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View Full Version : honing a Lee sizing die



swabbie
02-14-2009, 02:30 PM
would like to open my Lee .314 sizer to .316 to match the cast bullet size from my custom Lee mold.also to do the same with a .311 sizer to at least .312.

considering using Flitz,automotive polishing (fine or coarse) or automotive valve grinding compound as needed.

thought about using a .32 caliber bore mop

Any help appreciated:-D

thanks

454PB
02-14-2009, 03:10 PM
I use my lathe for this, but I've read that others have used "fire lapping" boolits to get it done. You can either buy the F.L. boolits, or make your own by applying abrasive grit to your own cast boolits and pushing them through the sizer. Since I've never tried it, I can't say how concentric it keeps the die interior. Using the lathe produces excellent results. The Lee sizers are relatively soft, and it doesn't take long to hone one out.

IcerUSA
02-14-2009, 06:37 PM
A drill , a dowel small enough to go into the sizer with a small slit in one end , and some fine grit wet/dry sandpaper , I would use 800 grit or finer .

Put a little light weight oil on the sandpaper and run it in and out of the sizer a few times and then run a boolit thru it and check the size of the boolit , if still too small , repeat till you get to the size you need as .001 to .002 shouldn't take muck to lap out .

Keith

Bret4207
02-14-2009, 07:42 PM
As I have noted elsewhere I use Buckshots method of opening Lee dies. A cleaning rod, some 320 paper and 400 rolls back and forth on my thigh, switching end for end every 100 rolls, I opened my Lee .329 to .332+. Very easy, very round, very simple.

woody1
02-15-2009, 08:03 PM
A drill , a dowel small enough to go into the sizer with a small slit in one end , and some fine grit wet/dry sandpaper , I would use 800 grit or finer .

Put a little light weight oil on the sandpaper and run it in and out of the sizer a few times and then run a boolit thru it and check the size of the boolit , if still too small , repeat till you get to the size you need as .001 to .002 shouldn't take muck to lap out .

Keith

Me too. For a thou. or 2 it won't take much. I use 400 grit emory paper and polish with 600. Regards, Woody

pdawg_shooter
03-04-2009, 05:47 PM
I use the split rod with 360 grit emery cloth and finish with crocus cloth.

Doc Highwall
03-04-2009, 06:26 PM
Here is a picture of a split rod for people that are not shure of what it looks like.

revolver junkie
03-05-2009, 12:58 AM
+1 for the dowel i used 320 for roughing and 600 for finising but i only opend up the die .0015 but it did a really good job sizing and was less than .00001 out of round i could just barley tell with my mic

Farmall 1066
03-10-2009, 12:50 PM
I used several of the Lee tumble lube wadcutters, rolled in Clover Compound. Just kept pushing them through like you were sizing regular bullets. Worked well for me.
Andy