Time to make the donuts....

[D Coots]

Did a short run (500) of my 114's on the .925" jacket in the Robinett carbide point die 10 days ago.

Coincidently, today is the first time in 10 days that my left index finger is out of the dressing.

Good shootin' -Al

Hurts donut....

 

[AlNyhus]

Al, did you ever hookup that press heater to any of your presses? If so, what are your thoughts?

Wayne, I haven't had a chance to. Since switching to R.G.'s carbide point die in Ulrich converted Lee press, I wanted to make sure everything was going well before I added anything else to the process. It's a good suggestion and I'll work with it this off season. Thanks for the tip! -Al

 

[AlNyhus]

Hurts donut....

Not as bad as yours with the boat tail punch....ouch and double ouch. I missed the fingernail by about 1/8".

 

[brcman]

Sounds like you guys are trying to pump those handles toooo fast!

 

[AlNyhus]

Sounds like you guys are trying to pump those handles toooo fast!

Wayne, I'm more of a slow and steady pointer-upper. My brain wandered, my finger lagged and all of a sudden I was leaking all over the place.

 

[JoeDuke]

That boat tail point up punch will teach you to be very deliberate. Not only is it sharp as a knife, any bump against a hard surface nicks it.

 

[6BRAckley]

Al

Seeing the pic of your finger gave me ptsd - I’ve done it twice too which proves I didn’t learn my lesson the first time

JP

 

[D Coots]

Sounds like you guys are trying to pump those handles toooo fast!

Doesn't take much for my arm to out RPM my brain Wayne....

The first time wasn't bad, but the pic of the second time....probably hit the bone....

 

[Shooter13]

Wayne, I'm more of a slow and steady pointer-upper. My brain wandered, my finger lagged and all of a sudden I was leaking all over the place.

You broke the factory seal!! (probably not the first time) you know now your warranty is expired now that the seal is broken???

 

[Tim Singleton]

Not yet, Wayne. I've got a new press and point die project going on right now. Looking forward to working with the heater soon. -Al

Hey, Al plz keep us posted on the heater project!

 

[Tim Singleton]

RCBS Lube-A-Matic (LAM) Heater

Make bullet casting easier with the RCBS Lube-A-Matic (LAM) Heater. The LAM Heater helps keep bullet lube flowing, ensuring proper sizing and...

www.midwayusa.com

Here is my 2 cents. I have been using a press heater on my point-up press for about 20 years. I have the temp setting to where \\the press body is 95 degrees. It amazed me how the bullet can feel as warm as it does when it comes out of the point-up die when you consider how short of a time period it is in the die. I think my bullets look a bit more shinny and the ogive folds look better and I think it makes the stroke a little slicker. I have only made 30 cal bullets (since 1991). My heater plate looks a little different than the attached link but I did buy it at Midway but 20 years ago. The temp setting is not at the max setting in order to get to 95 degrees.
I think it would help to have a heater on the core seat press but have never did it. Rich Griffin put me on to this- he did it when he made bullets. Rich had a small heat blanket that wrapped around the die.

Wayne Corley

Wayne could you post some pics of your heater setup

 

[ridgeway]

If you search Amazon for "oil pan heater". They come in several different sizes and wattages. They just stick on...

 

[D Coots]

Curious as to what is "the perfect" temp?

When I was making good bullets I liked to keep the temp at 72 degrees in my shop.

 

[dcali]

Thought I'd chime in on core weights. I did some math and testing on this, and there's a very small theoretical and practical benefit to using lighter cores (at least in the long range .30s I was testing). But there are limits before practical matters take over, and you can wind up trading a lot of BC for a tiny accuracy gain.

In theory, that relationship between accuracy and BC is *not* linear. when the bullet is full of lead, reducing core weight a little can provide a good bump in accuracy with relatively little hit to BC. Once you start getting a good amount of air in the tip, the accuracy gain is substantially outweighed by the BC loss.

For context, this is a small effect if everything else is right. I have never made short range bullets to test, but the math would indicate it's even further in the noise for those.

That's my experience at least. It's far from definitive.

 

[brcman]

What I like about the heater is that the lube just seems so much more slick than when not heated and the press handle feels smoother during the stroke. This is a cast bullet heater that lead casters use and I got it from Midway about 15 years ago, it has a base plate that is long enough to fit under the point up press. I have talked to others (can't remember who but think it was Rich Griffin that liked the temp of the press to be about 120 degrees. Mine is not that hot I do not think but feels warmer than my forehead.

 

[Nader]

I like that ejector frame

 

[brcman]

Me too, has a lot of room for the hand.

 

[liseo]

What about core diameter? Currently, the cores for 1,200" jackets and a final weight of 168 grains have a diameter of 0.250" and a length of 0.865".
I'm not satisfied with the variation in core weight.
If I change the core forming so that the core has a final diameter of 0.220", I will have a length of 1,090" for the same weight.(approximate)
My question is, in theory, If longer and thinner cores will have more uniformity than shorter and thicker cores, if the same final weight
Does anyone know?
I'll find out for myself soon, but I'd like to hear from those with more experience.

 

[savet06]

I have been using the AutoBody Now oil pan heaters found on amazon - they are silicone and have adhesive and stick really well to the presses or you can zip tie them on as well.
I have the 2"x4" on my lenzi and it gets it warm within an hour. The smaller 1x4" that I have takes several hours to get my Peinhardt presses (for sale by me in the classifieds if you would like to see a pic of the heater).
Mike

 

[Tim Singleton]

Giving this a try
Probe up inside the die