Maybe Lyman is listening........

[Longone]

I had a 311291 2C mold that was out of round by .003" sent it back to Lyman with some sample Boolits and a note. About a month later I received a package with a new 311291 mold from Lyman. I was able to cast some this afternoon and I must say that I am satisfied so far. Boolit measures .3105- .310", mold drops boolits without beating the heck out of it and once up to heat cast well all session.
I hope this wasn't a fluke because I'd like to buy a 311299. Can't wait to shoot them and see how they fly.

Longone

[MtGun44]

Hope that they are getting a handle on quality. Modern technology makes extremely high
quality very doable. Their competitors are producing extremely good molds, it would
be a shame for the company to fail to compete in the market and eventually fail
due to poor quality.

I have many Lyman molds and wish them well, but in the marketplace only performance
on price, desired designs and quality will make a difference.

Bill

[stubshaft]

Must've been a fluke. Heck I have some Lee moulds that drop great boolits right out of the box.

[Longone]

Must've been a fluke. Heck I have some Lee moulds that drop great boolits right out of the box.

Maybe, but at least they made one good one......so far!

Longone

[Jack Stanley]

You mean they recently made a good one ??? Are you sure the "new" mold they sent was old stock from the fifties or sixties ? or maybe they bought it off ebay and cleaned it up .



Jack

[Longone]

Mighta, coulda dun that but now they stamp a date on the molds so they can tell when they screwed up.

Longone

[NHlever]

I have to say that I have bought a few Lyman molds in the last three years, and all of them have been good out of the box. They have varied from the 225415 .22 caliber 55 gr. flat nose to the 452424 .45 caliber 255 gr. semi wadcutter.

[geargnasher]

I just won't roll the dice on a Lyman mould when for the same dollar per cavity, I can have a custom-made mould in brass, steel, or aluminum made to my design and my diameter specifications with my alloy, and have it drop perfect boolits with NO tinkering or modifications.

Gear

[GLL]

You can buy a 2-cavity NOE custom mould for about $9.00 more than a 2-cavity LYMAN from Midway ! If there is a problem with anything from NOE Al takes care of it immediately ! The very same great customer service is provided by all of the custom mould makers here on this Forum such as BRP, Accurate Molds, MP, etc. !

Jerry

[Ben]

Considering all the custom mold makers that are out here right now and seeing their reputation vs. " The Lyman reputation ".....I just can't see buying a new Lyman mold today with the " track record " that they have justly earned.

Ben

[Longone]

I'm sure that with a bit of looking and testing I could find another boolit that will shoot as well as the 311291 shoots from my Springfield. To be honest I don't have the experience to go ahead and waste some mold makers time while I try and figure out what I need.
I'm getting back into casting after a pretty long hiatus and have enjoyed this forum immensely. I am trying to gain some knowledge from this forum and get some experience under my belt before I branch out to custom molds.
I take all the comments as constructive and understand that some of you have a serious axe to grind with some manufacturers, I am a burned out Hi-Power shooter looking to have some shooting fun and gain some lead experience and knowledge along the way. I am a Distinguished Hi-master with the Service rifle, P-100, Hi-master in both mid range and long range prone, so I also know about disappointment with some equipment manufactures. Been down the road with exploding bullets and poorly made equipment with large price tags.
My posting was merely to give an atta boy to Lyman for what I consider a positive dealing with them. Hope I didn't offend anyone with any of my posts, just trying to be a little positive.

Thanks, Longone

[oldhickory]

Last one I bought seems okay, (Nov-2010) a 311299 that drops boolits at...3112". And they're even round.

[bowfin]

My guess is that Lyman needs to invest in some new CNC equipment, and many of these quality problems will go away. I have been in front of worn out machinery and in front of new, top rate machinery, and that makes a world of difference in quality. I have been able to hold half a thousandth on a good CNC all night long while doing a crossword, and other times came home exhausted and drenched with sweat fighting to hold .005" on some fugitive from the junkyard mill.

We have a company here that pays excellent wages for machinists, but they have a huge turnover because they expect close tolerances and high output on worn out machinery. The conscientious guys burn out and move on, the village idiots don't care and get a nightly @ss chewing for not being able to accomplish the impossible. The company motto:

"Never use second best when junk will do."

[DistRifle]

Lonegone,
I'm at the same stage. HP got to be like a job. Once I got Distinquished, HM at MR/LR and P-100, I was burned out.

I just picked up casting two years ago and I'm really enjoying it. And, this is a great place for info.

I've had mixed results with Lyman. I bought two 4 cavity molds that were fine (356402 and 358477) - both current manufacture. But, a 429640 (11/09) mold was .004 out of round (.430 - .427). Sent it back to Lyman and they recut it to .431 - .428. Still .004 out of round and undersized.

[Jack Stanley]

Longone , I don't think you offended anybody here . There is a lot of thick skin here , along with a willingness to help another to do what they want done and be ........ shall we say "frugal" about it . Some of the makers have earned the distrust of members here just as others have earned it . Some members won't buy from a maker again unless the mold is sent "on approval" that is a hard customer to win back .

As a high power shooter and working man you know just what it's like to spend hard earned cash on something that doesn't live up to the billing . To relax with lead and a rifle after the compitition you've done , I can envision you and an as issued 1903A3 and heavy cast lead worrying the "F" class riflemen . Or there's always offhand paractice at thirty yards on a fifty foot pistol target using reduced loads . Lotsa ways to skin this alley cat and if lyman is able to help more the better 'cause I happen to like iron molds .

Jack

[MtGun44]

Hey,

I'm not frugal, I'm CHEAP!

Well, most of the time, anyway. After enough hard lessons I
have found that too cheap can sometimes be a mistake. But
the instincts die hard.

Bill

[Mal Paso]

You guys want it easy. You don't begin to own a mold 'till you've spent a day lapping it out. I love my $600 Lyman Mold!.................walked 20 miles to school and back........10 feet of snow........uphill both ways...............

[Jack Stanley]

MTGun44 , It sounds like you learned that lesson the hard way more than once . But , I don't think either of us can match the six hundred dollar mold that Mal Paso bought or his having to walk uphill both ways ....... in the snow to get it

This gets better an' better .......... oughta start a thread about cheap an' see what happens huh?

Jack

[MtGun44]

Sure like cheap, and for a lot of stuff it is OK. But sometimes the
best is a smarter way to go. I have gotten started on Stihl chainsaw and then
weedwhacker and they are just fantastic tools. OTOH, there are some tools
that I will never use very often, so the relatively crummy Harbor Freight stuff
will be good enough, while a pro that would use it every day would wear it out
or break it in a week or two. Gotta consider 'duty cycle' in the mix somewhere.

Bill

[Jack Stanley]

You're right about duty cycle Bill , I think my Stihl will outlast me from what I've seen of other saws . Ryobi weed whacker should last for as little as I use it . Dad taught me to buy the best I could possibly afford but he does come from a time when a good tool was bought for the life of the owner. The older I get , the more I realize just how smart he is .

Jack