Lyman issues

[Stoats]

I've had a few issues with the last few Lyman moulds that I have bought -- several different flavours of 311xxx moulds all throw at 310 or under , and one which I have just sent back to the factory for replacement was cut too shallow with the result that it throws 5 grains light and the gas check shank is not long enough to accept a gas check...

Anyone else had similar problems recently? I'm seriously considering taking the financial hit in future and just buying made-to-order from NEI rather than off-the-shelf (I transitioned to Lyman from Lee about a year ago after receiving sloppy moulds that required a lot of work to get working properly...)

[captaint]

Stoats - Yes, many of the guys here have had a fair share of problems with small Lyman molds. I think the best way to purchase those is from Midway, cause they take them back with no crying. Your best bet IMO would be to get in on some group buys here for your molds. We have a number of very reliable, talented mold makers that do business right here. Check out the group buy section and the vendor sponsor area. good luck Mike

[Buckshot]

..............For the past number of years Lyman moulds simply aren't what they ustawuz. Years back (before my time) they'd caught a bunch of flack about oversized moulds and apparently made an adjustment which seemed to satisfy most casters. However, of late it seems that their moulds in broad general terms have been somewhat lacking in their overall quality.

It may simply be a lack of final QC before the product leaves the building? They may also be pushing their cherries a bit too far, as freshening them up a time or two too many will result in smallish cavities. Like the American auto makers who felt they had a captive audience who'd buy whatever they shipped failed to maintain quality, it appears that Lyman may still be banking on a 130 year reputation.

Either that or they have so many other irons in the fire that they just can't be bothered in paying attention to the work leaving the mould shop? In anything man made, if you make enough of'em there are going to be some whoopsi's slip by, but when it becomes common amongst a large group of users it's a real shame. So far as NEI goes, you might want to do a search here about NEI.

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

[Wayne Smith]

I'll second doing a search here about NEI, they were once good. I can also second the suggestion you look at our mold makers. Some of the best molds I have come from them and from Mountian Molds. Old West also has a very good reputation.

[Dale53]

MiHec and NOE are two of the best mould makers I have seen in nearly sixty years of casting bullets.

I have moulds by both. They are absolutely excellent and MiHec's Cramer Style moulds are second to NONE.

There are also a couple of mould "repairmen" (for want of a better term) that reportedly do FINE work hollow pointing moulds on this list. I have no personal experience with them but people I trust recommend them without reservation. BRP is a stocking mould maker on this board. Again, I have no personal experience but those who have recommend them highly.

Dale53

[Changeling]

I have one of the MiHec molds and visually it is a "Work of Art".

I ordered a Lyman mold that was a "Total Joke", I didn't mold bullets with it because it had problems closing and when it did it was shall we say having a major problem with even appearing to be round! That did it for me, I just sent it back.
That was over 2 months ago, maybe they have gotten there act together, but I won't buy another till I am really sure! Couldn't believe they would ship something like that out !!!

[Byron Cromwell]

Stoats:

[Byron Cromwell]

Stoats:
I have in my collection a Lyman 311284 mould which will cast .311 with pure lead, .313 to .314 with any harder alloy. I purchased it fifteen years ago. From a large collection my father assembled starting in the 1950s, only one mould in ten cast to a useful diameter. The rest were ridicuously overside. I would be delighted if I could find a .30 caliber mould for my custon '06 that threw an honest .308 to .309 inch and which I could lubricate without sizing. But with few exceptions (which I could literally count on one hand) all the moulds I have purchased from any manufacturer -- RCBS, Lyman, Saec, Hensley and Gibbs -- have thrown oversize, to the point of either crushing them in the sizing die or risking failure to chamber in standard rifles and handguns.