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Thread: 310 tool questions

  1. #1
    Boolit Master wonderwolf's Avatar
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    310 tool questions

    I'll admit I've always been kind of "blind" when I've seen the tong type tools at gunshows and such, recently I've been going back to "simpler" things like lee loaders just to experiment with and toy with as I have more time than I should to load ammo these days. Anyways I've become very interested in the Lyman 310 tools, I've read some interesting history on them but still have a question.

    Do you have to have the small size tong tool to load something like 38/357 or can you load them on the large tong tool?

    How can you tell the sizes apart?

    and lastly does the straight wall cases like 38/357 get full length sized or are they too just "neck sized" like everything else I'm reading. I wanna say they would be FL but at this point I'm not assuming anything.


    I'm suddenly interested in this tool because there is one in an reloading equipment estate that I'll be picking up this weekend and like I said above, never really considered them before/ didn't realize 310 dies could be used in them. Wished they made the 310 in carbide for 38/357.....
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  2. #2
    Boolit Master



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    The small size has a shorter "snout"......(where the die screws in) compared to the longer "snout" on the large handles. Otherwise they're physically the same size. I only used the rifle caliber dies, so my handles are all large, but I believe you can use either......BUT, that's determined by the length of the die. If you have a very short die, say .38 S&W, it wouldn't thread into the large handles far enough to deprime or resize the case mouth. If I'm incorrect on this, someone please jump in.

    The dies neck size only, even in the pistol calibers.

    You'll need some white graphite (motor mica) for a case neck lube, although there may be others. With the standard set you deprime, resize, reprime, expand the case mouth, charge powder and seat bullet. this normally takes at least five dies, although Lyman did make a combination sizer/expander die (similar to a standard resizing die) towards the end of manufacture that reduced the number to four.

    One caution........and believe me, I found out the hard way........set the depriming pin so that it just BARELY pops out the primer. Since the handles swing in an arc, if you have the pin out too far it will be bent one way removing the primer and then bent back the other way when you withdraw the case. Doesn't take many cycles of that before the pin goes "twink". Better have a few replacements on hand (The 310 Shop in Texas).
    Last edited by 3006guns; 03-21-2015 at 08:52 AM.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master wonderwolf's Avatar
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    Would that decapping pin be something easy to fab on a lathe ?
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  4. #4
    Boolit Master



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    Quote Originally Posted by wonderwolf View Post
    Would that decapping pin be something easy to fab on a lathe ?
    If it's a jeweler's lathe.........they're pretty small. Rick at the 310 Shop has all you'll ever need and they're cheap. Since I discovered the "set 'em short" trick I stopped breaking them, although I keep five or so spares with my kit "just in case".

    Something else I forgot to mention: Like all reloading tools, overall case length is very important and more so with the 310. If your cases are not all checked/trimmed to the same length you'll encounter problems when seating and crimping. Not so much with the pistol calibers, but definitely in the longer rifle calibers.
    Last edited by 3006guns; 03-21-2015 at 08:51 AM.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master

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    The long and short of it: Click image for larger version. 

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    You definitely cannot use the same handles for all cartridges. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. If you're looking at handguns, opt for short handles. There's loads of info re: 310 and Truline Jr. reloading in some of the old(er) Lyman handbooks and several are available for download at Castpics.

    Regards, Woody
    Last edited by woody1; 03-21-2015 at 04:41 PM. Reason: added info.
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  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy
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    Caution! The neck sizing die with an expander ball like a standard 7/8-14 resizing die is intended for use in the TL Jr. only. I used one in the 310 handles and found out that the extractor hook swings away from the case before the case mouth is pulled over the expander ball and can't pull the case out of the die. I had to saw the head off the case and then unscrew the decapping stem to get everything out.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master



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    Quote Originally Posted by catskinner View Post
    Caution! The neck sizing die with an expander ball like a standard 7/8-14 resizing die is intended for use in the TL Jr. only. I used one in the 310 handles and found out that the extractor hook swings away from the case before the case mouth is pulled over the expander ball and can't pull the case out of the die. I had to saw the head off the case and then unscrew the decapping stem to get everything out.
    Wow..........that's a new one. I won a set of 6.5 Jap dies in an Ebay auction, but they're actually Truline dies so I'll have to take a look at that expander ball now. Thanks for the info!

  8. #8
    Boolit Master wonderwolf's Avatar
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    Looks like the 310 tool I got is a large handle, with what looks like a universal decap? I don't see any numbers, sadly there was only one die with the tool. The gentleman who owned this stuff previously was very utilitarian it seems as he has all hand tools to reload with several B&M pieces of equipment, a pak tool and such.

    I would like to get everything together that would be needed to reload .38/357 with the 310 so I guess I'll do some more reading and start hunting around. I'm guessing the short nature of the cartridge would dictate I get a "small" handle set I suppose.

    ONE more question, is there any reason or variation to the 310 tools that have specific calibers stamped on them? And how important is the size of the collets that are at the bottom of the threaded portion?
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  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    The ones with specific calibers stamped on them are typically the purple colored steel tools. The hole in the handle at the spigot for the die is sized for that particular cartridge case. Later on, it was found to be less expensive to bore and thread the handles for a universal insert, which could be bored as needed to fit whatever cartridge the customer wanted to load. A single handle with several of these inserts would be able to load several cartridges, just as a press with several shell holders is set up to load those cartridges. They ran out of the steel handles shortly after this changeover and went to the black painted aluminum handles.

    The Universal decapper came in only two sizes, long and short.

    If you are looking for a set of .38 Special/.357 Magnum 310 dies, the Priming Chamber should be marked "1," the Decapping Chamber (which you have) should be the Large size (but I bet you could make due with the Small, in a pinch), the Muzzle Resizer (Neck Sizing Die) and the bodies for the Expanding Chamber and the Seating Chamber should be marked 95, the Expanding Plug 358, and the Seating Screw should have the last three numbers of your Ideal boolit mould.

    Later Expanding and Seating Dies will have the caliber marked on them instead of the number. As has been mentioned, avoid the ones with the suffix "D-A;" these are the ones for the Tru-Line Jr.

  10. #10
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Thanks for that picture, Woody. I guess I need a set of small handles to do my 32S&W the easy way!
    Wayne the Shrink

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  11. #11
    Boolit Master

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    I'm dead certain you won't be able to use large handles to load 32 S&W! A 32 WCF mebe, I don't know. You know there's enough of us around with complete setups that mebe we could fool around and check out some of these questions. I know I've loaded some cartridges with no dies made specifically for them.

    wonderwolf, I'll round up a large handle and some 38/357 dies and see if they'll work. Seems like I did this once and the only thing I couldn't do was crimp but we'll see. As far as the specific caliber handles, they'll work for any cartridge in the same family ie, 30-30 will load 32 Win Spl. 32-40, 35-35, etc. I have one in 257 Robts. that can load anything in the 30-06 family and obviously 7x57mm and all those also. I believe the collets you referred to are the adapter dies, the little screw in thingies for adapting the newer aluminum handles for various cartridge families.

    Here ya go, every little thing you wanted to know>>>>>>>>>.
    http://ps-2.kev009.com/ohlandl/310/Lyman_310_Tool.html

    Regards, Woody
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  12. #12
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by catskinner View Post
    Caution! The neck sizing die with an expander ball like a standard 7/8-14 resizing die is intended for use in the TL Jr. only. I used one in the 310 handles and found out that the extractor hook swings away from the case before the case mouth is pulled over the expander ball and can't pull the case out of the die. I had to saw the head off the case and then unscrew the decapping stem to get everything out.
    I assume you are talking about dies for a bottleneck rifle case? I've never seen such dies for a pistol case (at least I don't recall any, but it's been about 40 years I've been using them, so there could have been one or two! ) That would cause a serious hang-up, for sure.

    I actually prefer the 5 die sets that perform each step separately since there is less strain on the equipment (and the operator) this way. I can get by with decapping and neck sizing as long as the sizing part is not too extreme.

    While Bent_Ramrod says, "Later Expanding and Seating Dies will have the caliber marked on them instead of the number. As has been mentioned, avoid the ones with the suffix "D-A;" these are the ones for the Tru-Line Jr." I've never seen a set that does not seat and crimp at the same time... but that is the only combined step that I normally do since you seat almost all the way before any crimping starts with a properly adjusted die. What am I missing, Mr Ramrod, did you perhaps mean "CMR" instead of "D-A" in your caution?

    BTW, back to the large vs small handles question, there are 3 lengths of dies for the expander balls, and if you get a long die with a short stem, a too-large handle will give you problems. I try to keep some spare die bodies to "tune" my die sets as needed. I find that I do a lot of mixing and matching with die parts to make semi-custom sets that work to suit my loading style and technique, but that's easily done with my 40 year accumulation of misc. dies! Now my goal is to have a hybrid set for each caliber I load frequently so I can load with it in both the proper handle and my TruLine Jr press. Works for me!

    Froggie

    PS You can take the expander ball off the stem of the decapper and just use a regular small nut, then use a 6.5 (.257) expander stem with a separate expander die... problem solved!
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  13. #13
    Boolit Master

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    Yes you can

    You can load 38/357 with large 310 tool handles. At least I can with the handles I used. I used a generic decapper. Actually it was a 243-244-6mm rem. CMR but lots of others would work also as long as they're smaller than 357 and the body is large enough to basically not do anything except punch the primer out. I resized using a 38 Special CMR with the guts taken out and only sized about half of the cases. I should have tried it with a real 38/357 MR but I didn't. It might be too short. Mebe I'll hunt one up and try it. I primed the cases with a standard #1 priming chamber, expanded case necks with a .358 plug in what I think is the standard chamber for 38/357. I seated and crimped with a #95 seat die with a 311 seating screw.

    Regards, Woody

    PS - you may have to take a lock ring or 2 off to get dies seated deep enough.
    Last edited by woody1; 03-22-2015 at 05:40 PM. Reason: added PS
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  14. #14
    Boolit Master
    Bent Ramrod's Avatar
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    Of course it was "CMR" and not "D-A," GF. Couldn't for the life of me remember, and most of my references are packed away at the moment. Apologies to all.

    Should be easy to find a 38/357 die set for the 310. That, and the set for the .30-06, seems to be what I encounter 90% of the time at Gun Shows.

  15. #15
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Wonderwolf, I'm pretty sure I could cobble together a usable set of dies in 38/357, but like the others, I don't know whether it would work with your current set of (large) handles. If you want to load for a rifle, I think I can gather up a 30-06 set (which would also probably work for 308/7.62 NATO) and a 222 set which can be used for 5.56/223 with your large handles. I'm sorry, but I don't think I have a spare set of small handles. That Universal Decapper you already own is by its very nature a very useful die regardless of what caliber you want to work with. Drop me a PM if there is anything I can do to help you get going with your new 310 interest.

    Froggie

    PS I just made the connection WW. Maybe I could trade you some dies you need for some cleaning rod segments or something. GF
    Last edited by Green Frog; 03-22-2015 at 09:14 PM.
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  16. #16
    Boolit Master wonderwolf's Avatar
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    Still kind of kicking around the idea of getting a set of tools, I'm moving to a smaller place for awhile in 2 months (literally a 6'x8' room in a rooming house) while I finish up work in Ohio before I follow my girlfriend down to TN. anyways this move has me really wanting to get set up with one of these as I will have NOTHING to do besides work and reading.
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  17. #17
    Boolit Master
    Jon K's Avatar
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    If the price is cheap enough...get it.
    Works good as a decapper, you can later put together handles & dies as you want for it.
    Takes up very little storage space...

    Jon
    Last edited by Jon K; 06-18-2015 at 10:37 AM. Reason: spell
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  18. #18
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    Which size handles would a guy need for .22 Hornet, small or large? Gonna give one of these set ups a try soon, dies are coming so I need to get some handles.

  19. #19
    Boolit Grand Master
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    I would go with the small handles for the .22 Hornet. The steel caliber specific Hornet set I have is a lot closer in size to the small handle than the large one.

    Don't forget you will also need the case adapter to fit the handle.

    Robert

  20. #20
    Boolit Man
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    My steel handled .22 Hornet set is also very close to the small handle size. The aluminum handled .22 Hornet sets that I have seen all hAve had small handles.
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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check