Ancient Ideal moulds

[anachronism]

I just got back from the local gunshow, it was a very successful buying trip. I ended up with another 6 moulds, but two of them are really different from my normal purchases. I ended up with two single cavity Ideal moulds that have the handles cast in one piece with the blocks. Does anyone have an idea as to how old these moulds might be? I'm thinking they must be from the very ear ly 20th century, but have no had information on them. Any idea on value?

[uncle joe]

I just sold one here that was like that, it was a winchester mold. I have seen them on evilbay for around 50 - 60 bucks.

[anachronism]

These moulds are like minature Lyman single cavity moulds. The handles are much smaller than even my oldest single cavity handle set, and as I mentioned earlier, are cast as one piece with the blocks.

[Glen]

All single-cavity Ideal moulds made prior to 1927 had integral handles. They were phased out starting in 1927 and only single-cavity moulds made with detachable handles (i.e. interchangeable mould blocks) were made after 1931.

[JeffinNZ]

GLEN - When did Ideal cease and Lyman take over?

[Glen]

Lyman bought Ideal in 1925, but the mould blocks were still stamped Ideal until around 1958 or so.

[cabezaverde]

I asked about a couple of these a while back, when Floodgate was still hanging around.

Here is the edited content of the PM he sent me. I miss having him around.

Cabezaverde:

Hard to set a price on the later, plain fixed-block moulds like these. The "exotics" like the Perfections and the one-piece cylindricals go in the $150 - 300 range, but those are in great demand by collectors; these are basically "user" moulds - a bit more interesting than modern ones in the same sizes, but a bit harder to use. I'd price them at, say $50 for the #308284, and maybe $60 for the #321317 for the .32 Rem. Auto. I think I'd start with an auction - one at a time - on the CB Board here.

OR, you could offer them as "Vintage" moulds on eBay, with the above as reserve prices. But, that's just MY take - let the market decide.

[Green Frog]

FWIW, I use a couple of the old style moulds to cast bullets for my original .32-40 high-wall. Somehow it just seems more appropriate. Also the fact that they heat up quickly and drop the bullets very well doesn't hurt. Add to that the lack of user fatigue because of their light weight, and I will happily take all of these early moulds I can get!

Froggie

[TAWILDCATT]

lyman bought marlin molds in 1925,marlin bout Barlow/ideal early WW1period.
:coffee: [smilie=1:

[Glen]

Wildcat -- Almost, but not quite. You forgot about ol' Phineas Talcott. Marlin sold off Ideal to Phineas Talcott around 1920. Lyman bought Ideal from Phineas in 1925, not from Marlin.

[anachronism]

These two are cut for bullets still offered today, 454190 & 358311. I also picked up a 357446 double cavity from the same guy. This was the first mould that Lyman offered especially for the (then) new .357 Magnum, according to one of Glens articles. I didn't realize it's age at the time, but made the comment to the moulds (now) former owner that it appeared to be designed for use in short cylinder guns like the model 27, since it has what I consider to be a short nose. I also bought some modern stuff, but it's just plain vanilla compared to these three.

Question: Only the 357446 has any rust on it. Should I clean the ancient Lymans, or leave them alone? They seem remarkably preserved, but dirty moulds drive me nuts.

As an aside, these all three moulds were stored with their last bullets still in the cavities. I never liked that method since moisture could develop between the bullet & the cavity. Thankfully this didn't occur, but I have no clue as to how long they were stored this way. Judginy by the oxidation on the bullets, it was a long, long time.

[tinsmith]

I have an oddball IDEAL mold. It is double cavity, one cavity is 358495 and the other is 357446. I've never seen a Lyman mold with two different cavities. Does make sense: one for target and the other for heavy loads. This mold and some others were given to me on perminent loan. They had some light surface rust that I VERY carefully cleaned with fine steel wool placed on the tip of a pencil eraser. After degreasing, they cast great. I'm with you. A dirty mold is like a dull knife, not much good.