Improved Sprue Plates... Any Interest?

[JIMinPHX]

sorry...we ran in to a medical issue.

Is everything OK now?

[JIMinPHX]

Do you do paypal?

Sorry,
but no, I don't.

[JIMinPHX]

For the locking screw, I would guess that using that could be hard on the mold blocks.

If only you could install a steel sleeve and thread that. Protect the block and all.

Of course, I own no 6 cavity molds, so it may already have something like that. I don't know.

A steel sleeve would be a good idea in my opinion too. It would be fairly easy to do if they hadn't put the locating pin right there, but they did.

If someone did bust out the area where the pivot screw goes, I could probably make a repair & bolt in a block of steel in the current open slot area, then use a longer screw to reach it. It seems like a lot of work to go through for a preventative measure though.

I've had my sprue plate off & on about 5 or 6 times now. Each time I turn that screw, it feels a little worse. I don't know what alloy of aluminum those molds are made out of, but it's on the soft side. The more I look at it, the more that I think it is a bad idea to use a quick change bolt, or even to mess with the pivot bolt at all unless you need to.

[crabo]

I think you are right about the quick change bolt. I bought a MiHec aluminum 68 and tried to take the sprue plate off the first time I used it. The bolt twisted off. I couldn't get it out. MiHec did not offer to do anything about it. He just asked me if I needed another bolt. There was also another person that had the same problem.

I now need to drill it out and was thinking about an EZ Lock type of steel insert. Kinda pisses me off to have a good mold and I can't use it until I spend time and money on it. I have at least 5 of his molds.

[JIMinPHX]

In my opinion, the thread inserts are far superior to heli-coils when it comes to making repairs. The best ones that I have seen have stakes that you drive in with a hammer to keep the insert from backing out. The ones with the lock-tight patches don't hold up in high temperature environments.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#threaded-inserts/=85jcex

[crabo]

Good point about the heat. I didn't think about that. I like the ones with the stakes.

[HORNET]

What's wrong with putting a steel stud in the blocks and using a nut? Make a sleeve out of seamless steel tubing to get the correct tension with the nut down tight (taller than sprue plate thickness). Mix it up with flat & spring washers to change tension. That would avoid wear on the blocks, including the threads for the pivot screw.

[Doby45]

You could even use a wing nut or your knurled little knob there. But have the "post" stationary.

[JIMinPHX]

A stud that goes all the way into the bottom half of the block...I like it.

[Doby45]

The only kicker with that would be that you were trying to make these as a "simple replacement" to the factory sprue plate. Once you go to drilling and stamping a post in the mold it is no longer "simple replacement"

[JIMinPHX]

True. I think that changing once from the original sprue plate to a new one is probably OK once. Repeated removal of the pivot screw looks like trouble though.

I don't see any real reason to go back to the original sprue plate once you get this one on there.

[BoolitSchuuter]

steel!!!!!!

[crabo]

Any progress?

[JIMinPHX]

Yes, there has been progress. I have roughed out 6 or 8 of them. I've finished 3 or 4. I shipped 2 to BCall.

As soon as BCall's shoulder heals up a little better, He says that he's going to post a review.

My day job got busy again, so It's going to be about a week before I have time to get back to this again.

[crabo]

My day job got busy again, so It's going to be about a week before I have time to get back to this again.

I understand that problem....

[JIMinPHX]

I understand that problem....

As problems go...it's a good one to have.

[happy7]

Jim,

What I would like to see is a nice, thick, FLAT sprue plate for the four cavity lyman molds. RRR does not do the four cavities, or I would just buy his.

[JIMinPHX]

I'll have to find a 4 cavity Lyman mold to see if I can measure up the sprue plate. When I get that done, I'll post here to say if I can do it or not. I should be able to. It will be next week before I can get started looking into that. My day job has me tied up right now.

Regards,
Jim

[Catshooter]

Nice work Jim.

From what I can tell, it looks to me that when Lee installs their sprue cutter pivot bolt, they use the bolt itself to tap the hole.

The aluminum is soft, but every single time I have removed one of those bolts they bring small thin rings/coils of aluminum with them. Then when they are re-installed the bolt just never seems to want to stay tight again.

My solution was to drill & tap a 10 x 32 hole and use a short set screw like the Lyman design.

I haven't tried it but I don't think that a Loctite type product would work to keep the bolt tight due to the heat as Jim points out.

However, one could try a thick coating of Lee's Liquid boolit lube. That might stay and harden.


Cat

[Bloodman14]

What I would like to see is a small dam around the sprue holes so that I don't get 'runoff' of alloy into my quench bucket. As far as using steel v. aluminum, go steel. I Lee-mended my 6-banger to use a setscrew to keep the pivot bolt in place, because of the problem that Catshooter describes.