Vintage lyman ideal shell resizers

[tonyb]

Anyone still use these? What would the value of them be?

[Mooseman]

I just was given 2 brand new ones (The Whack a Mole type) in Calibers I use...I have no idea what they are worth.

Rich

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Like this ?
BTW, How do you use these ?
is it just as simple as it looks ? Tap the lubed case into the die with a wooden mallet...and how far into the die ?
Then tap it out with the pin ?
thanks,
Jon
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/shellsizer_zpsffe3516c.jpg

[Wayne Smith]

Yup, or, better yet, use a vice to run the shell in the die. I have several in calibers I don't use, I'd be curious if there is any interest in them at all.

[Mooseman]

Yes John...With the die standing up ,you place the lubed case in and a block of hardwood on top of the case base , then drive the lubed case all the way in with a sharp hammer smack and tap it out lightly with the rod.

[salpal48]

I think what there worth is what someone will pay for it. On e-bay someone buying them. I,v seen them at Local gun shows for $5/$10. save them for 30 years or so then they will be " Vintage ' or " Rare"

[tonyb]

Like this ?
BTW, How do you use these ?
is it just as simple as it looks ? Tap the lubed case into the die with a wooden mallet...and how far into the die ?
Then tap it out with the pin ?
thanks,
Jon
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/shellsizer_zpsffe3516c.jpg

Yep, that's it right there.

[Green Frog]

I think what there worth is what someone will pay for it. On e-bay someone buying them. I,v seen them at Local gun shows for $5/$10. save them for 30 years or so then they will be " Vintage ' or " Rare"

They're vintage now... I don't think Lyman has made them for at least 30-40 years. I have found that the best way to use them is with a small arbor press. I lube the case lightly then place it as far into the die as possible and then finish the job with the press. Gently drive back out with the rod provided. Key words were lube lightly and tap out gently.

As for value now, they haven't really been "discovered" by the collector crowd yet. I see them going for $5-15 or so each now as new in box. The problem is finding a specific caliber if you want to actually use it. So far I have 25-20 SS, 25-35, 30-40, 32-40, 38-55 and 45-70 in the old calibers and 243 and (of course) 30-06 in the more modern. Pistol calibers don't seem to show up around here very often for some reason. Truth to tell, I don't use them all that much, but to me at least they're way cool to have around.

Froggie

[salpal48]

I have a few myself. I have not looked at them in years. calibers I think I have are 308w, 38/40 WCF and Possible 6.5 jap. Maybe a couple more
Sal
They're vintage now... I don't think Lyman has made them for at least 30-40 years. I have found that the best way to use them is with a small arbor press. I lube the case lightly then place it as far into the die as possible and then finish the job with the press. Gently drive back out with the rod provided. Key words were lube lightly and tap out gently.

As for value now, they haven't really been "discovered" by the collector crowd yet. I see them going for $5-15 or so each now as new in box. The problem is finding a specific caliber if you want to actually use it. So far I have 25-20 SS, 25-35, 30-40, 32-40, 38-55 and 45-70 in the old calibers and 243 and (of course) 30-06 in the more modern. Pistol calibers don't seem to show up around here very often for some reason. Truth to tell, I don't use them all that much, but to me at least they're way cool to have around.

Froggie

[Reg]

I would like to find one in 2-R Lovell, would pay a premium.

[Char-Gar]

I have about 20 of them in various calibers and use them from time to time.

I use an arbor press to push the cases in and out.

I polish the insides of the die to reduce the amount of force it takes to size the case.

With large pistol cases (44 Mag and 45 Colt), when the web of the case near the head starts to enter the die, it takes lots of pressure to get it in. However, very seldom do you need to size that area, so I just stop when the "going gets tough". If takes some fierce pressure to size down the solid brass head of the case.

The same is true for bottle neck rifle cases. If you need to move the case shoulder back to reestablish correct headspace for your rifle, then the last smidge will get hard. If not, then just push the case in far enough till it hits the web. When the case stops, so do you.

If there is an issue with these dies, it is the need to move the case all the way into the die to establish headspace on a bottle neck case. As said, the last bit that swages down the web of the case can be a booger bear. With press mounted dies, that area of the case is within the shell holder and you don't size it. We would have more broken presses if we did.

These are neat and useful tool, but they do have their quirks that need to be understood.

I am playing with one of these in 30-06 now whereby I open up the neck with an 8.5mm (.3346) chucking reamer. This sizes the necks for a .310 - .311 cast bullet and will require no expanding, just bell the case a little an load. This will allow the case to be sized for any of the many 30-06 rifles in the fleet.

I will also open up a Lyman 310 neck sizer with the same reamer to just neck sizes 30-06 cases for cast bullet loads. The whole project may be a bust, but I have less than $10.00 invested in both dies and about the same in the reamer, so let's find out if this is a good workable option.

[Green Frog]

Way cool, Char-Gar! Why use modern equipment and do things the easy way when you can go old school and then improve on what once was to what should have been? You are a man after my own heart! :grin: The one die of that type that I use most often is a forming die that was made by the late Charlie Dell to make his 32/357 cases. In this one, I size 357 Mag cases down to a straight taper to a true 32 caliber at the mouth. I prefer to use a good arbor press for this duty and make the taper in a couple of passes. This is a little OT, but goes to show what this concept in sizing dies can actually do.

Froggie

[Char-Gar]

Green Frog... I plead guilty to being "old school" or out of date depending on how folks look at it. I enjoy the reloading process and don't want to find ways to load more faster. I am looking for ways to load better slower.

I cut my teeth on 4 position shooting with a tight sling. Sight picture, breath control, trigger squeeze and follow through are the essence of rifle craft. The single round placed exactly where you want it is the name of my game. I don't understand the need to send as many rounds as possible down range is as short a time as possible. Why the hurry to fill the berm with lead? Relax, take your time, enjoy the entire process, savor the smell of gunsmoke and thrill of hitting what you shoot at, each and every time. Assemble each round with the ultimate precision no matter how long it takes. Old school? Yep, guilty as charged!

I am off to buy a lotto ticket. I need a 5 ton ratchet arbor press and that is a couple of thousand bucks new. My ultimate loading press!