nitro-express
01-05-2016, 10:38 AM
I happened upon a spare turret at a gunshow, I think I paid 3 $ for it. I had my BIL machine one of the holes for 7/8-14. I used a dremel to get some clearance for the lock ring.
I have dies for some pistol calibers, some with FL dies, but lubing cases and the force required to resize has discouraged me from utilizing the T-L Jr for loading pistol. I was a bit skeptical, just how much improvement would a carbide die make.
Opening up the turret for a 7/8 die doesn't leave much of the boss. This will depend on the casting, but on mine it had disappeared completely for about 1/3 of the circumference.
I tried it out and it works well, easily sizing 44 Mag and 357 Mag cases. On a normal 7/8 press you don't really appreciate the advantage of a carbide die, but in the T-L Jr, it's pretty amazing. I set my T-L Jr up for 357 and it works pretty slick.
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg25/nitro-express/Lyman%20Tru-Line%20Jr/IMG_20160103_220444_zpsetzxlgsf.jpg (http://s244.photobucket.com/user/nitro-express/media/Lyman%20Tru-Line%20Jr/IMG_20160103_220444_zpsetzxlgsf.jpg.html)
I checked Ebay, and it appears as if the person that makes or made 7/8 turrets for the T-L Jr isn't selling them on Ebay any more. My brother in law owns a machine shop, and has the equipment to do the modification. Not that it's complicated, enlarge the hole and tap for 7/8-14, the "trick" is to have the hole indexed to the other holes and to have the treads square with the plate. He gave me some lip, told me that "More information would have meant less Dremel work". My Bad.
It's not that obvious in the picture, but the original paint on the turret doesn't match the "Hemi Orange" I used on the restored press. Perhaps it's time to restore my T-L Jr Gen I, and repaint this turret at the same time.
Update: After using it to reload ammunition, and removing the handle after each session, it became apparent that a slight bend to the handle was in order. I've seen the bent handle trick before, but I wanted to keep the press "as issued". Space is a premium in my shop, and I have to walk real close to the press to get by. The bent handle lets me keep the handle in the press and have room to walk by. It works great, and the only function that is a bit funky is seating primers. The ergo for that was better with the straight handle.
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg25/nitro-express/Lyman%20Tru-Line%20Jr/Tru%20Line%20handle%20mod_zpsqkn6nmak.jpg (http://s244.photobucket.com/user/nitro-express/media/Lyman%20Tru-Line%20Jr/Tru%20Line%20handle%20mod_zpsqkn6nmak.jpg.html)
I have dies for some pistol calibers, some with FL dies, but lubing cases and the force required to resize has discouraged me from utilizing the T-L Jr for loading pistol. I was a bit skeptical, just how much improvement would a carbide die make.
Opening up the turret for a 7/8 die doesn't leave much of the boss. This will depend on the casting, but on mine it had disappeared completely for about 1/3 of the circumference.
I tried it out and it works well, easily sizing 44 Mag and 357 Mag cases. On a normal 7/8 press you don't really appreciate the advantage of a carbide die, but in the T-L Jr, it's pretty amazing. I set my T-L Jr up for 357 and it works pretty slick.
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg25/nitro-express/Lyman%20Tru-Line%20Jr/IMG_20160103_220444_zpsetzxlgsf.jpg (http://s244.photobucket.com/user/nitro-express/media/Lyman%20Tru-Line%20Jr/IMG_20160103_220444_zpsetzxlgsf.jpg.html)
I checked Ebay, and it appears as if the person that makes or made 7/8 turrets for the T-L Jr isn't selling them on Ebay any more. My brother in law owns a machine shop, and has the equipment to do the modification. Not that it's complicated, enlarge the hole and tap for 7/8-14, the "trick" is to have the hole indexed to the other holes and to have the treads square with the plate. He gave me some lip, told me that "More information would have meant less Dremel work". My Bad.
It's not that obvious in the picture, but the original paint on the turret doesn't match the "Hemi Orange" I used on the restored press. Perhaps it's time to restore my T-L Jr Gen I, and repaint this turret at the same time.
Update: After using it to reload ammunition, and removing the handle after each session, it became apparent that a slight bend to the handle was in order. I've seen the bent handle trick before, but I wanted to keep the press "as issued". Space is a premium in my shop, and I have to walk real close to the press to get by. The bent handle lets me keep the handle in the press and have room to walk by. It works great, and the only function that is a bit funky is seating primers. The ergo for that was better with the straight handle.
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg25/nitro-express/Lyman%20Tru-Line%20Jr/Tru%20Line%20handle%20mod_zpsqkn6nmak.jpg (http://s244.photobucket.com/user/nitro-express/media/Lyman%20Tru-Line%20Jr/Tru%20Line%20handle%20mod_zpsqkn6nmak.jpg.html)