Share Your Tip Of The Day

[mongoose33]

If you use a LEE SIZING DIE and have pinched your fingers…or fumble around placing the boolit just right…or if you feel it's too slow…or whatever…
gimme 40 seconds and watch this...
Lee bullet sizer modifications
What do you think?

Sorry it's so fast but I had to create a video I could send to LEE by iPhone.

That's just...brilliant!

And that video is just enough. No need for longer.

[james nicholson]

I will second that, it is brilliant.

[ghh3rd]

+1 for brilliant. Can't wait to try that... I think I may have a spring like that in my junk parts box.

[Don Fischer]

no matter how great it sounds don't put kitty litter on the top of your lead in a bottom pour pot. It just makes a mess.

Pretty old but couldn't resist. Have youd dog close by when using kitty litter. You wouldn't want your wife's cat to dump in the lead pot!

[CBASHTR]

Invention on short notice is an extremely valuable asset --- cbashtr

[Ricochet]

+1 on the Lee sizer mod. I love it!

[mozeppa]

-wash powder funnels in Dawn & water, blow dry with compressed air & do not towel wipe in order to eliminate static cling.

or save yourself a lot of time and trouble just wipe down the funnel with a "bounce" dryer sheet...no more cling ...and it really don't need washing in soap and water ...unless you've been funneling grease.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

if you want your bullets to be softeer for better expansion, droop them straight from the mold into 5-6+ inches of sawdust, the sawdust insulates them to slow the cooling process down, making the bullets softer. mine are mostly WW's and when water quenched hard and brittle, the boolit didn't deform in frozen dirt and penetrated up to 4 feet of it( frozen dirt). only damage was sometimes I would get a small angled piece nicked off the meplat. the sawdust boolits mushroomed as close to perfect as I care to get and this was after the dirt thawed and was softer,still got good penetration ( 3ft or so) from 50 yrds @ 1450fps

[Lucky Joe]

Excellent Kidd, I have been looking for something like this. Been making soft nosed boolits if this is successful it will be a lot faster and easier.

[Kevinkd]

-When casting I dont hit sprue plate, I use my welders glove covered right hand to turn plate gently to cut sprue. Its hot and in my gloved hand, so I put it back into the pot. The total pot doesn't go down as fast (and stays hot since sprue is very hot and doesn't cool off pot).

-as I'm casting, I have a small green propane can/tank with a coleman stove on it. It has a small stainless steel pan on it where I put 3 ingots (to get the mix I want). It will melt over time (and will become liquid by the time I drain half of my casting pot). I then skim the tin/crud off my casting pot, put it into the stainless pot so I dont lose any tin etc, and then flux that stainless pot. Then grab that stainless pot with a second pair of gloves and pour into my casting pot (put 3 new ingots into the stainless pot) and start casting again. Minimal downtime and my casting (20lb lee pot) stays clean (only fluxed, very clean lead in it). Please not I made a small capture type stand for the small green propane cylinder so it doesnt fall over (just 2x4's around it stacked up 3 high).

[aephilli822]

Don't go hot plate shopping in a college town during back-to-school week.

but during the weekend after graduation (move out weekend) drive around campus housing and pick up plenty of spare ones for free (mini fridges, too)

[aephilli822]

50/50 mix of tomato paste or regular pasta sauce with water, soak brass for about an hour to 1 1/2 hrs. I will look like new! just did 500 .223 and 1000 .40. rinse off and dump in to a pot of water with a little bakingsoda mixed in it for a few minutes to help neutralize any acid that might not have come off in the rinse.

But, how does it TASTE????

[Dtm870]

That sizer mod is awesome, picking up a spring after work today

[Moonie]

Love the sizer mod, will have to take all my pushers to the hardware store to get the right size spring.

[Travelor]

Never place a bet on a horse with a jockey that rides side saddle.

[w5pv]

If you can shoot at home,use an old log about 30 inches long or so and use it for a back stop.When it is full set it on fire and and your cast will melt for easy collection.You can remelt it into ingots at your leisure.The only lead you lose is the misses.

[hiram]

I had a problem I never had before. I was having a lot of trouble adjusting alube die in a Lyman 450. I used this diebefore and was just having difficulty. Look at the picture with the bullet. A little too low or deep and the lube squeezes onto the bulletnose. A little too high and the lubewinds up on the base.
My solution—I cleaned the lower band of lubes holes. I took an O-ring with an 1/8”cross-section. Cut the O-ring and pushedthe end into each lower lube hole and cut it off. In the die only picture you can see a smallpiece of O-ring I trimmed off. Lookcarefully and you can see a difference in the hole colors. The lower hole is plugged.

Attachment 165152 Attachment 165153

[victorfox]

Not great tips, but couldn't resist.1) .380 acp holds about 6gr of the powders we have here. I make dippers from them. Same caution as with lee dippers (wipe powder and don't shake). As another caution measure I weigh every charge anyway.2) here is hot and am very prone to sweating. When messing with ammo, powder and those who cast, hot lead, use a bandana on your head. I usually take old t shirts I cut for patches and wrap them around the mug.3) I do a light pass of used motor oil in a rag on the cases and hulls (brass and plastic shells I mean) before sizing. Then i wipe with a dry rag or if going to shoot them soon, a rag with some of the wife's acetone. Found the little oil coating prevents rust from shotshell bases (most of my reloads are range picked hulls).4) a bit holder style screw driver works great to seat primers in the .410, ditto to remove a case from a handheld style shell sizer ( think old Ideal, that's what I have).

[gandydancer]

Save your confederate money. the south is going to rise again.

[trixter]

Keep everything HOT ! ​