Ideal 2 cavity combination mold [Archive]

Bent Ramrod

09-23-2019, 08:27 AM

I think Mike Venturino, in one of his articles, called the Ideal two-cavity with two different designs “the Thinking Man’s mould.” Implying that it was something for the serious experimenter. Ideal and Lyman used to cater to such cranks, on special order.

I’ve come across a few, and had Accurate make up one for me in .38-55, but they are something of a “niche” application, which doubtless accounts for their rarity. Except for a narrow range of circumstance, one eventually finishes experimenting and winds up needing a production run of the one design, with no immediate use for the other. At that point, a two-cavity of the one shape would be more desirable, as it’s troublesome avoiding the cavity one doesn’t want to use, and culling out the ones for remelting that wind up getting cast anyway.

Two exceptions are the aforementioned Accurate mould, which casts a grease-groove and a paper-patched boolit for the .38-55. I can generally use the output of both cavities at the same rate; somebody else, maybe not so much. Another is an Ideal two-cavity with a 454190 and a 452374. Someone with a Single Action Army and a 1911 would likely be running low on the boolits for the gun he wants to shoot, with a surplus of those for the other one in the safe. However, in this instance, the owner had a S&W Model 25, with cylinders for .45 Colt and .45 Auto(Rim), so the mould was perfect for this gun. Even if he ran out of one boolit or the other, all he had to do was change cylinders. And sight settings, of course.

James Wisner

09-23-2019, 10:04 AM

Any mold like that was a special order by a customer.

I have Dad's Lyman double cavity that he ordered in the late 1950's.
It is a # 311359 on one side and a # 225462 on the other. Since he was casting for the 30 Carbine and his 22 Varmiter ( 22-250 )

Back in those days they would cut a mixed mould for any current bullet they had, for a few $ more.

J Wisner