I have finally gotten around to reloading again after a 10 break and I was examining some dies that my father gave me years ago. I have a set of Lyman All-American dies in 6.5 Jap that is missing the decapping/sizing pin from the end of the threaded rod. I checked the Lyman site and they don't seem to make dies in this caliber any more. I was looking through my reloading manual and found that the .257 Roberts neck ID is only .002" larger and Lyman sells this piece. My (2) questions are will this decapping/sizing pin be close enough for use in the 6.5 FL die and will the new Lyman pins screw on to decapping rods from the Late 60's early 70's? My other option is to buy new dies from Lee but I would like to reload for my fathers old model 38 with his old equipment if possible.

I`d talk to Lyman and see if the 260 Rem decapper would work. it is the right diameter and the case is 52mm so it`s close.

If the bushing is still in place in the top of the die it has a common thread. It is probably an 8-32 or 10-32. Some of RCBS and other die brands use the same size thread on the smaller calibers. Just buy their expander rod, expander button and decapping pin and put it in the old Lyman die.

quote:

Originally posted by dnlink:
I have a set of Lyman All-American dies in 6.5 Jap that is missing the decapping/sizing pin from the end of the threaded rod. ...I would like to reload for my fathers old model 38 with his old equipment if possible.

Hey dnlink, I agree to just contact Lyman for the piece that is missing.

However the reason I'm posting is "if" you use your Father's old Cases, one of them might have that piece inside it. Perhaps it got loose during a Resizing sequence, came unscrewed and "might" be inside one of the old Cases. Then you could just cut the Case open and put it back where it belongs.

Also, if you are going to be using Cases he used a long time ago, they "might" be Brittle, or they might not be. Just watch them closely for Insipient Case Head Separations, Pin Holes in the Case Walls and Neck Splits. The Neck Splits could possibly be avoided with Annealing.

Best of luck to you.

IF I read this right, the only thing missing is the decapping pin.

Easily purchased from most mail oreder stores or can be mad from a brad with a little effort.

May be decapping pin and . . . Brain F , , , t here for the term

I have the bushing and the decapping rod that screws into it, I am missing the Expander button that has the decapping pin on it. I have about 10 rounds of loaded ammo and I was going to pull the bullets anyway as I'm sure they were loaded about 30 years ago and I'm not brave enough to fire them. I will find out if it is in one of them, never thought of that. If the expander button was in a round and was fired this would surely cause a catastrophic failure of the rifle, Right?

Just weigh the rounds. The expander ball can't be in all of them.
The old Lyman dies of that period used a small thread expander ball with a headed decapping pin.
You might ask Lyman if the current bushing, rod, expander and decapping pin assy will fit your old die body.

quote:

Originally posted by dnlink:
... I have about 10 rounds of loaded ammo and I was going to pull the bullets anyway as I'm sure they were loaded about 30 years ago

May not be anything wrong with them at all, but it is always a good idea to disassemble Cartridges where you are not sure of everything about them.

quote:

If the expander button was in a round and was fired this would surely cause a catastrophic failure of the rifle, Right?

Maybe, but you never know. I was thinking it might be in a Resized but Empty Case and you could tell by just shaking them. But weighing them as SR4759 mentioned is an excellent idea.

Well I pulled the bullets, no joy. The decapper wasn't in one. Next step,Contact Lyman.