Son of a....

[dk17hmr]

About a week ago I ordered some parts from Lyman for my older 45 sizer. Just basically a new pressure nut, one with orings. I was having a problem with the old non oring nut keeping pressure and the lube was leaking past it.

I was sizing some 45 bullets today and the new pressure system sure does hold pressure, enough to crack the face of my sizer. Now yet again my sizer is leaking lube.


http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/CopyofCopyofCopyofDSCN0215.jpg

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/CopyofCopyofDSCN0214.jpg

I guess I look for another old 45 for parts. I have a RCBS sizer so I still can still make some bullets, the kicker is I have one set up for BAC and one set up for Carnauba red, the old Lyman was for hard lube so all the lube is pretty much melted in there.

I know Lyman wont do anything about my broken sizer, they wouldnt do anything about my broken .452 sizing die because "its older than a one year old"

[mtgrs737]

What a bummer! I wonder if the new nut could of put too much pressure on the cast iron to do that. I suppose that cast iron could of had a defect since new or maybe it age hardened over the years making it brittle. I don't know if another part would line up correctly as they may be line bored during manufacturing. I might try having it brazed or silver soldered, you could try J-B Weld (metal filled epoxy) that might stop the leak. Good luck!

[DLCTEX]

I weld cast iron by heating it to red hot, then welding with a mild steel rod, reheat to red, cover with a bucket to let it cool slowly. Of course this would require complete disassembly. DALE

[montana_charlie]

Looks like a problem with the setscrew that anchors the sizing die.
The screw is not centered in the boss that gets drilled and tapped. That makes the top of the casting thinner than it should be, and places the screw higher in the body than designed.
Maybe that's why the sizing die also sits higher than it should.

Anyway, heavy torque on the setscrew would overstress the thin top side of the tapped hole.
It looks like you finally managed to use more torque than the casting could hold...or put the lube through the ports with enough pressure to make the 'already stressed' screw hole let go.

The 'fault' was there since the tool left the factory, but it was able to hold together until 'circumstances' combined to overpower it.
CM

[GSM]

Could you clean the crack and try some J-B weld?

[KCSO]

Brazing should hold the pressure as good as the original casting. I would clean and grind a deep V groove and then fill with braze and grind it smooth. Then a touch of orange paint and it will be good as new. The last Lyman I bought for parts cost almost as much as the whole sizer did.

[dk17hmr]

My dad suggested grinding a V in it and getting someone to weld it. Good news is my buddy is a High School shop teacher :drinks: should be able to get this done for a 6 pack of Coors. Now how do I save the lube thats in it.

[Alchemist]

My dad suggested grinding a V in it and getting someone to weld it. Good news is my buddy is a High School shop teacher :drinks: should be able to get this done for a 6 pack of Coors. Now how do I save the lube thats in it.

Hold the sizer over a container and heat it with a blow dryer or heat gun...the lube will melt and drip out. The sizer will get hot, so wear some heavy gloves or hold it with some pliers/vise grips. I got nearly all the lube out of a sizer that way using the wife's hair dryer (while she was @ work :mrgreen:).

Cheers

[beagle]

At one time Lyman had extra body castings. Probably cost more than a sizer though./beagle

[hotwheelz]

That sucks I use my 45 for soft lube only and its gonna stay that way sorry to here about your problem. Could you use some jb weld and make it a soft lube only machine ???

[scb]

+1 for the brazing.

[MtGun44]

Grind and nickel weld with arc welder. Call your local community college
and talk to the welding instructor. He likely will be happy to do is as demo
for class. You will need to redrill and tap the setscrew hole as it will be
filled with nickel weld. This will be plenty strong enough to hold the setscrew
but don't get carried away tightening it, just snug it good.

All ordinary cast iron is brittle from day one and does not get more brittle with
age - old wives tale. There is a kind of cast iron called malleable iron which
is much less brittle and stronger, used for a lot of industrial castings that need
shock resistance. I'm sure the old 45 Lyman was plain old cast iron.

Brazing is OK but will put more heat into the iron and more chance of warping,
I would think, and will not be anywhere near as strong as nickel. Ask the
welding instrutor and take his advice. I have seen several engine blocks repaired
with nickel rod in a buzzbox AC arc welder that did just fine.

Good luck and keep us apprised of progress.

Bill

[Heavy lead]

+2 for brazing, will require much less heat, and I've had great success with it on other applications.

[HeavyMetal]

Getting the shop teacher to weld this for you is the hot tip!

For those not as fortunate I would suggest removing the lube with a heat gun, grind a shallow groove in the crack with a dremel tool then degrease with brake cleaner and alcohol.

Then buy some Accra Glass with the steel additive mix it per directions and cover the ground crack and let harden.

After 24 hours you can put it back in use with soft lubes then go buy a Star and never have this problem again!

[dk17hmr]

HeavyMetal, are you writing the check for my Star?:drinks:

[TAWILDCATT]

weld it with nickle or stainless.jb wont hold.I did one ys ago.same thing the screw cracked it.I usually peened the weld to relieve any stress.:coffee:[smilie=1:

[bruce drake]

search Evil Bay or Gunbroker.com for another Lyman 45. Set it up for soft lube and flip your RCBS over to the hard lube. I keep my 50/50 in my older 45. no problems with it operating at the lower pressures required to push that lube around.

Sorry to hear about your troubles. You'll probably find the replacement 45 before you can rebuild your own 45. Go ahead and rebuild it though. The more sizers you have, the more recipes you can try :) during load development. Just keep it with the softer lubes.

Bruce

[mikenbarb]

Send it to me and I will fix it for you. Just strip off all the parts and send me the shell.:drinks:Most of the processes mentioned will fail again and theres only 2 ways to do it properly where it wont crack again. First is torch welding it with a cast iron rod(Real cast, not nickle) and second is to furnace braze it with zero oxygen in an inert atmosphere and the most important thing to do is to drill a hole at each end of the crack so it doesnt migrate. If you heat it till red(Never do this to cast), It takes the ductility and strength out of it and will sonner or later crack at the weld joint or somewhere else where there is a weak point. Nickle rod works ok for certain heavy items that require a V groove but not smaller pieces like this because theres too much heat required to weld it and will distort the tube and possibly get heat sink and then its ruined totaly unless you remachine the inside face. In the process, Its brought up to a series or different temps and in between its peened to relieve the stress the weld creates and then its done again till its done. Then its worked down slowly with the temp over a 3 hour period because if cooled too fast it will crack in 5 pieces. The good thing about this is that its malleable cast iron and not nodular cast which is a B%@*% to weld.Shoot me a pm if you would like me to fix it for you.

[wilddog45]

I have had luck welding cast iron with a wire welder on a medium setting if you have one or know someone that does. Make sure the lube is boiled out though and all rubber parts are removed.

[LeadPoor]

LOL this post was one of the first posts I read when I joined in early November 08
I read through it with great interest as I have experiance with welding and engine blocks(cast iron) and will say I was surprised to see it pop up again today.

I thought Great! we get to hear how it was fixed, But nope just another suggestion

Did it ever get repaired??

LP

[mikenbarb]

Its finally repaired and on its way back yesterday. Post some pics when you get it. I even repainted it for you.LOL.
PS- Never wlld cast iron with a mig welder with solid wire and gas. It way to brittle with no penetration and puts a oxidizer into the weld metal and will fail under stress or pressure. I stand UNDER all my work with great confidence.:-D(Warning-Dont try this at home.LOL.)