Lyman 45 lubrisizer dies

[Pistolero]

I have a Lyman 45, and I know that the dies are interchangeable with the 450 and 4500 and
most likely with RCBS dies, too.

I have heard that "some older sizing dies" were made with a step inside the die rather than a smooth
taper down to the sizing diameter. Does anyone know if dies made for and marked as for the
Lyman 45 are these step type dies or not? Are some of them step but others not (IE, no way
to really know without looking at the die)?

Any knowledge and experience about this would be appreciated. Considering buying dies on
the net and wonder exactly what to expect.

Thanks.

Bill

 

[RicinYakima]

All dies with rubber "O" rings are safe to use. All others you have to check, sorry, but Lyman made external changes prior to changing the inside system. HTH, Ric

 

[Pistolero]

OK, thank you very much!

 

[Ian]

Bill, you have more information than I do, I've never heard of or seen any of them marked for a Lyman 45, just with the size on top (and I have some pretty old ones). If they have a step inside instead of a taper they would have to be pretty old, as in 1950's or so. My understanding is the o-ring style and step change to taper occurred about the same time, but I have a tapered die without the o-ring groove which may or may not have been modified by someone along the way.

The RCBS dies I have do not fit the 45s very well for two reasons: The retention screw doesn't align with a land or groove exactly and tends to burr the edge of the land, making the die difficult to remove. Also, the bottom of the RCBS dies are about .002-3" too large in diameter to fit into the socket on the bottom of the sizer, so it may be necessary to file/sand/turn down the OD a little to make them an acceptable slip-fit.

I also understand you have a lathe and are handy with tools, so either way if the price is right you should be able to make a simple modification to smooth the step.

 

[Pistolero]

I was wondering if smoothing out the step was practical, it would ideally need a tapered reamer, although
I suppose a bit of careful work in the lathe may work with a carefully ground cutter. Haven't done that
sort of boring, but I suppose a bit of learning may be a good thing.

I had read that the RCBS dies were a bit problematic in the Lyman 45, so was planning on avoiding them.

Putting together some basic casting and loading tools for a few calibers at my vacation home, found the Lyman
45 for a good price, and wanted to put in a few of the more important sizing diameters, too. If cheap
enough, I guess I will go for even a stepped die and see if I can fix it.

The Lyman 45 marking is on the original tubes that the dies came in. Some are offered that way and I
was wondering of they might be problematic if they are in those tubes. I see some without the O-ring,
which I will avoid or pay less if possible.

Getting info from folks who know is better than having to figure out all this stuff myself.

Bill

 

[Ian]

Five minutes twirling the die by hand on some oiled wet-or-dry 320-grit wrapped around a tapered reamer ought to make the step go away well enough to prevent shearing lead from the driving bands of the bullets. Or set the die up in the 4-jaw so the bore is absolutely turning true and make multiple passes with a boring bar and the compound set at a very shallow angle. Not that I know how to do it...I don't even have a lathe!

 

[KHornet]

I concur with Ian. I have a number of old ones as well and a number of the new w/o rings------much preferred.

 

[RicinYakima]

The ARTCA (Antique Reloading Tool Collectors Association) went through these issues about 10 years ago. The first "Lube and Sizer's" from Ideal are approaching 125 years old. The dies and punches have been made from soft leaded steel and up to hardened tool steel, and you don't' know until you try working with it. As a rule of thumb, avoid the ones with the groove cut around the top for a set screw, these were for the 45's and earlier ones. All were originally step cut to "shave" the bullet round. However, some have been tapered with a reamer and polished with a Dremel tool. So we have: Ideal, Lachmiller Engineering Company (LEC), who also made Herters, Lyman, Ohaus and one other I can't think of off the top of my head.

 

[JonB]

hmmm, my experience seems to go against the grain. I search out the older Lyman dies for my Lyman sizers (mostly #45 as well as a couple Ideal #1), the dies without a O-ring and with the groove for a setscrew. I think I have bought and sold as many as 25 of them. Most had no internal ridge, maybe someone honed it out before they got to me? ...Only two of them had a internal ridge, both of which made seating/crimping GCs almost impossible...also both of those I attempted to remove said ridge with a homemade angled hone (made of hardwood with a wrap of wet/dry sandpaper). They both must have been hardened tool steel like Ric mentions...because it took a long long time to get them were they were usable.

Lastly, I liked those older dies, as the outer diameter on top are a bit larger and sealed better than the Oring types in a Lyman 45...But NOW, since I've started using SL68B on everything, it requires much less pressure to lube a bullet, it's no longer an issue of a lube sneaking out past the O-ring, of a new Oring style sizer die.

 

[KHornet]

Interesting!