Mold handles

[Don1357]

I recently picked two new molds for my 45-70, a gas checked 405gr flat nose RCBS one and a round nosed 475 grains Lyman 457406. Imagine my disappointment this weekend when the single cavity handle I have (holding an Ideal 357 mold I don't even cast for) would not fit these single cavity molds. They are two big.

Are modern handles ( for single cavity in this case) standard or do I need to keep an eye on size?

[Walks]

You need to find the OLD single cavity Lyman handles. Lyman no longer makes the "small block" handles, hasn't in probably 35+yrs.
But don't despair. they are all over fleabay, and the Thompson Center mold handles will also fit. In fact they are about a 3/4" longer.
Let me check tomorrow, I may have set that I can spare.

The RCBS mold will also fit the Lee handles. Those you can buy anywhere.

[cwlongshot]

I like longer handles of the Redding and LEE best. Lee’s need work to make better but it’s easy. Debur them remove wood and grind notches in handle stems then epoxy them on. Sometimes I open the holes a little. For the cost and ten to fifteen minutes work they work well. Check proper alignment once blocks are attached.

Lyman singles are just too short for me. But they are better built than the LEE.

CW

[Don1357]

Would a 2~4 cavity mold handle be able to hold a single cavity mold?

[Outpost75]

Would a 2~4 cavity mold handle be able to hold a single cavity mold?

2-cavity mold handles have 1 inch hole spacing with the handles closed. Single-cavity handle is 3/4 inch.

[Don1357]

250642250643250644[/QUOTE]

Outpost, that's exactly the one I have on the Ideal mold. What I need is one that will fit the new molds. The throat on the ideal mold (that fits the handles, a 358156 I don't even reload for) is 9/16", the throats on the new molds I just got are 21/32", the threaded holes on them are spaced 15/16"

Would a dual cavity handle fit them?

[Bent Ramrod]

The new Lyman moulds all seem to be built on the “old” Lyman blocks that used to be for one large cavity or two smaller cavities in the old days. These blocks only fit the old Lyman handles marked (sic) “Large.”

In reality, only a few of them, large or small, were ever marked with anything, and they looked more-or-less identical. You couldn’t gauge which was which by eyeballing the angle the tangs or the wood handles were at; some handles that barely fit my hands when closed are still single cavity only, and some where the handles touch when closed fit the large blocks perfectly. Some that have the tangs pointing at each other at a 30 degree angle still only fit “Small” blocks, and some (by no means all) that are parallel fit the “Large” ones.

The only way I ever found to distinguish the two is to get a set of large and small blocks, try them on various handles and hold the assemblies up to the light and make sure there’s no angled crack of daylight between the mould halves. (It’s better not to do this testing with hot moulds that you have already cast a dozen angel-winged boolits out of, and are belatedly wondering what the H is the matter; don’t ask me how I know this.)

In my scrounging, I found a couple old-style handle sets, in the original boxes, marked “Small” and “Large,” that I attach to the appropriate moulds and return to the boxes after use. No markings on the handles themselves, by the way. Once in a blue moon, I find a tiny “L” on a handle tang past the hinge; never saw an “S” on any of them. Most have no markings whatsoever.

The new Lyman one-size-fits-all blocks now have a new, massive Lyman handle set that has grooved wood and a big nut&bolt holding the castings together, looking like SAECO handles. You might consider buying a set of these rather than chasing down the elusive old-style “Large” handles.

You might as well get a set of RCBS handles for your RCBS mould as well. Others can be modified to fit, but if you want to cast boolits rather than chase white rabbits down holes, this is the most prudent course of action.