Need help with Lee sizer

[Bowhunter73]

Hey fellows I have a Lee sizer suppose to be a 457 but it's sizing at 456 is there anything I can do to get it to 457.

Thanks Terry

[farmerjim]

Easy. Hone it out with some emery cloth wrapped on a piece of wood dowel with a middle split cut in it. Spin it with a drill. It will take less than a minute. Test it every 20 to 30 seconds. Polish with extra fine before it is too big. I have done a bunch of them.

[runfiverun]

use a little oil.
you can even roll it up and down your pant leg if you don't have a drill.
with a drill 20 seconds is probably plenty of time.

just out of curiosity why 457?
most 45-70's are more in tune with 459-462 or even 464 for many of the older trap door type rifles.

[Yodogsandman]

Are you allowing the boolits to age harden prior to sizing them?

[DougGuy]

Hey fellows I have a Lee sizer suppose to be a 457 but it's sizing at 456 is there anything I can do to get it to 457.

Thanks Terry

1 critical question, what are you using to measure the sized boolits? This is where measuring with calipers gets only close and is VERY easy to get an erroneous reading. You should not depend on calipers when making decisions involving modifying components. At the very least for the measurements we as shooters and reloaders and gunsmiths you should be relying on a decent mic that reads in .0001" increments. You can get a Mitutoyo Digimatic on fleabay for only a few bucks more than a China made caliper at Lowe's or Home Depot.

Now. If you ARE using a good mic, much better off and much more dependable results. Alloy plays a big part in the size after it comes out of the die. Softer alloys don't spring back very much at all, and most Lee sizer dies are made with the idea of springback in mind, so they intentionally make them smaller so that the finished boolits come out as advertised. With a hard alloy, your .457" die is probably sizing correctly. Change alloy, the finished size will change as well after it comes out of the sizer.

[Tackleberry41]

Had the same issue with my Lee 457 sizer. As well as several other Lees I bought, NOE sizers solve the problem.

[Bowhunter73]

I'm going to shoot them in a Quackenbush 457 Outlaw air rifle, Thanks for all the help I'll try the dowell rod

[CIC]

I have nothing else to add that has not been said already. I opened up a .358 Lee sizer to .360 for my handi rifle. Worked well and it was faster than I thought it would be.

[GhostHawk]

In my case it was a .311 that was dropping at .310. Kept at it until I got to .312 which was what I wanted for my Yugo SKS.

All told less than a couple of hours. I alternated between sandpaper and 0000 steel wool to polish. With and without oil. As I got close I quit using the drill and just rolled it on my leg. Was just about as fast.

[44man]

I'm going to shoot them in a Quackenbush 457 Outlaw air rifle, Thanks for all the help I'll try the dowell rod
What was said about lapping works the best. I shoot so many different sizes I bought a pile of Lee dies and lapped to every size I need. Just minutes for each and the split rod thing can make the holes rounder.
I needed a .301" die for a nose size only on the 30-30, took a .285" die to size very fast.