Sizing woes

[holsterguy]

Yesterday, I had to lube and size a bunch of 45 colt bullits I cast. I have a Lyman #45 set up for running black powder lube as its softer.
Problem I was having was, using my lyman 454 sizing die, unless I put a LOT of pressure on the handle before I lubed, I got a lot of lube between the bullit and the pusher (I part?).
Out of the 4 or 5 I use for lubing, this is the only one giving me fits. What am I doin wrong??
Thanks
Oh- I wasn’t putting too much pressure on the lube, just barely touched the wrench.

[rancher1913]

the sizer dies have holes that the lube enters the sizing chamber through, some have more rows than others. you will need to plug off the excess holes.

[holsterguy]

Thanks, Rancher. I have a roll of solder, will that work?

[243winxb]

Lead shot to plug holes. Plastic hammer to install. Not needed on newer Lyman dies, they have less holes.

Could bullet diameter be smaller then the sizing die?

[Minerat]

Usually need to fill the lower row of holes and/or adjust the depth the boolit is pushed into the die. I set mine a little high (above the bottom holes) to just lube the lower lube groves and not the crimp groove but still size the top band.

[C.F.Plinker]

A couple of questions. What is the as-cast diameter of your boolits. That is how much are you trying to size them down. How hard are the boolits? Are you casting with pure lead, wheelweights, Linotype, or something in between?

Can you take the I-die (plunger) out of the sizing die. If you can, operate the wrench until you can see lube coming into the center portion of the die. Then replace the plunger and make sure it moves smoothly in the die before you try to size a boolit. There needs to be lube between the plunger and the die body when you start sizing. If you try to lube with a "dry" die they cam lock up something fierce.

[holsterguy]

C F Plinker- bullit as cast mikes at 4565. Cast with 25-1, lead-tin.

[holsterguy]

243winxb- yes, it’s the newer style with 4 sets of 2 holes set at 90 degrees.

[45DUDE]

I am with post #5 --Maybe use a harder lube or no heat. Make sure the plunger in the lube die is not upside down. Boolits out of round?

[Minerat]

And when all else fails I then wipe the boolit base across the edge of a plastic jar and then a rag to clean it.

[454PB]

I've seen this happen when the nose punch doesn't properly fit. It can actually pull the boolit upwards before the ejector punch has begun to raise the boolit, which allows lube to flow underneath and coat the base.

[Winger Ed.]

I'd also go with less heat, and plug the lower holes.
If you still have an issue, run the boolit down inside the die a little farther
so the lube comes in higher, right next to the groove, or closer to the top edge of it.
That's worked well for me.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Another trick for a troublesome boolit.
Only apply pressure when boolit is all the way into the Die,
release pressure before you raise the boolit.
this can seem time consuming, but once figure out a system, it goes almost as quick.

[Mitch]

i have a 450 and have had the same problem.I have been able to adjust the position of the bullet to get it to work.I start with the bullet just in the die far enough to size if that is not the right spot i run it in deeper.Small ajustment is the key if is a fine line with a few of my bullets.

[Sam Sackett]

I know I am a little late chiming in, but here goes. I haven't heard anyone mention the shape of the ends of the "I" part of the die (center rod). I have a couple that have one flat end and the other end is kinda rounded off. I fought my 358 die for quite a while, getting lube pushed under the base using cold lube and the least pressure I could use to get the lube grooves full. I finally got disgusted and pulled the die out of the lube sizer, took it apart and cleaned it up with Ben's Red. That's when I noticed that the "I" part had only one flat end. I reinstalled it with the flat end up to contact the base of the bullet. Problem cured!
Not sure what yours is like, but you might want to pull it out and check. Cheap fix for me.

Sam

[Larry Gibson]

Does the bullet have a bevel base at all? If it does that is usually the problem. Holding constant pressure on the main handle keeping the base solidly against the "I" die can solve the problem especially when bottomed out and the lube handle is pressed. A piece of Styrofoam under the bullet also can prevent lube from getting under the base.

Is the sprue cut clean or does it stick out a bit? If the sprue sticks out it can prevent the "I" die from seating against the base of the bullet and lube can get under it.

If neither of the above have you adjusted the bullet stop up or down a bit? That always cures the problem and I have never plugged holes in the "H" die nor had to.

Is the "I" die flat or slightly concave [you want to use the concave end against the bullet base]? If flat is it reversed? Old original "I" dies were flat.

Lastly, the pressure applied to the lube handle needs only enough to fill the lube groove with lube. Excessive pressure can exasperate the problem you're having.

[onelight]

If your lube is thick might help to give it more time to flow , apply a little pressure and wait a second and check to see if it filled the lube grooves. Also I find I need to clean my 450 if it has not been used for a while it seems to crud up old lube and not flow as well but that may depend on the lube I have used.

[44magLeo]

Use enough pressure tofill one side of the lube groove. Tur bullet 1/2 turn and fill the rest of the groove.
Leo