I may have missed it - Are there LAMII "push through" sizing dies?

[Land Owner]

I would like to give that a try for some calibers and boolits if that is the case...particularly the 22 Bator, which get their noses slightly "flattened" or "circled", even after hot gluing the nose punch.


Missed one - unsized and before hot glue. The rest are more like blunt nosed SWCs after sizing.

[mehavey]

"LAMMI" ?
(But having encountered the same problem as you with small-diameter and/or soft bullets,
I use LEE sizers for them (ALOX after sizing if not PC'd 1st)

[kbstenberg]

Yes you can.
To make the LamII a push through sizer you have to take off the push rod and guide at the bottom of the press. You just have to unscrew the threaded adjustment collar from the sizer base. That is the only mod. to the sizer needed.
The sizer sits in its place like normal. The only problem with using the LamII is that you have to push the bullets all of the way through the sizer. Before you start the next bullet into the sizer, If you don't get the first bullet all of the way through you will have 2 bullets stuck in the sizer. An you will have to drill the centers out on both bullets. I did it many times before I learned my lesson.
And the new push rod has to be flat on the portion that contacts the bullet and be long enough to push the bullet all of the way through the sizer. For one of those i contacted a past member from here and ordered 3 ( 30cal, 35 cal, 44 cal). They are only about 7$ when I ordered them some years ago and are a stock item. So they were shipped out fast. I Because of rules on this website I can't post where to get them but i will send you a PM. Kevin
PS using the sizer in this way dousn't let you lube the bullets just size them. I only use this method to pre-size PC bullets or size PC bullets.

[Beagle333]

What he said. Unless you have an empty LAM II to dedicate to this, you'd probably be happier with a press and a few Lee push thru dies, or just get the NOE bushing system size dies.

[15meter]

Yes you can.
To make the LamII a push through sizer you have to take off the push rod and guide at the bottom of the press. You just have to unscrew the threaded adjustment collar from the sizer base. That is the only mod. to the sizer needed.
The sizer sits in its place like normal. The only problem with using the LamII is that you have to push the bullets all of the way through the sizer. Before you start the next bullet into the sizer,

"If you don't get the first bullet all of the way through you will have 2 bullets stuck in the sizer."

An you will have to drill the centers out on both bullets. I did it many times before I learned my lesson.
And the new push rod has to be flat on the portion that contacts the bullet and be long enough to push the bullet all of the way through the sizer. For one of those i contacted a past member from here and ordered 3 ( 30cal, 35 cal, 44 cal). They are only about 7$ when I ordered them some years ago and are a stock item. So they were shipped out fast. I Because of rules on this website I can't post where to get them but i will send you a PM. Kevin
PS using the sizer in this way dousn't let you lube the bullets just size them. I only use this method to pre-size PC bullets or size PC bullets.

Am I as confused as usual, or isn't this how a Star was designed to work? Why would they stick in the RCBS and not the Star?

If I remember the Star instructions, every tenth boolit was an already lubed and sized boolit run back through to lube the die. Or is it too early in the AM for me to be thinking this hard?

I think the lube where you don't want it would be more of an issue that anything. It's under pressure all the time and will fill any space it can find. Including the nose profile of round or truncated cone boolits.

The Star only injects lube when you want it. Right?

[dverna]

Am I as confused as usual, or isn't this how a Star was designed to work? Why would they stick in the RCBS and not the Star?

If I remember the Star instructions, every tenth boolit was an already lubed and sized boolit run back through to lube the die. Or is it too early in the AM for me to be thinking this hard?

I think the lube where you don't want it would be more of an issue that anything. It's under pressure all the time and will fill any space it can find. Including the nose profile of round or truncated cone boolits.

The Star only injects lube when you want it. Right?

Glad you posted that. I have the same questions.

[Land Owner]

"LAMMI" ?

/\
RCBS Lube-A-Matic 2 thus LAMII...as it is popularly called.




Hmmmm.....food for thought. Thanks Kevin.

With no sizing die in place, see picture (summarizing):

1.) take off the push rod (bullet ejector #23)
2.) unscrew the threaded adjustment collar (bullet ejector rod lock ring #24)
3.) remove the guide (bullet ejector screw #25) from the sizer base*
4.) remove the return pin from the center of the sizing die body
5.) insert sizing die, minus its return pin

*does this include "cutting off" its carrier from the sizer? [I hope not...]




I "see" in my Mind's Eye how that works (except "cutting off" the carrier from the sizer).

Is not the press and its linkages "strong enough" to ram through two stuck boolits? From your description, "No! It isn't."

Some forethought,

5.) add a little "water soluble lube" around each boolit before "reverse" sizing
6.) use a flat ended pin of caliber specific diameter, less 0.010" (+ or -), insert after "reverse sizing", to push the sized boolit (and the pin) all the way through the die body, before introducing the next boolit to the sizing die.

[beagle]

Haven't messed with the RCBS as I got rid of the one i had. See no reason it couldn't be done with the RCBS. The Lyman #450 works quite well in this manner. I made an extra long punch for the top punch. Problem then is getting the bullet in the sizer for clearance. I then cut my long top punch back for clearance and used a shorter cylinder to push the bullet through. Again, as has been mentioned it won't lube.
A better solution is to make an adapter die for your single stage press. Use one of the old aluminum RCBS dies and have a machinist to open it to accept sizer dies either Lyman or RCBS. Remove the center punch on the sizer and D&T for a set screw to hold the die in.
We then took a Lee shell holder and D&T'd for 5/16" machine bolts. Turned the heads to the diameter to fit the die. Normally 5-6 will fit the whole spectrum of sizes. This rig used in a single stage press will allow you to nose first your bullets. Basically a Lee push through setup using your existing sizer dies. Then, you have to come back and lube in the conventional manner. Look in castpics for the article on Nose First sizers.
Several of us looked at this problem and partial solutions for about 6 months and our collective minds came up with no "easy" solution./beagle