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Thread: Filing down a seater die in a 45 colt

  1. #1
    Boolit Grand Master Tripplebeards's Avatar
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    Filing down a seater die in a 45 colt

    I just purchased a Lee 3 die set in 45 colt. One only seater sie insert came with and its ovaled for round boolits. I put my 450 bushmaster insert on the grinder and and sanded it flat so it wouldn't scrape PC off the Lee 300fn.

    I'm loading the same boolit and Lee 255g in 45 colt. I'm assuming I will have to do the same or my boolits will distort with soft lead?

  2. #2
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    texassako's Avatar
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    Or you could just fill it.
    Back in the land of boolits.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by texassako View Post
    Or you could just fill it.
    Yeah, the thing to do is fill the oval seater with J.B. Weld. I did it to a seater I wanted to use to seat wadcutters. Works well.

    Don
    NRA Certified Metallic Cartridge Reloading Instructor
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  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master

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    You can fill it with epoxy. J*b weld works good, bisonite bedding compound is better still but most epoxies work good here. You can make flat tipped seater or can wrap it with tape and insert a wax coated bullet to make a formed nose punch.

    Use 2" wide masking tape and give 5-6 wraps around seater stem leaving 1/2" - 3/4" of tape above the actual stem. ( the adhesive acts as the release agent on the tape) Coat a bullet with paste wax 2 coats. Mix epoxy according to instructions and put a small amount into the nose of the seater. Slide bullet into the tape tube carefully pushing epoxy up and out forming it and removing air from the mix. Set bullet up and let cure over night.

    If it isn't off a lot you can lap it in with valve grinding compound but this can be a slow process.

  5. #5
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    I just fill the cavity with epoxy, let set up , sand/file flat and let cure.
    It can always be removed. A flat stem will work with any boolit that has a flat spot on it , trucated cone , round flat , SWC , WC and I have even used them to seat/size round nose boolits, it just leaves a tiny flat spot on the RN boolit nose.
    You can also custom fit nose punches with epoxy , epoxy putty is very easy to use...it doesn't run or drip .
    Gary
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    " Let's Go Brandon !"

  6. #6
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    I got tired of looking at the ring on the nose of my 308 bullets so used hot glue, paste waxed a bullet filled the seater pushed bullet in rolled on glass (I have a piece of glass 12"x12") to see concentricity used couple of pieces of masking tape on the glass to get bullet to set true when rolled as seater is a little bigger than bullet. In a few seconds glue cools use a razor to cut excess glue off and you are up and running that nite
    nice thing is you pull the hot glue out of the seater with a pair of needle nose pliers if you change bullets and fit for that bullet
    Tony

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master Char-Gar's Avatar
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    I have modified RCBS seating stems by turning them dead flat. This will work and seat correctly any bullet with a flat on the nose.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 004.jpg  
    Last edited by Char-Gar; 10-08-2017 at 12:05 PM.
    Disclaimer: The above is not holy writ. It is just my opinion based on my experience and knowledge. Your mileage may vary.

  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master Tripplebeards's Avatar
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    I did the same with my 44 mag die

  9. #9
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by Char-Gar View Post
    I have modified RCBS seating stems by turning them dead flat. This will work and seat correctly any bullet with a flat on the nose.
    Yep. That's what I had a machinist friend of mine do for me. Now I use it exclusively for all calibers without pointy tips. Also did it to my top punches.

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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