Seating lead bullets and seating stems.

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AJC1

AJC1

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So I am having quite the issue with a lee 158 cast bullet and getting it to seat without marking up the bullet. There are three good choices but curious how you would chose to solve this issue.
Choice 1 use a stem from your rcbs die and modify it by using epoxy to match the shape.
Choice 2 order a custom stem from rcbs for 30 dollars.
Choice 3 order a lee die and get the lee stem that matches their bullet mold.

I am still trying to figure out the facts and costs on option 3. Just seems like I should not overlook or exclude a reasonable answer.
 
I have modified several seating plugs or stems to flat points simply due to the vast majority of bullets I load are either a flat or HP design.

That said, I've also purchased RCBS stems for round nose because the set only had a flat tipped stem.

For the FN its pretty easy to chuck the stem up in a drill press and modify it from round to flat just not the other way.
 
A less permanent way that I have used is hot glue. This will get you by until you figure out which direction to go/wait for parts.

You can remove these easily from the stem if it's a bullet your are just trying out. The hot glue tips will fall apart or lose the shape with heavy use but can be made again easily.

Just make sure you use wax or something similar on the bullet to act as a release agent. Johnsons paste wax works, beeswax works, even shoe polish works.
 
Good suggestions above. 30$ is too much for this old shop dog.

Look at the stem threads,they're std sae pitch. Start thinking about making your own. It may not be in the cards tooling wise right at this time but,it isn't rocket science. Find a resource for the "bolt".... grab a few,and start whittling.

Stem "shape" aside..... there's a LOT left on the table accuracy speaking with stem,die,and alignment on factory seating dies. And don't think a micro seater addresses them all. That's more directed at convenience. Critical dimensions can't be set for every bullet by a factory. Cast bullets run a much wider +/- than jacketed so,one size.... dosen't fit all.
 
Hooda Thunkit said:
If you are using Lee dies, Lee will make a custom stem for just a few bucks. I don't remember how much they charge, but it's most certainly much, much less than $30.

Send them a couple bullets, they make the stem.
Click to expand...

Just had Lee make one for me. Different bullet, but the cost was 8$ plus shipping and tax. Came out to about $15 and took about 2 weeks to get it back.
 
I have never understood how you can fill a seating stem with epoxy and think that it will seat the bullet straight. Sure, it will fit the bullet better but the only way that it will seat the bullet straight is if the bullet is perfectly straight and perfectly aligned with the case while the epoxy is drying.

The problem with Lee making a custom stem is that you are stuck using lee dies. So...if it were my ammo, I would order a custom RCBS seating stem and call it a day. Buy once, cry once.

On another note, marks on the bullet are generally caused by higher seating pressure. Those bullets are .001 oversized so maybe you need to expand the case a bit more so you are not swaging down the bullet to fit the standard case which defeats the purpose of it being .358 in diameter. NOE makes some great expander plugs that work with a LEE universal expander die body. You can get them in many sizes. Your current expander is sized for .357 diameter bullets and is probably not expanding the case enough to smoothly seat a .358 diameter bullet. That additional presure maybe be whats sausing the rings on your bullet and not a poorly fitting seating steam.
 
FWIW; I believe any "marking" of a cast bullet is merely cosmetic., and has no effect on shooting. Unless the bullet is severely deformed, I would just polish the seating stem removing any sharp edges or just shoot them and hide them when other shooters may see them at the range...
 
mdi said:
FWIW; I believe any "marking" of a cast bullet is merely cosmetic., and has no effect on shooting. Unless the bullet is severely deformed, I would just polish the seating stem removing any sharp edges or just shoot them and hide them when other shooters may see them at the range...
Click to expand...
I'm sure your right but I put in so much effort in casting and coating beautiful bullets, feels like the bird crapping on a my freshly washed truck. The protectionist dies in me when I look at them.
 
AJC1 said:
I'm sure your right but I put in so much effort in casting and coating beautiful bullets, feels like the bird crapping on a my freshly washed truck. The protectionist dies in me when I look at them.
Click to expand...
Yep, understand. To take some junk lead, clean it up carefully, cast some bullets, size them to perfection, lube them with "The World's Best Bullet Lube", then mark them up when seating them is really the pits. Just offering a bit of insight. I cast and some of my bullets perform well with 45-45-10, but I don't like the brown noses, so I go to the trouble of dip lubing them individually.:p
 
Quick and dirty... make up a dummy round with your fave bullet epoxied in place. Put it under the seating die and shove it up hard... after you've first placed a small amount of loosely waded-up aluminum foil inside the plug.
 
I just use the stem that comes standard with the LEE dies and never an issue with any form or profile of bullet??
I just do not understand how some folks can distort the bullet (even soft lead) just by seating the bullet?? 158 gr hard cast is pretty hard.
I have seated Hornady flex tips bullet with no issue?
 
MBC 158 gr LSWC. Seated with regular old LEE seating stem.

"No bullets where harmed during this procedure":)

DSCF0951 (Small).JPG
 
Rule3 said:
I just use the stem that comes standard with the LEE dies and never an issue with any form or profile of bullet??
I just do not understand how some folks can distort the bullet (even soft lead) just by seating the bullet?? 158 gr hard cast is pretty hard.
I have seated Hornady flex tips bullet with no issue?
Click to expand...
It happens. If there are any edges in the seating stem cavity that don't fit the bullet shape, it will mark the bullet. With "universal" seating stems like the Lee dies use, it doesn't happen often, but some stem cavities designed for a specific shape (like a dedicated nose punch) often will mark a bullet with a different shape. BTDT and most of the time it's just cosmetic. But some casters rightly don't care for the marring, like I don't care for brown noses of tumble lubed bullets (I knew I'd get some reactions to the brown nose comment, but that's cool!)...
 
On all my LSWC ammo I use a seating stem that only contacts the shoulder. This seats the bullet straight and does not damage the nose. This is one I made for my Hornady Dies. I have these for 45acp and 38/357. It also simplifies setup since I always set to the same position no matter what weight bullet I use


45acp LSWC Seating Stem 2.jpg

45acp LSWC Seating Stem.jpg
 
Rule3 said:
I just use the stem that comes standard with the LEE dies and never an issue with any form or profile of bullet??
I just do not understand how some folks can distort the bullet (even soft lead) just by seating the bullet?? 158 gr hard cast is pretty hard.
I have seated Hornady flex tips bullet with no issue?
Click to expand...
The difference in lead hardness between bhn 6.7 and 18 is a whole lot
 
AJC1 said:
The difference in lead hardness between bhn 6.7 and 18 is a whole lot
Click to expand...

Well then you did not mention in your original post that you were loading Play Dough bullets or pretty much pure lead
 
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