boolit stuck in new sizer

[Malfatti]

i cast some boolits with hardball alloy in lyman 375449. as cast .379. put a new size .377. in a new lyman 4500. per instrutions lubed the bands with bullet lube. the boolit stuck and could not be raised with the handle. took the sizer out knocked out the boolit and tried again. boolit stuck again, knocked it out again.anybody out there got any advice. thanks

malfatti

[deltaenterprizes]

What are you using to measure the unsized boolits? A dial caliper can be off .001 or more.
Try some case sizing lube or STP on the boolits driving bands, roll them like you would cases on a lube pad.

[Malfatti]

i using a digital calibper. never thought of casing lube. are we talking about stp forthe car?

[runfiverun]

he is.
i use lanolin or dish soap with some water in it.

[cbrick]

I use Hornady's little tub of case lube, just a little on the fingers as you handle the bullets to put them in the lubrisizer is all it takes.

Rick

[blaser.306]

I just had very nearly the same proplem with my sizer the other night , you know 2 am can't sleep and thought Might as well size some slugs . The sesion started off normaly but with the heater plugged in, the warmer that the 4500 got the harder that it was to eject sized Boolits . It also seems that when it was at full temp the die was actualy shaving a small amount off of the gas check ! I unplugged the heater and let everything cool off and everything returned to normal . You didn't mention whether you were running heat , but may have something to do with hard ejection ?

[Leftoverdj]

We've run into this before. Assuming freshly cast bullets, it's possible to run the bullet down into the stop hard enough to extrude lead into the lube holes in a new sizer. Break the inside edges of the lube holes and it goes away.

[insanelupus]

I ran into this with a new sizing die the other day. A brand new Lyman .431. I'd used another newer Lyman weeks before that was .430 with no problem. Same bullets from the same casting session, tried sizing a fuzz bigger and twice stuck the bullet in the die. After that no problems. I hadn't thought of using case sizing lube, but I definately will next time!!

[Malfatti]

thank-you all for your input. my computer took me off line again for a while.
used the case lube with . new .377 sizer, no problem. lyman tech told me the alloy was toohard and the boolit too large and long to size it down .0002. he suggested making the alloy 11 to 11.5 bhn since i was only going to soot it 1600 to 1850 fps. kinda confused when i read ken waters pet loads taking mould 375449 in a hard alloy down to .375. guess it will take me 20 to 30 years to the hang of boolit casting. thanks again

malfatti

[snaggdit]

lyman tech told me the alloy was toohard and the boolit too large and long to size it down .0002. he suggested making the alloy 11 to 11.5 bhn since i was only going to soot it 1600 to 1850 fps.

I'm not quite buying that solution. .002 is not a whole lot to size down, but if your boolits are heat treated or water dropped and fully hard I suppose it might be. His suggestion of 11.5 seems a little soft for those speeds. Yeah, it is borderline, but you should be able to lube those at 25 bhn. I think LeftoverDJ might have something there.

[runfiverun]

11 bhn is plenty hard enough for 1600+ with a good flat base.

[Recluse]

lyman tech told me the alloy was toohard and the boolit too large and long to size it down .0002. he suggested making the alloy 11 to 11.5 bhn since i was only going to soot it 1600 to 1850 fps.

One of the first things you'll learn in the casting world is that the New Lyman is always right and everyone else is always wrong. Their equipment is never at fault, it's always, without fail, user error. Hell, even the secretaries at Lyman know more about all things shooting, reloading, casting than everyone here put together times one thousand.

The Old Lyman company had folks who would discuss things with you and even admit that something might have got out of the factory a bit off kilter. The New Lyman is the most perfect company this side of either Heaven or Michelle Obama's vegetable garden.


guess it will take me 20 to 30 years to the hang of boolit casting. thanks again

malfatti

Only if you keep calling the New Lyman asking for help or advice. :)

Stick around here and you'll be very comfortable well inside of a year, easily.

:coffee:

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Some of these new sizers are as finicky as some of these new molds, seems like a feller needs to fix em then use em:oops:.....I can remember when , if it wasn't broke, it didn't need fixed. :redneck:

[HeavyMetal]

You may also check the diameter after sizing, I've had a couple current production sizer dies from Lyman be just a "tad" off. Currently have a .358 die that sizes .357.

So check the die.

[GabbyM]

With new dies you need to clean them out with solvent then polish them a bit. Clean them again then lube up. I've found that to be standard of all the brands I use. They aren't finished yet. Plus their green stuff Lyman puts on dies for shipping may look like lube but doesn't seam to work in that application.

If you're bullet is sticking that hard my guess would be the die needs polished. Easy way is to use some compound on two bullets and run them through about twenty times. 600 grit or finer. I've heard of people using tooth polish and all sorts of stuff. Another way is to find a wood dowel and attach fine emery paper to it. By sawing a slit in it or glue. Use thin oil or solvent with this to float the aggregate.

[S.R.Custom]

...With new dies you need to clean them out with solvent then polish them a bit...

+1 on that. My last new Lyman sizing die (.430") looked like it was honed with an axe.

A note on emory cloth/paper: "Fine" is actually quite coarse in this application, running about 220 grit. Whatever you use should be 600 grit.

[Buckshot]

.............Make sure the ejector pin is free in the die bore. Place the die body sans ejector pin into the press. Apply just a bit of pressure on the lube handle you want o see it 'just ' beging to extrude through the lube holes. Stick the ejector pin back into the die. The ejector pin will now be lubed and will move easily.

Actually the hot ticket for the best and most accurate sizing it to lube (only) in the lyman press with a die a thou over the as cast OD. It lubes without touching the boolit and will 90% seat the GC if using one. After you've run them in the Lyman, send them up through a Lee type push through die of the desired boolit OD. Quick, effortless, and accurate.

..............Buckshot