A mold problem

[Johnch]

I just aquired a used Lyman 1 hole 358315 , 204 gr rnd nose bullet .
To replace one that I loaned to someone ( not here ) and was never returned and can't remember who .
CRS I guess :( :(

The mold is used , but on the out side looks OK .
Inside everything looks OK BUT the alinement pin hole one side is oval .
The other side is not as bad , but not great .
This allowes the mold halves to miss aline ( not on handles)
Probley from abuse .

I didn't give much for it , and have not had a chance to try it out yeat .
Didn't bother to check it out when I bought it :groner:
I was just glad to find another mold .
I don't know if on a set of handles it will be a big problem or not .

But is there a way of tightening the hole up ?
I thought of either drilling out the hole and taping it .
Then inserting a plug , drilling the right sized hole in the plug .
Or finding a plug with a Allen socket the right size
A lot of work to get it right , maybe .

Or trying to peen the oval part of the hole shut with a spring punch .
Don't know if the mold is soft enough to do that .

Any ideas ?

Or just break down and buy a new mold ?

Johnch

[NVcurmudgeon]

Sounds like it may take major work to fix, but sometimes a wallowed out mould can still cast good boolits if the caster will help it to close with his gloved hand. Give it a try before you give up. Otherwise, there is Buckshot's mould repair services, highly recomended by us clumsy types.

[44man]

You can always knock the pin out, drill for a larger pin and enlarge the hole in the other block for a good fit.

[Buckshot]

............What you can do to repair the blocks depends upon how handy you are, the equipment you have to work with and what the repair will ultimately cost.

The simplist thing to do (not having seen the mould) is to merely tap each alignment pin out until it reaches far enough into the damaged holes to regain it's alignment. The pin closest to the hinge may be so far out that merely closing the handles will have it hitting the block face next to the hole. Sounds like what has already happened to a degree. That or a very sloppy handle fit and the guy was just clapping them closed.

You can bypass that via guiding them closed with a gloved hand if you do drive the pins out further.

The problem is that the block halves are matched and fitted with the alignment pins and holes before the cavities are cut. I have not seen a Saeco, RCBS, or Lyman set of blocks yet where the 4 sides are parallel with the cavity. As a result, if you could fixture the blocks so the sides were parallel there is an outstanding chance the cavity will be leaning into one block more then the other, or leaning along the parting line.

To re-align the blocks (drilling new holes and putting in new pins) you would actually need to center up the cavity and make IT right, and THEN drill for the new pins, etc.

If you are thinking of new alignment pins, I would first of all drive the existing ones out further, then cast a few slugs to make sure they're right. If they are, then the cavity halves are right (the important part). Then you can clamp the blocks in a drillpress vise and drill the holes, swapping end for end.

Dowel pins are available in 'press fit' oversize (.0002 - .0003" depending upon diameter) and also a half thou undersize. Dowel pins are hard. You might have to buy box quantity (100), but they'd be about $5-$8/box or so in the size you'd be interested in. You'd need the correct drill bit too. Screw machine length (short) would be best. Another option if you have a bearing supply house nearby (places are on the net, like Kaman) is roller (needle) bearings. Obviously what we're after is to have the pin tight in one half, and a very nice fit in the opposing hole.

................Buckshot

[44man]

Buckshot, well said, I was too lazy last night (1 AM) to get into the specifics and you came through. Only thing you forgot to tell him was to leave a perfect boolit in the cavity when he clamps the blocks.
When I make my moulds, I square up a block, drill the pin holes and then saw the block in half. Then I mill the inner sufaces and cut vent lines. Seems to work better then trying to pin two separate halfs together.

[Lloyd Smale]

box it up and send it to lyman possibly they will fix it for you. Found out dealing with them to never ask ahead of time as they allways say no!