Casting an Unmarked Reloading Die

[Negster]

Has anyone ever cast a reloading die with cerrosafe to find what caliber it was made for? I have a few sizing dies that are unmarked and was curious if this was an option. I don't have a ton of random brass to jam in to use it as a kind of form die is why i'm asking.

Chris

[JimB..]

Sounds messy.

If I was inclined I’d probably measure the base diameter and length to the shoulder to get a good guess. Take a piece of fired brass in that caliber and fully anneal it, lube it well with lanolin or imperial sizing lube and then run it carefully into the die.

[OS OK]

Make sure you don't cast any interior threads at the top inside of the die or you will have plugged it for life.
Also...areas within the die body that are rough cut are going to try to keep ahold of the cast...I wouldn't try it myself.

[imashooter2]

Make sure you don't cast any interior threads at the top inside of the die or you will have plugged it for life.
Also...areas within the die body that are rough cut are going to try to keep ahold of the cast...I wouldn't try it myself.

Worst case, you melt it back out with a hair dryer. I see zero downside.

[Idz]

if you just need the shape and approximate size then paraffin canning wax is easier than cerrosafe.

[runfiverun]

canning wax works fine.
you only need the first bit anyway there is only so many 25 caliber cases 2" long with a 30* shoulder.

[KenT7021]

Cerrosafe should work fine.Plug the threads with a cleaning patch or a cork.If the die has a vent hole plug it as well.If the casting gets stuck it doesn't take much heat to melt Cerrosafe.

[Negster]

So I cast the die tonight and am having trouble figuring out what it is. From all the SAAMI drawings I have searched I think it may be a wildcat of some sort. Can anyone help me out?

[vzerone]

To me it looks like a 219 Donaldson Wasp. With that .252 outer neck dimension it's definitely a .224 caliber.