Lyman 450 Sizer leaking lube.

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  • Last Post 17 February 2010
WRDSMTH posted this 20 August 2009

When sizing 45-70 bullets in my Lyman 450 I get a lube “surge” under the base of the bullet. This requires immediate cleaning before another bullet can be sized & lubed. I have tried a number of things including putting a styrofoam wad under the bullet, but nothing seems to help. Any suggestions? I do not have this problem with my SAECO or RCBS lube/sizers.

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skeet1 posted this 20 August 2009

In my RCBS Lube-O-Matic this happens when I apply to much pressure on my lube piston. I would suggest that you apply a litte less pressure when lubing.

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Duane Mellenbruch posted this 20 August 2009

Are you lube sizing a bevel based bullet?  If the lube port in the lube size die is lined up with the base of the bullet, you will get lube between the base of the bullet and the ejector pin.  Consider adjusting the stop nut so the rod is either raised above that point or lower than that point.   Duane

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KenK posted this 20 August 2009

I have the RCBS lube sizer and I second what Skeet said.  Some bullets I size just require a very light pressure to fill the grooves and some need it to be tight. 

Try using lighter pressure and pause a beat at the bottom of the stroke to let the lube flow.

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hunterspistol posted this 20 August 2009

   The pressure matters, I'll go for that too. On a Lyman press, your adjustment of how deep the bullet goes, also matters. I've just got the 4500, the newer model.  If you adjust the depth so that the bullet goes too shallow, all the lube is at the base of the bullet. Too deep and, the lube shows up on top around the ogive. The correct depth is to have the lube just at the top lube groove and deep enough not to force it in the base/gas check area.  Oh, lots of rags and Qtips help.

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Lillard posted this 20 August 2009

My saeco was doing the same thing last week. I was using Rooster HVR the sizer was real warm from the heater but the lube groove would have a void. As I increased the preasure on the piston to try to fill the void it started filling the area under the base of the bullet with lube.I backed off the piston and it stopped. I had too size some twice to fill the void. That was better than cleaning lube out of the sizer die it makes a mess when it does that.

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tturner53 posted this 20 August 2009

Man it's hot in my garage. (How hot is it?) It's so hot the lube in my Lyman 450 is dripping out on the floor. Sure don't need no heater.

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WRDSMTH posted this 21 August 2009

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I am using a soft lube for a black powder cast bullet so the pressure on the lube is probably even more critical than usual....does'nt seem to happen with my other sizers,however

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Lillard posted this 21 August 2009

Anyone have suggestions on how to stop the voids in my lube grooves. It fills all the way around but one little spot will not have any lube.

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roadie posted this 21 August 2009

Well, apart from using a bit more pressure, all I can think of is a plugged hole in the die. Is the void always in the same location?

roadie

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JetMech posted this 21 August 2009

Lillard wrote: Anyone have suggestions on how to stop the voids in my lube grooves. It fills all the way around but one little spot will not have any lube.I have to do the same thing. Run it in once, rotate it 90 and one more pass. Plus I automatically clean the base of the bullet afterwards on a rag dampened with toulene after. Just habit any more.

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hunterspistol posted this 21 August 2009

       Anyone have suggestions on how to stop the voids in my lube grooves. It fills all the way around but one little spot will not have any lube.  

     I don't know that you don't already do this- Try putting the bullet at the bottom of the die first.  In other words pull the handle down to the location where the grooves pick up lube then, tweak the lube pressure about 1/16th turn.  The Lyman has a handy-dandy rachet that lets me put in one click of lube at the bottom. Forces all the grooves full of lube. Yet, it's still not free of messiness.

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Lillard posted this 21 August 2009

roadie wrote: Well, apart from using a bit more pressure, all I can think of is a plugged hole in the die. Is the void always in the same location?

roadie No plugged holes, void not in the same location.

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Dicko posted this 13 November 2009

Failure to completely lube grooves occurs more with big bullets than small ones and more with Lyman dies than RCBS.    The lube has to flow around the groove.   The bigger the bullet the further it has to go.   If there are two opposing feed holes the lube must travel a quarter circle, ie both ways from each feed hole x one quarter = half circle from each feed hole.   The lube from each hole must meet half way round the groove.   Air is trapped in the groove and will contribute to failure to fill completely.

I get this to a minor extent with 9mm and 38 but it is much more prevalent with 44 Mag and 45 Colt.   In fact with those big bullets I have to lube them a second time turned through 90 degrees.    That's with Lyman dies.    Note also that it needs a lot of feed pressure to eliminate or minimise it, and that can lead to other problems mentioned on this forum.   For example, after years of use often under high pressure my old Lyman 450 leaks lube out the bottom where the operating screw retaining washer has sprung a leak.

It is less of a problem with RCBS dies which have four holes.   But I still encountered it to some extent.   So I made my owndies with six smaller feed holes.   That eliminated the problem completely and feed pressure doesn't need to be so high.

 

 

   

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JetMech posted this 13 November 2009

Dicko wrote: Failure to completely lube grooves occurs more with big bullets than small ones and more with Lyman dies than RCBS.   The lube from each hole must meet half way round the groove.   Air is trapped in the groove and will contribute to failure to fill completely.  In fact with those big bullets I have to lube them a second time turned through 90 degrees.    That's with Lyman dies.    Note also that it needs a lot of feed pressure to eliminate or minimise it, and that can lead to other problems mentioned on this forum.   For example, after years of use often under high pressure my old Lyman 450 leaks lube out the bottom where the operating screw retaining washer has sprung a leak. That's been my experience also. .30 bullets are fine, but the majority of my cast are .41 and larger. Push the bullet in the die, apply pressure to the lube, push bullet out, rotate 90 and back into the die, dwell for a 3 to 5 count and then it's fully lubed.

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CB posted this 13 November 2009

I have used the plug the holes trick in combination with a piece of dense foam rubber, really cuts down the mess with the 450. I also use a rubber gasket under the 450 to stop the leakage out the bottom. If you can get the lube grooves and the die holes to line up and plug the rest of the hole with a piece of shot, #6 or 7 1/2 you will get better results. The problem doing it this way limits the number of different style bullets you can lube with the die. I lube everything I can through a star sizer now, but there are still some bullets I do in the 450. All of the bullets I shoot in the matches in my 308 and 30BR are lubed this way. Pistol bullets and the bullets for the 45-70 are lubed in the star.

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mcskipper posted this 30 November 2009

I'm using a Lyman 450 For me the lube surge is two things, Too much lube pressure and not keeping some pressure on the sizing handle.

Groves not filling all the way around? Try some heat on the lube and give the bullet a bit more time  in the sizer to give lube time to move all the way around.

My sizer leaked badly when a got it. I cleaned up the seat in the body of the sizer. Replaced the original o ring with a bigger Dia.

I make my own sizing dies when I need a special.

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WRDSMTH posted this 17 February 2010

I found an answer to the lube surge.It is a little slow, but it beats cleaning up lube after lubing each bullet. First take all of the pressure off of the lubricant  in the reservoir. Push the bullet to be lubricated all the way down in the sizing die. Now apply pressure to the lube...then back all of the way off on the pressure. Raise the handle of the sizer to remove the bullet. This takes a little practice, but seems to work even with soft lubes. I think I read this in the new Brennan book. 

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