Sizer top punch idea

[Gunslinger1911]

OK, so I had this idea - usually bad, sometimes expensive. lol

When sizing hollow points, has anyone tried using a punch to go down into the HP instead of the cup punch supplied (Miha, NOE, etc).
It would have to fit well to keep alignment. I'm thinking of making a holder for one of the HP pins from a Miha Cramer on the lathe.

This is for a Lyman 450 by the way.

Thought's ???

[ReloaderFred]

You can either turn one on a lathe, or make one with epoxy from a top punch that already fits the contour of the bullet you're going to size. Just apply wax, or some other release agent, to the inside of the hollowpoint cavity and the nose of the bullet, and put a small amount of epoxy inside the cavity of the top punch. Lower the punch, properly aligned, onto the bullet and the epoxy will form to the bullet and hollowpoint. It won't take much epoxy, and it won't have to go very far inside the HP cavity.

I use my drillpress to align the bullet and seating plugs when I'm forming a seating die punch to a particular bullet. It should work for what you want, too.

Hope this helps.

Fred