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I recently acquired an old Ideal mold which is in good shape except when the two halves are put together one pin does not go into the corresponding hole. I have not had this happen before and was wondering if there are normal things to look for or to do to fix this.
Look for a burr or raised edge on the hole where the chamfer meets the dia. Also burrs where the radius on the pin meets the full dia.
Thanks!
Burred alignment holes can be filed smooth again with care. Another thing to look for, is the alignment pin itself. On a few occasions I've had this same issue. I removed the mold half with the pin's and checked to see if the pin itself may have been pushed back into the hole a bit. My remedy was to use a flat punch that fits the hole and slowly tap the pin back in deeper. Good luck!
Murphy
Thanks!
How much force should it take to drive those pins? Been casting since 2008 and never had a problem, now my near-new Lyman is acting up. This is probably the fifth time I've used it.
Only the round-nose portion should be exposed in order to prevent binding. In this case the pins have moved out so about .050" of the straight shank is exposed. Pressing or tapping them in with a brass punch should have been easy but they're not moving and I don't want to deform the noses.
The ones I've moved in iron blocks take a fairly heavy tap to the driving punch with a three pound hammer to move. You also need the mold half sitting on a solid surface.
Robert
Pushing a pin in can be done with a padded vise and closing it slowly. some brass or copper jaws wont marr. Driving out drill a hole in a piece of flat bar thicker than the pin protrudes and slightly larger in dia.. Sit this on a heavy bench and the block on it this gives a lot more support and makes a much steadier set up.
Getting it held so you can get a straight smooth push on the pin helps a lot.
Copper jaws can be made from a piece of water pipe split it and flatten put the first in the vise and bend over the jaw then repeat with the second.
Thanks.
I ended up using the vise method. Sure made a heckuva 'pop' when the pins finally started to move.