Gas Check Problems With Lyman 225438?

[Mark85304]

Has anyone experienced issues with installing gas checks on boolits from the Lyman 225438 mould, 44gr Hornet boolit? I am finding the gas check shank is too large to accept Lyman or Hornady gas checks. The inside diameter of the gas checks are .215/.216 inches and the boolit gas check shank is .218/.219 inches. When I can force the cas check onto the shank, it leaves a shaving of lead at the top of the check, but this requires a lot of pressure. I have other moulds, Lyman 225415, Lee 60gr Bator, MP 225-65 where the check goes on with ease and the gas check shanks measure .215/.216 inches. I think the mould is out of spec or has a design flaw as the gas check shank is almost not there, you can see it, but it is not as defined as the other 22 cal moulds I have.

[Mk42gunner]

It has been a few years but Hornady gas checks fit on my 225438 boolits just fine.

First thing I would check for is a speck of lead holding the mold halves apart. If that isn't the problem, maybe just convert the mold to a plain base entirely.

Robert

[Mark85304]

I appreciate your response. I have checked the mould faces and no lead is present, that was one of my first thoughts. I also checked to ensure there is no light between the mould halves when closed. I have both Lyman and Hornady gas checks and have the issue with both.

I emailed Lyman with the information in hopes they may have an answer.


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[oley55]

A not so immediate fix would be an NOE gas check expander. I have a few in pistol calibers for dealing with fat bottomed PC'd boolits. Unfortunately it looks like the 22cal expander is out of stock.

https://noebulletmolds.com/site/shop/bullet-casting-reloading/gas-checks-tools/gas-check-expander/22cal-gc-expander-ram/
https://noebulletmolds.com/site/shop/bullet-casting-reloading/gas-checks-tools/gas-check-expander/gc-expander-die/

[Mark85304]

Hey, that’s great! That will fix my problem, and I like the GC seater as well.


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[DAFzipper]

Anneal the gas checks to make them easier to seat


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[Mark85304]

A not so immediate fix would be an NOE gas check expander. I have a few in pistol calibers for dealing with fat bottomed PC'd boolits. Unfortunately it looks like the 22cal expander is out of stock.

https://noebulletmolds.com/site/shop/bullet-casting-reloading/gas-checks-tools/gas-check-expander/22cal-gc-expander-ram/
https://noebulletmolds.com/site/shop/bullet-casting-reloading/gas-checks-tools/gas-check-expander/gc-expander-die/

I heard back from Lyman today. They agree the mould’s gas check shank is oversized/out of spec. They are sending me a new mold.

I looked at the gas check expander you recommended. The 22 cal is out of stock at the moment. I emailed them and asked if there was any tentative date when it will be back in stock. Meanwhile I picked up their gas check seater. The description says it is for seating gas checks on oversized gas check shanks. It will be interesting to see how well it works.

Mark


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[oley55]

The 22 cal is out of stock at the moment. I emailed them and asked if there was any tentative date when it will be back in stock.

For what it's worth and it's been a good while, but I was never able to communicate with Al via email. I found calling first thing in the morning before he headed out to the shop was the best way to reach him (0700-0730 Pacific time). My experience from a year or two ago.

For what it's worth I suspect he outsources the manufacture of his various tools.

[quack1]

I also have a 225438 that has a large gas check shank and wouldn't accept checks. I annealed the checks and made a punch out of a piece of steel rod that was slightly larger in diameter than the ID of the check. I chucked the rod in the lathe (could use a drill press instead) and used a file to reduce the OD enough to expand the gas check just enough to fit the shank on the bullets. I slightly rounded the edge and polished the filed section to provide easy removal of the check. Last step was adding a piece of wooden dowel for a handle. Hand pressure, with the checks sitting on a steel plate, is all that is needed to expand them.