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Question for owners of Lyman 310 tools


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I just bought a vintage Lyman 310 tong style reloading tool. It was new in the box, still wrapped in wax paper. the box has a $12.95 price tag on it...wish I'd paid that! :blush:

 

Here is my problem, I don't know if I have the small handles or the large handles, and I need to know for ordering dies. My tool is 7 3/8th inches long. If any of you have 310s , do you know which size this is?

 

Thanks in advance.

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310 tool

 

I don't know if this will help but here is Midways listing for their new 310..

Dixie also has a listing but I couldn't find it this morning.

 

hope it helps some

 

curley

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Mike, Mine is not marked lg or small, but I bought it 50 yrs ago to reload 30-06 & .243 so I'm thinkin it's lg.(7-3/8" long)

Not much help, but it's all I got. :)

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I'm getting smarter about these 310 tools...it looks like Large or Small doesn't relate to the handle length, but to the height of the collar the dies screw into.

 

Mine is less than half an inch higher than the handle base...0.416 inches in fact. I think the large handles have a higher collar to accommodate rifle dies...

 

Can anybody check for me?

 

Yusta, yours should be a large handle. How high is the collar on yours?

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

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What is the difference between the Small and Large handles?

The Large handles have a longer boss (3/4 inch long) for rifle dies to thread into. Pistol dies may end up being too short in the Long die.The handle length is the same.

The large boss measures 1.425" from the inside of the handle to the outer end; the short boss mikes 1.050". You could trim the boss of a large handle back about 3/8" until the pistol dies work OK

 

http://ps-2.kev009.com:8081/ohlandl/310/Lyman_310_Tool.html

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Thank you Joe!

 

That is exactly what I needed to know. The guy I bought them from said he thought these were Large tongs, bu, based on your attached document, they are the short ones. So I'll stick to pistol dies.

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Thanks Curley.

 

Joe, I'm new to the 310, but I've used a Lee handpress for over 20 years...often at the range.

 

Love the old gear.

My very FIRST reloader was a 310. I was doing .38 spl at the time with cast bullets of a wadcutter design. We used old crayons/candles melted in a cookie sheet for lube.... place the bullets in the mixture and use a piece of tubing to cut the wax to extracate..... didn't say it was easy...... Now days (que angel chorus, bells, bright lights scent of roses, etc) we use a Dillon 1050. It was 'fun' and all we could afford at the time.... thanks for the flash backs. :)

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It was 'fun' and all we could afford at the time.... thanks for the flash backs. :)

 

Is that "fun" like a root canal?

 

I was introduced to the 310 tool when I bought a sporterized Swedish Mauser. For a hundred bucks I got the scoped gun, a bunch of loaded ammo, a bunch of brass, a few boxes of bullets, and a 310 tool with dies for the 6.5 x 55 Mauser.

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Hi Deacon,

 

I started out with a Lee hand press...loaded thousands of rounds on that. Now I use a Dillon 550B and a Lee Turret for most reloading, but I find myself drifting back to the old ways.

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