Top Punches for various Lead Wadcutters?

[TenTea]

Picture stolen from an old thread and member TCFAN.

I have a Lyman 45 Lubrisizer top punch for 358495 / H&G 50 / Cramer 16H, etc. which is Lyman No. 495 ~ great.

I also have a Lyman 35887 mold which is the larger version of the 358425 shown above ~ great.

Notice the button noses atop the 358495 and the 358425 bullets are quite different.

Online searches reveal that a Lyman No. 311 or No. 402 top punch should fit the little wadcutter button nose ~ no dice.

Anybody have better information than I do?

I know I can buy a top punch blank and machine it to proper dimensions, but I would prefer to find *the right* top punch for the job.

A flat bottom top punch blank squooshes (technical term) the button nose flat due to lack of fit and soft alloy BHN 8-10

It's a mystery.

Thanks for any input.

[fecmech]

Myself I would use the 495 top punch, the nose has very little if any accuracy effect. That said, why not degrease an extra 495 TP and place some JB weld or other epoxy in the end. Lube the top of a 425 bullet and push it into the JB weld on the TP till the outside edge of the bullet contacts the outside edge of the TP. You will have a perfectly formed 425 top punch.

[TenTea]

^^ I like it - I like it! Thanks for the idea.

All those supplies are just laying around at my bench, right this very minute.

I'm sensing an after supper project, tonight.

[gwpercle]

Easy fix.....any boolit that has a flat spot on it....use a flat top punch for them all.
I had a RN punch I never used , filled the nose with JB Weld , let harden , sanded flat and seat all WC's , SWC's , TC's , RF's and even some RN's with it....ever since it went in the 450 it's been used on all 38-357-9mm boolits, it's a winner !
Gary

[TenTea]

Somewhere in the deep dark memory's hoard, I recall reading of JB Weld formed top punches on this forum.

Maybe my random access memory is weak or possibly the hard drive is plum full.

[TenTea]

Thanks fellas.

Victory is mine!

[gwpercle]

Somewhere in the deep dark memory's hoard, I recall reading of JB Weld formed top punches on this forum.

Maybe my random access memory is weak or possibly the hard drive is plum full.

You are correct ! Just use JB weld to custom fit a boolit profile , clean the punch , oil/grease the boolit , so as not to glue them together.
JB Weld makes an epoxy putty thats easy to work with. it will nor run into places where it's not wanted. Knead a small ball , press it into the clean nose punch and lower ram onto greased boolit and start it into sizing die enough to align everything. In a few hours it's cured and perfectly formed. Good way to make them fit those pesky Lee boolits.
Gary

[TenTea]

I just sized up a couple hundred of these 35887 wadcutters and happily, the JB filled top punch worked perfectly. I used JB Kwik.
Thank you for the ideas and support!