Can the Lyman sizer dies be tapped??

[Marlin Hunter]

Has anyone tried to tap the holes in the Lyman sizer die so that small set screws could be screwed into the holes to plug them up?

I tried to scratch the surface with a file. I could not scratch it.

[dragonrider]

NOW that's is a good idea, why didn't I think of that when my Lyman was still in service. I still have so I will try and let you know.

[Wally]

You can clean them out and fill with epoxy....should you want to use them again, with the holes opened up, merely heat with a propane torch just enough to release the epoxy.

[dubber123]

I'm headed down to the casting room shortly to plug one. I have only recently tried the lead plug technique thats often recommended, and it worked fine. I didn't have any lead shot big enough to use, and I just tapped some lead pipe into the holes with the center pin out. Tap the pin, (sharp side down) through, and it shaves the lead plugs off clean. I doubted they would stay in place, but they are working fine. Without annealing, I think they may be very hard to tap. Great idea though.

[machinisttx]

If you can't scratch it with a file, it's over 60 HRC and you're going to break a tap. It could be threaded via EDM, but I suspect that's more expense than most folks want on a project like this.