doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Lyman Roll Crimping Tool

Picked this up yesterday, stripped and cleaned somewhat. Hasn't been used in some years and grease was old and stiff.

I believe it is a Lee Roll Crimper but maybe someone can shed more light on this tool, It has the collets for all gauges except 28g but it does not have the shell holders for other guages (expect the 12 ga) and perhaps that wasn't an accessory. I have an Ideal 20ga crimper and I think the shell holder would fit this tool.

Just a couple of questions for those more knowledgable than I, first is it a Lee or another manufacturer and were there accessories for shell holders?

And last it is somewhat corroded with rust and wondering how to best clean up the rust? The collects have quite a bit of rust on them and would be nice to shine them up.

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Your new/old roll crimper is a Lyman tool. I think they were made in the 1950's

From what I can see, I'd probably just clean the rust with a wire wheel. But if the rust is more extensive on the collets, you might want to try using Evapo-Rust or a solution of feed store molasses and water. Evapo-Rust is a bit faster and the molasses method is considerably cheaper. Another option would be the electrolysis method of rust removal.

Lyman/Ideal tool

an excellent tool, and with the full complement of the 6 pin lyman crimpers - the best of the old crimpers - better than anything short of some of the modern Italian tools.

from memory, i think the 4 prong shell holder will function for 10ga down to 20ga.

i have thought about setting mine up with a low rpm flex drive motor.

a first rate discovery!

Keith,

What ratio of water to molasses do you suggest?

I have never found the liquid molasses in any feed store in my area. Grocery store molasses is much more expensive, and said to not work as well. So I have been using dried molasses that I buy in 50 lb. bags at the local feed store. I mix it approx. 1 lb. of dried molasses per 1 gallon of water, so a 50 pound bag will make at least 50 gallons of rust remover. It helps to start with some very hot water to dissolve the molasses, and then top off with cold water. The last bag I bought was around $17.50, so that makes an effective rust remover that costs less than $2.00 a gallon mixed, and can be reused many times. It works by the same chelation process as EvapoRust, but EvapoRust is now around $30.00 per gallon on Amazon. Some people use a weaker ratio of water to molasses, or even more. It doesn't seem to make much difference, but I've never gone weaker than about a 3.5 lb. per 5 gallons of water ratio. Here's a link to an old Thread here where I provide more details in a couple Posts:

https://www.doublegunshop.com/forum...rds=molasses+&Search=true#Post486326

You can also Google it or find YouTube videos about the process. But if you try it, you will soon learn that some of what you find posted on the internet is not true. Some guys say it will cause pitting of machined surfaces, but I have not seen that, even after forgetting about tools or things I left soaking for months. If there is any pitting after soaking, you can bet it was there under the rust before you dunked it. It is somewhat slow, and may take up to two weeks to remove really heavy rust. It works faster in warm weather. It is non-toxic, and can be reused many times before it slowly loses effectiveness. When mine is depleted, I simply dump it around trees or shrubs to give them a shot of iron. Don't forget to wear rubber gloves when you scrub off the black slime after soaking. It is somewhat smelly, and will stain your hands. Cleaned parts will develop a flash rust quickly in humid weather, so dry and oil them to prevent that.

Molasses as a rust remover is one of those things that I wish I had learned about years ago. I probably wouldn't bother using it if I only had a few small parts to clean up. But since I tried it, I always have at least a 5 gallon bucket of molasses solution in my garage to clean up old tools or rusty items. In my area, it doesn't freeze solid in the winter, but turns to slush when near 0 degrees Fahrenheit. You probably have much colder winter temps, and wouldn't want it to freeze solid and split a plastic bucket. And remember that bluing is a form of rust, so don't use it on blued gun parts unless you intend to remove the bluing.

Thank you for that explanation.

Finally got around to using the tool after stripping and cleaning. You have to have the tool well clamped down and good arm muscles to turn the crank. Far too much muscle required to do a few hundred rounds I am thinking of making up a jig and attaching a 1/2 drill with a variable speed trigger to it. It does make the best crimps of any tool that I own. Very consistent from round to round and a well formed crimp with no flaring at the end. The holder does however, leave a notch where each or the holding arms contract the base of the hull and it is a bit of a pain to align the shell into the crimp collet.

Wow that is neat