Lee Collet Neck Sizing die problems....

Today, 05:46 PM Before removing any material from the mandrel, make sure the collet isn't stuck. What you mentioned are the exact symptoms of a stuck collet. Take the die completely apart (everything comes out the top). Put a drop of oil or grease on the outside of the collet fingers. Reassemble. See if it'll work then.

Check the instructions (bottom left on the instruction sheet - "If collet dents cases it may be stuck"), only don't hammer on it like the instructions say. Take it apart!! I understand yours isn't denting the cases, but diassemble, oil, and reassemble anyway. You'll be done in 45 seconds. Put 25 pounds of pressure on the ram handle when sizing, first ensuring the die is set up exactly as Lee's instructions say (Put shellholder on ram. Raise ram. Screw in die until shellholder just kisses the bottom of the die. Lower ram. Turn die in one full turn. Lock it down).

Is that die marked for 22 Hornet? If so, an oversized mandrel is possible but not probable. After following above and freeing the collet, polish it like others said if it still won;t size correctly. Remember the minimum 25 pounds of ram handle downward pressure first.

The way the collet gets stuck is, when the die is screwed in, raising the ram up to the die without a case in it. This pushes the male collet up into the female, and can lock the die where it won't work. THe die is correct if the bottom portion of the collet, sticking out from the bottom of the die body, spins freely with a little slop. Some collet dies will spin like there are ball bearings inside! Others are a tad tighter. All will exhibit some slop. The slop is not faulty machining - it's designed that way.

Good luck!

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Shrinking sizing die.

Well the other day I went out shooting and was really having a hard time hitting the paper with my glock 17 so with a couple rounds left I pulled out the CZ 75b and put one in the bulleyes and thought it must have just been the gun except that I didn't hit the paper again till I walked up right next to it and fired 2 into it.

Problem was my bullets were undersized but the reason this is crazy to me is I have opened my sizer up to .3565 and my barrel slugs at .3555 well long story short I grab a bullet and sized it and it came out at .3555

So how does a sizer shrink? All I can think is maybe it got some rust in there and the boolits polished it down a little. Opened the sizer back up to .3565 the same way I did before so leading should stop it just puzzles me.

The undersized bullets are lee 125gr RN think I came put enough pressure behind them to bump them up? I have 200 left coated with the hi tek coating.

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Casting WW .452 sizing

Boolit Mold Join DateJun 2013LocationNorth CarolinaPosts11

I have about 200lbs of WW ingot, and a lee 452-200RF mold. I plan on shooting these out ofa 1911, do I need to lead the barrell and check throat size etc before I load them, or just cast them, lube them, load them and have a great day at the range?

Gosh Drew I got away with doing stuff like that for years, decades actually. Even though I "know better" today I still sometimes just cast, size to a standard size, and load and shoot. Most of the time it works pretty well. Maybe not "match grade" but usually without leading and with reasonable accuracy. I say go for it and see what happens. Just make sure you make a dummy round to see if it drops into your 1911 barrel so you don't end up with a bunch of ammo you cannot use.

Duke

Unless it's some odd ball sized barrel (bore n groove) you should be good to go.

Don't try to solve a problem before it occurs.

I have been loading 1911 .45 ACP since around 1970.

I have never seen one that would not work beautifully with .452 bullets.

.

First reload: .22 Hornet. 1956.

Where is John Galt?

(If you don't know, you owe it to yourself to find out. )
.

Boolit Mold Join DateJun 2013LocationNorth CarolinaPosts11

That's what I was hoping for, I've got plent of 45 cases, can make 7 dummies and make sure they cycle, check the barrell after 50 rounds for leading, I plan on buying a boolit sizer for my 308 but will work on hanguns first. Have not studied enough on gas check or paper to load over 2k fps...

You need to walk before you try to run.

You should not try to jump into 2000+ rifle loads on your first attempt.

First reload: .22 Hornet. 1956.

Where is John Galt?

(If you don't know, you owe it to yourself to find out. )
.

Boolit Mold Join DateJun 2013LocationNorth CarolinaPosts11

William, I agree, after a few thousand successes inhandguns ill move up to highspeed rifles.

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Need some advise on sizing 45-70 bullets.

Hello,

I just cast some 45-70 bullets in a Lyman mold. They will be used in a Winchester (Miroku) 1885 High Wall Limited rifle. The bullets were cast from lead pipe, measured .460 out of the mold and weighed 350 or so grns.

The problem is I cannot get them to size in my Lyman 45 sizer/luber. I'm using a .458 die. I can get them started but only the first land of the bullet then I'm afraid to pull any harder on the handle for fear of breaking it. I'm putting a pretty fair amount of push on it and it will not go any further.

Is this bullet just to fat to make it through this sizer?

Isn't .458 an ideal starting point for a modern single shot 45-70 rifle?

Any suggestions would be appreciated!!

I have myself on the waiting list for a new Ballisti Cast Sizer and will appreciate the stoutness of this machine when it arrives.

Regards,

Lee

Boolit Master Join DateSep 2011Locationsouthern tier NYSPosts217

Welcome. First, will this Boolit size, .458, fit your bore correctly? According to your bore slug measurments? Second, activate your lube sizer, without a Boolit inserted, to make sure the piston is not bound. I routinely bump up Boolits to a larger size on my Lyman sizer. As my Uncle said "the cheapest thing you can do is look".

Also measure a few bullets to see if they are round and not oval. as stated above besure die and ludrisizer is working properly and adjustments are correct. A soft lead bullet is going to be "stickier" tha one with tin and or antimony.

.002 sizing should be a cake walk.
i'd be inclined to shoot the 460 size rather than 458 anyway.

it's all an educated guess,,,, till the trigger is pulled.

the more i find out about shootin boolits, the more it contradicts everything i ever learned about shooting jaxketed.

If the H&I die have set a while the lube in it may have hardened and the I die is stuck? If you are sure the I die stop is down and out of the way set a jacketed bullet of smaller diameter on the I die and see if that makes it go down. If not remove the H&I from the 450 and soak in bore cleaning solvent over night and try to push the I die through with a wood dowel or brass punch. If it's still stuck put the H die in a padded vise and tap on the I die with a brass puch to breack loose. If that works clean it real well and try again in the 450.

One other thing to check is to make sure when the sizing stops has the bullet nose punch come against the H die?

Larry Gibson

I shoot .460 in both of my 45-70's both with modern chamber/barrels. Lead pipe is "pure" lead. These boolits will be very soft! Might be ok for very light loads but you need some tin.
J

"The .30-06 is never a mistake." Townsend Whelen
"It's what we think we know already that often prevents us from learning."
French physiologist Claude Bernard

There is information missing from your OP. Have you tried to lube the bullet by hand before running it through the sizer? A pre-lube is what I'm talking about. It should not bind at all when you are trying to only size .002 As has been posted by my fellow members the .460 is the common size that is used by most 45-70 shooters who have guns that slug out at .458
I would take a hard look at the sizer as being the problem. Take out your sizing die and top punch and make sure they are what they say they are.
This is not a easy thing to answer as it is like trying to find out why a car will not start and the car is 50 miles away. It all comes down to you taking each step and piece and giving it the once over. Make sure that your sizer is set up correctly. Later David

Shooter of the "HOLY BLACK" SASS 81802 AKA FAIRSHAKE; NRA ; BOLD; WARTHOG;Deadwood Marshal;Bayou Bounty Hunter; So That his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat

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Does this make sense? SLugging and sizing

Boolit Mold Join DateMar 2013Posts12

So I bought a M&P9 in order to shoot cast boolits. Slugged the bore and wouldn't you know it, it doesn't have a groove on the opposite side so I can't measure with my micrometer. I have a 356 sizing die that the slug fits into by pushing it in with my finger. Easy to do.

Now does this make sense? Since it fits in "easy" it must mean that my bore is smaller than what the boolits will get sized to in my 356 sizing die. Which would give me the 1 thou or so over bore diameter.

The mould is a lee 6 banger 356-120TC and lead is range pickup so a mix of jword and cast. The mould casts at .3565 avg.

Thanks

Boolit Master Join DateJan 2010LocationSpace Coast, FLPosts597

Find a piece of thin shim stock, .002" to .004" works well, tweek it around a pencil or dowel before measure helps. Measure shim for confirmation with a good micrometer. Wrap bullet 180 degrees with shim, measure outside, subtract shim x2 and that is how big your boolit is. Gtek

Size Dies aren't always the dimension stated for a couple reasons. Some manufacturers make the die smaller to allow for lead spring back and some manufacturers can't hold tolerances.

OK,

Back to basics.

Slugging the barrel is usually a waste of time.
Don't worry about it.

If you have a .357 sizing die, size a couple .357, make a couple of dummy rounds and see if they will chamber. If they do, use that die. If they don't, use the .356.

If you have only the .356 die, size a couple .356, load up 10 or 12 rounds and try them at the range. If they shoot well and don't lead, use them.
If you have poor accuracy, tumbling, or leading, get a .357 die.

Yes, you can re-size your sizing die from .356 to .357. There are several threads here on how to do it.

First reload: .22 Hornet. 1956.

Where is John Galt?

(If you don't know, you owe it to yourself to find out. )
.

OK,

Back to basics.

Slugging the barrel is usually a waste of time.
Don't worry about it.

If you have a .357 sizing die, size a couple .357, make a couple of dummy rounds and see if they will chamber. If they do, use that die. If they don't, use the .356.

If you have only the .356 die, size a couple .356, load up 10 or 12 rounds and try them at the range. If they shoot well and don't lead, use them.
If you have poor accuracy, tumbling, or leading, get a .357 die.

Yes, you can re-size your sizing die from .356 to .357. There are several threads here on how to do it.

William,
Thanks for the reminder. Sometimes we get caught up in the minutia and forget that often the easiest thing is to just try it and see if it works.

Size Dies aren't always the dimension stated for a couple reasons. Some manufacturers make the die smaller to allow for lead spring back and some manufacturers can't hold tolerances.Off topic but . . . the biggest reason dies size differently than as marked is alloy variation. Differing percentages of Sb result in different as sized diameters. Most of the die makers do a pretty decent job but with everybody out there using different alloys it must be turning their hair grey.

Rick

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Boolit sizing lube

Boolit Mold Join DateMay 2013LocationDallasPosts1

I'm a casting newbie but have had good success with water quenched COWW in a Lee TL452-230-2R for my 1911 with Recluse's 45/45/10 lube. I've just cast a bunch of boolits and need to size them but don't want to use the 45/45/10 as they'll be stored in the 108 degree Texas summer heat. Any recommendations on a cheap temporary lube to get them through my Lee 452 sizing die? I plan on washing off the lube with solvent as soon as they are sized. I'll lube with the 45/45/10 lube just before I load them.

Wheel bearing grease on about every 3rd bullet will work well.

Ben

Dawn dish soap will work well and washes off easily. The 45-45-10 should stay well even in the heat. My reloading building has a window AC that has an economy setting so it only runs when temp setting is exceeded. I keep the thermostat set on 85 unless I'm in there so that my powder/primer/boolit supply stays cool.

I recently sized a few boolits for another member who requested no lube on them, but wanted me to size them. I just used 45-45-10 ...an even lighter coat than normal...which I thought was impossible. I sized them, then heated then up using a heatgun, and wiped off the lube on clean paper towels...I suspect there is a tiny bit of lube residue left, but it won't effect anything.
Good Luck,
Jon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I will be offering the GC seater plate for the lyman 45.
Also I have replacement springs for the Lyman 45 lubesizer, If your's is weak or missing, let me know

Boolit Mold Join DateApr 2013Posts6

+1 for Dawn dish detergent. I put a few drops in a pan and do a "tumble lube".

Boolit Master Join DateJan 2013Posts395

I have used Lee case lube mixed with some water in a spray bottle with success

You can use a dried lubed boolit every 10 or 15 boolits. I will do this with traditional lubed bullets when I want to size without lube. Simply run one through every so often.

When sizing unlubed boolits I use Bullsize a Bullshop case sizing lube.
Just a little between thumb and finger and roll the boolit between them and they just squirt right through the sizer die. Our Bullsize case sizing lube is made from the same ingrediance as our boolit lubes so it has no negative effect on boolit lube staying on the boolit when it gets lubed.

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How small can we go? (Sizing question)

Boolit Mold Join DateApr 2013Posts16

So this may be a pretty basic question, but I'm a total rookie at this and seek the expertise of the group.

How small can one size a boolit without ruining it?
-0.002 to -0.003? More?
I assume that products of a .358 mould can be sized down to .356, since I saw people say that they did that, but how far is too far?

Explanation of question:
I am the owner of (as soon as I pick it up) a 7.35mm Carcano rifle, with a bore diameter of .299 or .300 (I forget exactly, since it has been *years* since we slugged it!), that my uncle can no longer keep. He was never able to really shoot it, since he could never find the proper ammunition (one of my best memories was giving him a couple of boxes of 7.35mm Italian-surplus military ball for Christmas one year). I plan on using the rifle, and that means I'll probably be casting boolits for it.

I can easily find .309-caliber moulds, but cannot seem to find .300- or .301-cal. Should I be able to size these down that much, or do I need to look into a custom mould? (Follow up question: anyone know of sizing setups that will do .300 or .301?)

If not, I'll have to purchase "J-word" projectiles to load the cartridges.

Thank you in advance for your responses - and for helping prevent me from only ever being able to shoot "those other things" out of the rifle!

'Sifrid

I have sized .325 down to .314.

Buckshot makes nice sizers. I have a couple of his push throughs they are beautiful pieces and are dead on for the sizing I requested. 1 is in fact 301 that I size cores for paper patch for.

I've read here many times that you can size a long ways down if the lube grooves are filled,it keeps them open. I have not tried to size more than .002-3 for a naked boolit myself.

"Gentlemen we MUST all hang together lest we shall most certainly hang separately" Ben Franklin

In the time of darkest defeat,our victory may be nearest. Wm. McKinley.

I was young and stupid then I'm older now. Me 1992

I've sized a bunch of .459's down to .454 for 45 colt loads. No problems, although as stated, lube is paramount.

2013 Blindfolded/Nude boolit casting tournament champion.

For what it is worth, I tried sizing some .317-318 boolits down to .311 and it nearly broke my reloading bench. And the lube grooves disappeared on half the boolit

And my attempt ended with one stuck so bad I had to drill it out. A softer alloy may have helped. I know they were plenty lubed.

I removed the beagling from my mold, the boolits went back to 312-313 and sizing worked great

Boolit Mold Join DateApr 2013Posts16

So it sounds like, if I lubed first (and it sounds like I may need to use something other than liquid Alox to do that - and isn't lubing going to be a whole kettle of new fish), I *should* be okay taking a nominally .309-caliber boolit down to .300-ish?

I'll have to look into Buckshot sizers - as soon as I get that rifle in my safe, anyway.

Thank you for your responses.

'Sifrid

Last edited by Blintersifrid; Today at 05:22 PM. Reason: typos

Buckshot is a member here just pm him he will get back w/a couple of paragraphs that amounts he won't make any standard production sizes and he prefers to work from actual bbl slugs it allows better accuracy for his part.

"Gentlemen we MUST all hang together lest we shall most certainly hang separately" Ben Franklin

In the time of darkest defeat,our victory may be nearest. Wm. McKinley.

I was young and stupid then I'm older now. Me 1992

Boolit Bub Join DateMar 2013Posts35

I have sized Jacketed from .311 to .308 with no issues, actually came out extremely accurate.
Also have sized from .359 to .356 with no issues using WDWW that tested at 19BHN. Have even sized out of round 50bmg API rounds.
I always used the Lee push thru with no issues, plus they are cheap (comparatively)

I have taken 358-429 boolits down to .351 to use as plinkers in my Winchester 71. That's about .3595 as cast down to .351. Choose a design with deep grease grooves and lube with a conventional, as opposed to liquid, lube. You can pan lube if you like, rather than buy a lubrisizer, because you will want to use a Lee-type push through sizer die. It puts too much strain on the Lubrisizer to try it that way. I lube mine in a .357 die in a conventional sizer, then tumble lube, then push-size down to .351. I made my own Lee .351 sizer die by ordering a .338 sizer die and a 9mm push rod, then polishing out the die and sanding down the push rod until I got what I wanted. I think you could do the same with a 7mm die and a 30 cal push rod.

_________________________________________________It's not that I can't spell: it is that I can't type.

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sizing question?

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358 bullet sizing question

Boolit Mold Join DateMar 2013Posts2

Can a .358 bullet be sized down to a .356 bullet. Do you have to use multiple sizing lube dies to
progress downward from .358 to .356????

Yes. .O02" is not a problem unless the alloy is extremely hard.

You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore

if this is about making 9mm bullets from 357 bullets the size down may not be necessary.
many 9m barrels are already at 357-8 diameter.

it's all an educated guess,,,, till the trigger is pulled.

the more i find out about shootin boolits, the more it contradicts everything i ever learned about shooting jaxketed.

Not productive to resize an OVER WEIGHT bullet for a 9mm.

Try to stay 147 grains or below for 9mm.

NRA Life Member
NRA Certified Metallic Cartridge Reloading Instructor
Author of a book on reloading

I've shot 160's out of my nine with splendid accuracy. Lee 358-158 to be exact. BUT, if you are a beginner reloader, follow published load data and stay within it's limits until you gain experience.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?66108-Anyone-shooting-158-grn-boolits-in-9mm

An armed society is a polite society.

the BB knows

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Sizing cases and Properly seating over sized Boolits

I have been reloading for a long time but this is my first real serious adventure into cast boolit reloading. I have loaded some 8mm Mauser boolits that I bought and used a 8mm expanding die to open up the case mouths after standard case sizing. Reading here I see that method basically causes the back of the boolit to be sized down by the brass that is sized to small. If not, then the standard seating die would achieve the same undesirable results of reducing the boolit driving bands size. So I have a few questions.....

What methods/tools do you use to properly size your case necks for the over sized cast boolits? Do you buy a custom (larger than standard) Lee collet die so the brass does not get over worked?

Last edited by Smokepole50; Yesterday at 02:38 PM.

45 AUTO! Because having to shoot someone twice is just silly!

You can adjust the lee collet die to size just enough to hold a boolit. The collet won't be forcing the brass onto the mandrill at that point. It takes some tinkering but you can get the case neck to grip any boolit that fits into the unsized neck. Be careful if the size is too close to the ID of the chamber's neck the brass will not have enough room to release the boolit. I'm trying this with my Ruger 7722 Hornet. As cast 225462 from my mold just fits into the unsized necks. A dummy fits the chamber a bit tight so I need to size the boolits, I'm guessing, .001 and then size necks to grip the boolit. A set of pin gages would help to keep things consistant in sizing the cases and so would an impact slug of the chamber. If you don't have the gages and haven't slugged your chamber go by feel.

Last edited by robroy; Yesterday at 03:10 PM. Reason: Can't spell or punctuate till at least the third draft

As mentioned, if you ignore the directions that come with Lee's collet neck sizing die, you can size the case to create your desired neck tension.

Then, a Lyman M-die can be use to open the mouth just enough to squarely hold the boolit.

Depending upon how fat your boolits are, you may need a custom M-die expander plug.

Using the Lee collet die will require you to sort cases by at least headstamp when using the above method due to varying thickness of brass.

If need be I guess I could always turn the case necks down a bit if I run into a chamber that is a little tight for the boolit I need to use. I think I have a 7mm mandrel.

After a long phone conversation with a fellow forum member here in VA, I believe I am relieved of my concerns about the ID of the case neck being to small after sizing with a standard 7mm neck die. His explanation was, that after the case mouth was belled out large enough with a M die for the CG to fit inside the mouth of the case, that the GC hardness would prevent the base of the boolit from being resized down below the desired dia. by excessive neck tension caused by a standard neck sizing die. I guess a 16-18 BHN lead alloy boolit with a copper GC properly applied would present enough strength to swell the remainder of the case neck below the M die bell and not sucum to any swaging during the seating process. I know this is probably splitting frog hairs here but I want to do things right the first time and know that my reloading process is not faulty if my groups are not as tight as I like. This 1912 Chilean Mauser is in NRA fine condition and should shoot very well if I do my part in the loading process.

I use a VLD case mouth tool to chamfer the mouth almost to the outside of the mouth making sure to leave a rim of square on the edge. I have my dies stoned so they do not over size the neck down and then the expander mandrel of my neck trunong set is enough to allow the GC entry without the risk of sizing or shaving lead from the drive bands.

A 7x57 and a 404, all a man needs anywhere,anytime,ever.

Lil' off subject:For pistol i use rcbs expander step dies instead of bell die's from other companies. Brass looks better at top and if ya use a boolit dropper they fall rite in. They seat and crimp better IMO. Its like a ring around the base of boolit to "set" in instead of a waller'ed out tipping bell brass top. Even if i did rifle i would do step expansions. I like lite dillon crimp dies.

workin @ Ft. bragg

Use the 31 M plug for 310-311 sized cast.

Greed is harder to fix than stupidity. You can't fix stupidity.

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sizing question

Boolit Mold Join DateJan 2013LocationiowaPosts4

I have a savage model 11 in 308, and is slugged at .308 measured with a micrometer. Should I size my boolits in the .308 or .001 over?

.310 generally works in all my 30 cal rifles newer than 1950

it's all an educated guess,,,, till the trigger is pulled.

the more i find out about shootin boolits, the more it contradicts everything i ever learned about shooting jaxketed.

Boolit Mold Join DateJan 2013LocationiowaPosts4

The mold that I have spits out a .309 would I even have to size it then

I would say no. Use a .309 die just to crimp the gas check on. This should not size your boolit.

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Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.
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434-1

Boolit Mold Join DateJan 2013LocationiowaPosts4

I still recommend a .310" die. It's OK for the gascheck to be a little larger than the boolit when you have a .310" throat... which is SAAMI spec for a .308W.

MJ

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Sizing Jacket Bullets

Considering buying a .450 Bushmaster barrel for my Savage project gun. A nice 16.5" heavy barrel dropped into a synthetic stock with a 1X Scope will be a dream for very close quarters work on white tail here in MI. Also make turning in a blind quickly without the muzzle bumping the walls easy. The bore diameter for this round is .452 (which was huge mistake in my opinion with the availability of several fine .458 diameter bullets in the 250-350 Gr range.) My question is.... How hard is it to push a .458 projectile (well lubed of course) through a .452 Lee bullet sizer? 6 thou doesn't sound like a lot but I ask this question now before I come back later asking how to get it "Un-Stuck" from the die. Will they just pop right through no problem?

Jeff

Last edited by Trapaddict; Yesterday at 09:05 AM.

A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

I wouldn't attempt a .006 reduction on a .458 bullet in a single pass. If it were me, I'd try to limit it to .004 steps.

I've sized .458 to .454 in a single pass and you'll want to make sure that you have some good lube and a reasonably strong press. Make sure your die is clean and ready as well.

It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.

Theodore Roosevelt

I went with the 50 Beowulf for the very reason we are discussing. The availability of good .452 bullets in a rifle is dismal. The popularity of the 500 S&W makes good .500 bullets easy to get. Same goes for the 458 Socom. My brother chose the Socom and I chose the Beowulf. I believe sizing a 458 bullet down to 452 would be a mistake. Too many bad things can happen to a bullet sized down that far.

Bob

I have sized down jacketed 0.429" 300gr 44s to 0.423" for use as plinkers in my 404jeffery, a reduction of 0.006". they shoot pretty well, 2" @ 100yds is pretty common. I did it using the Lee dies & doing them in steps of 0.427" then 0.423". I went that way as I only wanted to have the one custom die made, the 0.427" was a std size. If having one made I would go 0.003" smaller, then to the final diameter. I may open my 0.427" to 0.426" to make final swaging easier. It does take a bit of force even using Imperial. I don't shoot a lot of the 404J, but bullets are more than $1 each, so swaging the 300gr is worth a little effort. BTW, I am running these about 2100fps. If you use a FMJ, you have no worriesa bout a jacket slipping the core, but you can also use a bonded bullet like the SGDHP if you are worried aout core slippage.

Last edited by fredj338; Yesterday at 08:58 PM.

EVERY GOOD SHOOTER NEEDS TO BE A HANDLOADER.
NRA Cert. Inst. Met. Reloading & Basic Pistol

The other thing that may happen is the jacket could separate from the core. If that happens, all kinds of nasty things might happen. I would not recommend it.

Last edited by bullet maker 57; Yesterday at 06:05 PM.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading
Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"

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Time between curing and sizing

Boolit Buddy Join DateFeb 2013Posts68

Does it matter if you size boolit shortly after casting or should you typically wait until its fully cured?

Boolit Man Join DateDec 2011LocationYakima, WAPosts141

I wait until I am ready to reload the bullets. I don't know if this makes a difference but some have reported bullet swelling after a time. See this thread as it may shed some light or add to the confusion:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?186114-How-do-boolits-grow&highlight=bullet+swell

If they are water dropped, I size within hours. If they are air cooled, I size within years. I have some stored that were cast in 1986, and they aren't sized.

For air cooled, I've never seen any ill affects from sizing immediately. Some guys say they "grow" as they age.....I've not seen that.

You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore

This may be something about the alloy I normally use but I've learned to size promptly. My standard alloy is 20 lb coww and 1/2 lb monotype- just cause it makes purty boolits. If I wait a couple of weeks they're much harder to size. Not sure if it's that they're bigger or harder. It wouldn't require any less pressure on the sizer handle if I knew but next time I cast I'll have to make some notes and report the findings.

David

There is only one way of compromising the on Second Amendment. That is when Liberals call for Conservatives to compromise. What they really mean "give up just a little more of your rights just this once"- every time they call for compromise. Molon Labe!

To elaborate a little on 454PB's answer, if you water drop your antimony boolits from the mold, they will begin to harden after a period of time. (24hrs?) You have a window before that to size where it won't be too difficult and you will still achieve maximum hardness. After that point, the boolits will be tough to size. Sizing will also destroy the hardness of the sized area (driving bands).

After casting water dropped wheel weight boolits, I dry them off on newspaper and size quickly. They can be lubed at that time and store or lubed later if you use a slightly larger die (Lyman/RCBS/Star system) the second time through the sizer.

If you have a lead/tin alloy, size whenever you want.

A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that. - Shane

Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.
Sir Winston Churchill

The truth that makes men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear.
Herbert Agar

434-1

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Abbreviations used in Reloading
Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"

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"Lubri-sizer" or Lee sizing dies?

Boolit Mold Join DateDec 2012Posts7

Okay, first let me apologize if this is not the right forum for the question I have- I couldn't decide if it should be here or in "reloading". As you can see from my low post count, I am new to boolit casting.
Basically, I am unsure if I should go with Lee sizing dies for the (at present three) calibers that I am going to reload for, or if I should invest in something like a Lyman 4500 Lube Sizer Bullet Sizer and Lubricator with Heater? And I confess that I am ignorant of the advantages and disadvantages of each system, although at first glance the Lee system does seem to make more sense from the perspective of pushing the bullet upward and not needing special "top punches" for the process. Lyman seems to have a good name and make quality products, but from product reviews at Midway I get the impression that Lee's stuff is "variable" in quality. So I am on the fence on this and don't know which side to jump off of! Can someone enlighten me as to the advantages of the (much more expensive) Lyman product vs. the Lee system? Thanks in advance for any replies.

If I could go back in time and smack myself everytime I could have bought a STAR sizer and did not....I would have some pretty serious head trauma by now.

Panlubing works, the lee system works, the lee system combined with a lyman sizer that just lubes works good for long skinny boolits.....but like I said if I could start over and retain the knowledge...I would have owned a STAR one ell of alot sooner. I will have another one as soon as I can afford it. One stroke perfection with minimal fuss...what's not to love?

"Happiness is a target rich environment"

Boolit Mold Join DateDec 2012Posts7

357 Maximum; Thanks for the reply, it is appreciated (I know that "newbie" questions annoy some of the old hands at this stuff) but what is the advantage of sizing nose first as opposed to the Lee "bottom up" approach? Why use two different products for the same operation? I would take your advise about the Star sizer unit, but I gather they are very expensive and hard to find, especially the sizer dies, and I am on a beginner's budget (my wife is having conniptions over my spending on this hobby already). Again, thanks for your reply and bearing with my elementary questions.

Boolit Man Join DateJan 2013LocationBanks, ORPosts83

I did the pan lube then got a lyman 45. Nuf said.

pain lubing does alright with a sizing die.
the push through dies have some advantages with the longer boolits.
the lyman types seat gas checks on some boolits better.
i went from a lyman to a star in one day and don't regret it,although i wish i would have kept it sometimes.
even with three stars i still tumble lube a couple of my boolits.

my advice is pick a style, learn it, and use it.
then look at learning another.

it's all an educated guess,,,, till the trigger is pulled.

the more i find out about shootin boolits, the more it contradicts everything i ever learned about shooting jaxketed.

The Lee bullet sizing dies work well. They are $20 and come with a bottle of alox. You can lube and size a lot of bullets with one of them while you are saving up for something else. It's cheap and gets you started.

I did the pan lube then got a lyman 45. Nuf said.Did the tumble for awhile, then did the same as Raven. Best decision I've made as far as sizing and lubing.

I like the Lee tumble lube and sizing system for TL boolits, I tolerate the Lyman for grease groove boolits. If I lubed more GG boolits I'd read up on the Star, sounds like an excellent system.

Life Member NRA, TSRA
Smokeless powder is a passing fad! -Steve Garbe
I hate rude behavior in a man. I won't tolerate it. -Woodrow F. Call Lonesome Dove
Some of my favorite recipes start out with a handful of used wheelweights.

I started with a new 4500, because I didn't want to have to deal with pan lubing, though I did try it, nor Alox in it's various concoctions, and due to its dubious performance. I use two different lubes, one for rifles and one for handguns, so an older 45 was added.

I consider the cost of nose punches and sizing dies as part of the hobby, no different than a mould, tool or any other piece of equipment.

Boolit Master Join DateJun 2009Posts182

Guess I'm the odd duck here. Started out pan lubing and using Lee push-thru sizing dies. (they size nose first by the way) Kinda slow but puddy much idiot-proof. Good for me! Then ended up with a Lyman 450 in a large buy and thought I'd found heaven. Found out it's a pita to change dies constantly and they're really expensive and hard to modify. I can hone the Lees' out to any size I require. A single Lyman die is $30/$40....Lee is under $20. Rather than take up space on the bench I mount the Lyman on a work-mate when needed. Which is kind of a pita too. Then I tried the Recluse loob. Works on regular boolits as well as tumble loob design boolits. Faster than pan lubing and I'd advise buying it rather than making it. Unless like me you're up to your eyeballs in them little bottles of Lee alox. Now I use both. The Lyman with Felix and the Lee with Recluse. I compare results on the range and pick which one works better. I've found very few loads that actually work better using the Lyman/Felix over the Lee/Recluse lube....but...sometimes it does matter. For starting up...I'd go with the Lee/Recluse system. Inexpensive, surprisingly accurate, easy to modify. Just my opinion of course. Audie...the Oldfart..

Dang Audie,

I don't know where you were buying your Lyman sizing dies, but Midsouth has them (RCBS or Lyman) for under $25.00. I do balk at paying almost $10.00 for a top punch; but a short section of 1/4" rod makes a good one for flat nosed boolits, and the perfessor is cheaper if you can't make your own.

Woodsman 22,

I have three lubrisizers right now, an RCBS Lubamatic and two Lyman 450's, one of which needs a few parts. I like the RCBS better, but both brands work and the dies interchange. I also have a few Lee sizing dies. One thing about the in and out style, they are relatively slow.

Robert

Boolit Mold Join DateDec 2012Posts7

First I want to thank you all for your input and your patience with a newbie like me. I really appreciate the coaching from those who have "been there and done that". Thinking about all your advice, I think I am going to go with the Lyman 4500 since it seems like a good system and can seat gas checks too.

You may not post new threadsYou may not post repliesYou may not post attachmentsYou may not edit your postsForum Rules

Abbreviations used in Reloading
Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"

View the original article here