Ad - LYMAN Casting Equipment

[minnesotatv]

Ad on Craigslist (not mine)

LYMAN Casting Equipment I am sell off my casting equipment as a PACKAGE for $200.00 which includes.

Lyman 450 sizer/lubricator tools and manual

Lyman sizer dies .356 and .358 dia with top punch for 38/357
Lyman sizer die .430 dia with top punch for 44 mag
Lyman sizer die .452 dia with top punch for 45

Lyman 2 cavity molds .... more here:

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/s ... 96355.html

[Seismic Sam]

So the point of this post is ????

Assuming you are asking if it's a good deal, the answer is how's your supply of bullet lead? (Not plain lead, but lead/antimony/tin alloy with a BHN of 15 or so.) If you got no raw materials, you're going to have to buy them and already to go bullet lead will wipe out a lot of potential savings. If you have 400 lbs. of bullet lead in your basement like I do from years ago, AND the time to cast bullets and size them, then it's a good deal.

From a labor standpoint, the Lyman 450 sizer is a LOT more work that the Lee molds that allow you to cast bullets and then tumble lube them hundreds at a time.

[SIGP240]

The only detractor to casting is the time to perform the "handling". Just happens to remind me of the old mantra of saving money by heating your house with wood. - the saw, the time, the busted car window, the bugs, $ a trailer, the flue fire, the ashes and the surgery. Thank Goodness lead is a better price now and wheel weights come by the five gallon bucket. I can put up 200# of fluxed ingots in one setting thanks to coleman stove and a 4 quart casserole pan. btw, 400# of lead is not that many bullets!

[Seismic Sam]

1 pound is 7,000 grains, so for 9mm with 125 grain bullets, 400 pounds of lead gets you a pathetically small quantity of 22,400 9mm bullets. Nope, that ain't very many bullets at all.... I apologize for not knowing that you're really Rob Leatham in real life...

[RobD]

So the point of this post is ????

Looks like he's just letting people know about the deal.... relax.

[DanM]

So the point of this post is ????

Assuming you are asking if it's a good deal, the answer is how's your supply of bullet lead? (Not plain lead, but lead/antimony/tin alloy with a BHN of 15 or so.) If you got no raw materials, you're going to have to buy them and already to go bullet lead will wipe out a lot of potential savings. If you have 400 lbs. of bullet lead in your basement like I do from years ago, AND the time to cast bullets and size them, then it's a good deal.

From a labor standpoint, the Lyman 450 sizer is a LOT more work that the Lee molds that allow you to cast bullets and then tumble lube them hundreds at a time.

Casting can save you money. So can reloading. But there's more to the story. For either of these activities to be fun, there has to be some satisfaction gained in the doing of them. In other words, it's ideal if these are hobbies in and of themselves. Hobbies within a hobby. Otherwise there is the drudgery factor - "got to reload some more shells so I can shoot this weekend". Utterly do-able, but not necessarily fulfilling.

I enjoy casting for it's own sake. A new skill set, tools, and expertise to master. And I get bullets out of it to load with. I enjoy reloading for it's benefits, too. A skill set, tools, and expertise to attain. And I get ammunition out of it to shoot with. And I enjoy shooting, too.

Some are shooters. Some shoot and reload. Some shoot, reload, and cast. It's all good, but all of it is not necessarily for everyone.

Then there are the muzzleloaders... (putting on the flame-proof suit now)

[Seismic Sam]

Casting can save you money. So can reloading. But there's more to the story. For either of these activities to be fun, there has to be some satisfaction gained in the doing of them. In other words, it's ideal if these are hobbies in and of themselves. Hobbies within a hobby. Otherwise there is the drudgery factor - "got to reload some more shells so I can shoot this weekend". Utterly do-able, but not necessarily fulfilling.

I enjoy casting for it's own sake. A new skill set, tools, and expertise to master. And I get bullets out of it to load with. I enjoy reloading for it's benefits, too. A skill set, tools, and expertise to attain. And I get ammunition out of it to shoot with. And I enjoy shooting, too.

Some are shooters. Some shoot and reload. Some shoot, reload, and cast. It's all good, but all of it is not necessarily for everyone.

Then there are the muzzleloaders... (putting on the flame-proof suit now)

EXCELLENT post!! Yes, if there is a drudgery factor in some part of your casting, sizing, and lubing process, then it can get to be a pain and wipe out the fun factor. It did get to be that for me, and I think there are a couple of contributing factors that can be avoided today if you buy the right stuff.
1. Iron mold blocks that take quite a few bulets to heat up and make good ones. Wasted start-up effort. The cure is to go with cheaper and lighter Lee aluminum molds that can throw a perfect bullet like in 3 pours.
2. Using single or double molds. Makes your production rate painfully slow.
3. Whacking the sprue plate with a stick to cut off the sprue. Noisy, and you can never seem to do it with just one whack.
4. Sizing and lubing the bullets. The Lyman 450 is slower than resizing brass in a Lyman turret press, and you have to keep cranking the lube handle down to get lube to fill the grooves. these days, Lee makes micro-groove bullets which are not supposed to require sizing, and can be tumble lubed in bulk. HUGE timesaver!!!
5. The Lee six cavity molds have some sort of leveraged cam on them, so when you pull open the mold handles the cam levers the sprue plate aside without having to whack it with a GDMFSOB stick!! Couple that with Lee micro-groove bullets, and I think you can avoid about 75% of the work I endured to painfully build up a supply of cast bullets.

And to be tedious and repetitive, do NOT smelt and cast lead indoors or even in your garage with the door open!! You need to be outside, or build some sort of fume hood with a good strong fan to keep the lead gases from filling up your house and very slowly poisioning everybody in the house. If you have kids, this is even 10 times more important!! For broken down old geezers like me or HammAR, there isn't a whole lot left to damage any more than it already has been, but I do all my smelting outside anyway.

[onesonek]

1. Iron mold blocks that take quite a few bulets to heat up and make good ones. Wasted start-up effort. The cure is to go with cheaper and lighter Lee aluminum molds that can throw a perfect bullet like in 3 pours.

This true with brass molds as well, however,,,,,,, My second session, I decide to stick my brass mold in the toaster oven at 450 while the alloy was melting. After the first pour, I was getting good fillout.
I have to agree, Casting is as much about the experience as it is saving money.