Lyman sizer die

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Waco asked me to make him a Lyman type size for a .319 bullet.
I started with a blank from Keith, saves me close to an hour of work and I know the dimensions are right.

Drilled cross holes, drilled to .289, then bore to .315. Polish to final size. I have a feeling this will be .0005 over size as a .319 pin gauge goes in but a .320 won't enter. I find that is means it will size to .3195-.3197.

I don't own a bullet of a size even close to shove thru but will see what I can find to verify actual final size.

I like having a beveled hole in the top of the ejector pin. That coupled with the thru hole means less chance of lube buildup under bullet bases. This also lets me find a use for the hole I drill for the center used when turning the stock to size.
 

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KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
Nice job Brad. The interior work is the fidgety stuff that makes a $7 blank into a $30 die. I like the idea of a central hole in the ejector pin.
 

VZerone

Active Member
Brad have you considered that different alloys give different springback after being sized?? The die looks good, glad you're catching on to that lathe.
 

waco

Springfield, Oregon
A fine job Brad. My buddy Dave will be a happy camper. He just bought an old Drillings rifle. 16ga over 8x57 Jr. A rimmed small bore .318" Mauser.
I'll post a pic.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Brad have you considered that different alloys give different springback after being sized?? The die looks good, glad you're catching on to that lathe.
I have given thought to that.
I based my expectations on what I have seen with my alloys. In most cases different alloys size to within ..0005 of each other unless.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Nice job Brad. The interior work is the fidgety stuff that makes a $7 blank into a $30 die. I like the idea of a central hole in the ejector pin.
No doubt!
The blanks from Keith save a ton of time. The fact he even included the O rings is a big plus. Saves me the work of cutting the groove for an O ring, something I don't hace a tool to cut.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Hmmm. Are this an old blank or did I miss out on Keith offering them again?
I saw where he mentioned that he was planning to, but never caught it if he
has started production and sales.

I understand the countersink in the ejector pin but not the connection to the side
hole.....which lets lube in under the bullet base, right?

Bill
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Keith has them in production again.
https://www.artfulbullet.com/index.php?threads/blank-sizing-dies-for-sale.3327/

The hole in the ejector pin gives the lube a place to go instead of building up under the bullet base. The lube buildup can go down the hole and put the bottom of the ejector pin.
Another thing I like about the hole in the ejector pin is that it forces the edge of the check into firm contact with the bullet base. It doesn't let a little nub on the bullet base allow the check to not fit flat and square around the edge of the check shank.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
OK, I will order a few. I understood the countersink to avoid the nub causing problems,
but never thought of the other.

Thanks.

Bill
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
His Star blanks are a huge help too. The external diameter is dead on at .750 where it needs to be. He includes O rings but I haven't used them.
The time savings is huge. It takes some effort to get the external diameter just right to prevent leakage.
 

VZerone

Active Member
The hole in the ejector pin gives the lube a place to go instead of building up under the bullet base. The lube buildup can go down the hole and put the bottom of the ejector pin.
Another thing I like about the hole in the ejector pin is that it forces the edge of the check into firm contact with the bullet base. It doesn't let a little nub on the bullet base allow the check to not fit flat and square around the edge of the check shank.

Did you get that out of the NRA cast book? That's where they wrote it up many years ago. I have been doing that forever.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Nope, just something that came up in discussions with Ian. I used a center anyway so drilling a hole thru just made sense.
 

Ian

Notorious member
I picked it up from Buckshot, he used to always do that through-hole to let air and lube purge out the bottom.