Lyman Block Repair

[Rick]

Looks much like this SAECO #382 with the chip on the nose. Don't know how that happened but I've always assumed it was a flaw in the bar stock the mold was cut from and that piece eventually flaked off. It's never gotten any worse and oddly it doesn't show up on the nose of the bullet so I just haven't worried much about it. I've also got another SAECO with a similar "chip" on the lower drive band that actually a little worse than this one but I couldn't find a picture of that one. It also doesn't show up on the bullet.

 

[Pistolero]

A tiny dab of braze alloy will stick, bu tthe recutting would be a PITA because it will flow
out farther than you want.

I agree with those who suggest peening it out and touching up with a file. Go on the closing face and
with a prick punch, not center punch, just about 1/16th or so away, put down a row of two or three
pricks, see if that will move enough metal to let you file it back. Dents in the closing face hurt
nothing if you will dress them down to make sure they are not humps. Angle the prick punch towards
the direction you want to move the metal, too.

Not so different than stretching a hand on a revolver to reset the timing.

Bill

 

[Bret4207]

Maybe my eyes are off, but thats a lot of chip to fill using the prick punch method and still come away with flat surfaces. Maybe it would work. Only one way to know.

 

[CZ93X62]

I have a one-cylinder #454424 Ideal much like this one, minus the chip. It is far too useful to part with. Were it mine, I would cast with it as-is and use the .454 H&I die in the 4500 to dress off any base protrusion on the bullet--probably via a nose-first pass prior to actual sizing & lubing. Of course, I'm not above sizing bore rider noses, either.

 

[Brad]

 

[Brad]

Looks like the block hit something hard and it caused metal to push into the cavity a bit. There may well be metal missing as the “chip” does have the appearance of broken metal.

Need to think on this one.

 

[freebullet]

With no guarantee, I will touch a smidge of weld on it for you. You can mill it back to shape. I dunno

 

[Brad]

First thing I see a need for is some magnification.

 

[Bass Ackward]

First thing I see a need for is some magnification.

Huh, I'da said a beer. The beer kept the smoke comin out my ears from getting to thick. Think of it as cranial temp control.

Don't mess it up now.

 

[Brad]

Did you ever try casting with it in the current condition? That will likely be my first real step.

 

[Bass Ackward]

Did you ever try casting with it in the current condition? That will likely be my first real step.

No. Haven't cast with that mold since the early 70s. Quit when I got into 44 Mag.

 

[fiver]

if you look down deeper at brad's pics you can see more stuff down there on the lube groove.
I have a feeling that one was from cutting the mold with no lube for a bit.

 

[Ian]

Right about where that speck of sand sits is where I'd try sinking the point of a sharp punch to move the whole top corner of the block out. First peen the burr back into place, then clamp the blocks tightly in a vise with a snug pin gauge shoved in the base band of the cavity, warm the blocks up a little with a propane torch, and massage that metal into the void.

 

[freebullet]

That's a solid plan there Ian gave ya. Tried my hand at paintless dent repair quite a bit last summer on one truck, working the metal back, it's shocking what can be done.

 

[Brad]

Did a little work today. Used a .454 gauge pin to keep the metal from moving into the cavity.
A few light taps with a sharp punch did the job. I cleaned the inside of the mould with a brass rod and a little 400 grit paper and short, light strokes. I also ran an India stone across the top of the blockers to make sure there was no burr sticking up that would interfere with plate movement.
Once they cool I will get a few photos of the few bullets I cast for a test run. They drop from the mould quite nicely.

 

[Brad]

These are closeups of the fixed area. The small defect in the bullet is far smaller than the little dents the bullets pick up from falling on each other.

 

[Ian]

Not bad, looks like there was plenty of metal to work with.

 

[Rick]

Very interesting. I think I would call that a saved mold.

 

[Brad]

Mould closes very nicely. The split line is very minimal on the bullets.
Since this is a 454 mould and not the newer 452 it should clean up very well with sizing.

 

[Ben]

Brad,

Nice work !
You saved that one.

Ben