Lee push through base first?

[lead chucker]

I use the lee push through to size and install gc I do it nose first seems to work but as far as the gc goes am I supposed to do it base first? I'm going to feel stupid if if been doing it backwards all this time. If so I wonder what else I'm doing wrong.

[badbob454]

dont feel bad.... i dont know how to use the other sizer dies , i use the lee nose first, it seats gas checks and lines up the boolits great , lube first in your brans of lube first and afterwards if preffered i use mineral spirits and lee liquid alox

[lead chucker]

I hear that aluminum checks are springy and they needs to be a two step process size first then put check on and resize? I have put hornady checks on and sized them nose first for the most part seems to work, you have a few that are a little loose they wiggle a little but I don't worry about them falling off. I have not played with the aluminum ones yet. I have a pat marlin ck maker coming so just trying to learn all I can.

[Sonnypie]

There are a lot of variables, but one figure I was told was that some aluminum's (Harder more than softer) will spring back after the pressure of the sizing die.
Also, lead does not spring back, but is more of a "dead" metal and stays where the pressure squished it.
Pat recommends a specific metal and a specific thickness that his dies work best with. Amerimax 68104. It is 4" wide X .014" thick X 50' in a roll.
Personally, I tried other metals while waiting for my ship to come in.
Amerimax makes several grades and thicknesses. And the big box stores sell the cheapest, for the mostest, around me.
My hardware store (Not Ace) sells a better grade, but still not the right stuff.
And I had some brass shim stock in .011" that I even made some gas checks from.
I must say, a lead bullet with a brass butt is sexy.
And one flashing I tried was .0092" and was anodized gold on one side. Again, kinda sexy.
But I now have 18.8 pounds of boolits with .014" aluminium checks ready to load.
I can't pick them loose with a fingernail. But I haven't tried a knife either. They seem to be staying on fine.

All of mine are set to the base, lubed, then sized and crimped through a Lee Push Through Sizer, nose first. As Lee instructs to do.
The ram of the Lee system forces the gas check tight to the base of the boolit as it sizes and sets the check in one simple pass.

So the better Aluminum might be a softer one, but different tool makers have different ideas of what works better in their equipment.

One thing is for sure, when that powder goes off, that gas check is going to get seated like no press can squash it! :shock:

[gerrycan]

Sonny,
Well said, they are going to hell in a hat-box,so we shouldn,t over-think the process.Gerry.

[405]

I use the lee push through to size and install gc I do it nose first seems to work but as far as the gc goes am I supposed to do it base first? I'm going to feel stupid if if been doing it backwards all this time. If so I wonder what else I'm doing wrong.

Since the discussion turned to aluminum checks- I don't know about that material. I assume you are using copper checks. But, as to your OP, no, you have been doing it right :) nose first. That in theory puts most of the ram pressure directly on the check keeping it fully seated on and plumb to the bullet GC shank.

The real secret with gas check seating/sizing is the basic fit of the check on the bullet base. It should go on straight and to full depth with a snug fit before crimping/sizing. Then as the Lee push thru ram pushes upward it gets crimped/swaged onto the bullet shank as the bullet gets pushed up thru the sizer.

Some do it differently but when using the Lee push thru... I put the GC on, lightly lube the whole bullet by rolling on a case lube pad, push thru the Lee sizer then pan lube.

[Sonnypie]

405,
My first 1000 was with Hornady copper gas checks. (And MAN! Those went out of the box fast!)
They were seated the same as I currently do, Lee push through sizer.
On Tumble Lubed (LLA) 120g Lyman #2, 30 cal boolits.

Recently I learned that some have a ring internal to the gas check to help it grip the shank. I can not confirm that with the 1 (uno) surviving Hornady GC I have here for reference.
But those Hornady's do sure grip the base! Like two dogs.... uh, never mind.

I did have high hopes of using a large roll of copper foil/flashing I have. .006" X 12" w.
Too thin. :-(

Now I am off to a new project with aluminum coil and a feeding system. Stand by for news.... :mrgreen:

It took me a while to get over being skeptical about aluminum pot marks in my bore. My fears were proven wrong... ;)

[Pigslayer]

I've tried it both ways . . . nose first & base first. I find no difference as long as the check fits the base snug.

[lead chucker]

I figure a soft lead mix for hp bullets would get damaged trying to cram it through a lee sizer base first. I'm going to keep doing it the way I have been just making sure I'm not missing something. Also I believe nose first would be better aligned when it goes through the sizer. Thanks every one for there in put. Well back out side to shovel snow some more we have gotten 18 feet so far this year.

[Larry Gibson]

Base first is an excellent way to size with Lee sizers. I do it all the time. I find with PB'd bullets the bases are sized squarer that way, especially if sizing sown an appreciable amount. With GC'd bullets that offer sized little the bullet GC shank is pushed into and seated solidly to the bottom of the GC that way. This ensures GC's are square to the bullet for better and more consistent accuracy.

Larry Gibson

[shotman]

somewhat depends on the boolit. The Lee 338 mold will not work nose first. Lee made me a punch to match the nose and it works . NO charge

[curator]

I size nose first (without the check) if I am reducing the size a thousandth or more then seat the gas check and size it on base first. I have done this because sizing base first has resulted in not concentricly sized boolits. Nose first is always concentric but often the gas check would slip twords the rear a few thousandths. Base first resulted in iccentric sizing unless the bullet was pre-sized. So twice through the sizing die keeps everything concentric and check tight against the boolit base.

[Pigslayer]

405,
My first 1000 was with Hornady copper gas checks. (And MAN! Those went out of the box fast!)
They were seated the same as I currently do, Lee push through sizer.
On Tumble Lubed (LLA) 120g Lyman #2, 30 cal boolits.

Recently I learned that some have a ring internal to the gas check to help it grip the shank. I can not confirm that with the 1 (uno) surviving Hornady GC I have here for reference.
But those Hornady's do sure grip the base! Like two dogs.... uh, never mind.

I did have high hopes of using a large roll of copper foil/flashing I have. .006" X 12" w.
Too thin. :-(

Now I am off to a new project with aluminum coil and a feeding system. Stand by for news.... :mrgreen:

It took me a while to get over being skeptical about aluminum pot marks in my bore. My fears were proven wrong... ;)
I have too found that some copper checks have a ring internal to the check. I found this on my Hornaday .45 checks.

[David LaPell]

I use my Lee sizer die for my #358156 and Hornady gas checks. Sizing them nose first so far has given me no problems with mine using the Lee Alox. I find that the bullet coming from behind helps seat the GC on the one ahead of it.