I Broke it!

[Siskiyou]

 
I have been using a Lyman 55 powder measure over 40-years.  The standard powder reservoir is more then adequate when loading pistol powders, but I find I need to refill it to get those last few cases when loading a one hundred 270/30-06/7MM Magnum cases.

The standard powder reservoir is rated at 2500 grains of powder and an optional reservoir is rated at 7000-grains of powder.  It is my assumption the ratings are based on the density of fast burning pistol powders.  There is no-way that you can get 2500-grains of H4831/H4350 or H870 into the standard reservoir.

The standard reservoir in my old Lyman 55 easily screws out of the cast body.  I order and received the new 7000-grain reservoir the other day.  It is not threaded and will not slip into the body.  I called Lyman support and was told to heat the reservoir in a pan of warm, soapy water and it will self-thread into the unit.  After an hour or so of failure, I tried holding the unit in a vise and screwing the reservoir into it.  The unit fell out of the vice striking the cement floor.  The handle on the drum broke off.  The vise stunt was my fault.

I cut a jig in a cardboard box and I have the two parts in it, held with a C-clamp.  I am using JB Weld to stick them together.  Hopefully it works.

I have read a number of complaints about the Lyman 55, but I have gotten a lot of years of good service from it.  I have found that when loading Red Dot, WW231, Bullseye, Unique, 700X, 800X, Alcan 5,7,8, PB, and 2400 all I need to do is set it up, and check the load every ten rounds.  I might be checking it too often and every twenty rounds might be adequate.  It is very consistent when using pistol powders.

It is real smooth with slow burning ball powders, but it does crunch some sticks when load H4831, but no big issues when loading IMR4064, or IMR4320.  I have an old Lyman reloading manual from the early 1960’s that gives the settings for most of the powders I load.  It allows for a quick setup, followed by fine turning. 

I am not happy with the 7000-grain reservoir.  I will be writing Lyman regarding my negative experience.

This is the time of the year I do most of my loading.  The loss of the powder measure is a hang-up.  I have a few other options but I prefer the using the powder measurer.  I could go back to the days before I had a powder measurer, using scoops and spoons to feed the pan on my scale.

I check the price of a new Lyman 55 and it varies from $80 to $100 with shipping added on.  I checked e-bay and there were a few offered.  I made a run at the nearest gun shop, and pawnshop, no such luck.  I came across a new-old one in the box.  It has never been used and the asking price was $40.  I bought it; I believe that Lyman has changed their manufacturing process of the model 55 a few times over the years.  I am happy to get a new, old 55.  If the JB Weld works I will have one 55 set up for pistol loading and the other for rifle. 

I will be following up with a letter to the vendor. 
 

[Glanceblamm]

My Lyman #55 is much newer than yours and is in fact, only 22yrs old. I really like it for the reasons that you mention (especially consistancys with flake powders)

I think that the JB Weld may do the trick for you as long as you have a good fit & let it cure out...Not much resistance when metering out flake or ball as you know. I also meter some of the extruded or stick types like the IMR-3031 and I tend to cradle the entire handle of the drum lever in my palm when crunching those sticks because it gives you max torque and smooth operation. In your case, this would allow you to put pressure on both sides of your repair so I think that you will be good to go no matter what you want to feed it.

[frankkj]

Well, you made me get up and go look at mine. It's over 40 years old also, but them agin, so am I. I have several powder measures, most much newer, but i still like the Lyman 55 the best. I guess if I broke mine the way yours broke, I would be looking for a machinest to make me one out of stainless or such. Doesn't look like it would be that much of a job.

Good luck with the JB. Lyman doesn't have any replacement parts?

Frank

[cwlongshot]

I wonder if its weldable? I cannot envision exactly where it broke. I am familiar with that measure, but I haven't used one is a bunch of years. I broke the hopper on my RCBS some time back. I did exactly as you did. Now I have it as a spare under the loading bench.. just in case!!!
 
I have a offer for you, Once the "new" one is setup and running and if it is weldable. Send it to me, I'll weld it and return it to you. PM me if you want to do this.

CW

[GregP42]

The handle on Dad's broke of 15-20 years ago, he brazed it back on and has used it like that ever since. The 55 is a great measure for sure.

Greg

[Siskiyou]

cwlongshot:  Thanks for the offer; hopefully the JB Weld will do the job.

My father-in-law was over 600-miles down Baja way, in an out of the way location when the rotor in his Dodge pickup broke.  He was dead in the thorny bush country, and caught a ride with a Mexican into a small village.  The mechanic did not have a replacement part, but he had JB Weld.  In-Law setup camp and let the JB Weld cure overnight.  He hit the road and made it 1200 miles back home on it.  The only reason he replaced it was because “I” was nervous about it giving up and leaving us stranded. 

According to the manual in the box of my $40, new-old 55 it was published in the early 1980’s. 

I checked the Lyman parts list and it does not show a replacement part for the handle/drum.  A phone call to them might find a new unit. 

I learned a couple of thing out of this project.  I am not the only one that has problems installing the 7000-grain reservoir in an old unit.  Most others have given up, or purchased a third party adapter.

My way of installing the reservoir:

Using a 12-inch file I filed away a slight amount of material around the lip of the reservoir.  This allowed the lip to slip into the mouth of the 55. 

I soaked the end of the reservoir in hot water and soap.  With some effort it engaged the threads and feed into the unit bottoming out on the shoulder as designed.  The reservoir quickly cooled and locked into place.

I feel lucky!

[cwlongshot]

I do hope it works for you, if not the offer still stands. It should be a simple weld fix. Just shoot me a PM.

 Don't put much faith in Lyman's customer service.. generally it simply STINKS! 
 I live 10 minutes from them. I have gone in on a couple occasions but was refused at the door. T hey do not allow walk in service. I have contacted them many many time as a dealer for my customers. Each time I come away wondering how they stay in business... Good luck.

CW

[Siskiyou]

I think I have had three contacts with Lyman service over the years.  When I called them regarding how to install the larger reservoir they told me about the warm water and soap method.  Unfortunately it did not work, and after numerous efforts, my last effort was hold the 55 body in a vise.  It popped out and hit the cement floor.  Success came when I modified the reservoir with a file.

Lyman is an old brand name now opperates under the same umbrella as Pachmayr and a few other brand names.  In my short lifetime I have seen a lot of companies disappear or get bought up by bottomline investors whom in many cases lose sight of the customer that creates dividends.  In the late 1960’s my wife was taking a University of California extension course and we needed to travel to the Los Angeles area in connection with the class. 

In those days a trip to L.A. was a scary thing for this country boy, it was just a few years after the first Watts riot.  I did a little research and found that Pachmayr was located in L.A. and ran a gunshop there.  Being a kind and generous husband I volunteered to drive and entertain myself while my wife took care of her schooling.  It was great to visit the Pachmayr shop, and the service was good.  I also visited a wholesaler distributor of components.  I bought five boxes of 20 each primed .270 brass and a couple boxes of 130-grain Remington C-L bullets.  I mention this because this was my first purchase of new brass.  Up until that time I load brass from fired factory ammunition. 

RCBS located in Oroville, California seems to held up after being bought out the first time years ago.  When traveling in the Oroville area I enjoyed stopping at the Huntington gunshop, looking around and buying a few items.  It has changed some with the times.  The gun collection on display is not as great after the sale.  RCBS has kept it together.  I believe the gunshop and RCBS are two different ownerships now days, but not sure.

Fine firearms related products that I believe that have disappeared is Buehler.  Years back I needed a safety for Model 96 Swede.  My local gunsmith did not have a source for Buehler, and Brownells did not have one, and told me Buehler had gone out of business.  I found a phone number for Buehler in a 20-yearold Gun’s Digest.  I placed a call and a man with an elderly sounding voice told me he was Buehler.  He had the safety I need, and he would take a personal check.  I am sure the check and the safety crossed in the mail.  That is service!

The aging of America has changed a lot of ownerships, and standards of service.  A now deceased friend was a big time bullet caster who originated from New York.  He visited the “old” Lyman a number of time years ago and spoke highly of the experience.  The faces have changed. 

My Lyman MAG-II turret press is a major improvement over my 40+ year-old Spar-T turret press.  My original Lyman, RCBS, and Hornady dies are as bright as they were the day I bought them.  Some of my later Lee dies are becoming tarnished, but still functional. 

My expectations were not as high when I bought the lower price Lee.  I still buy Lee; in fact I recently purchased a Lee crimp 30-30-factory crimp die, and some shell holders.  A couple of things that RCBS and LEE are doing right is creating and posting how-to videos on their websites.  Lyman has some questions and answers but the videos are the way to go in today’s market place.

It will be interesting to see who survives the current economic mess.  I suspect customer service will win out.

I am letting the JB weld cure.  I have your offer in mind, and appreciate it.

[OR-E-Gun Bill]

"I believe the gunshop and RCBS are two different ownerships now days, but not sure."

RCBS is now living under the ATK group as they acquire more and more and more...

http://www.atk.com/customer_solutions_armamentsystems/cs_as_cacc_default.asp

and ammo & reloading components:
http://www.atk.com/customer_solutions_armamentsystems/cs_as_cammo_default.asp

[Siskiyou]

I let the JB Weld cure over 48-hours and I re-installed the drum handle assemble in the measurer.  It was a little rough, and I pulled it out and used fine steel wool to clean up some excess material on the repair.  The drum now turns freely.  The true test will be down the road when I start charging cases. 

I was reviewing the manual that came with the new-old unit what I bought.  There is a few lines in it the covers the common compliant of users when loading log type powders such as IMR4350, and H4831.  The compliant is that when using the described powders that operating the drum/meter becomes rough and it cuts a lot of powder.

To limit this action make your adjustments using the bottom slide.  In my case I align the top, and middle slides with the bottom slide and pull them out as a unit to get my desired charge.  Depending on the bullet it usually falls between 60 and 65 on the graduations scale on the bottom drum.  I try to fine-tune the bottom slide so that I do not need to open the top and middle slides when using rifle powders.  This reduces the amount of powder exposed to the cutting edge, and the measurer operates smoother.

Back when I was loading WW785 Ball Powder I made a note that #65 on the bottom scale equaled 60.5 grains of WW785, the recommend charge for 130-grain bullets. 

I normally adjust the measure to toss loads slightly light and toss the load into the pan for my powder scale.  I then trickle the additional powder into the pan while it is setting on my scale. 

When loading for pistol rounds I use the top and middle slides with the bottom slide closed.  I fine this fast burning powders meter accurately, and there is no need to trickle the charges once the measure has been adjusted.  I do check every 10th charge, and view the charge cases for double charges before seating a bullet.

The broken handle has been a learning experience for me.  I will advise down the road on the success or failure of the JB WELD repair.  I feel that I have gained from the incident, and now have a reserve powder measure.  It might find a home on a shelve or on top of my second press for loading pistol rounds.  I will see how comfortable I am with the arrangement of it setting on top of the press.  Using the priming tube on the press with a measure loaded with powder may not be a safe move.  I should not that I have never popped a prime when using a primer tube, but I have heard of it happening and seen the negative results.

I should note that I have one stand, and mounting the powder measure on the turret press would result in economy of limited space.