Storing top punches?

[MT Gianni]

I asked a few years ago and got some great ideas and now store my sizing dies in a labeled 12 guage 25 shot plastic case. What are some good ways to store top punches? I have done the pill bottles pour out and search. I am thinking of a mini fishing box with small compartments and labeled. Anything better? Thanks gianni.

[powderburnerr]

how about a board with holes drilled in it and hung on the wall?? .....Dean

[Johnch]

I drilled holes in a nice Oak board for the shank and varnished it .
I then labled the holes so if I SHOULD put it back in the right hole I don't have to search .
Also I can see the size and shape .
I can grab the right one most of the time by just sight .

Johnch

[crazy mark]

I got some white food grade plastic sheets from work and drilled holes for sizing dies and TP's. Has a bottom and the top piece is held up about 1" by spacers. I can stack one holder on top of another. Fine tip marker works great to write what is where.

[D.Mack]

I took a wooden box ( actualy one I made) about the size of a shoe box, only half as tall , fit a 3/4 inch board to the bottom, then drilled a series of holes for the sizing dies, smaller holes for the stems of the top punch, and added short 1/4 inch dowles for my lee primer shell holders, then glued the board to the bottom of the box. By using the stem to hold the top punches in place, the cup, is up so i can visualy decide which one I want, with out digging around looking for the right one. D.M.

[Buckshot]

.............I just bought one of those plastic multi drawer parts organizers.


It's there in the middle of the photo behind the reloading press. It has 21 drawers, and each contains the size dies and nose punches for a 'series' of sizes.


By a series of sizes you can see the label on the drawer in the background. It contains all the sizers I have in the 45 'Series', which are: .450, .451, .452, .454. .457, and .459". So in the 35 cal series there are: .355, .357, .358, .359 and .363" sizers in that drawer, and so on for each. The drawers also hold any Lee push through dies I've bought or made.

Naturally the unit came with those plastic dividers to divide up each drawer. I just used one in each drawer at the front to hold nose punches.
The nose punches divided off in the front of the drawer are in a kind of skinny place, and it's kind of hard to get your fingers into it. I have a carbide scribe with the carbide tip broke off, but the other end has a magnet. I just stick the magnet end down amongst the nose punches and it pulls 2-3 of'em up at a time.

I guess each drawer is 4" wide x 3" deep and 5 to 6" long. Eighteen of the drawers are labeled for sizers. The bottom 3 contain oddball stuff that I find myself using all the time, and some of it is small. Having the bottom drawers full of this stuff and looking down into them makes it handy.

..............Buckshot

[anachronism]

I use a clear palstic Plano box, like to ones fishermen use for their lures. Another possibility would be a large caliber MTM pistol ammo box, one with partitions (I'm assuming you use the smaller RCBS or Lyman punches).

[NVcurmudgeon]

For a small collection, I use one of the Midway plastic boxes that is about the size of a shotshell box. Cardboard dividers separate the sizing dies, (I have only twenty.) A shallow Speer plastic bullet box sits on top of the dies and holds the top punches.

[Edward429451]

I've always just stored sizers & top punches in the die boxes. Also the shellholders, seating stems, pc's of brass for trim setup, extra crimp dies and so forth.

Come to think of it, no wonder its a pita to get everything back into the die box arranged in such a way that it will still close...

They should make die boxes a little bigger.

[shooter2]

I store sizing dies in empty 35 MM film canisters. Top punches go into little jars that are about an inch tall and 3/4" in diameter. I can put two in a jar if I have duplicates. Both allow you to write on the top with a Sharpie pen. They are stored in an Akro Mills cabinet that sets on a book case and hold all my top punches, dies, and a host of spare parts for moulds, as well as tools.

[TCLouis]

BUT I bet a slip top box for 44-25 pistol ammo would work very well. Right now I store them loose in one for the "uncommoly strong" mint boxes! They would sit upright with number easily read in the pistol ammo box. Now I am glad that last order got delayed . . . I'll try it!
Now if I could find a nice enclosed case for the bullet sizing dies.

[floodgate]

TC:

"Now if I could find a nice enclosed case for the bullet sizing dies."

Get an MTM 12-gauge , 25 shell snap-top box; they fit nicely (you can get them into a 20-ga. box, but they are too tight to get out easily).

floodgate

[TCLouis]

I have yet to get the order in the email stage so will look for that item at MidSouth.
Funny what ta company listes but we never see because we didn't know we needed one!