Lyman 4-cavity Handles

[Anonym]

Good morning, crew. I recently picked up my first Lyman 4-cavity for a reasonable price to cast some 200gr 45 cal SWCs in bulk It is supposed to arrive today, but before I'll be able to try it out, I'm in the dilemma of handles for the odd mounting slot size of these molds.

I have a few sets of Lee handles that I planned to use for this mold, and I have access to a mill for modifying. My question is whether to modify the handles to fit the mold, or if there is any reason why I simply can't mill the slot a little wider to make it a more standardized width to use with common handles. Any concerns in doing this? Without the mold in hand yet, I'm not sure if this would cause any issues. Of course, I would widen the slot on the lower side to stay away from the cavities and the threads for the mounting bolts, but is there something else I'm not thinking of?

Thanks in advance!
Anonym

[gwpercle]

I have always been advised to modify the cheapest item ...just in case you screw it up .
In this case I would for sure do my modifications on the Lee Handles .

The "sticky" Lee 6 cavity handle interchange / use list , at the beginning of this section says
To fit a Lyman 4-cavity mould , grind / file to a thickness of .249" and enlarge the holes to 7/32" .
Also ... verify these dimensions with your mould in hand ...they may vary .

Read the stickies on fitting the Lee handles to the Lyman 4-Cavity moulds for more details .
Gary

[Red River Rick]

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?56554-KAL-Mould-Handles

[cwlongshot]

Lyman offers conventional handles to fit these now.

You can also find the nut cracker style. I just picked up a pair without good handles a d made new handles last week.

CW

[Winger Ed.]

Go easy on grinding with the side of a wheel that isn't made for it.
It's easier than you'd think for it to shatter.
I've only seen it happen once, and it was real exciting.

Angle grinder wheels are made for grinding with the front/face, bench grinder wheels---- not so much.

[Anonym]

297673


Here is my solution to the problem:

Milled the bottom of the mold slots to the 0.300” width for Lee handles. Did not impact the mold at all. Then I drilled a larger, secondary set of holes in a set of Lee handles to mount the mold. Handles will still work as originally intended but will fit the modified mold just fine.