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waco
10-09-2009, 09:10 PM
cast a batch of .38 wadcutters for my tauras .357
alloy is 50/50 ww and indoor .22 range scrap
this is a new mold to me. its a lyman 358495 4cav.
my gun likes boolits sized to .357
these boolits are dropping at around .360-.361
when ran through my lyman 450, the crimp groove all but disappears.
thats no real big deal, i have a lee factory crimp die so no groove is really needed.
what does concern me is a pretty good sharp edge that flashes up the one side of my boolit.
will this harm the flight of it?
hmmm....the seating die might flatten this some right?
at any rate....wadcutters like softer alloy right?
dont really want to make the alloy any harder if i dont have to.(tin and lino are costly) anything i could do to make the boolits drop out of the mold a little smaller?
or should i just not worry and load some up with 700x, redot, or 231 and see what happens?how does anyone else deal with this problem when they run across it?
thanks again guys
waco:confused:
243winxb
10-09-2009, 10:07 PM
what does concern me is a pretty good sharp edge that flashes up the one side of my boolit.
will this harm the flight of it? It can't be good for it, a photo would help.
anything i could do to make the boolits drop out of the mold a little smaller? Add pure lead and have the mould and pot at the highest temperature. The antimony in 22lr and WW is what makes a larger diameter bullet. Sizing to .358" might be ok also. If you need more lube than the grooves hold, tumble lube them with liquid alox.
Char-Gar
10-09-2009, 10:21 PM
Where did you get your sizing die and how old is it Sounds like on of those old Lyman with the sharp shoulder inside instead of a nice tapered cone.

I only ask, because those old abominations were made for many years and many of them must still be floating around. I have a bunch, but don't use them.
waco
10-09-2009, 10:41 PM
REALLY!!!!
i got most all my loading stuff when my uncle died
he bought this sizer die anywhere from '77-'80 if i had to guess
i was just a small kid at the time
you think that could be the issue?
maybe i should just buy a new one huh???
thanks for the input chargar
crazy mark
10-10-2009, 12:22 AM
You can grind a nice taper in that die. I have done that to several of mine. Mark
geargnasher
10-10-2009, 02:59 AM
REALLY!!!!
i got most all my loading stuff when my uncle died
he bought this sizer die anywhere from '77-'80 if i had to guess
i was just a small kid at the time
you think that could be the issue?
maybe i should just buy a new one huh???
thanks for the input chargar


If your uncle used that sizer a bunch odds are that a worn-out plunger bore could be an issue, it allows the plunger to go off-center (usually toward you) on the downstroke causing the boolit to get "cocked" in the seating die. With tapered H+I dies this will cause bent boolits and with straight dies it will cause one side to be scraped off and the boolits will be elliptical.

Check for play in the plunger, more than .015" is probably going to cause problems, even if the top punch is a perfect fit. If it is worn, search for a thread that (IIRC) Buckshot started about how he fixed this on his 450 with a setbolt of some sort that tensioned the plunger.

Gear
Bret4207
10-10-2009, 07:45 AM
You can grind a nice taper in that die. I have done that to several of mine. Mark

Me too. That sharp edge can be tapered with abrasive paper. Not a huge job, but not something you do as fun either.