Older 429215 issues

[CWME]

Got what I thought was a good deal on a new 4 cav 429215 a few years ago at a local gun store. It was an older one that came in a white box. Looked good and for the price I couldn't pass it up.

Fast forward three years... Found out why the mold was being sold for a good price and why it was still brand new... The low price blinded me to the poor QC of the sprue plate.

Sprue plate would not close completely for a few reasons. Sprue cut was almost to the edge of the boolit it was so bad.
1- I had to surface the sprue plate on a hard surface and some sand paper, it was too thick and rough. Still a little too thick and if I am not careful closing it will separate the blocks.

2- Stop notch had a ridge down the middle contributing to the mold not closing. Ground that out with a dremel.

Vent lines where the cutter must have exited the cavity were completely blocked. Cleaned those up with a razor blade and then a soft eraser.

Slotted screw for the pivot bolt just would not stay tight. I couldn't get it tight enough without fear of stripping the head. Dropped in a small ball of lead and a new hex set screw.

Alignment pins were all way too far out. The first time I heated the mold up I had a very hard time getting it open even with bullplate lube on them. Drifted those pins back in and that fixed that.

Last issue I am not sure about but I think the pivot hole on the sprue cutter is off. When I open the mold the sprue plate covers a small part of the last cavity. Can't fix this one myself.

Long story short, after a little work it started dropping really nice boolits. This one made me really have to work for it. Hopefully this GC boolit is the answer to a very cantankerous Marlin 1894 Cowboy I have just about given up on.

[Buckshot]

............The important part is that you now have a working mould and best of all it's, "dropping really nice boolits". Good job!

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

[Bret4207]

What size are they dropping? I think I've had 3 or 4 now and all are in the .428-9 area.

[CWME]

Thanks Buckshot! Hopefully this will help a new guy getting started with a mold in need of some TLC!

[Catshooter]

CWME,

I have also noticed that on the larger diameter boolits in the four hole Lyman that the sprue plate is either tough to get off the boolit base or impossible.

That's called a design flaw.

Have you ever seen what Lee did to that end of their six hole spruce plate? They chop it off at an angle. I did the same with a Lyman 454424. Trimmed off about a quarter inch in it's length and then cut the corner off. Clears now with room to spare.


Cat

[CWME]

Bret,
Sorry I missed your post. Must have been typing at the same time as you.

Hardball is at .431, WW is right at .430.

[CWME]

Good idea Catshooter!

[Bret4207]

Bret,
Sorry I missed your post. Must have been typing at the same time as you.

Hardball is at .431, WW is right at .430.

Well, I'll keep looking then. .431 would be nice in WW.

[NHlever]

I've opened up my .431 sizing die to .432, and it will just clean up most of the way around the boolits I'm getting from my new (this year) Lyman 429215 mold. I am mixing some alloy that seems to be about 50-50 lead / tin, but obviously has antimony in it too with lead in a 1-15 alloy. My boolits are dropping at very close to the stated weights of my molds. The 429215's are dropping at closer to 220 for example while the Lee 170 .30 caliber is dropping about 169 grains. Sure wish I knew what that material was exactly. It came from the estate of a metalurgist who was a boolit caster in ingot form.

[CWME]

Well, I'll keep looking then. .431 would be nice in WW.

Looks like NOE has a group buy going for a copy of this boolit that might work for your needs.

[Bret4207]

$$$$$

[bhn22]

A Lyman 4 cavity mould rebuild kit is like $10.00 from Midway, and includes a new sprue plate. Many new moulds need a bit of clean up around the cavities, burrs are often found there. It's not right, but it is pretty common.

[CWME]

Got these on target yesterday out of my new to me Ruger Redhawk. I had a bit too much coffee but shooting 6 round clusters at 15 yards offhand was pretty easy.

Sized these .430 with Lyman super moly lube. NO gas check, lubed the GC shank instead. 22gr of IMR 4227.

Swaged some of these in C+H dies to form a HP and those shot just as good.

So it was a little work to get the mold working but it is a good shooter!