Who was the genius who told to shim 450 w/ BB bullets?

[milprileb]

There is some gent here who told met to take a 45acp case, chamfer & debur it till it had a sharp edge and then use it as cookie cutter on egg cartons. This would give me a shim to put on ejector rod of my 450 sizer and help stop lube ringing around the bevel bullet base of my cast Lee 200 SWC bullets (HG 68 clones).

My first tries were hit or miss with 9mm and 45 acp. Today, I lubed and sized 2500 ea 200 gr SWC 45acp bullets with BAC and Carnuba Red. I was using these shims and they certainly did help but they would fail and need replacement off and on. No big deal but I had an idea: Looking at a real estate sign (the corrugated plastic ones all along the roads) that I had, I took the cookie cutter and cut a shim out of this heavy plastic stuff.

It works superbly, does not compress and wear out and went over 700 bullets till I ran out and sundown was upon me.

So, if you lube bevel base bullet and are dogged by a lube ring around the base , try this corrugated plastic board stuff. It works wonders.


'

[MtGun44]

Great tidbit! I run most of my BBs through the Star so no issue, but not all.

Thanks.

Bill

[geargnasher]

That IS a good tip, thanks! The styrofoam jworks ok but wears out just about the time it really starts working well. I made an ejector piston spacer for my .40 Lee BB that's about as thick as a quarter and dished up on the sides to mesh with the BB and keep lube out. Made it by casting a boolit base in the die with JB Weld.

Gear

[milprileb]

I sure wish I remember who the gent was who came up with the shim idea so I could thank him properly. Nothing short of brilliant !!

I am still going to send the ejector rod off to be altered so it eliminates more of this issue and use the improved model with this new shim and probably be off into the sunset forever.

That said: with 2500 bullets sized and lubed, I can take the down time not having my sizing die/and ejector and allow the modification to happen without feeling neutered without the items.

Yes indeed, the Styrofoam shims do really begin to work perfectly and then completely fail and the amount of serviceability is a hit or miss thing. Some long runs and then fail, then next shim will go a different lenght of use. It works, cheap and was easily making my size/lube blitz session all day long very much easier ! However , when my mind wandered to different solutions and that real estate sign caught my eye.... it yielded a very satisfactory solution to say the least. I use these signs as target backers and I hit sign stores and ask to buy signs that were ordered and not picked up or the print went wrong. I usually get them for 5 for a dollar when sign shop has a few odd ones about. They last a long time and work great for targets. Obviously, one sign can make about a lifetime of shims!!

I will close by saying the modification of my 450 with the 4500 upgrade linkage and handle kit was worth millions in ease of operation and increased efficiency for me. The ball handle makes sizing so much more comfortable than that old bent L angle handle Lyman had on the machine with a bicycle hand grip. That L angle worked my wrist wrong and was not comfortable.

2500 bullets ! Gotta say, once the lube was going so well, shims doing noble service and it was far too hot to be outside on the range... the day was well spent and worth the effort. White label products certainly made for a far easier experience ~~!!!!!!

[mooman76]

It was me! Just kidding!

[BigRix]

I had a similar problem in that the cardboard discs I cut out were just not filling the space under the bullet. I ended up just using my Lyman 450 and a boolit to cut out the disc and it worked much better. I don't know how long they will last but it sailed through 150 without a hiccup.

Here is a video I shot that explains it a little better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kElGHsgePU

[The Double D]

Seems to me the that plugging the bottom bleed holes in the sizer die with lead shot would be more durable.

That's how you set the die up for heeled bullets, and that trick was also learned from someone here on CB.

[BigRix]

I'm new at all this and could be doing it wrong, but I was using a RCBS sizer that had holes at one level around the die. The problem as I saw it was lube was pushing under the bullet as the bevel base passed the lube hole. It wasn't a problem of having an additional hole lined up with the bottom of the bullet.

[Rich/WIS]

If you are only going to use BB bullets why not take out the ejector rod and have a machinist countersink a bevel on it the came angle as the bullet base. I use only PB bullets and had mine counterbored to leave a .10 shoulder on the rod. The rod is drilled deeper and the bullet makes solid contact with the shoulder. Don't have a problem with lube getting under the bullet.

[The Double D]

I'm new at all this and could be doing it wrong, but I was using a RCBS sizer that had holes at one level around the die. The problem as I saw it was lube was pushing under the bullet as the bevel base passed the lube hole. It wasn't a problem of having an additional hole lined up with the bottom of the bullet.

That would be a good reason for not plugging the lower row--there ain't none...

[Skrenos]

If anyone else wants to try and use those real estate signs... they are corrugated plastic as stated in the OP but are known by the trade name of Coroplast. Also known as Corflute in Australia. Another generic name for them would be corriboard (corrugated plastic board), but most sign makers go by Coroplast. Try model airplane shops too as Coroplast is used in some model airplane manufacture.

[Three44s]

Around these parts, the Politicians are using them for their campaign signs .........

After the election I gather up the ones I ran and they make a good target backer.


Three 44s

[evan price]

They tend to get posted around here advertising various scam-type things like "BUy YOUR house for cash NO MATTER WHAT YOU OWE!" on the highway off-ramps. I tend to throw them in my truck. Great target holders!

[milprileb]

THe Video BIG RIX just posted is a good idea. Will experiment doing same thing with 450 and use other materials.

However a custom ejector punch will help matters out for the long haul and is what I am going to do. Maybe that punch and a shim will be the DUCKS GUTS for 100% solution !