Old Lyman/Ideal die any good?

[Patrick L]

I bought a used Ideal No. 45 sizer. It came with what I am guessing is an older style sizer die size .358. It has no O ring (I don't mean its missing, I mean there is no groove for one, just the set screw groove) and the holes for the lube to get injected into the die are in rows of 4, not 2 like my current Lyman dies.

Will this die work OK or will I get lube seeping out around the top? I would use it in both the used Ideal and my current RCBS sizer.

[NVcurmudgeon]

I bought a used Ideal No. 45 sizer. It came with what I am guessing is an older style sizer die size .358. It has no O ring (I don't mean its missing, I mean there is no groove for one, just the set screw groove) and the holes for the lube to get injected into the die are in rows of 4, not 2 like my current Lyman dies.

Will this die work OK or will I get lube seeping out around the top? I would use it in both the used Ideal and my current RCBS sizer.


The main thing wrong with a pre-1968 Lyman sizer die is the step. Instead of having a tapered lead-in as modern dies do, the real old ones have a step. If the boolit is not perfectly aligned it is likely to be sized off center. I have seen boolits in the old days that had the lube grooves on one side visibly scraped much shallower. If you have one with a step, it would be a good candidate for being bored out to a larger size.

[floodgate]

Patrick:

Those old dies generally work fairly well. I used them for years and only occasionally got off-center sizing, usually when I turned the set-screw in hard enough to really jam the die to the back of its socket. It also helps - I am told - to put some heavy grease on the upper stem of the top punch and just press it up into its seat without tightening the upper set-screw, letting it "float" a bit for centering.

In lubing, use just enough pressure that the grooves take 2-3 seconds to fill, and continue holding down pressure on the handle to keep lube from running under the base. Count "one-two-three" and then lift the handle "smartly" to eject the boolit while maintaining contact with the ejector punch. A little adjustment of the depth collar under the die housing will get the lube flowing just where you need/want it.

These are fine old tools; don't sell them short. And the new, o-ring dies with the tapered lead-in will work fine with them, too.

floodgate

[TGM]

I have a Lyman 45 sizer that was given to me some years back. I guess i should get a new plunger assembly for it and put it to use.

TGM

[Bent Ramrod]

If you have access to a lathe, it's easy enough to remove that "step" by judicious application of 600 grit emery cloth on a split dowel followed by crocus cloth ditto.

I use the non-O-ring and O-ring dies interchangeably depending on what size I need and which has the proper diameter. The non-O-ring dies don't leak any worse than the O-ring versions do; certainly not to anywhere near the extent that the O-ring versions do once the O-ring gets pinched or worn.

Follow Floodgate's advice: just enough on the set screw to keep the die in its socket in the luber. I can even see mine go up and down slightly with the "I" plunger as the boolits are sized.