Thanks Jon. I've been reading up on the 45 for the last hour. I think I could put one to good use. I will start looking for one. Thanks steve
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Thanks Jon. I've been reading up on the 45 for the last hour. I think I could put one to good use. I will start looking for one. Thanks steve
I have one two!. I assumed it was bent at some point, but being cast iron, surprised it didn't break. I began to wonder if I could bend it back, without snapping it, or if came that way originally?
Ah, but seeing your pics, mine is different, right at the wood handle, where the "pin" meets the lever part. The thinnest/ easiest to bend, but also to snap?!
It looks like maybe someone applied to much down pressure, without anything breaking, even the wood handle.
I will get a pic tomorrow.....ish.
I wish I had found this thread earlier. I picked up an Ideal 45 about a year ago. I figured out how to take it apart and clean it all by my lonesome.
Mine came with the original box and wrench as well.
I'll try to put up some pictures in the next few days.
David
JonB (and all) first and foremost thanks so much for this most excellent information on the Lyman 45. Having a 450 I didn't actually need a 45 until this past weekend when at the Sportsman Yard Sale in Chambersburg I found a 45 for the princely sum of...$5. Yes...$5. It is in remarkably good shape, nothing bubba'd and all the parts in working order. The paint is a bit tattered but none the worse for wear. I dis-assembled the unit as much as I felt needed and boiled then cleaned it all up with mineral spirits. Even came with a .358 die and a top punch! :) This unit has the piston with the brass sleeve on it. Noticed that the piston has 2 pins located 180 degrees apart that secure the brass sleeve and one of the pins is a bit rounded. The sleeve stays put (can't move up due to the piston design) but wondered if the proper repair would be to centerpunch the pin just to make sure the brass sleeve stays in place or just order up a late model piston and O-rings? Also the screw that raises/lowers the piston is threaded almost to the bottom and wondered about installing a sleeve/bushing to prevent the piston from bottoming out? The die, once removed and cleaned has the groove for an o-ring but no o-ring. Did the 45 not use an o-ring on the die? Many thanks in advance for any answers to these questions. Audie...the Oldfart..
I strongly suggest to NOT modify the pressure nut's pins and it's brass sleeve before you give it a try. Yes the brass sleeve kinda floats on the pressure nut. it's suppose to be like that, I think if you stake it on, you may cause an issue.
Many people have upgraded to the new style pressure nut with Orings and like them, I actually like the old style "brass ring sleeve" type better. Besides that fact that the o-rings need occasional replacement, the small ribbon of lube that leaks out of the old style is a good indicator (if it grows large) of too much pressure or too much heat.
Yes, this is how all the older style are. Lyman offers a sleeve, but it sure would be easy to make. If you make one, be sure it can't obstruct the Lube port in the bottom of the reservoir. Another thing I have thought about, is making a slot in the top of the pressure nut, so it could be kept from spinning by using a slotted screwdriver, in one of those rare instances that you have that problem. While I suggest that mod, I have never done it, it seems to always slip my mind when I have one apart :cry:
The old style dies have only one groove, it's for the 45's setscrew. Are you confusing that with an Oring groove? If not, then I suspect your Die is a new style with both a groove for the 45's setscrew and a second groove for an Oring. If so, I'd find an Oring. I believe the new style die is a thou or two smaller and needs the Oring to seal properly.
JonB thanks for the reply. I'll take your advice and stay with the original piston and make the modification you mentioned. (the slot in the top) It worked for 50+ years so why change it. I was thinking for a bushing to prevent the piston from going too far down and getting stuck just getting a proper inside diameter bushing from the hardware, either nylon/plastic/brass or steel, and cutting it about 3/8 to 1/2 inch long and slide it down the screw before installing the piston. Even a short section of pvc would work wouldn't it? Just something for the piston to bottom out on before it hits the end of the threads and jams up. And the die has only 1 groove so it is the proper one and doesn't use the o-ring. Should have known that when I saw the marks from the set screw. Duh. (set screw would gammahooch any o-ring) Again, many thanks! Audie...the Oldfart..
Well I took the plunge and purchased a 45. JonB had one available, cleaned and checked out, so the decision was easy. It arrived the other day and I set it up with a 311" die he included. I like to make my own lube and Jon suggested a couple. I'm setting this one up for very mild 32-20 smokless loads for a couple antique rifles. My 450 is set up with black powder lube, so I wanted this one for my low speed 32 smokess bullets. Using tried and true ingredients I mixed up a batch of my Bluebonnet lube:
5oz beeswax
3oz soy wax
2oz synthetic 2cycle oil
1/2tsp lanolin
1 blue crayon
This lube is soft enough to go through the 45 without a heater. It is firm and a little tacky so it sticks well in the grooves. Just right for my purpose.
Thanks JonB!
Depending on "brand" of synth 2 cycle oil and it's individual "slickness", you may see lube purging flyers with that percentage of 2 cycle oil. If you do, just add a little more beeswax.
FYI: lube purging flyers are where you are getting pretty good groups, but one out of every 3 or 4 or 5 shots is a couple inches out of the group. My first attempt at this recipe was 2/3 wax to 1/3 oil (PAO based Amsoil), that's when I learned of lube purging flyers. I had to back it off to the 11:2 ratio, as in the published recipe on the link I gave you, to eliminate the lube purging flyers. I'm guessing that PAO is slicker than others, so if you are using something else, it's less likely to happen at your percentage.
Now, another thing to add (that I've learned in the last year or so), if adding beeswax makes the lube too stiff for your taste, adding a oil that doesn't have any "slickness modifier" will soften the lube without adding the slickness...Like food grade mineral oil (a laxative available at the drug store). OK, besides being able to flow through a lubesizer, the other advantage of a soft lube, is it's ability to be "flung" off the boolit as it exits the muzzle...a desired effect for accuracy.
Jon - I used Craftsman full synthetic 2 cycle oil fram Advance Auto Parts. I'll watch for the lube purging flyers. If I see it happen, i'll reduce the oil a bit. Thanks for the tip.
Attachment 147286Just refreshed my Lyman 45 on Friday/Saturday. Got it loaded up with some Carnuba Red for my MP 359-640 I've been slinging lead through.
I let my boy pick the paint color, I reblued the guide rods and the tube with Dicrophan from Brownell's. It takes the bluing much easier/better if you heat the metal to be blued. I used a heat gun, same heat gun I heat the. 45 with when using harder lubes.
I replaced the pressure screw, the pressure nut, new reservoir cap, replaced the old stripped out screws with machine bolts with nuts.
I expcet it to be a long time before doing all that work to it again.
As I walked through my shop today, it dawned on me that my old shop press had a family resemblance to my new Lyman 45. Coincidence - maybe. Distant relatives - probably not. Then again, with a little modification it could be used to size artillery projectiles! :bigsmyl2:
Attachment 148235Recent refresh. Reblued the reservoir and guide rods while the paint and clear coat were drying. It is super tight and will be used for the softer lube (2500+) so I can leave the other 45 setup with Carnuba Red. The brass pressure nut will be left in this one unless I get too much blow by when it's hot outside.
As a side note, the original Chapman wrench was included, it is much stronger than the Chinese copy lyman sells currently, I'll probably order it a 1/4" gearwrench though and save the Chapman
Chapman still sells their version and for reasonable too ! Iirc they even have a reversible one and some other cool tools ( I loves me compact double sided reversible Phillips screwdriver - looks just like the Chapman we use on our 45's ,that lil dude has saved me bacon more than a few times ! )
edit to add links
home page
http://chapmanmfg.com/
wrench ( for the unheard of price of $5.75 ermm well + S&H )
http://chapmanmfg.com/products/famou...-ratchet-cm-13
"Our customers have told us this "is the ratchet used to feed lube through a Lyman lube and sizer" "
best yet
"Chapman tools are made in Durham, CT from USA materials. We support American made machinery tool and die makers, fabricators, metal finishers, machine part manufacturers and other local service providers. Your support of Chapman MFG in turn supports all the American workers supporting us that we rely on!
American Made Materials
Chapman insert bits are milled from USA tool steel. The ball bearing and spring in every bit are also made in the USA, and the bits are heat treated and finished with black oxide in Connecticut.
Our famous midget ratchet is punched from USA stainless steel and all the internals are also made in USA."
All three of our cases are made in the USA, and one of them is made about an hour away from our shop in CT."
sadly they no longer show my fav screwdriver , i may have to baby it and never ever lend it to some one again :(
Jon
Rebuilding a Lyman 45 for a friend. This post is of great help.
I've read this thread a few times, many thanks Jon, for your efforts on this!
I found a 45 in a gunshop a few weeks back for $15, as is. Stopped back and it was still there on Saturday, so I grabbed it. They said if I used a card they would have to charge me tax. No problem :)
All complete and no cracks.
Got the pressure nut out over the weekend, and check the alignment of the rods, all good to go. Spring is even tight. Other than a generous layer of lube and dirt, she seems perfect.
Pat
An easy way to get a solid grip on the Tube for disassemble is to wind a bit electrician Tape around it then fasten a Hose clamp over it and now the Hose clamp provides a surface which you can mar with your Channel Pliers and wont damage and/or mar the Tube. Love your Paint Job !
Well, their is one on G.B., item/576689250, it is, 'old/new'.