Lee sizing die question

[rwt101]

I have a Lee bullet sizing die that is supposed to size to .356. I just checked it and it is sizing to .355. Is there any way to open it up to the .356?
Bob T

[Phat Man Mike]

some super fine sandpaper on a wooden dowel comes to mind :redneck::castmine:

[Shiloh]

What Phat Man said. Countless dies have been honed this way. Its how I did one of mine.

Shiloh

[Reverend Recoil]

These dies can be easily enlarged by honing with wet/dry sand paper. I honed a Lee .358 die to .367 for my 9.3x74R rifle. Take a 6” length of 5/16” steel rod and cut a 1” slot in the end with a hack saw. Chuck the rod in an electric hand drill. Slip the end of a strip of 400 grit wet/dry sand paper and wind it around the rod. The sand paper hone should fit snug in the die. Adjust the fit by tearing off pieces of sand paper. Run the hone partially in and out of the die while it spins in the drill. You will get about two seconds of metal removal before the sand paper is loaded. Check the die each time by sizing and measuring a bullet. Go slowly to prevent over sizing the die, 0.001” will hone out quickly.

[rwt101]

Well that will be a good project for tomorrow. I will give it a try. Thanks
Bob T

[bigboredad]

I opened up 3 of mine by wrapping the sand paper around a wooden dowel put some oil on the sand paper and holding each end rolled the die across my leg. It went surprisingly fast this way. Be sure to size a boolit often and measure as its easy to go to far

[wiljen]

I've coated bullets with clover compound (1200grit) and run them through the die repeatedly. after about 5 passes I'd start over with a new bullet, cuts a die out very quickly so measure often.

[Westwindmike]

I've coated bullets with clover compound (1200grit) and run them through the die repeatedly. after about 5 passes I'd start over with a new bullet, cuts a die out very quickly so measure often.

That sounded like a great idea to me. I went to their website and found out that the 1200 grit is $318 for a pound of it!!! I would think you could buy it in smaller quantities somewhere?

I have a .457 die I'd like to take out to .459/460.

[rwt101]

I started to work on the die today and found out that my mike was reading wrong. Replaced the battery and still not right. So I will stop for now. It was ok when I started and then was reading smaller everytime I used it.

Bob T

[Wayne S]

That sounded like a great idea to me. I went to their website and found out that the 1200 grit is $318 for a pound of it!!! I would think you could buy it in smaller quantities somewhere?

I have a .457 die I'd like to take out to .459/460.
Did they list what they market it as ?? There are a few "colverleaf" products sold as valve grinding, valve lapping, and valve polishing compounds. not sure what grit each is ? other that the polishing is the finest grit

[Westwindmike]

Did they list what they market it as ?? There are a few "colverleaf" products sold as valve grinding, valve lapping, and valve polishing compounds. not sure what grit each is ? other that the polishing is the finest grit

They call it Clover Lapping Paste. The finer the grit, the higher the price.
http://www.newmantools.com/price.htm#clover

[alamogunr]

Try here:

http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/GSDRVSM?PACACHE=000000119731524

Not sure what accounts for the large price difference.

John
W.TN

[Bad Water Bill]

Try some Lapidary sites. They use silicone carbide in many grits. 20 years ago I used to buy it by the 100# in many grits. Not sure what they have today. If all else fails you could get 1200 diamond paste and since it does not break down as rapidly it might last a lifetime of lapping sizing dies.

[462]

Wet/dry paper and oil is readily available and works quite well.

I've enlarged three sizer dies and two seater dies. Start with 400 grit, switch to 600 grit when you get close to the desired size, and finish with 1500 grit.

Keep a supply of boolits handy and size them often.

[bohokii]

when i got my 356 sizer it was extruding my boolits at .354

i took a 9mm bore brush wrapped it with a layer of 600 grit wet dry and ran it on a drill sliding it in and out

opened it up to about .355 took about 5 minutes

[405]

Wet/dry paper and oil is readily available and works quite well.

I've enlarged three sizer dies and two seater dies. Start with 400 grit, switch to 600 grit when you get close to the desired size, and finish with 1500 grit.

Keep a supply of boolits handy and size them often.

That's the technique I use. The 1500 grit paper is not as common in the box stores- even some hardware stores. I found both 1500 and 2000 grit in an auto parts store that had supplies for auto body work.

Seems everyone wants to make lapping out a Lee die more difficult/technical than it really is. Opening one up .002-.003" is no big deal. As others have posted Buckshot may still do it. I know that Lee will make one to your specs but expect to pay and wait. There are some huge gaps in standard sizes for Lee push thrus. That's where the problem is..... not with opening one up a few .000"s