A fellow on another board mounts his sizer on an aluminum plate and puts a clothing iron behind the sizer for a heat source. I tried it and it works! A 5" x 12" plate is about the right size. He used a 3/8" thick plate. I found a 3/16" plate and it's thick enough to move heat from the iron to the sizer. A 3/8" plate probably would be better, but 3/16" works.  Drill two holes for the mounting bolts and trim the front corners if you want to be fancy.

  Setting the iron to 1/4 heat gave me 115°F inside the reservoir, which was hot enough for Lyman Orange Magic lube. Give it half an hour to heat up. Your mileage may vary.

Bye
Jack

 

What about us bachelors who don't own an iron?  I would think getting the heater would be cheaper...:biggrin:
Mark

Jack,

Excellent Idea! As a matter of fact, Ed Wilke of the Wilke Gas Check fame had a heater that looked like a small travel iron mounted to a plate. Had the adjustable T/Stat and worked very well.

Thanks for the info.

Regards, Ray

Jack,

Great tip!  Many thanks!

Marshall

Absolutely awesome idea!! Now tell me where I can get Viral Smith bullet lube (Blue) at a reasonable price and I will call you, "Master Guru".
I have heard that his wife is now selling it (his recipe).
Changeling

I would ask over at www.sixgunner.com

I think Marshall is selling his lube also and it is very good.

Regards, Ray

 I've found that 115°F is a bit too hot for Orange Magic. It's too stiff at 90°, but flows nicely at 100°-105°. If it's too hot it starts leaking out the bottom of the lube reservoir and around the bottom punch. This is on a Lyman 450.

 For warm-up, I set the iron at 1/2 heat for 10 minutes, then 1/4 heat for 10 minutes, then run at 1/8 heat. I put a thermometer inside the reservoir and cover the top with cotton batting during warm-up. Your milage may vary.  

 Mark, a fellow has to get spiffed up once or twice a year, and I'd hate to try ironing a shirt with a heater. :D

Bye
Jack

If you are using the Lee die setup, how do you heat that up?

Hi, Nathan:
  So far as I know, the Lee die doesn't need heat since it doesn't apply the lube. I think you apply the lube by hand or by tumbling before sizing.  Any Lee users out there?

Bye
Jack

Correct Jack,

The Lee die is only a swaging type sizer.

You must run only lubed bullets through the Lee die as it will begin to "lead" otherwise.

You can use either the tumblelube liquid or pan/hand lube the bullets first.

I also use mine to resize storebought cast/lubed bullets to smaller diameters if needed.

This die will also seat/crimp gas checks as it sizes the bullet.

Regards, Ray

(Edited by Contender at 16 pm on Dec. 1, 2001)