Suggestions for replacement HP pin Lyman mold

[Sooner]

I have a 311299 hp mold from Lyman. It didn’t come with the pin. Has anyone fabricated a cheap replacement pin? Looking to try the mold on the cheap without sending it off to get a new pin made. Thank you.

[AnthonyB]

I have made them with brass rod and a redneck lathe (hand drill and file). Ugly, but I don’t show it to anyone….
Tony

[Sooner]

I’ll give that a try !

[elk hunter]

Why not contact Lyman and ask what one would cost? I would, and I have the means and have made them but, my time is worth more to me than the cost of a HP pin.

[beagle]

Go the pin route as Tony suggested. I use regular steel round stock. Knobs can be obtained fron the local hobby store. Threaded sleeves fron Ace Hardware. I've made dozens. The first one takes a bit of a learning curve but after that a drill and a file, tap and die set and a little knowledge of hand tools and you can do it. Then, it's, I made it myself. Go for it. Mess with Lyman and you may not live long enoigh to get it back./beagle

[Sooner]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I’m going to try and fab one up.

[beagle]

Before you try, go to Castpics. Look at Articles by Members and look for an article titled Modifying Moulds and read it before you start. May save some bumps along the way. Then, have at it. You get stuck, PM me and I'll try and help./beagle

[AnthonyB]

You’ll likely get more good info from beagle, but feel free to PM me as well. Unlike beagle, I can tell you what NOT to do….
Tony

[hoodat]

I need to do the same thing for a 22 cal Ideal mold that I scored at a gunshow. I've found the perfect diameter shaft from a Dremil or other brand shaft. But now I need to figure out the knob and whatever the spin/lock doo-dad needs to be. I'd like to make it where I can adjust the shaft to create a HP or solid point bullet.

I've never owned a HP mold before, and would love to see some close up pics of some. jd

[MT Gianni]

Look for a knob in the cabinet pull section. You can attach a lock with a set screw on a 30 cal or larger pin. I am not sure if there is enough body on a 22 pin. If you're certain about getting it straight you could put in a hollow tube for the lock and center the pin for the HP. A roll pin might work well enough.

[Thin Man]

Sooner, PM headed your way.

[Forrest r]

There not that hard to make. Typical pin diameters for lyman molds.
Pistol
30cal .100”
9mm/38/357 .125”
41/44/45 .140”
44/45 .156”
Rifle
22cal .070”
25cal .078”
30/32cal .100”
35cal .125”
.375 .125”
40cal & above .140”
Forester hp tool
1/16” rifle .0625”
1/8” pistol .125”
60* center drill 3/16” .185”

I've made my own hp pins for years. Awhile back I was playing around with 2 different lyman 358156 molds. Used to be you could "special" order a mold from lyman with a larger or smaller hp pin diameter then their standard sizes above. Had 2 molds, 1 with the standard .125" pin and the other with a .156" pin.

I made pins with different hp lengths, tapered vs flat vs rounded ends, etc. Was testing the different hp pin designs in snubnosed, 4" & 6" revolvers chambered in 38spl and 357. Guy on this forum kept asked me what my 358156 hp bullets weighted, couldn't wrap his head around I really couldn't give a strait answer. Kind of hard to say when I was making/testing 2 different diameter hp holes along with deep/shallow/cupped/tapered/square bottom designed hp's.

https://i.imgur.com/vow1oPc.jpg

The 2 hp pins with the barrel handles are the pins I made/kept after testing. Simple enough to make, took a 1/4" rod and drilled a hole in it the diameter of the hp pin. Inserted the hp pin and left it long. Side drill a 3/32" or 1/8" hole into the 1/4" rod 3/16" up from the end and inset a 3/32"/1/8" pin to use as a lock down pin to go under the bottom bolt that holds the pin in place. Then it's a matter of fine tuning the hp pin (length/shape) and taking a file to the 1/8" side pin filing it flat (pin/bolt intersection) making a tight fit when turning the hp pin assembly to hold it in place.

A link to what others are doing
http://www.castpics.net/subsite2/MoldMods/Modifying%20Moulds.pdf

If you run into issues pm me, have a little time and might be able to make you a blank hp pin that you could do the final adjustments to (cut to length/taper/file hold down pin if needed).

[georgerkahn]

I have a 311299 hp mold from Lyman. It didn’t come with the pin. Has anyone fabricated a cheap replacement pin? Looking to try the mold on the cheap without sending it off to get a new pin made. Thank you.

ALL of above tips/suggestions are great one! I am adding that I bought a pair (eBay) of HP moulds maybe three years ago, and I quickly discovered the one pin provided was for the mould I was not interested in using. For kicks and giggles I opened a #1-#60 fractional drill index, and -- without any measurement ;) - found the size which seemed a "go". I first used the drilling end to bore into a round ball of wood; 2nd, chucked it in drill press -- butt end down -- and used a file, followed by 600-grit wet n dry paper to round its end; 3rd, reinserted drill bit -- using a drop or two of 2-part epoxy to hold it. I used this for one casting session (I'm embarrassed to say ;)) but -- it worked famously! (I stacked free samples of laminate flooring pieces from Home Depot under mould while casting, to insure/keep the pin all the way up)
Again, just an added thought, perhaps, in what you may do... For my need -- this worked well!
geo