Taking apart Lyman mold handles?

[HangFireW8]

Greetings... yes I've searched the forum...

I got a great deal on some rusty molds and handles. Everything cleaned up OK, but the handles are still stiff to move. They don't have that usual Lyman roller bearing with gopher snot smoothness, shoot, they take two hands.

One of them does not appear to have a two part (concentric ring) on either side.

How do you get either type apart? I want to clean the rust out of the inside, not just the outside. I tried putting pliers on both sides of the bolt heads, but got nowhere (except some busted knuckles).

Thanks!

-HF

[HeavyMetal]

Looking at several brands of handles here in my room I see that RCBS is "staked" on he side of the nut on the bottom of the bolt holding the screw in. The lyman small handle looks like it was rivited inplace ( you'd need to drill that out and stake in a ne rivet), the Lee dual cav has a locking nut torque'd on.

I'm thinking that you done bit off a bit o' work!

Before I went through that I think I'd soak these in a big bucket of WD-40 for sefveral days.

Used to be you could buy WD in a gallon can with a hand sprayer on it, this would pour into a sealable container and I'd soak the snot out of them before I busted my knuckles again!

[44man]

I would put some Kroil in the joint and work the devil out of them. They will smooth up.

[blackthorn]

+1 on the Kroil. Even better if you can put the rusted joint into a container, cover it with the Kroil and let it sit for a couple of days. Then just take it out and work it back and forth for awhile.

[Blammer]

if it doesn't loosen up, all the working back and forth will build your muscles, and it won't matter anyway.... :)

[TexRebel]

if ya don't have Kroil on hand PB Blaster it great stuff , just soak the hinge and let it set for awhile, then work it

[monadnock#5]

I have a pair of Lyman single cavity handles that were very stiff. No rust, just stiff. I asked this Board how to fix them. Floodgate told me how to do it. "Open your vise enough to fit the head between the jaws. Don't clamp the head, just lay it in between, with a little clearance to spare. Now tap on the top of the hinge with a hammer and drift. Don't overdo it, tap and try, tap and try". Worked for me.

[HangFireW8]

I have a pair of Lyman single cavity handles that were very stiff. No rust, just stiff. I asked this Board how to fix them. Floodgate told me how to do it. "Open your vise enough to fit the head between the jaws. Don't clamp the head, just lay it in between, with a little clearance to spare. Now tap on the top of the hinge with a hammer and drift. Don't overdo it, tap and try, tap and try". Worked for me.

I guess I didn't make it clear that these were Lyman handles. I'll give this technique a try.

Thanks,
HF

[leftiye]

The lube and lap (work) technique does work. I generally beat on the rivet of a loose Lyman mold to tighten it up (put the rivet on an anvil, and hammer on it a little at a time until it gets tight). Then I lube it and work it untill it smooths out.

[runfiverun]

you could soak them in a bit of diesel fuel to loosen them up too. then work a bit of anti seize in there as you move them back and forth.

[Catshooter]

Hangfire,

Looking at the Lyman handles, it sure appears that the piece that they pivot on is riveted over. You could drill it out, but then you'd need a new one.

In the electrical trade, it's quite common for us to use Klein brand tools. Sometimes their nine inch Lineman's pliers come very stiff out of the box. The usual way to loosen 'em is to work 'em.

I bought a pair that was way to stiff and I didn't want to use them for several thousand hours to break them in. So I put just a little valve grinding compound into the joint and worked them a bit.

Didn't take but a minute and they loosened right up. Washed them out with WD40. They worked great for a couple of years until my son deceided that he could cut the wire faster than the 'lectricity could get him.

Hope that helps. Sometimes something more than soaking is called for.


Cat