Hawknose Bill Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 My father-in-law gave me his RCBS single-stage press (he bought a new Dillon Progressive) and taught me to reload. Using his dies and bullet molds, I cast and loaded 350 .38 Specials and 100 .357 Mags, as well as 250 9mm rounds while at his house this weekend. Now that I'm home, I'm addicted to the reloading bug, but in sore need of components. I have the RCBS dies but, for some reason, can't get the seating/crimping die to work with .38 Special (works fine with .357 Mag). I saw the recent post regarding a die set for sale and am considering it, but I also need to know if anyone out there has a Lyman 1- or 2-cavity mold in .357 or 9mm that they no longer use. I'm also looking for a hand-priming tool. Thanks, pards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goody, SASS #26190 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 For loading 38 special You need to crank the die down to seat/crimp the shorter cartridge. Turn the center(bullet seating) portion down little at a time until the bullet is seated to the desired depth. Then back the center portion back out 4 or 5 turns and begin turning the outer(crimp) portion down until you have a nice even crimp. Tighten the lock ring on the outside of the die, then with the press in the full up position, screw the center portion back down until it contacts the bullet nose lightly. Sorry, no molds. You can get a new Lee hand priming tool for not much money. Be sure and get the proper shell holder(s) as well. http://www.natchezss.com/Category.cfm?contentID=productDetail&brand=LE&prodID=LEE90230&prodTitle=Lee Auto Prime XR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawknose Bill Posted February 21, 2012 Author Share Posted February 21, 2012 For loading 38 special You need to crank the die down to seat/crimp the shorter cartridge. Turn the center(bullet seating) portion down little at a time until the bullet is seated to the desired depth. Then back the center portion back out 4 or 5 turns and begin turning the outer(crimp) portion down until you have a nice even crimp. Tighten the lock ring on the outside of the die, then with the press in the full up position, screw the center portion back down until it contacts the bullet nose lightly. Sorry, no molds. You can get a new Lee hand priming tool for not much money. Be sure and get the proper shell holder(s) as well. http://www.natchezss...0&prodTitle=Lee Auto Prime XR I understand the process for setting the die for seating and crimping. Did it numerous times with my father-in-law's die.The glitch is that, when I lower the die for .38, there aren't enough threads left for the locking ring to take hold. I was using RCBS dies in a Lee press, but doubt that this was the cause of the problem. The molds are secondary. I can, until I gather funds, use his molds and cast a large batch when I go to visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goody, SASS #26190 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 I understand the process for setting the die for seating and crimping. Did it numerous times with my father-in-law's die.The glitch is that, when I lower the die for .38, there aren't enough threads left for the locking ring to take hold. I was using RCBS dies in a Lee press, but doubt that this was the cause of the problem. The molds are secondary. I can, until I gather funds, use his molds and cast a large batch when I go to visit. Try screwing the lockrin on from the bottom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Wolf , SASS# 29424L Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 My father-in-law gave me his RCBS single-stage press (he bought a new Dillon Progressive) and taught me to reload. Using his dies and bullet molds, I cast and loaded 350 .38 Specials and 100 .357 Mags, as well as 250 9mm rounds while at his house this weekend. Now that I'm home, I'm addicted to the reloading bug, but in sore need of components. I have the RCBS dies but, for some reason, can't get the seating/crimping die to work with .38 Special (works fine with .357 Mag). I saw the recent post regarding a die set for sale and am considering it, but I also need to know if anyone out there has a Lyman 1- or 2-cavity mold in .357 or 9mm that they no longer use. I'm also looking for a hand-priming tool. Thanks, pards. Hawknose, I have a Hornady hand primer I'll let go of. It has everything with it including box and paper work. How bout $25 shipped. PM me if interested. Blue Wolf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithy Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 If I understand this; You can't thread the die down far enough to do the job? If so, I've run into the same problem before and how I fixed it was to put the lock ring on the bottom portion of the die and threaded the die in from the bottom. That should give you about three threads at least. Some dies this won't work on since the upper portion of the die is a larger diameter than the threads, but if not that should do the trick. Smithy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seldom Seen #16162 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Hawknose, On the top of the expander die check if if is stamped 38 357 or just 357 Mag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.T Chambers, SASS#76185 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Hawknose Bill, There is a steel washer that is supplied with the 38/357 RCBS die sets - do you have that washer under the die when you are trying to load 38's after the die was set (presumably with the washer) for 357's. This washer is the same thickness (0.130) as the difference in case lengths between 38 and 357. If you set the seater/crimp die to load 357's with the washer under the die lock ring you can load 357's - then remove the washer and with possibly no/or minute changes to the die, you should be able to load the same bullets into 38 cases. Hope this helps and Good Luck, MTC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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