I'd give Lyman a call about that one. I've got two M-dies, and they look the same from the outside. The expander stems have different numbers stamped into the ends (30, 37). I suppose there is a convenience factor in having the stem always at the right depth every time I grab my 30 cal die, but I could have set that depth using the lock nut on the stems instead of having a whole die to take care of it.
H. C.
Posts: 3691 | Location: West Virginia | Registered: 23 May 2001
JBMauser....You can order the plugs from Lyman and get by with one body...IF....the cases are about the same. You may run into problems with a combo like the 25-20 and 25/06. I think they make short and long bodies or short or long stems in a specific diameter. I've seen short and long in the .30s. The .30 Carbine uses a short and the 06 uses a long./beagle
I had to go out in the shop and look on that one. I have a Lyman kit that has six hollow flaring bodies and two funnel tubes that go inside a die that mounts a powder measure on top. Looks to me like it pretty well covers the likely range of cases, except maybe .22. Too cold out there for me to look in it much more than that.
Posts: 1570 | Location: Base of the Blue Ridge | Registered: 04 November 2002
It's like beagle said. You can do anything from a .25 Auto or .22 Hornet to a .50-90 Sharps with 2 dies and an assortment of expander plugs. You can't load powder through an M-Die because the plugs are solid. What Leftoverdj has is the "Multi-Expand/Powder Charge Die System" which is available in 6 common pistol calibres.
quote:Originally posted by waksupi: Or, you can use the nose of your Toolman pliers for all calibers, as I do...
Same here-- I used a metal casing of the bottom of a ballpt pen for some time-- that impaled on an old screwdriver shaft. I would like to have a 'Universal' M shaft.. a gradual V taper that could be adjusted to suit each caliber...
Posts: 1529 | Location: Central Wisconsin | Registered: 01 March 2001
I like the idea of a taper. I use a field point off on old arrow now. I just put it on the case mouth and run it up into the bullet seater, it works fine but it is "feel" kind of thing and I would like some more consistancy of flare. JB
Posts: 104 | Location: Roanoke, VA , USA | Registered: 20 March 2002
I really like the way that the m die puts a parallel sided section of expanded diameter rather than a ever increasing taper. I will run the case into the die far enough to allow about .050-.100 of the bullet base to slip into the case. I think that the bullets start straighter and more consistent because of this. I really hate seeing straight sided brass bulged more on one side than the other.
As long as the subject came up. I have noticed that no matter how hard I try to start bullets into the case mouth straight I still get evidence that the bullet is not dead center to the axis, ie. bulging on one side. Seems there is alot of talk lately about bullet concentricity being panamount (paramount?) to accuracy. What have you all found. Is it all that important that said bulge is eliminated...and if so..how? Is it a matter of having ultimate reexpansion after sizing, or of having the ultimate amount of sizing in the first place.
The less the brass is worked the better, but how can you tell which set of sizing dies is going to be optimum for your bullet dia? Someone needs to make 3 die sets with interchangable carbide inserts for the optimum amount of sizing straightwall cases.
Regarding the taper - I had a 30d included angle cone made with a 3/8 shaft that fits the Sinclair or Wilson 7/8-14 die body that is used for neck expanding mandrels.
The 30d is about right. It could be a little less. The problem is one of depth - you do it either by feel (which varies with brass hardness) just a little bump is enough, and if you slip you may never use that case again for anything less than a spitoon. Or you can be really carefull setting up case lengths to be identical (not a bad idea) and set the depth to a particular point.
Drawings can be provided on request. Mine is made from CRS (cold rolled steel - not - can't remember s**t). It does OK, harder steel will also work.
Posts: 621 | Location: Virginia mountains | Registered: 25 December 2002
I bought about a dozen of the Lyman expander mandrels and a "short" die body from an outfit up in Montana. I found the bill of sale and it didn't have their name or address on it.... I made a nice case mouth expander for straightening out range pick-up brass. I cut the head off an automotive intake valve and tapered the stem down to a dull point on my grinder. Polished it up with various grades of emery cloth and set it in a file handle. A mighty handy piece of equipment.
