RCBS or Lyman lube sizer dies?

[LivewireBlanco]

I have a brand new Lyman 4500 with heater but I see RCBS and Lyman sizer dies look way different. Which do y'all like better and why? Im doing pistol bullets only, ranging from 255 gr 45 Colt to 102 gr .380. Using either Carnuba Red or BAC lube.

 

[243winxb]

Sizing dies fit Lyman 450/4500 Lube Sizer and RCBS Lube-A-Matic-2 Bullet Sizer/Lubricator. I use old Lyman.

[/URL][/IMG] Dont use RCBS.

 

[loose noose]

I've got two Lyman Lube sizers, One says 4500 the other says 450, however they are both Lyman brand, one is orange the other is gray, they both do the same identical job, however one has the Midway Heater in which I use the hard lubes; which I prefer for modern bullets such .380 thru .45acp, however the other one I use the Alox lube, and SPG for the older cartridges such as 45-70, in Springfield Trapdoor and my Sharps and .45 Colt, 44-40 etc. I'm sure the RCBS is of equal quality, however when I was in the market for such equipment Lyman was the only in stock item I could find.

 

[grubbylabs]

I am happy with my Lyman and RCBS dies. Both seem to work well.

If I do any thing different, it will be to get a star

 

[LivewireBlanco]

Looking like it doesn't matter which dies I get. Just was concerned about getting lube in all the wrong places on small 38/380 bullets with the Lyman dies. I guess if they didnt work they wouldn't sell them! I'll probably go straight Lyman for my dies since they will match my press.

 

[tallpaul]

there is the old trick of putting tight fitting shot into the openings of the lube die to keep lube from coming out of those positions if you do not need lube in an additional groove etc... if a standard die does not work

 

[LivewireBlanco]

Cool! I see the newer Lyman sizer dies has only 2 holes instead of 4. Maybe that will be fine for me.

 

[243winxb]

Bevel base bullets get lube on the bevel. This needs to be wiped off by hand. Or try these methods. Or avoid a bevel base bullet. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?230369-closing-holes-in-size-lube-die

 

[floydster]

None of the above--use Lee dies and powder coat

 

[LivewireBlanco]

243winxb, I read the comments on that link and again they talk about closing off holes and the fact that Lyman dies have 2 holes or more and RCBS has only 1. So is having the RCBS die easier to work with since there is only 1hole?

 

[John3921]

I use carnuba red wax. more holes is more better. I couldn't find the die I needed so I made one - and ended up using 6 holes on the lube ring. I rarely have missing lube on a bullet.

 

[243winxb]

A cast rifle bullet may have many lube grooves, the more die holes the better. A pistol bullet may only have one groove, and should be fine with one die hole. Depends on what your lube/sizing. The bullet pushes the ejector down when sizing. The die holes are closed off by the ejector when not in use. You will still end up with lube on the bevel with a Lyman, unless you get a bevel-cupped, custom ejector. I dont use a heater with NRA type 50/50 lube. Hard lubes with a heater, may be different.

 

[rcmodel]

The threaded rod on the press that pushes the sizing die rod up to eject the bullet is adjusted to put the die holes where they need to be to fill the grease grooves on the specific bullet you are sizing.

It varies on how far you want the bullet to enter the die depending on how many grease grooves it has and where the grease grooves are on a specific bullet design.

The number of holes makes no difference, as long as the adjustment lets them line up with the grease grooves on the bullet.


Another little trick I use is to drill a small bleed hole through the center rods on the sizing dies.

Then excess lube leakage squirts out the bottom of the rod instead of sticking to the bottom of every bullet you size.

rc

 

[LivewireBlanco]

All my cast bullets have 1 groove except my 45 Colt bullets which have 2. They are all from Lee moulds and all for pistols. Looks like the RCBS dies would be a better fit except for my 45 Colt mould. Right?

 

[rcmodel]

It doesn't matter.

You can adjust the sizer for the bullet you are sizing like I said above.

rc

 

[dagger dog]

RC+1

Egg xactly, it takes a little fine-eggling to get the depth set, and it takes some light fingers on the pressure screw so you don't push lube under the base of the boolit.

You don't want to crank the pressure screw on every boolit, you want to increase the pressure until it fills the grooves and then run the boolits through until you get 1 that doesn't fill completely, then increase the pressure slightly. I keep some of the lube I'm using outside of the sizer and use it to hand lube the ones that come out with gaps in the lube.

 

[243winxb]

I would want more holes in the die when not using a heater. From Midwayusa

 

[LivewireBlanco]

I ended up with a Lyman 4500 with a heater and will probably us Carnauba Red as my lube

 

[Elkins45]

Another little trick I use is to drill a small bleed hole through the center rods on the sizing dies.

Then excess lube leakage squirts out the bottom of the rod instead of sticking to the bottom of every bullet you size.

rc

That's a great idea, but I'm surprised it can be done with "normal" tools. I would think those pins are so hard that a standard drill would just walk off the surface. I don't know that I could run a true hold down the middle of the pin on my .309 die with the small diameter bit it would require. Maybe on a .452 it would be easier, but there's not a lot of room for error on the smaller calibers.

Would you mind sharing how you did it?

 

[rcmodel]

Chuck them in a hobby lathe, center drill them, switch to a drill bit and drill on through them.

None I have drilled were really super hard like you would expect them to be.

Maybe they make the punch softer so it won't scratch the harder die?
I don't know.

Rc

 

[John3921]

I think I read somewhere that the RCBS/Lyman dies and punches are not hardened, but the Star dies are. I turned a die out of 1144 stressproof, but have not used it enough to see if there is any signs of wear.