Lag Time on sizing?

[kooldecker]

Gentlemen,
Please excuse me if this has been covered in a previous post, but i couldnt find much on the subject, im extremely new to the addiction, although it has dug its claws in deep im afraid, my question is this.
Is there a time frame in which you need to size and lube? Meaning is there a time frame that you should wait to let them cure before sizing? And are there any consequenses for waiting to size? Lets say i cast a few hundred lil beauties one night, and work or life prevents me from returning to the bench for a week, a month, whatever, am i going to have problems down the road? Thanks again for all your help, if it werent for you guys .....i wouldnt be casting!

[winelover]

I usually cast in the Spring and size and lube in the Winter. Havn't noticed any ill effects.

Winelover

[runfiverun]

by waiting you will have less spring back to the boolit.
if you cast and size right away [today, tomorrow] you might just see them grow again as they take their final hardness.

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
They will size easier the sooner you do it. 1-2 days is recommended. Put them in freezer to extend that time a week or so. After that they are as hard as they are going to get. If you size as soon as possible the result is better as you get a harder surface on your boolit.

[HARRYMPOPE]

I have had success sizing within minutes of casting and within years.For most rifle loads into 1 MOA or there about and handguns i don't think you could statistically tell the difference in accuracy.When you have a very accurate CB benchrest rifle capable of 1/2 MOA or under then you can possibly accurately test small differences.And it would take a lot of rounds to do it.Often we go through a "ritual" process we contribute to our success that makes us feel like our process is why it worked.Too often i am ripped up in rifle matches by other fellows doing the opposite of what i think is "correct"and realize its probably good bullet fit in the throat and shooting skill that wins matches.

HMP

[MtGun44]

If you are heat treating boolits, they get hard over some significant interval like days and
weeks after quenching, unlike steel which is hardened instantly on quenching. So, IF you
are heat treating, you will have less effort sizing right after the quench (<1 day) while they
are still softer. OTOH, if you are just aircooling (like all of mine) it makes very little difference
in anything. Actually, if I size and lube a large batch well in advance of use, I make quite
sure that I will store them in a closed container to avoid dust and dirt and crud sticking to the
lube which may damage the barrel.

Another point is that if you are trying out a new mold, I would NOT size and lube up more
than a few at a time to test. You may want to try a different lube, different sizing, partial
sizing instead of full, nose sizing, or something else and if you spent some time doing a
particular operation to a whole batch, and it turns out to not produce good results, you
have to melt them down and start over. If you just did 10 to try a diameter or lube, if
you don't like it, you can try a diff diam or lube on the next 10 with no lost time or materials.

I only fully process ahead in quantity those designs that I have an absolutely certain
application and know the diam and lube that will be best. Then, have at it and keep them
covered and clean.

I guess the short way to say it is that for testing or large scale production it is different.

Bill

[peerlesscowboy]

I normally cast and then store 'em that way, I never size & lube 'em until I'm about to load 'em. Sometimes that might be an interval of months or even years, sometimes only days or even hours. Aircooled, water quenched might be different?

John C. Saubak

[Lizard333]

To the best of my knowledge, which isn't much, I am under the impression that if you water quench, the boolit reaches it's maximum hardness within one day, where are air cooling takes a lot longer, multiple days, to reaches it's full hardness. Waiting longer only makes sizing the boolit, however you are doing this, possibly a harder process. I water quench and make a lot of boolits at one time myself and come back anywhere from days to weeks later and size and lube what I need to reload. Using a 4500, I don't notice a huge difference, as I am sizing pretty close what the boolits are dropping at so I don't have a huge amount of lead to re-size.

[MtGun44]

Not correct that full hardness reached in one day for WQ. AC has very little change with time, difficult to
measure.

Bill

[captaint]

I just store them in containers after casting and size and lube when needed for loading. Sometimes days, often months. Never seems to matter enough to alter the program.. Mike

[geargnasher]

I just store them in containers after casting and size and lube when needed for loading. Sometimes days, often months. Never seems to matter enough to alter the program.. Mike

It depends a whole lot on the "program" itself. I have several loads that if I size the boolit a day or two after casting won't chamber in a week. Most of my rifle stuff is dimensioned so that a .0008" growth in boolit diameter will create an interference condition with the chamber neck, and sometimes the nose of a bore-rider is sized to fit the bore dimension quite closely, and chambering issues result from any growth at all. The key is to be familiar with the alloy you're using, how it ages, how you're hardening it, etc. and then you can make the determination of when to size and if it even matters in your instance yourself. Most handloading is done with such chamber and throat tolerances that it really doesn't matter when you size, but sometimes it matters a great deal. Different alloys behave differently, also.

Gear

[1Shirt]

It has always been my practice to check (when applicable) and size on the same day I cast. Lubing any time is then no big deal. Have been doing it for pushing 50 years, so doubt I will consider change.
1Shirt!