.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?115755-How-old-is-this-IDEAL-lube-sizer&p=4191024&viewfull=1#post4191024