Ideal/Lyman 310

[Savvy Jack]

I love my 44-40 hand tool. I have an almost complete set for my 45 long colt. I sure could use a case adapter and priming chamber for my 45 long colt.

Can anyone tell me the parts number for the case adapter and priming chamber?
:violin:

[BCall]

Manual says #11 priming chamber and #7 adapter die. I'm sure someone who knows more will chime in if that is incorrect.

A copy of the number refeerence chart is on castpics site.

[StrawHat]

Jack,

If you have not heard about Rick Morril's shop, go here.

http://www.cnyauctions.com/the310shop.htm

He's got a few things for the 310 tool.

[Green Frog]

I believe you will find that the case adapter ring for the tong tool is the same for the .45 Colt and the .44-40... close enough to use, anyway. As far as the priming chamber, you may be able to get by with the same one of those for both calibers as well.

Froggie

[Taylor]

Savvy Jack,do 310 tools require different dies? I guess are they 310 specific? Will any die work?

[StrawHat]

Savvy Jack,do 310 tools require different dies? I guess are they 310 specific? Will any die work?


Not to answer for Savvy Jack, but 310 tools are NOT usable with 7/8x14 dies. I don't recall the thread size but it is a bit smaller. There is/was an adapter that allowed you to use the 310 dies in a bench press but not the other way around.

[georgewxxx]

I've posted a Ideal 310 reference chart here on my picture web pages..
http://www.sodcity.com/gallery2/view_photo.php?full=1&set_albumName=Cartridge-Springfield-pictures-etc&id=310_chart
Not all your questions can be answered, but it's a great help....Geo

[Catshooter]

The most common thread size for the 310 is .605 x 30. There is one smaller and one larger but both are very scarce. I have a 35 love affair with the 310 and I've only seen one of the larger ones once, never seen one of the smaller sizes.


Cat

[Taylor]

I was just curious,I think I have decided I want one.We'll see,just collecting info.

[scrapcan]

Cat ( and others),

Here is a piece of an email and posting on ARTCA that will help on die threads for the 3 various sizes of lyman dies. This is atributed to Floodgate, he has all three types of dies with the corresponding handles. I have been lucky enough to see the three types in person thanks to Floodgate.

Quote starts here

I have been casually referring to the threading on the "standard" 310
and earlier Ideal tong tool dies as being 5/8" x 30 threads per inch;
and the oversize ones for the largest cases (.348, .50-70) as 11/16" x
30 tpi. Recently, a correspondent (Mark Steele) had an inquiry about
some "small" dies in .25-20 SS, used in a No. 3 tool inherited from
his father, and these turned out to be threaded 0.400" x 30 tpi.
Apparently, Ideal's founder, John Barlow, had adopted the 30 threads
per inch standard from his days working for Winchester, where that
thread pitch was employed for similar applications - I have also
encountered a 1/4" x 30 tpi on an early Ideal sight adjusting tool.
This was all before the standardization of thread diameters, pitches and
tolerances in the early 1900s by the Society of Automotive Engineers,
and the 30-tpi pitch is now an "orphan", with taps and dies very much
a specialty item.

I said that I have been referring to the "standard" tong tool die
thread as 5/8" (0.625") diameter. I have just gone out and miked
several dies, and find that the diameter is actually 0.605", plus or
minus a couple of thousandths - twenty thousandths under the nominal
5/8", and well beyond the normal range of tolerance. Similarly, a .348
die set for the 310 tool mikes 0.656" over the threads, well under the
nominal 0.6875" for 11/16". So, one might casually refer to the 0.400" x 30 tpi
"small" dies as being threaded an oversize 3/8" (0.375"), or even a
grossly undersized 7/16" (0.4375"). (Incidentally, this is the same
thread used on the large decapping stems for the 310 tools.) I guess
the real answer is that Winchester, Barlow, et al., were not working
to specific inch dimensions in the first place, but chose diameters
and threadings that were appropriate and necessary for the job at
hand.

[Catshooter]

Yep, that's where I read it. Floodgate is a helluva guy and extremely knowldgeable about these little cuties.

I bought one of the large sets, a .348 Winchester at a gun show one time. Traded it away later for more 310 goodies as I don't and never will have a 348. Paid $75 for it and it was almost perfect, with the box and the original receipt for fifteen buchs and change.


Cat

[Black Prince]

Well fellas, I come to this discussion late, but here's my 2 cents worth. I loaded 50 very carefully constructed 40-65 Winchester black powder rounds using a Lyman All American Press, Lyman 55 powder measure, and Redding competetion dies. I used the same bullets, primers and powder and carefully loaded 50 rounds with a Lyman 310 tool. I even went so far as to use Lee dippers to measure the black powder charge on the loads in the 310 tool. Then I took those 100 rounds to the range and shot them, carefully measuring the groups.

The loads loaded with the Redding competetion dies were more accurate at 200 yards, but only by .675 of an inch. That isn't much given the vastly different tolerances and variances in the way they were loaded with both loads being the same.

Today we can load with some fairly accurate tools and methods, but should you find yourself in the bush using a 310 tool around the campfire each night loading your ammo for the next day's hunt, if you have good bullets, you can do it with confidence that you will have accurate ammo for tomorrow's hunt. And the 310 tool sure beats the heck out of lugging all that fancy stuff you have bolted to your reloading bench way out there in the boonies.

[Savvy Jack]

I forgot about this topic!!!

[Pavogrande]

OK, but did you get your 45 colt bits?

[triggerhappy243]

I have a complete 310 setup for 45-70. no plans to use it. what is it worth?

[Green Frog]

I have a complete 310 setup for 45-70. no plans to use it. what is it worth?

Price depends on presence or absence of handles and if present which variation of handles are there. I see complete die sets starting as low as $20-25 and going up to $75 or more, and the same prices for handles. Complete (boxed) sets with steel handles marked 45-70 go for $150-$200 or more on flea-Bay or GunBroker.

Froggie

[Savvy Jack]

OK, but did you get your 45 colt bits?

Actually I never did.....I need to go back and figure what I needed then visit the links given
!!

[ohland]

There is/was an adapter that allowed you to use the 310 dies in a bench press but not the other way around.

There IS an adapter, still in production from Lyman, but I bet you could get 'em cheaper on fleabay.

[Pavogrande]

savvy jack --
what do you need ? I have a few 310 45colt bits - pm if you like -

[Green Frog]

Well, I bought a couple of early (4 die) 310 tools today. When the dust settled, I had a complete 30/30 set in the complete marked box (old orange type) and a more-or-less complete 38 Special set with a broken handle (also in the old orange box.) Since they will be pretty nice if I get everything proper, I'll dig through the parts bin and see if I can drag out a proper set of handles for that second set. I got them for trade stock if anyone is interested.

Froggie

[Savvy Jack]

savvy jack --
what do you need ? I have a few 310 45colt bits - pm if you like -

I just looked and it looks like I must have got all I needed at one time....dang I am getting old

[Pavogrande]

OK -- glad you got the bits -- I understand the old part very well -

[Green Frog]

Well, while everybody is still digging around in their parts and pieces... I could use a #29 MR or CMR... it's the one that comes with a 30 Carbine or 32-20 set of dies. I've got some goodies to trade! :D

Froggie

[JTeale]

I load .45-70 for my H&R, using an old 5-die set. I'm trying to design a case to hold my reloading outfit, 20 loaded rounds, and the components for 100 more. I have discovered that the components for these 100 rounds take up more space and weigh more than my entire reloading outfit.

[Pavogrande]

Harbor freight has a 12" poly tool box that may serve -- about $5

[Green Frog]

I put my 457 bullets in cases made for 45 ACP. These hold 50 rounds each and keep each separate from their neighbor to avoid bruising. As big as these bullets are, there is no way to keep them from taking up a certain amount of space! :-| Depending on your powder charge, you may have to carry a whole pound of powder to charge those 100 rounds. You might look for one of the old flat sided steel cans that were discontinued recently, or better yet one of the more-or-less cubical cans that the old Bullseye™, Red Dot™ and other powders from Hercules™ used to come in. If you do use a repurposed can, though, be sure to mark it clearly and permanently to avoid problems later! :shock: I would avoid carrying primers in any but their original packaging, both to avoid contamination and mixing and to insure they don't go off from jostling together, a remote but real possibility. :oops:

Froggie

PS I found an old hip roof Kennedy tool box that holds my "field kit" just about perfectly.

[Green Frog]

I just got a nice boxed set of 38/357 dies with a broken handle... probably from the '50s, and in a flea-Bay auction I got a very nice set of steel handles marked 38 SPL. There's another caliber taken care of! :mrgreen: Along with my steel handled sets for 32 S&W, 32-40, and 45-70, I'm getting things pretty well covered. Perhaps the most difficult find was the rare Large and Small steel handles that use the shell adaptor rings (only made a year or two) that I got to use with die sets for which I lack the properly marked handles. I'm not sure steel handles make me load​ any better ammo, but they sure do give me a feeling of pride when I use them. :mrgreen:

Froggie

[JTeale]

Pavogrande,

Thanks for the Harbor Freight comment. It reminded me of their canvas riggers bag that I have for another use. It might be perfect.

Green Frog,
I have a bunch of those old Goex cans. It looks as though I will be keeping them for a long time. I detest plastic.

Actually, I was thinking about something shaped more or less like an attache case, with room inside for 20 loaded cartridges in loading blocks, 100 slugs in a wood block, the 310 tool, dies, a small balance scale, powder, primers, and a two-piece drop tube. With everything out of the case, it could be stood on its side and serve as a stand for the drop tube. The design is still evolving in my head, and I will eventually produce some plans on paper, and hopefully a finished project.

[Wayne Smith]

Re: 44-40/45 - I don't know about the adapters but the J shell holder for the 45 S&W fits the 44-40 perfectly.

[JTeale]

On my 5-die .45-70 set, the decapping pin wobbles around quite a bit, although it works quite well. I took it out for inspection, and it looks as though it might be a brad that was pressed into service. The head is not what one would call a precision part. It is not round, is less than .030 thick, and the lower surface is not flat. The finish bears little resemblance to the decapping pins found Lyman or RCBS dies. Also, the end of the pin is not square.

How does this compare to the decapping pins in your dies?

[jrmartin1964]

On my 5-die .45-70 set, the decapping pin wobbles around quite a bit ...... it looks as though it might be a brad that was pressed into service.

The correct decapping pin will not wobble. Most likely you are correct that yours has been replaced with a brad or nail - a common occurrence.

Jim

[JTeale]

Thanks. It works, because I just decapped 10 more cases today, but I'm always a little dubious.

Next month I will be ordering some more stuff from the 310 shop, and I'll see if he has any decapping pins.

[Savvy Jack]

I initially posted this video on youtube a few weeks before my initial post to this forum but thought I'd share it again.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Oy4MNuhyfE

[eric123]

Great video...

[Savvy Jack]

Here is a quick blog post I made about the Lyman 310 handloading die set. Some forums get an attitude about posting outside links. Actually I have only had a problem with one forum. Rather than duplicate the text, I will post a link.

https://www.44winchestercenterfirecartridges.com/single-post/2017/12/25/Lymans-310-Hand-Tool-Kit