Lyman 4 cavity "knuckle buster" mould amelioration?

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  • Last Post 27 May 2016
stubbicatt posted this 26 May 2016

Guys, I have a Lyman 4 cavity mould I bought I think in the 80s, maybe the early 90's. This mould has a sprue plate swivel near the operator's knuckles, which when opened, gives the knuckles a goodly whack. Over time the whacks add up, and now I look at that mould and growl every time I seek to use it, knowing that it is going to be a painful day. Anybody have a tried and true way of ameliorating the knuckle whack? Thanks.Regards,Stubb.

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rmrix posted this 26 May 2016

I wear heavy gloves while casting and I think that has prevented me from knowing about this issue when I cast with the Lyman 4 cavity. Would heaver gloves help?

Twist the sprue plate open with the gloved hand and save both knuckles and mould accuracy.

Just one idea....

++++++++++++++++++

Your first post and I forgot to say, WELCOME !

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RicinYakima posted this 26 May 2016

You have the mould assembled incorrectly: the hinge goes in front with the handle closest to you. Like Michael, I use heavy gloves and push the cutter open. FWIW, Ric

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stubbicatt posted this 26 May 2016

RicinYakima wrote: You have the mould assembled incorrectly: the hinge goes in front with the handle closest to you. Like Michael, I use heavy gloves and push the cutter open. FWIW, Ric I'll look at that again, but it seems that the handles aren't like scissors, but rather a nutcracker. The hinge for the handles is located away from the operator, on the other side of the mould blocks. Were I to turn the mould blocks around, in the handles, I seriously doubt whether I could whack the sprue plate to open it, as it would be partially obstructed by the hand holding the handles. I'll look into it though. Thanks.

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Brodie posted this 26 May 2016

I have a Lyman 4 cav. like the one you describe.  I locate the sprue cutter closest to my hands.  I cut the sprues by grabbing the sprue cutter in my right hand and pulling and or pushing it open.  My mold is for 45 acp 200gr.  and I don't need a real hard alloy as the bullets fit my gun quite well.  If you feel that you must use something like “hardball” alloy ; rotate your left hand (if you are right handed) under the handles and while holding them closed turn the mold on its side with the top facing to your right.  You can now whack away on the sprue plate to cut.  If the plate swings 360 degrees:  1. It is too loose.  Tighten it up.  2.  Don't hit it so hard.  You only need enough force to cut the sprue's. Brodie

B.E.Brickey

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358156hp posted this 26 May 2016

You can install the blocks with the sprue pivot either forward or backward, whichever you prefer. I mount mine with the pivot rearward and cast hot and fast enough that I can break the sprues with a gloved hand.

Amelia who?

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delmarskid1 posted this 27 May 2016

If the sprue cutter is too tough to open by hand when cutting a handle for the projection can bemade from a bit of flattened conduit or other stiff metal tubing. I figured this one out after breaking those damnable Lee six cavity openers.

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