The right tools for the job. It can be confusing I know. Someone has sold you a set of Large Lyman handles on your favorite internet auction site. You get them and you notice they are no 'larger' than your set of small handles! I think I was jipped . Or you bought a set of what you thought was a pair of handles for your 4 cavity Ideal mold, THEY WON'T FIT!!
Here are some answers.
Picture 1: Lachmiller (Penguin) forrunner of Ohaus and RCBS Mold Handles. Lachmiller made some great molds but they require a special handle or mods to another handle. RCBS mold handles will not work (usually) as they are just a little too thick.
Picture 2:
Lee 6 cav mold handles. Will work on most styles of molds. They work great on Lyman single, doubles, Saeco, NOE, and Mihec molds for instance. Not as well made as KAL or Saeco and you will not get perfect mold alignment especially with heavier molds like brass.
Picture 3:
Old T/C Lyman style. Wider opening and will not work without some mods on anything other than single cavity Lyman (or T/C) molds. Note the tapered wood, and wider/shorter metal prong tips as compared to standard Lyman handles. I love this style handle for single cavity Lyman molds.
Picture 4:
New Style Lyman 2 cavity mold handles.
Picture 5:
Old Style Lyman 4 cavity 'nutcracker' handles. Lyman 4 cavity molds have a thinner handle slot milled into them than their 1 and 2 cavity molds. Incidentally Lachmiller molds will work with these handles.
Picture 6:
Old Lyman 'large' 2 cavity mold handles. These work on 2 cavity Lyman molds and 99% of Lyman 1 cavity molds. Note the prong tips. See how they are cut so that they can accommodate a wider block than the small set of handles? They are the same dimensions as the small size handle. Large is referring to their opening width capability, nothing to do with length .
***Esoteric purely anal retentive mumbo jumbo*** Also note that some handles are squared off (like handles in pic 6) with ss ferules and others are rounded (like the set of smalls in pic 7) and noticeably thinner wood with brass ferules. The squared off handles are not as easy to have a handle twist or slip off because it is a square shank inside the wood not a round one like the older style.***
Picture 7:
Old Lyman 'small' 1 cavity mold handles. Most of these are round style. Some have wider prongs. Nothing like using a small handle for ease of casting with your single cavity Lyman mold!
Picture 8:
RCBS mold handles. RCBS uses a narrower channel in its mold blocks. Lee handles will not work on them.
Picture 9:
Saeco handles old style with the dark wood and 2 holes on each prong. These are meant to be used on 1,2,3,4 cavity Saeco molds. These will work on NOE 2 and 3 cavs and Mihec 2 and 4 cavity molds using the forward hole.
Picture 10:
T/C single cavity mold handles. This is the newer style and they are pretty cheaply made. They work well on single cavity Lyman molds however. Brass colored metal.
MORE TO COME! If you have something to add please do!