OK.. Now a steel question!

[Char-Gar]

If a feller was going to make some Lee type bullet sizing dies with his lathe, what kind of steel would he use. I note a huge difference in price between the various air, water and oil hardened drill rod. Any input?

[scrapcan]

do a search for lathesmith and buckshot + size die. I think you will find the info you need.

[Willbird]

If a feller was going to make some Lee type bullet sizing dies with his lathe, what kind of steel would he use. I note a huge difference in price between the various air, water and oil hardened drill rod. Any input?

O1(oil hardening) is what is the most friendly to the home hobbiest for home heat treating. The W(water hardening) steels are excellent steels but prone to crack when heat treated especially around stress risers like the lube holes in a bullet sizer die. The A series are air hardening and have a much higher critical temperature required for heat treat, more difficult for the typical home hobbiest.

Actually a bullet sizer die made of O1, W1, or A2 that was never hardened would give many years of service without showing appreciable wear.

You can often buy "bar ends" of steel on Evilbay, these are the left over pieces from automatic lathes that machine parts from a bar and cut them off. I have some 12l14 I bought there and would not hesitate to make a bullet sizer die from it either.

Bill

[Flash]

Plain cold rolled steel.

[sharpshooter3040]

If a feller was going to make some Lee type bullet sizing dies with his lathe, what kind of steel would he use. I note a huge difference in price between the various air, water and oil hardened drill rod. Any input?
I would use a grade 8 bolt that already has a 7/8-14 thread. It is already hardened and machines well also

Doug

[454PB]

I'm with Flash. I've been making my own sizer dies for 25 years, and I've found no dimensional change in dies made from cold rolled after sizing many thousands of boolits, plus they are a lot easier to make.

[deltaenterprizes]

I would use a grade 8 bolt that already has a 7/8-14 thread. It is already hardened and machines well also

Doug

+1 on that

[trevj]

I like the free machining stainless steels. Stay away from 304! :)

303 turns OK. 17-4PH, and the other PH series stainless steels turn really nicely at slow (ie: really easy on the nerves and reflexes!) rpm, and can leave a near mirror finish.

Heat treatment on the PH (Precipitation Hardening) series is easy, they get baked at an defined temperature for a period of time commensurate to their thickness, and allow to cool. They turn very nicely in heat treated condition, and are very wear resistant.

The price of the bar stock is soon forgotten!

Leaded free machining steels or Stressproof, are good bets.

If you have access, old rifle barrels are good donor material. All the right characteristics are there, strong, abrasion resistant enough, and free machining.

Cheers
Trev

[stubshaft]

I used to use old axles from Chevy or ford rear ends. Thats how Fred Huntington started his business and I can get them locally CHEAP.

[leftiye]

Mild steel, lead is SOFT.

[Pavogrande]

I go with the cold rolled and bolt -- doubt you can wear it out in life time of sizing --- but I do prefer 7/8-14 ready rod -- hate trying to pick up a thread on a short bolt or changing the gears on the lathe :-) Just about eveything I make has 32tpi :-) -- my ha-penny

[KCSO]

I just use old take off gun barrels. Some of the nicest machining steel is the old M96 swede rifle barrels. If I were buying steel I really like 12L14 for it machinability.

[JIMinPHX]

I've used 1018 cold roll, W-1 & a grade 8 bolt to make Lyman style sizing dies. All worked. None have worn out yet. You're probably better off picking a material that you can get a good finish on rather than trying to pick a material for it's wear characteristics. As was already suggested, a piece of 7/8-14 thread rod would be a good place to start if you are going to make something Lee style. A 7/8-14 bolt would be find if you could find one with a long enough threaded section. Since you have a lathe, you could also extend the threaded area by single pointing or you could just turn an undercut.

[pdawg_shooter]

I use 4140 pre-threaded stock intended for making truck U-bolts. Get them where I work.

[JIMinPHX]

pdawg's material sounds primo. 4140 comes up hard like a rock if you case harden it. The core comes up somewhere in the 40's on the Rockwell C scale. It's truly rugged stuff. I didn't know it came that size of thread rod as a standard item. That's good to know.

[bigdog454]

Grangers had a sale on 7/8x14 threaded rod in 6 foot lengths about a month ago, Check them as they may still have some. You can always case harden easily.

[Buckshot]

...........If by 'Mild' steel common low carbon 1014 - 1020 is meant, then IMHO it's main attribute is that it is cheap. Otherwise it doesn't machine very well and in my experience it's good for welding stuff up or lathe turned stuff that doesn't require a fine finish. If you don't plan on hardening it, spend a bit more and get at least W-1.

Enco generally always has the common sizes on sale. Get a free shipping code, and order in a small supply to have on hand. Get some 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", and 7/8". If you plan on making some Lee type puch through dies get a stick or two of 9/16". The shellholder "T" slot wants a .558" OD and the 9/16" rod is .562" so you only have to skim off .004". However ENCO doesn't ever have 9/16" on sale :-( but the free shipping still applies!

The 3/8" is good as it turns down for lube-size die ejector rods for the most common rifle calibers, E.g. 30, 31, 32, 33, and 35. The 1/2" wil pick up the slack from there. The 7/8" is obvious as that's push through die, and other die body size. It just needs threading, and it's no big deal to peel off .125" if you need a piece of .750" OD for something. Of course you can buy .750" stock, but to keep your outlay as simple as possible I'd recommend those at a minimum.

..............Buckshot