How soon to size

[Chief_10Beers]

After Casting? I casted about 250 240gr .430s and 250 230gr .452s last Sunday. When is it the right time to size cast Boolits? Anytime? After a couple of weeks of Hardining?........................................ .

[mooman76]

Size whenever you want. They will continue to harden.

[Marlin Junky]

Pretty much what mooman76 said unless I:

1) Heat treat and am waiting for max hardness to occur before hardness testing.

2) Heat treat and want to draw back to a certain hardness.

3) Want a little more (a few "tenths") diameter from any given sizing die.


If I create a really hard boolit with losts of bearing surface by heat treating, I'll always size the boolit pre-lubed (before it enters the die) and normally in .001" increments if necessary.

MJ

[Chief_10Beers]

Another question, When sizing Boolits, Do they Work Hardining to some degree like 2400 Aluminum?.........................................

[stubshaft]

Another question, When sizing Boolits, Do they Work Hardining to some degree like 2400 Aluminum?.........................................

Actually the opposite happens. The sized portion will lose a couple of BHN (just a few thousandths in depth).

[PacMan]

Depends 2 examples that decide when i size are
Example 1- if you are water droping ww or any other alloy that hardens when water droped and are sizing down .002 or more you might need to size within a couple of hours after casting i have waited until the next morning and wish that i had not.
# 2 - The throats on my .41 mag need a .4105 to have a sung fit. My closest die is .410 and will size that when the bullets are still soft. If i wait 3-4 hrs and size them i get the needed .4105 because of spring back.
Best to try and see what works best for your sizer and needs.
I do not think i would let the possiblity of work softing dictate when you size.
Dwight
Dwight

[Dale53]

I Size bullets as soon after cast as possible. Generally, I cast in the A.M. and size in the afternoon.

Dale53

[geargnasher]

Typical boolit alloy tends to grow a bit during the first few days of sizing, but also age hardens as well, so you have two factors to consider: Sizing freshly cast, softer boolits will minimize the effect of springback, but they will swell a little bit with time. If you wait and size after age hardening/swelling has stabilized, the springback will be greater. Depending on alloy and method of cooling the boolits after casting, these factors may cancel each other out so it doesn't matter when you do it, or you may have to time your sizing sessions carefully depending on how critical a few ten-thousandths can be in your particular situation.

Gear