M-die worth it?

[Tom W.]

Call RCBS. The new dies come with an M die.

[HangFireW8]

Call RCBS. The new dies come with an M die.

RCBS is shipping Lyman M dies? I don't think so. They have their own version, but they don't call them M dies.

So the objects of expansion dies are 1.) flare the mouth to accept the boolit, 2.) expand the neck, so as not to resize the boolit, and 3.) not damage case concentricity. It is at 3.) where the standard Lyman M die often falls apart, but usually only when the second step engages the case mouth. If you can avoid that, and also the first step doesn't have too much work to do, then you can usually avoid making crooked cases out of straight ones.

I've heard "no problem" on 3 on this site and others before, but nobody quoted me back before/after neck eccentricity readings.

[Forrest r]

Thanks, Fred and Smoke.

I don't care much for that wicked steep flare that M dies give, so even if I do purchase an M-die I'll probably look for an alternative to flaring. One member here had a machinist knock down the Lyman radical flare to a more gradual angle.

But I do like the step M-dies give. That's what I'm thinking might make a big difference in alignment.

????
Don't know if you're aware of it or not but the lyman m-dies do adjust up or down. The reloader can set the m-die for the amount of step they want. What the step looks like.
[IMG][/IMG]

Machinist???
Anyone can angle the edge of a m-die in less than 2 minutes with nothing more than a piece of sandpaper and a drill. The actual part of the m-die that does the expanding is screwed in. Unscrew it, chuck it in a drill, hit the loud button and sand the edge down. Un-chuck it and screw it back into the stem.

Don't know if you still can, used to be able to order new m-die tips from lyman, 1 die body/x-# of tips for different calibers.

[Tom W.]

RCBS is shipping Lyman M dies? I don't think so. They have their own version, but they don't call them M dies.

So the objects of expansion dies are 1.) flare the mouth to accept the boolit, 2.) expand the neck, so as not to resize the boolit, and 3.) not damage case concentricity. It is at 3.) where the standard Lyman M die often falls apart, but usually only when the second step engages the case mouth. If you can avoid that, and also the first step doesn't have too much work to do, then you can usually avoid making crooked cases out of straight ones.

I've heard "no problem" on 3 on this site and others before, but nobody quoted me back before/after neck eccentricity readings.

Think again. The last dies I bought specifically said M die. Not something like an M die. They are the 9mm carbide dies. They did not say anything about Lyman dies.

[jerry6stl]

I BUY THE "M-DIE" for volume reloading (pistols and .30 cal. rifle), but also use a tapered punch for lower volume reloads. Tap the tapered punch with a light hammer. Not as consistent, but works O.K. for non-target reloads.

[HangFireW8]

Think again. The last dies I bought specifically said M die. Not something like an M die. They are the 9mm carbide dies. They did not say anything about Lyman dies.

I'd like to see a picture of that.

[Tom W.]

Just call them. I wouldn't tell about it if it wasn't true. I called, and the guy says do I need to replace my worn old expanders. I ordered three


Edit... I just went to the shed and pulled the paperwork out of my dies. It stated that dies made after 2010 had a stepped (M-style ) expander. Gimmie a fork for my crow, but make it a small one, as I was half right. I knew they said M......