Lyman 450 as a PUSH-THROUGH sizer...

[BruceB]

Trying to size some NEI 421-390s (.421") down to .417", I was not happy with the sizing alignment. Grooves were clearly being squashed on one side, and not on the other.

This 450 hasn't given me trouble like this before, so I don't know what's going on.

Anyway, rather than dragging out another machine, I decided to try something different. I removed the parts below the die which push the bullet up-and-out after sizing, and also the "I" component of the die itself, the pushrod or whatever you want to call it. Selecting a top punch with an outside diameter almost exactly the same as that of the bullet's base, I installed it in the normal fashion and started sizing.

The first bullet was pushed down into the die nose-first, after making sure the top punch was properly aligned to the outer edges of the base. This bullet stayed in the die. Eyeballing the nose of the next bullet to more-or-less center of the previous bullet's base, I again ensured the diameters of bullet base and top punch were carefully aligned, and pushed the second bullet down. The first bullet dropped out the bottom of the die, and close inspection showed perfect, uniform sizing all the way around its circumference....no evidence of off-center sizing at all.

I sized about a hundred in all with this method, and the good results on the first bullet were repeated throughout. I didn't try installing gas checks on this initial sizing, nor did I attempt to lube the bullets, viewing that as a CERTAIN ***** waiting to happen. Those steps will take place later. The checks are Hornady .44s, and thus are a bit oversize in the .417 die. Not much choice here, though, because .416 checks aren't even CLOSE to fitting on the 421-390 bullet. The .44 checks look fine after installation, anyway.

So, if by chance we need to size a few bullets nose-first, the ol' 450 can do that for us.

[Bret4207]

Necessity is the mother of invention. Good job!

[beagle]

BruceB... I've tried that and that works with FN bullets. If you want to do spitzers or RB bullets and worry about deforming the nose, cut a small piece of metal rod just smaller than the bullet diameter and after pushing the bullet in, raise the handle/TP and drop it in and bring it back down. This pushes the sized bullet all the way through and it falls out.

A flat TP is best for this method and one can be easily made with a piece of stock, an electric drill for a lathe and a file. Little slow but for those without a lathe, it can be done.

GCs seat really well using this method too./beagle

[hollow-point]

great idea!! iwill use this@ see. was considering a star or magma but hard to find down here in aust. david.

[GrizzLeeBear]

When I first started using my 450 I found a post somewhere here that suggested making a "universal" flat nose punch from a hex bolt. I took a 1/4 x 2" bolt and cut off the threaded portion, then ground and filed the top so get a nice smooth, square face. Worked great on regular FN bullets, but I was also doing some WC that need to be pushed all the way down into the die (slightly below flush). The hex portion of the punch was to wide to go down into the die, so I filed them off & then made the head round by chucking it in a drill & running it against a file. I just measured it and it is .310 in dia. Works great & I don't have to change the top punch since I am only casting FN bullets.
Since I have been doing only .35 cal. bullets this might work great for push through sizing these bullets like you are talking about. If you wanted to use smaller caliber bullets you would just need to file the head dia. down so it would fit in the die. Also, you might be able to make it long enough to push a bullet all the way through by using a longer bolt. Might have a clearance problem with longer bullets, but should work with shorter ones.

[quasi]

Bruce , I have been doing this for years in my RCBS sizer. I got the idea from precision shooting magazine, a columinst there showed how to do it. I can't remember his name, he was one of the originators of firelapping and moly bullet coatings.

[Blammer]

Neat! I'll have to remember that!

[Springfield]

So how are you going to lube those bullets? If ya just wanted a push through sizer you could always buy a LEE.

[BruceB]

Lubing? Easy; just replace all the parts and lube in the normal manner, along with gaschecking (although I may try adding the gaschecks with the current configuration, as beagle mentioned).

As to buying a Lee push-through sizer, why would I want to do that? This is ONE specialized case, for one bullet design and one odd-ball diameter, for one extremely-limited use.....and I HAVE the tooling right here, right now. My results will be just as good as with a Lee, since the bullets are clearly being sized concentrically.

This was an exercise in making existing equipment do a job in a manner outside its normal usage. Since most of us own such gear, I believed it would be of interest to others who might someday encounter a "specialized case" of their own, and remember that the 450/4500 (and the RCBS sizer) are not necessarily restricted to the normal method of sizing. I've been well-aware of the capability to do nose-first sizing in the 450 for a long time, but this was the first occasion wherein I needed to do something different.

It worked, and I reported it here for the possible benefit of other casters. That's all there was to it.

[Phil]

Hi BruceB,

I've been seating gas checks while sizing bullets this way. Works great. I've also tried pushing the first bullet with a second and while it works fine I'm only sizing about .002" at the most. The bullets have only a very small meplat at the point and they aren't distorted at all. I started pushing the bullet out with the die's knock out pin just because I have reservations about the second bullet starting straight. Never found this to be true but it just made me nervous. This is with a 10/1 mix of ww and lino and 7mm bullets. Can't say what would happen with a harder/bigger bullet but it works for me.

Cheers,

Phil