• Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.

    We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.

    Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103

mold handles

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Jan 30, 2021
Messages
1,045
Reaction score
1,118
Are wooden handles for bullet molds interchangeable between manufacturers? If so, then which ones?

I have a set of Lyman mold blocks, and I was wondering whether Lee handles would work?
 
I am not sure which exact handles, I have a small single cavity mold block...

You should be able to go to Lyman's website and find out which handles you need. I found mine on ebay - not too expensive that way.
 
this is the mold I have, I believe it is Lyman:
Smith mold 1.jpg

Smith mold 2.jpg

Smith mold 3.jpg

and this is the push-through sizing die which came with the mold, although I'm not quite sure what else I need to actually use it:
Smith push-through sizer.jpg
 
I guess the first thing I need to do is confirm this is actually a Lyman mold...

anyone care to chime in and confirm?
 
I have a set of Lyman mold blocks, and I was wondering whether Lee handles would work?
Yeah, you can take a Lee handle set off a beat too crap mold,, drill the holes larger and make it work,, but the Lee's metal width is much narrower than the mold groove of other makers. So instead of lending balance and support to the mold halves as they close, it's just a scissors.
Positive contact of the mold halves during a casting "cadence" usually has a little wobble, it' makes it tough to get, lending those kinds of results.
Instead of mating, it's a dance.
Go ahead and try it, practice will give better results with that configuration,, but keep looking for a good set of handles to use in the future.
(been there, done that)
 
Last edited:
Not a Lyman mold. What type bullet is it supposed to cast? The push thru sizer reminds me of one that fit a a small press Rapine sold to size minie bullets. The press had a socket and the die was held in by a thumbscrew.
 
I got a big Tanner mold. I bought Lee handles for it. They did not fit. But I have some tools so now they do fit.
 
I got a big Tanner mold. I bought Lee handles for it. They did not fit. But I have some tools so now they do fit.
reminds me of an old Americanism, where there is a will there is a way.
i have a lyman 6 gang mold for my .32 . i had to build two long rails to fit the cutouts on the mold and then bolted the rails to the lyman double handles. if i hold my mouth just right and do some praying first i can cast fine with it.
 
Not a Lyman mold. What type bullet is it supposed to cast? The push thru sizer reminds me of one that fit a a small press Rapine sold to size minie bullets. The press had a socket and the die was held in by a thumbscrew.
this mold is for my original Smith carbine; the mold came with the carbine, and I am supposed to mold .50 caliber bullets using this mold and then somehow push them through this included sizing die...
 
I hope that the inside of the mould isn’t as grotty and corroded as the rest. It looks as though the two halves don’t meet well, so you will get a lot of flashing.
 
Back
Top