Warped mould

[Johnch]

Last night I bught a Box O Junk from a freind of a freind

I bought the box , only because I saw a set of Lyman mould handles and the whole box was less than a new set of handles

So today I went through it
Pitched junk
Sorted out what I could posibly use

One thing I found was a Lyman 2 cavity 358311 in parts , but someone tryed to hide/wipeout the number by going over it with a electric pencil
So I put it all back togeather and took a look at my prize
Well right off the bat I saw one corner of one bolck was well away from the other block

3 corners are tight , but not the 4th

The mould dosn't look abused , almost looks like a uneven heat treat warp

I tryed the one cavity on the tight side and it cases a so so slug , with some finning

My question is , can I somehow unwarp the mould ?
I was thinking of was to heat the block with a torch till HOT and trying to clamp it in the vice to try and remove the warp

Or is the mould just junk and pitch it , as it will never work no matter what I try ?

John

[Cheshire Dave]

I don't know if you can remove the warp. Is it so bad that you can't lap the faces flat and then lap the cavities round with a bullet and abrasive? You may just have to scrap what you can and then toss the rest.

[Bret4207]

I've read of warped moulds, never even seen one. What it takes to warp a mould I have no idea, but fixing is going to be tough.

[44man]

I bought a warped mold once but it was not caused by heat. It was caused by the owner tightening the handle screws so tight they bent the blocks. I had to drill through all the way and make a set up to use screws to bend the blocks back to straight. It was a job but it casts perfect boolits now.
Never, ever over tighten handle screws! :Fire: They might look fine until the blocks heat and expand against the screws.

[WHITETAIL]

:coffee:Johnch, If you can't fix it I will take it
and pay the postage to send it to me.
I have never tried to fix a mould that
that was warped. So I would be willing to
give it a go.:redneck:

[Maven]

John, Did you confirm that it was warped via a straightedge or machinist's square? Have you tried manipulating the alignment pin on the offending side? Sometimes pushing it farther in (away from the cavity/toward the handle cut-out) a bit willl square things up. (Soak it in your favorite penetrating oil before attempting this.)

[montana_charlie]

3 corners are tight , but not the 4th John, Did you confirm that it was warped via a straightedge or machinist's square?
I would say the corners tell the tale, if the three that touch are in firm contact.

I have an idea about how to force it flat by using a hydraulic shop press...but it might destroy the mould. I'll give it a go (or tell you how) if you wish...

CM

[Jon K]

I'm with mmaven on this........is it the pin?

If it doesn't fit DON'T FORCE IT.

Jon

[HeavyMetal]

I think we've all "heard" about warped blocks. I to have never seen one.

I have seen blocks that should never have been in the possesion of the previous owner!

If you can post a photo or two. Might help all of us in the future and we'll have a better Idea of what your facing. I think Maven is on the right track ( pun intended) get that mold under a strong light and a magnifiying glass and look for burrs, lead and damaged pins.

44mans suggestion that the screws might be to tight is worth looking into as well!

In the end it may be junk but don't throw it out! Lapped or surface ground you may get the blocks to align and then it will be a "blank" for a recut to a larger boolit.

[montana_charlie]

I think we've all "heard" about warped blocks. I to have never seen one.
I saw one...

It was one of the loaner moulds for the PGT bullet that Victory Molds sent out for guys to try. I got in on the tail-end of that program, and those moulds had been in lots of hands by the time I saw one.

The (first) one sent my way was preceeded by a note from Dick Trenk that it was 'unserviceable'...and was supposed to have been sent in for examination. But, the guy ahead of me had forwarded it on to me...'cuz I was next on the list.

When it arrived, I looked it over real quick and thought it was fine. But, during the weekend I had time to look closer. Sure enough, three corners touched...and one didn't.
You can bet I checked it thoroughly, because I really wanted to use it. But, come Monday, it was in the mail to Victory...and Steve subsequently trashed the thing.

The mould that I got next was 'usable', and I cast 300 bullets from it. But, even it had 'damage' from poor handling that left a little 'tit' on the corner of the base at the parting line.
I shaved the tits off with a razor knife during the final individual inspection process.

It's a shame how some people treat things...especially things they don't own.

CM

[Johnch]

I got it back to almost perfict
I heated the mould with a propane torch to HOT , but not glowing

I then clamped the 2 halves togeather in a 6" vice and left it cool

After words , the nose of one side is ever so slightly oval
But no finning

But there is about 4 gr average differance between the 2 cavitys , with the oval nose being the heavy bullet

As I only plan on using these for 50' plinking , I dought I will be able to tell the differance

But for now I plan on testing the groups each produce

John

[Maven]

John, Great solution to the warped block problem, but how did you hold the mold when heating it? Was it still attached to the handles? I'm going to keep the propane torch idea in mind in case I get such a mold.

[HeavyMetal]

Montana Charlie:
My next question: could you tell how you mold was warped?

I'm curious if it was from heat or plain simple abuse or if you could even determine the cause.

[montana_charlie]

Montana Charlie:
My next question: could you tell how you mold was warped
No, I could not tell how it got warped.
I made some guesses, but perhaps none of them were valid...

I also never knew if the guy before me received a bad mould, or if it 'turned bad' while he had it.

CM

P.S. OH YEAH! I almost forgot about this part...!
When I first noticed the odd corner, I just knew the problem stemmed from the gross buildup of burnt crud on the mould, including the faces.

The sprue pivot was caked up solid, and the alignment pins were encased in carbonized crap.
I didn't use any steel implements to get it all off...but I was sorely tempted.
Some of that junk may have predated the Pyramids.

I have no idea if all of that 'lube' was put on by one guy with a paraffin fetish...or if it had been built up by many donors.

Unfortunately, cleaning it all off was a waste of time because the odd corner still didn't touch unless I let the opposite corner lift.

CM

[Johnch]

John, Great solution to the warped block problem, but how did you hold the mold when heating it? Was it still attached to the handles? I'm going to keep the propane torch idea in mind in case I get such a mold.

I removed the handles , spure plate & screws
I then grabed the 2 mould 1/2's from the good side , top and bottom with a old set of 14" channel locks
I was carefull to only grab tight enough to hold the blocks


John