Lyman Mold Info Wanted

[bigbore5]

I use both. Smaller bullets I prefer aluminum to cut down on overheating. Larger or hollow points, I want them to be brass to hold heat better.

I typically run two aluminum or brass molds at the same time. Cast iron I will run three.

[marlin35]

Jan 14, 2024 10:40:00 GMT -5 bigbore5 said:

I use both. Smaller bullets I prefer aluminum to cut down on overheating. Larger or hollow points, I want them to be brass to hold heat better.

I typically run two aluminum or brass molds at the same time. Cast iron I will run three.

Thanks for the tip. I’m going to spring for a 4 or 5 gang mold. I only have 2’s right now, and my back gives out before I want to be done. I can usually get 100-150 done at a time.

[ideal]

Jan 13, 2024 14:06:12 GMT -5 marlin35 said:

Anyone know what the JM means at the end of the 452424?

The mould was cut with cherry "J" the 10th cherry of the 452424 series provided by Vendor "M". whomever that may be.

[ideal]

Jan 13, 2024 12:25:03 GMT -5 wendigo said:

Lyman/Ideal is historically well known for playing around with dimensions when it comes to mould cherries, as well as the round vs square grease groove thing. I have a Lyman marked 452424 with square grooves and an Ideal 454424 with round grooves. Conventional wisdom says those should be the other way around, but there they are.

RE: 452 diameter. As-cast diameter will vary by alloy, some shrink more than others. Someone more savvy about alloys can explain that better than me, I'm a mostly wheel weight kinda guy.

All true. Ideal/Lyman was notoriously lax about holding the vendors supplying cherries responsible for accurately following the prints that were supplied for production. I wonder how many of the Lyman familys buddies & "in-laws" owned the machine shops that provided the cherries. 452424 was as bad as 429421 for inconsistencies in design. Granted, there would have been some design changes and updates over the years but some of these inconsistencies went too far. Years ago there was a guy on "boolits" whos avatar showed his collection of 8-10 452424s of different times. Yup, they were all different.