some help with top punches?

[Olevern]

Have been lurking for some time here, reading and learning. I have been accumulating moulds for some years and stashing them away against the time when I would be retired and have the time and room to set up a casting room. Too busy during my law enforcement career to cast much, although I am not a rank beginner, having cast quite a number of 38 and 44 cast bullets before my career advanced and required many hours on and off duty. Most of the moulds I own I have never used, but now that my new reloading room/building is nearing completion I have gotten out and cataloged the moulds I have purchased over the yeas from E-bay, gun shows and occasionally used at gun shops. I need to complete my list with appropriate top punch numbers so I can begin to accumulate those I need. I wonder if you kind folks might contribute your immense store of knowledge to help complete my list. Hopefully I can import it here from Microsoft word...the TP numbers are listed for those I was able to find on the net.

Mfg Mfg # Top Punch #
Lee S/C C457-500-F
Lyman D/C 313445 Lyman #445
LBT D/C 432-340 WLN
RCBS D/C 32-115-FN
MM D/C 453-400
MM D/C 453-300
RCBS 45-500-FN RCBS #500
RCBS D/C 45-300-FN RCBS #600
RCBS Sil D/C 308-165-Sil RCBS #541
Lyman 4-C 358665 Lyman #495
Lyman D/C 313226 Lyman #226
Lyman D/C 358627 Lyman #429
Lyman D/C 452460 Lyman #460
Lyman D/C 358429 Lyman #429
Ideal S/C 3118 Lyman #8
Lyman D/C 311291 Lyman #465
Ideal S/C 225438 Lyman #438
Lyman S/C 360344
Lyman S/C 429421 Lyman #421
Lyman S/C 429215 Lyman #421
Lee #90300 (what the devil is this? looks like a 32 cal rn)
Ideal S/C 311316 Lyman #8
Lyman D/C 358495 Lyman #429
Ideal S/C H/P 358439
Lyman S/C 462560 Lyman #424
Lyman D/C 313492 Lyman #445
Lee D/C C-309-113 Lyman #8

sorry, formatting did not copy columns properly

[swamp]

olevern,

I found these in 1973 Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook
Mould tp #
313445 445
313226 226
311316 8
462560 424
313492 445

You might want to do a search for top punchs. I believe I have seen a mould/ top punch cross reference on here somewhere.

swamp

[Olevern]

Thanks, Swamp,
I did find a chart for Lyman moulds on castpics, but it only listed the more popular current moulds, far from complete.
olevern

[deltaenterprizes]

I think one of the members may make blank top punches that you can fill with epoxy and use a bullet to make the cavity.

[Mk42gunner]

Olevern,

I have an old single cavity Ideal 313445. I use a cutoff 1/4" bolt for the top punch; it works well with a flat nosed boolit.

Robert

[RayinNH]

Ole, go back to Castpics and look up "Mold References" on the left menu. Lyman and Ideal molds are listed with a picture of each design. The top punch is listed under the picture. Top punches for Lee molds are listed under "Top Punch References". It will give a Lyman or RCBS top punch that will fit the Lee molds. As far as the Mountain Molds or LBT, you'll probably have to create one with epoxy...Ray

[Olevern]

thanks to those who responded. Can anyone tell me what the Lee #90300 is? Picked it up at a flee mkt. for two bucks. Looks like possibly a 32 acp mould?

[Hang Fire]

I know one can go to Lyman's web site and for any molds currently in production, they will list (or used to) the top punches available for each mold.

I always rummage around (with a little pocket caliper) on the back shelves/bins etc of gun shops for used top punches. Then if I need a custom top punch, I just use the old trick of mixing up some JB Weld, wait for it to start setup and fill the clean dry TP cavity. Then with a boolit in sizer die, lightly seat the top punch onto boolit with a weight tied off on the handle to keep in place and wait for JB Weld to harden. Remove excess JB Weld and have correct top punch for boolit.

[paul edward]

If you have access to a small lathe or a decent drill press, you can make top punches out of half inch brass rod. For the tip cavity, do as Hang Fire suggested and use epoxy.