Convenient H &I die storage

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  • Last Post 12 May 2020
Balhincher posted this 16 April 2020

Since getting a Lyman 450 lube sizer over 40 years ago, storage of the sizing dies and top punches for different calibers and bullet nose shapes has been a nuisance. I've tried keeping them in a tool drawer, ammo can, lure boxes, cleaning them off and stuffing them back in the plastic tubes they come in, and probably other things I can't remember. All those options have the same shortcomings.  It's hard to find the size die you are looking for or the right top punch without shuffling through lots of similar looking parts. Then one day I happened on some old plastic Herter boxes sold to store reloaded shot shells. They weren't very convenient for that intended use but before I tossed them I wondered if the 25 little compartments would fit a sizeing die. Turns out they fit like Ole George Leonard designed the box just for them. So now I can store 25 dies in a box the size of a box of shot shells. And when looking for a particular size I can easily see the end stamp on all 25 dies. Makes it a snap to pick out the right size. 

A second Herter box holds all my top punches and a paper diagram glued in the lid shows what punch is in which compartment.  A slab of ethafoam fits the box to keep the punches from jumping from one compartment to another. Again easy to quickly find the right part. I keep long forceps handy to pick top punch from box.

 

Top punchesSizing dies

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Rich/WIS posted this 16 April 2020

Don't have quite the collection you do, have found that pill bottles worked well for me.  Put the die and top punch in the same bottle and a file label lets me find the one I want quickly.  Best part is the pill bottles are large enough that I don't need to clean lube off the sides before storing.

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BigMan54 posted this 16 April 2020

I'm with Rich, I label top & side of pill bottles, Extra TP's are in the smallest tupperware box you ever saw.

Inside lid of giant Cigar box has diagram.

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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dbosman posted this 12 May 2020

I too use pill bottles, but this is a cleaver use of appropriate size containers. I keep my RCBS Little Dandy rotors in a 12ga ammo box.

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