Gas checks and the Lee sizer

I got into this casting my own late in life.
Been reloading since the 60s, but just started casting not long ago.
With my pension I keep things pretty low budget and so I have the Lee Lube and Sizing kits and they do a good job for me.
For some of my hotter stuff I like to make gas checked bullets, just wish the checks weren't getting so high, but oh well.
Anyway----
Setting the checks with the Lee tool is kind of a pain to get them started straight into the die.
I mount a spare bottom punch in my drill press and move the table up close.
I set the check and bullet on the table and a short stroke on the press handle seats those little buggers nice and tight and keeps them straight.
No banging with whatever to get them set.
Then I run them through the sizer.
It adds a step and takes a little more time, but hell, I ain't in that much of a hurry and it produces consistently good results.
All the bullets I use are FN, but I bet for pointed ones a suitable bullet seater out of a die set could be mounted to prevent damage to the tip.

Seating gas check on a FN.
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/b...nggascheck.jpg

All I use is thumb pressure and a teeny tiny brass hammer to seat those stubborn gas checks flush. I've been using that method for decades.

If you had arthritis in your thumbs like mine you wouldn't be pushing many GCs in place. :mrgreen:

Just a touch of arthritis in the hips. Thumbs are still good.

Wonder if there's not an easy way to just do it on the press with the same extra punch? Drop it in the sizing die and short stroke the press. The little bit of pressure couldn't hurt anything. (only would work easily if you size with your press upside down)

Does this make sense?

There's another thread going about how a guy has a reloading press rigged up to do it.
I have a little bench drill press on the end of the same bench my only reloading press is mounted on.
It's very handy and I can push on a lot of checks with it in short order.
Different ways to skin a cat.

The Lee push-thru sizing dies often allow a loose-fit gas check to slide back on the bullet's shank when sized nose-first. I get around that by first sizing my boolits nose first without the check, then applying the checks and sizing base first. Checks seat on square and tight. I almost always size newly cast boolits within a few hours of cooling with the Lee push thru dies even if I intend on using a lubrisizer later. Boolits sized nose first are more concentric.

That's a good idea. I still have a few hundred left that haven't had checks pushed on. I'll have to try that system and see how it works.

JohnFM, the cost of checks is why I started making my own. I have mostly been sizing with a Lyman 450 and seating checks in that fashion. I do have a Lee push through sizer for 22 and recently used it for the first time. The Lyman 225-415 boolit when powder coated and gas checked pushes through nicely nose first. When I seat plain based gas checks they have to be sized base first. I intend to get a few more Lee sizer die sets for use with PCd and PB checks. As most of the pistol boolit styles I use are FN designs base first sizing shouldn't be a problem. For RN designs I will make a nose punch with JB weld so the PB gas check seats squarely.

At 80, I, also, have had difficulties. One of our Cast Boolit members shaped bath a 45 and a 356 Lee Ram to fit my nose configurations. Now I seat in the Lee Sizer base first with no problems. I also us the excellent NOE Gas Check Seater. Saves my crippled thumbs!

I seat .44's with my lee sizer. I just use thumb pressure and have no issue. Even when I don't get a check on perfectly, the die aligns them and straighten / flattens them out perfectly. As mentions, turn the bullet around and try that.

I tried some of the other ideas brought up here.
Using that small drill press as an arbor press to seat them works best for me.
I can knock them out at a pretty good clip.

John, I'm glad that you've found a system that is working for you. I have two additional comments. 1) Yes, gas checks are getting spendy. That's why I bought dies to make checks. There are lots of guys here on Cast Boolits who make their own checks. I've sold some to raise some extra $$$ and I've also horse traded with some members here in exchange for lead or gas checks in sizes I don't make. Ask around, (hint, PM me) you might find some folks willing to deal with you to help cut costs of components.

2) I sent a guy some checks, and he had a mold with an oversized shank. I adjusted the dies and made 'wide mouth checks' that seated easier and still crimped on tightly during sizing.

Okay, 3) I have a Lyman 450 I've used for 27 years. Most of my boolits are plain based but seating gas checks is easier with the 450. I started making plain based checks and those have to be sized base first which is harder to do with the Lee push through dies. Recently, I started powder coating boolits, and specifically bought a Lee die. The boolit I'm sizing is a Lyman 225-415 which takes a gas check. I've found that seating the check while sizing nose first works very well. PC'd PB boolits don't need PB checks.

I am now thinking of getting some more Lee dies for use just for sizing PC'd boolits. I'm using the Lee dies with a hand press and think that sizing PC'd boolits while watching football this fall will be the bee's knees.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fcvan

2) I sent a guy some checks, and he had a mold with an oversized shank. I adjusted the dies and made 'wide mouth checks' that seated easier and still crimped on tightly during sizing.

I am now thinking of getting some more Lee dies for use just for sizing PC'd boolits. I'm using the Lee dies with a hand press and think that sizing PC'd boolits while watching football this fall will be the bee's knees.

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Hey I'm that guy! They worked well.
As a word of reccomendation I will be contacting fcvan for all my future gc needs.
Also I use the lee sizers without exception. Not a football guy but will watch or listen to something withit and pass the time with ease.

I like the idea simple and fast with no sore thumbs.

JohnFM what caliber checks do you use?

I just whack a mole the lil buggers, they dont put up much of a fight