Are these boolits ok?

[Mauser48]

It looks to me like my boolits are getting pushed a little too far into the sizing die. Problem is if I push the bullet in less, the lube groove wont fill. Will this affect anything negatively? 228089

[high standard 40]

Based on your photo, it appears they the bullet is either not concentric, or it is being pushed into the sizing die crooked. In your photo, the right side of the bullet is sized farther up the ogive than it is on the left. Are all bullets showing this trait? What kind of sizer and what kind of nose punch are you using?

[Mauser48]

Based on your photo, it appears they the bullet is either not concentric, or it is being pushed into the sizing die crooked. In your photo, the right side of the bullet is sized farther up the ogive than it is on the left. Are all bullets showing this trait? What kind of sizer and what kind of nose punch are you using?

It's an rcbs lube-a-matic 2 with a lyman .358 sizing die and a lyman 495 top punch I filled with jb weld and scraped flat. All the bullets do that only on one side, could that also be because they are not perfectly round?

[high standard 40]

I would check to see if the mold is dropping bullets that are non-concentric. If you have some unsized bullets, orient a bullet with the mold seam at the 12 oclock position of the sizer die, run it into the die, then turn another unsized bullet 90 degrees from the first and size it. Compare the two. Does the "high side" follow the mold seam? If it does, the problem is the mold, if not, I would think the top punch is not true. Also, try loosening the screw that holds the top punch. A dab of bullet lube on the top punch stem will hold it in place in the top ram recess and allow it to self center.

[Grmps]

Possibly the JB weld isn't perfectly flat and it's causing the boolits to shift a little. Try pushing a boolit through with another top punch (this will deform the top) but what we're looking for is if the sizing evens out or not.

My2¢ worth

[Mauser48]

I'll try both these suggestions. I have a friend up the street who has some of the accurate flat top punches. Maybe I'll go borrow one of his and see if that helps.

[high standard 40]

Just using a flat punch does not always resolve this issue. There are documented instances where a particular lubrisizer will have a ram that is slightly out of alignment with the die. That is why I mentioned leaving the set screw loose on the top punch stem. I had this issue with my lubrisizer. By leaving the screw loose, the top punch will self align and push the bullet into the die straight.

[whisler]

I have a Lyman .358 die that does exactly the same thing consistently on different style of 38 boolits. If I run the same boolits thru a Lee die, they size perfectly fine. I have tried floating the top punch and everything else I have heard recommended without satisfaction. My .452 die in the same lube-sizer yields well sized boolits, so I don't think it is the ram alignment. I think some size dies are just wonky.

[EMC45]

My Lee 158gr bullet does that as well. They still shoot better than I can.

[high standard 40]

To answer the OPs question as to whether the bullets are OK, it depends on what you will do with them. How well do they shoot? Can you achieve the level of accuracy that you seek? How good of a finished product are you willing to accept? It is obvious that there is a misalignment problem with the lubrisizer, or the mold is bad. Most likely explanation is lubrisizer misalignment. If the sizer die is "wonky" as another person has suggested, that can be verified easily. Turn the die 180 degrees and size another bullet to see if the high spot moves with the die. If the die is "wonky", demand a new die from the manufacturer. Technique with a lubrisizer, especially with longer bullets, can help if you do have a lubrisizer that has an alignment issue. The floating top punch helps and a flat punch helps with flat nose bullets. The technique I have adopted is to slowly start a bullet into the die, then release the pressure on the handle to take the pressure off of the top punch so that it can better align with the bullet, then go ahead and finish pushing the bullet into the die. That slight pause in the press stroke can help push the bullet in straight. It is a simple enough thing to try, to see if it helps.

[gwpercle]

Try this :
Sand the jb weld flat , fine sandpaper on a flat hard surface , turn the punch while sanding so all surfaces get sanded dead flat.

Seat the boolit in the die as flat and as straight up as you can, turn the boolit in the die to make sure it's seated flat,
Lower the handle and start the boolit into the die , before reaching the lube groove , raise the handle back up off the boolit , turn the boolit 180 degrees in the die, making sure it's straight up , lower the handle full depth and pressure up the lube. then eject .

If the boolit isn't sized evenly all the way around.....either the mould or sizer die is off.

Another tip, on my Lyman 450 I don't use the set screw to hold the punch in place, a little dab of beeswax or lube keeps it in the hole and the punch is free to self center.

That's all I've got for advice on this one....Good luck !

Gary

[44MAG#1]

This is where experimentation come in. Use a flat punch. Turn the bullet nose down and size only as far down as you can with NO, NO, NO pressure on the lube. Size a few like this and see if the sizing is concentric. If it is use this method. Then turn the bullet over and size the rest of the bullet while apply the lube.

Again I am not trolling, baiting or calling out anyone by my post. I mean no harm, hurt or anguish to anyone on here. This post is made based on my knowledge, experience and/or beliefs. Nothing more. Please take it that way. Thank you

[megasupermagnum]

I fought the same exact problem this year, and it was worse on the softer bullets. There are a few things I changed to solve the problem. To get flat top punches to work I had to do three things. One was to polish the surface to a mirror finish. Next was to lube it with a thick grease. And finally was to lube and size in separate steps. I've actually gone to sizing with a lee push through, then using my Lyman 450 for lube.

I never did try glue or JB weld. I can only assume you didn't get yours just right. The easiest way is a press in good alignment with a fitted top punch. I lube and size in one step for my target bullets, but need a well fitted top punch. With the resistance of lube and sizing, a flat top just didn't work for me.

As for if they are OK, not if you want accuracy. Crooked bullets like that more than doubled my group size verses perfect ones.

[Mauser48]

I was just messing with it and I'm still getting that streaking above the crimp groove but it's pretty uniform all the way around. Is this acceptable or is it possible to get even better?

[megasupermagnum]

What do you mean streaking? Assuming the bullets cast big enough, any yours are, they should be shiny all the way around for the top band. If it's visibly uneven on one side at all, it's not good enough.

[gwpercle]

I was just messing with it and I'm still getting that streaking above the crimp groove but it's pretty uniform all the way around. Is this acceptable or is it possible to get even better?

That's good , the streaking is just the sizer , sizing down the boolit at that point, uniform all the way around is what you want. The boolit design will have some streaking above the crimp groove...it's normal . When you have more streaking on one side than the other that means the boolit is tilted, went in crooked or some other misalignment .
Gary

[pjames32]

I spin my modified top punches in a drill press to sand them flat.