Lyman MAG 25 melting pot - got one and tried it out

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
Picked up one of Al's mould guides and finally tried it out on my RCBS pot. As stated, it is a bit too long for the RCBS but usable. What I don't care for is the location of the set screws. They get plugged with excess lead that runs off the mold, making for any further adjustments rather difficult. They should have been located on the underneath sides. I didn't use it for his hollow point moulds, as yet.
 

Full.lead.taco

Active Member
The first one I drew up had the screws on the underside. They were really hard to tighten when you can't see them & even harder when using it on the lyman pot. It made it really frustrating to use when you are adjusting the horizontal position. Quick question, when you cast, do you lift the handle for the spout for each cavity or do you lift it and run the mould underneath to fill all cavities before releasing the handle?

Picked up one of Al's mould guides and finally tried it out on my RCBS pot. As stated, it is a bit too long for the RCBS but usable. What I don't care for is the location of the set screws. They get plugged with excess lead that runs off the mold, making for any further adjustments rather difficult. They should have been located on the underneath sides. I didn't use it for his hollow point moulds, as yet.
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
I bottom pour like a well known ladle caster on this site.......pouring heat. The set screws need to be turned 90 degrees, two on either side of the rod, facing the front and back of pot. Option to use all four or just the front two, depending on what side of the guide you choose to have the raised lip. No chance of getting stray lead accumulation.

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I also have the Lyman Mag 25 and all I did was turn their guide upside down, after removing the large rivet type fastener. If I decide to use the NOE guide on it.....the location of the set screws wouldn't be hard to get at, especial with a long handle Allen wrench.
 

Full.lead.taco

Active Member
I bottom pour like a well known ladle caster on this site.......pouring heat.

This doesn't give me much detail as to how you are casting. I understand that melted lead is hot. When you pour melted lead you are pouring heat. But you fail to mention a certain style of casting other than "someone who is well known" on this site casts with a ladle--and you cast like him but with a bottom pour pot. When I asked how you cast, I wasn't trying to attack your methods or anything like that, just trying to get a picture as to why you are having the results you are.

I like details because it helps me to understand how people are using the mold guide--how they are getting different results than I am getting. I've used the guide and have cast many lbs of bullets but have not had the issue you are talking about. I am currently working on modifications to use it on a lee pot and have been testing the newer guide and adapter.
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
If you want complete fill-out, it is necessary to pour a large sprue.....almost impossible to not have any excess run over the side of the blocks. I have a few moulds from hell..............and if I don't adhere to this method, there are more rejects than good bullets. Mi-ha's 180 grain silhouette is a fine example. Those set screws have no business located where there are.....they are just begging to get plugged.
 

Full.lead.taco

Active Member
I have a few thirsty molds too that demand a large reservoir of sprue on top to get complete fill-out. I angle my mold guide downwards away from me so that the sprue goes forward and stays out of the next cavity I am filling up. I still put a large amount of sprue on top for the thirsty cavities to suck from, but I don't remember ever plugging up one of the screw holes with the overflow of lead. I will look and see what the options are as far as moving the holes somewhere else. The difficulty in designing something to be used by lots of people is that people have different processes, use different equipment, and have access to different tools (allen wrenches of differing lengths) even though they are all doing the same activity (making bullets).
 

35 Whelen

Active Member
Thanks for the design Full.lead.taco....I ordered one and they work great. I dusted mine with a little powdered graphite and the molds just slide along like they were on ice.
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
I want one large continuous sprue, no mater how many cavities. I happened to try this guide out using a Lyman 2 cavity 356402 mould. Lyman 2 cavity blocks are a little smaller/ narrower than the RCBS 2 cavity. Hard to keep all the lead on the top of a tiny block.

There is ample room to put the set screws on the face of the block, the rod goes through. That was the reason for the view of the picture I posted. Wish I had access to a drill press, I could easily drill and tap that area. Might still do it, using a hand drill.
 

Full.lead.taco

Active Member
Thanks for the design Full.lead.taco....I ordered one and they work great. I dusted mine with a little powdered graphite and the molds just slide along like they were on ice.

You're quite welcome. I use one on both my lyman and RCBS pots. They are especially nice when casting with NOE RG molds.

There is ample room to put the set screws on the face of the block, the rod goes through. That was the reason for the view of the picture I posted. Wish I had access to a drill press, I could easily drill and tap that area. Might still do it, using a hand drill.

I will have to check again, but I believe the problem arises on the Lyman pot. The RCBS pot has great clearance all around it--and I love mine for that reason. The lyman pot, however, gets really crammed below the spout where the guide sits. The spout also sits farther back. If you put a taller mold in there, I don't know if the lyman pot has enough clearance for the average guy's hands with the average length of allen wrenches to still fit between the base of the casting pot stand and the front side of the mold guide (and still be able to turn the allen wrenches). I can check though.
 

Full.lead.taco

Active Member
Here is a short video testing out the Lee adapter with a Gen2 guide. Maybe the gen 2 will have screws in the front side. With the middle milled out, I wonder if lead is going to hit the horizontal bar and splash inside between the guide and the rod for some people on some pots... Or maybe a better solution is to put a radius on the cutout for the rg pins (and just push the lead drips forward), thoughts?
 

Rally Hess

Well-Known Member
Full.Lead.Taco,
Good idea. Why not put two thumb screws on the opposite side of the set screws(bottom). That way the user could tighten one from either side, with a small pair of needle nose pliers if need be.

Here's how I made mould guides for my Lee's. The first pic is the bottom right side, which is held in place with four 10x32 brass screws and nuts. Note also the front has been cut at an angle to fit.
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I use 1 1/2" aluminum angle so any over run wipes off easily. I use it as is for the RG series moulds. The mould sits on the guide and the pin retainer ends sit against the edge of the angle to keep from touching the pin heads. It centers the spout directly above the mould fill holes. I start by centering the fill hole closest to the handle hinge pivot, and I pull the mould away from the pot, with one continuous poor. A little timing puts the lead stream directly into each cavity as the prior one fills. This way if I have any run off it goes off the end of the mould and not solidify on the pin holders.
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When I'm using a standard, flat bottomed mould I add this piece to the left side. The end that goes to the pot body is cut at an angle to fit. The piece of wood keeps the aluminum pieces level. It is just a snug fit when in place by bending the two retainers for the right piece, just enough to give the whole platform a snug fit. I drilled two holes for two screws to hold the piece of wood in place.
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When I use a 6 Cavity Lee mould I have to angle the mould slightly to the right, or it hits the pot body. Other than that it works well.
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
Had time this afternoon to relocate the set screws on NOE's guide. No chance of getting debris in them, now. BTW, I had to tip the pot over to remove the guide.....small pieces of lead were keeping the Allen wrench from grabbing a hold.

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Used a cordless drill and a 4" Cresent wrench for a tap wrench. Not enough clearance for a conventional tap wrench. I used a 10-32 set screw instead of 8-32, that Al used....added bonus is that, now, they are same Allen wrench size as the RCBS rod guide.
 

Full.lead.taco

Active Member

Worked with NOE to make an adapter for the lee bottom pour 4-20 pot and modified the existing guide to move the screws to the front and back. Also made a drip hole.