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Old January 11, 2011, 09:52 PM   #7
Gatofeo
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 1, 2004
Location: Remote Utah desert
Posts: 224
I have a Marlin Model 1892 rifle made about 1908. Caliber is .32 Long Colt or .32 Rimfire (courtesy of interchangeable firing pins).
I had difficulty some years ago finding a heeled bullet mould for the .32 Long Colt. Lyman last made them in the 1960s.
I found a very old Ideal reloading tool, such as you describe, marked for 32 L. The mould threw a heeled bullet of about 95 grains, when cast of pure lead.
Alas, someone years ago filed the top of the mould, where the two halves meet, apparently to bleed off trapped air during casting. I don't know if this worked, but it left a wide fin on each side the bullet while casting. I had to trim these fins off before use.
Later, I found a nearly identical Ideal tool that was nickel plated and in much better shape, sans the mould damage.
It casts a nice heeled bullet but such tools are a devil to use. Once hot enough for casting, the handles are likewise hotter than the hinges of Hades.
Thick leather gloves help, but affect dexterity.
About a year after finding this second tool, I purchased a like-new Lyman 299152 mould. I use it exclusively. The two reloading tools are good decorators.
These tools work fine for reloading, but they're not fast. The primer seater is cupped, to fit the convex primers of long ago. Seating a flat primer can work, or not. I found that Winchester primers worked best, CCI was the most troublesome to fully seat.
This is not an indictment of CCI primers, I'm just pointing out what worked and what didn't.
There is no powder measure with my old tools. I believe a proper black powder measure was supplied when you bought them, but after more than a century the measures are long gone. This is usually the case.
Both of my tools were soiled with a century of dust and gummy oil. I cleaned them with a plastic brush in hot, soapy water. This also removed any black powder fouling or dried lubricant that might be in the seating chamber. I dried them in my oven, at it's lowest setting (170 F) with the door cracked to allow moisture to escape.
I reoiled them very lightly. The washing removed a lot of crud and they looked better.
They're fun tools to play with, and could be useful at the range if you bring a means to measure powder. However, a modern hand tool that uses modern dies would be easier to use.
As an accompaniment to an old gun, though, these old tools are hard to beat.
I kept the damaged one in my office for many years. Even those who didn't own a gun found it fascinating, especially the bullet mould.
If you can find one that's in good shape, at a good price, get it.
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"And lo, did I see an ugly cat. Smoke. Brimstone. Holes in parchment. And this ugly cat was much amused." --- The Prophesies of Gatodamus (1503 - 1566)
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