Does anyone have a trick for....

I would like to pull the sprue-plate stop-pin from the top of a mold I have that could use a good flattening. I have tried getting hold of it with a collet in my lathe and twisting the mold by hand, even heated the mold a bit while doing so, but no joy. I'm a little scared to bugger it up, but would like to clean up the top surface. Oh yeah, this is a lyman mold.

Help!

Chris
 

Ben

Moderator
Staff member
The ones I can't take out with a set of vice grips, I drill out and replace with a new pin.

Soak the pin with PB Blaster overnight.
On the following day, grab it TIGHT with some Vice Grips , It should twist out.

Ben
 

Ian

Notorious member
I never had any luck trying to get them out. Cutting it off flush and drilling it out might be the best option. You might even decide to thread the hole, turn a shoulder bolt for it with your lathe, and file the sprue plate a little to close against the bolt shank.
 
Thanks guys. I'll give it another good soaking and try again tomorrow with a sharp vice grips. I would've thunk a collet in my lathe would grab as good or better than a vice grips but we'll see. Maybe even a file a couple flats on the pin for the vice grips to get a better grab on. Failing that, I'll drill it out.
Thanks again
Chris
 

358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
Try putting a washer over the pin before you clamp down with the Vise-Grips. I realize you are planning on surfacing the top, but the washer should protect the face so you don't need to do too much surfacing. Like Ben said, the pins usually give up the fight pretty quickly.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
The very best penetrating oils is ATF mixed with acetone or MEK. Works well with mineral
spirits, too, but not quite as good penetration. This beats all commercial products I have
tried.

Bill
 

S Mac

Sept. 10, 2021 Steve left us. You are missed.
I often use a little water before a penetrating oil, it follows the water. On ferrous metals.
 
OK, so me and my impatience only left it soak for a couple hours, got a good hold of it with a vice grips and twisted it off at the mold. No biggie, I just milled the pin flat with an end mill. Then drilled and tapped it for a 4mm cap screw (which I had), turned to the right diameter to allow the plate to close properly. In between, I flattened the mold off. Looking forward to see if my efforts will give me better bullets. In any event, I learned a bit more about mold care, thanks again guys.

Chris
 

Mike W1

Active Member
Some tips I saved from earlier posts on this subject. Haven't tried them yet as I drilled mine out. I did drill and tap that hole with a 10:24 and use a button head set screw. Adjusting it really improves the cast weights on the front cavity of a Lyman DC.

Heat the mould really hot, then hold a piece of dry ice (with tongs!) against the pin for a few seconds, then try pulling the pin out. You might get away with using freezer ice, then again you might not.

There's also an aerosol product called Freeze Off which is a penetrating oil propelled with something like what's used in wart removers, i.e. it gets stupid cold when it depressurizes and evaporates. It's used for shrinking stuck parts, like pins. Freeze the pin, lock it in a vise quickly and crank on the mould block with a padded wrench. Or grind it flat, center punch it, and drill it out.

The pin is 5/32 diameter. It is pressed in. It is dead soft metal. Snug the pin up really tight in a knurled vise, Use a plastic (or other) no-mar hammer to tap the mould blocks away from the pin while supporting the blocks with your hand to keep the pin from bending. Alternately, you can grip the pin with vise-grips, heat the block slightly and twist it out. Once the pin (now destroyed) is out, you can use a roll-pin as a replacement.

Vise grips work well. If you don't crush too tight the pin can be reused. I grip snugly with the vise grips, get a flat screwdriver and pry the tip up against the vise grip jaws while twisting the pin. Use piece of sheet metal on the blocks to protect the top surface and don't pry with the tip pushing into the face of the blocks or you will be cleaning that up after some inventive speech.
 
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I think my problem was that the pin on this particular mold wasn't extending out very far. Compared to my other molds, it was quite a bit shorter. There just wasn't enough sticking out to get a hold of properly.

No worries, I was able to clean it all up nicely as described. I never realized just how soft all these components were, though I guess it shouldn't really surprise too much...who has ever seen a clean, ding and dent free mould?

Chris