Cramer #20

[ncbearman]

I need help figuring out the appropriate top punch for this boolit. Of course I could find one and make do but I would like to have the correct one. I know Saeco took over but I don’t have a way to cross reference. Thanks.

[Thin Man]

You have one of my favorite boolit designs. I have very similar patterns by Modern-Bond in both the 150 (#D358582) and 160 (#D358627) grain weights. From my experience the lighter boolit produces tighter groups than the heavier boolit in every side-by-side comparison test I have completed to date.

With the width of the nose I suspect the original top punches did not have much or anything of a shoulder to "capture" the nose for perfect alignment in the sizing die. I use a top punch that has been machined off purely flat to contact the top of the boolit, then work to position the boolit dead straight above the sizing die before giving it a shove, and again to center the boolit on the punch. For my die set, I have a seating stem that has also been machined off flat to seat the boolit in the case. This has worked out very well for me so far.

FWIW, I have a pair of very old top punches that look like they were designed to size the type of boolit you have, except for the diameter. The body below the "stop shoulder" for the sizer ram is a straight cylinder and very thin and long. I have only 2 of these and their outside diameters are .456" and .460". They appear to have been made by a traditional top punch manufacturer and have reference numbers stamped on the sides of their stop shoulders. These numbers are very small and I cannot get a clear view of them. They could be diameter numbers or simply production codes. Having seen these I realize "someone" offered these in the past. My concern would be in sticking a boolit in the top punch and having a tantrum removing it after sizing. I am more comfortable with using a punch that contacts only the top surface of the boolit for sizing.

If you wanted to experiment with this concept of a thin band to capture the nose of the boolit for sizing, I suspect a trip to your friendly neighborhood machine shop may provide results. I would supply the craftsman with a sample of your cast boolits to match the inside diameter of the top punch, also to provide him with the maximum diameter of your sizing die. I would keep the length of the nose section short so it does not drop so far into the sizer that it binds. Having said all this, perhaps I may do the same thing. I hope these details help you in your search.

[ncbearman]

Thanks for the info. I’m concerned s flat top punch will take away the spire point on this boolit. I’ll see if the machine shop in town can help
Me. Thanks.

[Thin Man]

Well......let's try again. My reading of the Cramer catalog on the Castpics Historical Mold site shows their #20 pattern is a .358" diameter full wadcutter boolit. Is this the mold you have, or did i miss something? Please advise, and thanks.

[ncbearman]

Interesting. I’ll check it out when I get home. Prolly had an old guy moment. I never compared the stamp on the mold to the Cramer chart. Please hold.......