Using hand push thru sizer dies.

[jek279]

Anyone have any tips or tricks for pushing Minie balls thru the hand push thru sizers? How do you hold the sizer? How do you push the bullet thru without deforming it? Do you push thru nose first? If so, how do you push it thru without hurting the skirt?

[SHARPS4953]

Anyone have any tips or tricks for pushing Minie balls thru the hand push thru sizers? How do you hold the sizer? How do you push the bullet thru without deforming it? Do you push thru nose first? If so, how do you push it thru without hurting the skirt?

I push through nose first. I use a wooden dowel with the nose sanded close to the shape of the inside diameter of the skirt of the mini. Some use aluminum dowels but wood has worked fine for me. If they get tight I smear a little cooking oil inside the sizer with a Qtip. I use a vise to hold the sizer.
hope it helped

[Muley Gil]

I was given a sizer die holder that was made from PVC pipe holding a large metal washer whose center hole is the same size as the body of the sizing die. It was bought from a sutler at the Naionals.

I place the sizing die in the holder on my small drill press and chuck a wooden dowel that fits the base of the Minie. I then push the Minie through, nose first, catching it in a padded box under the drill table.

[Lou Lou Lou]

I prefer the push thru type that threads into a standard press. North east traders sells a pusher that fits the ram on all presses.

[Rebel Dave]

I second what lou said, John makes nice sizers that are easy to use.

Rebel Dave

[Mike Baker 11100]

Anyone have any tips or tricks for pushing Minie balls thru the hand push thru sizers? How do you hold the sizer? How do you push the bullet thru without deforming it? Do you push thru nose first? If so, how do you push it thru without hurting the skirt?

Push Skirt thru first to size the bullet. The skirt will conform to the size of the die. No deformity of skirt.

[Ron/The Old Reb]

I thread all my dies 7X14 to fit in a loading press. I made a pusher out of a piece of round stock and concaved the end to fit the nose of the Minnie. Then turned it to fit a No.3 shell holder. I push the Minnie skirt first. A little bit of work but it makes it a lot faster and easier then taping them thou with a dial rod. I also roll about every 10'th Minnie on a lube pad before seizing it that make them go thou the die easier.

[R. McAuley 3014V]

Southron Sr is a real expert on those hand-held sizing dies. Get him to tell you how he sized those .580 diameter minies he bought from Dixie Gun Works to use at the first Nathan Bedford Forrest Skirmish back in 1977, and how he sized them down using a .571 sizer! I'm still amazed watching him size those bullets using just his bare hands to hold the die while pounding the minies through using a plastic mallet until the mallet shattered!

[Des]

Bought a hand press at harbor freight and welded an arbor on the end of the shaft to go inside the minie. Mounted on a wood block and towels under sizer to catch the minie. works fast and easy

[R. McAuley 3014V]

I have three progressive sized dies (i.e. .577, .576, and .575) made by Rapine setup in sequence with my Lyman T-mag turret press, together with three dies by George Gompf in .561, .560, and .559 for the Large Bore Whitworth.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii305/rmac1023/TMAG_zps9f3936fd.jpg

[jonk]

Well, I use lubri-sizer dies for my musket and henry... and one that threads into my press for my sharps. But I have used push through hand helds in the past.

I didn't hand hold them, I'll tell you that much. I swung my vice out so it cleared the workbench, clamped it in that in a piece of leather, put a folded towel under it, dip lubed the bullet, then pushed it through the sizer.

What I did was take an oak dowel, thread a screw into the end, grease the inside of the minie, filled with JB weld, and set the screw end of the dowel into it so that the dowel butted up against the base of the skirt so that the JB ran out. When the JB weld dried, I popped it out and had a punch on the end of the dowel that was custom shaped to the mine base. I sanded the excess off. Basically the result was a rod with a teat on the end shaped like the minie base.

That way I could push through nose first (which is self centering and easier starting) without worrying about deforming the base. In fact, I am convinced that the pressure on the base actually trued up the sides of the minie from any deformities caused by poor mold alignment or dings from towel dropping.

I used a rubber mallet and glued an old 9mm shell on the end of the dowel at the 'whacking' end to reinforce it.

Worked well, just slower than molasses in january in norway.

I have no use for unthreaded push through dies, and other than for use in an arbor press with support jig and driving ram or something, couldn't possibly see a reason to use them. They work just fine, sure, but there are so many better options. IMO of course.

[mpapajoffre]

I recently purchased a Pedersoli hand push thru sizer that came with a .576 and .577 die. I bought it from Flintlocks, Etc. I lube my bullets first with either SPG or Len's Lube and the bullets fit thru the dies nose first and can be driven easily by hand of with a mallet; (I have carpal tunnel, so I use a mallet.) The Pedersoli sizer die came with an aluminum pusher. All in all, a very cool tool.

[tackdriver]

Ok. So? I'm cheap, what can I say? It does work however...