Lyman 9mm147GR TC. Problem with new mold

[Colorado4wheel]

I just got the mold yesterday. The mold worked fine at the beginning. A bunch of wrinkled bullets but after a while those cleared up. Then I started getting finning around the last bullets. Let the mold cool and you can see the final Ball and Hole are deformed. So the mold wont close properly. I tried to get the roughness out but it still won't close 100% on that end. Any ideas? Did I do something wrong? I am new to casting but I used my friends Lyman mold with out any issues at all when he showed me how to do it.

[Buckshot]

[QUOTE=Colorado4wheel;817856]"..............you can see the final Ball and Hole are deformed." QUOTE]

...........You've lost me unless you mean the alignment pin and hole?

"Did I do something wrong?"

Possibly. If you simply clap the mould blocks back together it's sure likely to cause damage. The alignment pin and it's mating hole are not in perfect alingment due to the play on the mould handles. It's quite common to see older moulds with the hole being somewhat ovaled at the mouth due ot the pin banging on the edge of the hole before finding it'sway in.

This can push out a bit of metal into the hole so the pin no longer fits all the way, or it may raise metal up at the mouth of the hole and this can keep the blocks from fully closeing. Rather then suggesting a remedy, in case I have your question wrong I'll just wait for a reply.

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

[Colorado4wheel]

Yes, the pin and hole.

So I have to try and guide the thing back together in some way?

[jr545]

Yes, the pin and hole.

So I have to try and guide the thing back together in some way?


I don't know how others do it but I have a small piece of plate on my bench that I set the mold onto before closing. Helps with alignment and prevents peening of the pins/holes.

[44man]

No mold should be slammed shut, just closed gently. If the pin alignment is screwed up, fix it and use more care.
Speed is not the issue, perfect boolits are.

[Colorado4wheel]

I don't think I was slamming it shut. No different then the other day over at a friends house on his mold that is 20 years old and still working fine. So I am supposed to set it on a plate and shut it like that. Seems like a lot of trouble and it's not in the mold guide Lyman sent me with the mold.

[Echo]

C4W, use a straight-edge to check your mold half that has the hole. There may be some stock upset around the hole that is keeping the mold from shutting all the way. If so, use a fine file, VERY GENTLY, to dress the upset back down. As Elmer F. would say, be vewwy vewwy careful.

[markinalpine]

I don't think I was slamming it shut. No different then the other day over at a friends house on his mold that is 20 years old and still working fine. So I am supposed to set it on a plate and shut it like that. Seems like a lot of trouble and it's not in the mold guide Lyman sent me with the mold.

I keep a 6" square ceramic floor tile on top of the hot plate next to my melter that I use to pre-heat and keep moulds hot during casting sessions. I have a few moulds whose handle to mould fit are a little sloppy, and I place them, opened, on this tile to align the mould halves while closing. [smilie=s:

Mark :coffeecom

[Buckshot]

I don't think I was slamming it shut. No different then the other day over at a friends house on his mold that is 20 years old and still working fine. So I am supposed to set it on a plate and shut it like that. Seems like a lot of trouble and it's not in the mold guide Lyman sent me with the mold.

.............You shouldn't have to do anything special. The issue here is alignment. The blocks themselves (if loose and you're holding one in each hand) they go together fine. The problem is with the handles, and your handles and your buddies handles are different even if from the same manufacturer. Possibly different by decades of time in manufacture, and different by years of use. Maybe they aren't from the same manufacturer?

Regardless, the handles are the issue. If they don't hold the blocks in at least a semblance of alignment the pins won't readily find their mating holes. The mould maker assumes a 'bit' of misalignment and that's why they round the end of the pins. Unwarranted misalignment can easily have the blocks out in 2 axis. Take your handles without the blocks attached and close them. If you have a set of calipers close the jaws over them. One jaw on top, the other on the bottom then look at them from the end. The top and bottom of each handle leg should be on the same plane with each other.

If they're not they're FORCING the blocks to find their alignment instead of ALLOWING the blocks to freely align. With the blocks on the handles close the handles slowly and look closely to see how the pins and holes relate. The hole should be no more out of alignment then the radius of the pins' rounded nose.

Fore and aft movement of the blocks on the handle is no problem. But if the blocks can also tip inwards toward each other, that's not optimal. Through a friend I was lucky enough to come into quite a number of mould blocks and handles. The gentleman who'd previously owned these had made and used shims between the blocks and the handles. The shims were captured on the blocks via the attaching screws. Once the blocks and handles were put together with the shims in place the alignement pins and holes were almost perfectly aligned. They still rocked easily fore and aft, but tipping on the handles was almost nil.

Blocks on handles that fit well are easy to see as the the blocks swing toward each other in their arc. If the right one is angled to the right and it's top is leaning inward, and the left block is angled left and it's top is leaning left(outward) the right blocks' upper rear corner is going to strike the face of the left block below the top surface and any alignment pins will be grossly out of alignment.

On the other hand if the blocks fit the handles well, both block tops (and bottoms)will be co-planer. They cannot tip in or out, but move swinging fore and aft only. In this situation it doesn't matter if the front or rear edge of the blocks touch first. They'll meet and close evenly with the alignment pins and holes in close alignment.

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

[Colorado4wheel]

These handles are loose. Depending on how you hold them the mold halfs either align perfectly or the are striking near the tip of the round pin. There is no wave washer under the bolt to hold the bolt and handle parts in tension so they don't wander around so much. I may try and find a washer today. Any other suggestions?

[leadman]

Yes, tighten up the handles. Buy some Bull Plate lube from the Bull Shop, a sponsor on this site.
I use a q-tip with just a little BP wiped out of the bottle cap to lube the pins, mounting screws, sprue plate, etc.

A little goes a very long ways.

[Colorado4wheel]

I tightened them. Still smooth and now the plates align very wll to my eye. My calipers are a little small compared to the gap on the end of the mounting points for the handles but that also appears to be OK. Thanks for the advice Buckshot.