Major problem w/ RCBS Lub/sizer

[Wayne S]

I asked in another post if Lyman H&I dies & top punch's would work in a RCBS L/S.. I rechecked today and found that my Lyman sizeing die sticks out above the RCBS body by apx .175 " and there is no allen set screw in the ram body to hold the top punch in place ,like my Lyman .
Any thoughts ?

[GP100man]

mine stik up a bit in my 450s but the nut has enuff to reach & hold the threads good.
seems like the gap from nut bottom flange to sizer body is .030-.050.

the top punch i don`t titen any ways ,i just put a little boolit lube on it & it "floats " in the ram.

[Wayne Smith]

My RCBS lubesizer fits its dies exactly as my Lyman, no difference except the better threads on the RCBS nut. Mine also has a set screw too. I bought both used, someone may have modified mine.

[Patrick L]

My RCBS lubesizer fits its dies exactly as my Lyman, no difference except the better threads on the RCBS nut. Mine also has a set screw too. I bought both used, someone may have modified mine.

Nope, mine is just like yours, and I bought mine new in the early/mid 90s.

I'm at a loss to explain the fit of the die, but I would bet dollars to donuts (wait a minute, donuts cost more than a dollar now!) the Lyman die is a bit long, especially if its new. Lyman is really going down the crapper lately and they're turning out a lot of out of spec stuff.

The lack of a setscrew is clearly a mistake. A call to RCBS will either get you a new ram, or instructions on how to return it for replacement, all at no charge.

[madman]

Yup same here dies fit like a glove and ram has set screw bought it from RCBS that way. Look a little closer and see if the set screw hole is not covered over with lube or other crud. Just a thought.

[hunterldh]

My guess is it was put together wrong and the set screw is in the back of the ram. Best regards, Hunter

[MtGun44]

I wouldn't worry much about the setscrew, altho they owe you one. Put a dab of
50/50 alox-beeswax lube up in the hole and it will retain the top punch and let it
float to alighn better with where the boolit wants to be.

Are you sure that there is not some interference with the bottom plunger that is
preventing you from seating the Lyman die fully? How long is the Lyman die
compared to the RCBS? Mine are visually identical, never actually measured the
length of any of them. They just go in and work.

Bill

[462]

Just measured both brands, and a Lyman die is .010" shorter than an RCBS die. They both work perfectly in my Lyman 4500 -- different brand, I know -- but they are absolutely interchangeable.

[Wayne S]

Nope, mine is just like yours, and I bought mine new in the early/mid 90s.

I'm at a loss to explain the fit of the die, but I would bet dollars to donuts (wait a minute, donuts cost more than a dollar now!) the Lyman die is a bit long, especially if its new. Lyman is really going down the crapper lately and they're turning out a lot of out of spec stuff.

The lack of a setscrew is clearly a mistake. A call to RCBS will either get you a new ram, or instructions on how to return it for replacement, all at no charge.

The set screw is in the back of the ram, I was so PO'ed about the fit of the H&I dies I over looked it.
I've checked and 3 different size [.310 , .312& .360] Lyman dies and all fit the same in the RCBS body.
Since I'm useing a softer lube the half threaded nut souuldn't be a problem.
I measures 3 Lyman dies, 2 were 1.565" and one was 1.560" OAL
What do RCBS dies measure ??

[StarMetal]

Just measured both brands, and a Lyman die is .010" shorter than an RCBS die. They both work perfectly in my Lyman 4500 -- different brand, I know -- but they are absolutely interchangeable.

If your measuring from the top of the die to the bottom then you're measuring it wrong. The dies seats the top on the inside of the nut and the bottom seats on the tapered portion. It's like how headspace is measured in a rifle that uses a bottleneck cartridge. It measured from the bolt face to a datum line in the center of the shoulder slope. Doesn't matter on a sizing die if it's a tad longer. The taper at the bottom seals the lube off from leaking. See what I'm talking about? The dies are interchangeable. I just got a new Lyman sizer die and it actually fits my retaining nuts very loose. They have a prett wide minimum and maximum specification apparently.

Joe

[Zbench]

I had the same problem and as someone mentioned, the taper is the culprit. If you look at the lyman next to any RCBS die, you will see the taper is not as long on the Lyman. I chucked mine in the lathe, set the cross slide the match the taper angle and gave it a haircut so it matched the RCBS taper. The problem disappeared.

Not sure if Lyman does it so the dies aren't really interchangeable, or just poor quality control.

Pete