is this right?

[bryonbush]

I got my sizing die in today and went to size in the new 4500. Problem number one: when I lift the handle to raise the bullet, the push rod won't push the bullet up far enough to get the bullet out. I put an old casing to lift the bullet up enough. Second, it takes A LOT of force to get the bullet out of the die. For me to get it out I literally have to slam the handle up a few times to get the bullet out. Is this right? For this much work I'll stick with the lee sizer and tumble lube.

[Iron Mike Golf]

What lube are you using? Are you heating your lube?

[wallenba]

It sounds to me that the boolit you are sizing is considerably larger than the die. What is the die size and the diameter of the boolit as cast?

[bryonbush]

As cast they are .453-.455. The sizer die is .452. The lube I'm using is the bryonbush special. It's a soft lube. I don't have a heater for it yet.

[bravokilo]

Is this a factory new die? If it is I have had that problem several times. You need to use it a bit more. It seems as though you have to break it in. I don't know exactly what it is, but it will smooth out after a bit.

BK

[Mal Paso]

Are they water dropped? That will make sizing harder. Set the bottom adjustment so the top band of the bullet goes Just Past the bevel in the top of the die and no more. Too far and sometimes they stick. Water dropped will size larger too.

[C.F.Plinker]

Take the center part out of the die and operate the ratchet enough that you can see lube coming through the die body into the center of the die. Then put the center piece back in. The last RCBS die I got was impossible to get the boolit out of the first time until I took the entire die out and used a bench vise to push the boolit out. Once I had lube in it everything was fine. apparently the clearances were so tight than lube was needed between the die parts just to get things going.

[bryonbush]

yes it is a factory new die and yes they are watter dropped. i have it set up so it fills up the two lube slots on the bullet and thats all. right now im running some of my previously sized/lubed bullets to get things going. ill try your idea plinker and see if that helps. im hoping to cast some 45's this week and ill let them air cool to see how much of a difference it makes. glad to hear im not the only one that has/had this problem.

[gwpercle]

The hard sizing is probably due to new sizer , needing some lube in the die and you are sizing water hardened boolits. Idealy if your hardened bullets mike .453 to .455 use a sizer die of .455. Sizing a water hardened bullet removes the temper and you are back to a as cast hardness. If you need .452 dia boolits , find a mould that casts .452 dia. boolits, water harden and lubricate with.452 sizer die. The idea is to lube em without additional sizing after they are hard.

Just exactly what cal. and gun are you trying to load for? And for what purpose? I have found that a lot of loads can be developed for both handguns and rifles using wheel wieghts with a little tin added without going through all the song and dance of water hardening.

Give us some feedback we are ready to help.

gary

[bryonbush]

im loading them for my springfield 1911. this is the second lee mold that i purchased and both are over sized. if i try to load them at .454 or larger, you can see the buldge in the case and they wont feed into my pistola. to be honest, for years when i was casting my .401's i never water dropped and never had a size issue. but ive been with my .45 from the getgo so maybe thats the problem. i didnt realize that water droping would increase the size. maybe tomorrow or thursday i can cast some and air cool them and see how much of a difference it makes.

[Mal Paso]

im loading them for my springfield 1911. this is the second lee mold that i purchased and both are over sized. if i try to load them at .454 or larger, you can see the buldge in the case and they wont feed into my pistola. to be honest, for years when i was casting my .401's i never water dropped and never had a size issue. but ive been with my .45 from the getgo so maybe thats the problem. i didnt realize that water droping would increase the size. maybe tomorrow or thursday i can cast some and air cool them and see how much of a difference it makes.

What I meant was, water dropped bullets spring back more or expand the die more. Water Dropped I use a .430 die to get .431. Air Cooled I use a .431 die to get .431. Same Alloy, Same Mold. I think after 25,000 water dropped boolits the leaver of the Lyman 4500 broke. I cut a new one from 1/4" plate. Broke the bolts too. Still water drop for my faster loads, 1300-1500 fps but I'm casting closer to finished size too. 45 ACP should be fine air cooled.

No one splained it to me so.........:holysheep

[462]

No need to water-quench the .45 ACP. In fact, I've not found a need to water-quench any handgun or rifle boolits. That's not to say it will work for everyone and every gun.

Grade 8 bolts are the cure for broken Lyman 450 and 4500 linkage bolts.

[gwpercle]

bryonbush

I agree with 462, the water hardening should not be needed.

What type alloy and which Lee mould are you using?

I have reloaded and shot more 45 acp than anything else what works best for me is wheel weight alloy ( 1% tin sometimes added to improve castabilty but not required ) . Lyman mould # 452460 , sized to .452 - this is done in Lyman 450 sizer with a die marked .452. Strangely enough the finished sized and lubed bullets all measure about .452.

no water hardening or oven tempering

loaded ammo with these boolits have always worked fine in several 1911's and two 45 acp revolvers.

[bryonbush]

I'm using melted wheel weights and using the .452 230 round nose 6 cavity lee mold. I really need to check the size after they are put through the sizer to see what they come out to be. Tomorrow I plan on casting a few and then let them air cool to see how well they go through the sizer. Next question. The push rod that is used to push the bullet out of the die seems too short. In order for it to push the bullet out, then I have to use a shell casing. Us there a way to adjust anything on order to make the rod push out the bullet?

[gwpercle]

My old 450 has at least 1 1/2 to 2 inches of rod hanging down past the threaded stop - the one that controls how deep the boolit can be pushed into sizing die. I don't remember having any trouble even lube/sizing short 115 gr. 38 cal.

How long is the rod on new and improved 4500?. Do instructions say anything about this?

[bryonbush]

there is only an 1.25 to 1.50 inch rod hanging down past the threaded stop. nothing in the instructions about it. infact, the instructions kinda suck. checked the sized bullets today while cleaning the garage and they are exactly .452 which is good. saturday ill try them out and see how they go.

[462]

A sizing die's ejector rod is just a bit shorter than the die body. If it's not coming up far enough for you to easily grasp the boolit and remove it, I suspect that the adjusting screw is screwed down too far, allowing the boolit to go too far into the die. If that's the case, the push out rod doesn't have enough upward travel to move the ejector rod high enough to easily remove the boolit. Adjust the adjusting screw so that the boolit enters the die only enough to lube the groove(s).

[gwpercle]

I measured my 450 ejector rod it is 2 3/4 1n. long. overall. The dies are all 1 5/8 inches long. If your adjusting screw does not have enough length to get boolits ejected - mine measures 3/4 in. long - You might have to give Lyman a call. Maybe someone with a 4500 will report what thier measurments are so you can compare apple to apple