RCBS seater stem

uncle jimbo

Well-Known Member
Got around to loading some of the Lee 258-158-rnfp yesterday and ran into a problem. The seater plug leaves a really nasty ring on the nose of the bullet, which tells me that it is not the right seater. It works great for swc and 125 gr. rnfp. My dies are old, had them for so long, I don't remember when I bought them.
So what seater stem are you members using in rcbs seater die for the Lee 358-158-rnfp bullet.

thanks in advance,
Paul
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
if you have an older die set it should have a more rounded one in the box.
i 'modified' most of mine to just be flat, I don't have a lot of round nose molds [not so sure I have more than maybe 2] so the flat works on pretty much everything I shoot swc's,, rnfp's wc's etc.
 

462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Unc,
  1. Fill the hole with JB Weld (or some such), let it dry, then file it flat.
  2. Fill the hole with JB Weld or hot melt glue, then put a bullet that the nose has been liberally coated with oil in it.

The hot melt glue is easily removed, if the die is used to seat another bullet nose profile.
 

Ian

Notorious member
There are at least four stems, RCBS used to sell them separately in packaged pairs but I can't find them on the internet now. I have the original bags at home with the part numbers, will look later. There were round nose, button nose WC (also worked with DEWC), and two different SWC punches, one to fit the 358-158 Keith and one to fit the 358-150 SWC which also doubled as a RFN punch (very thin walls).
 

462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Now he mentions getting a lathe. Why didn't you say that many years ago, before I had to customize my first seater stem?

Ironically, I had to take the file to one just a few weeks ago.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
I am another heretic that resorts to using flat-fronted seating stems AND top punches for handling cast pistol bullet processing. My RN bullet moulds are few and far between.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
you could/can? buy them separate too.
I have a bag like that in the gun room with a few extra stems i stuck in it, I should look in it because I don't remember what's in there anymore.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
OOPS. those are for .500 S*W and rifle cartridges. OK. now in pistols, they use only the 1/2"-20.

I have older dies that use the smaller thread for seaters, have to screw it down INTO the die to get it
out. IIRC, my old 45ACP seater die is like that, and 1/4-20-ish thread from memory. I guess
not made that way for current production.

They say in the text on the right:

These through-the-top seater plugs feature a 1/4-inch-28 thread and are not furnished
with RCBS® die sets or seater dies. They are for use with older RCBS dies and can be
built on a special-order basis—contact RCBS.



Bill
 
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Ian

Notorious member
All I saw was 7mm and .308 with two bullet options. Maybe they'll make anything you want with a 1/4 x28 stem but they sure have a lousy website....still. pretty sad when I have to use Mid-way/South to find an RCBS product number. Ever try to find a list of cast bullet expanding spud sizes for the universal die on RCBS's website? Nuts.
 

KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
I have several older RCBS die sets that have the 1/4-28 threaded seater stem. Have to use a skinny screwdriver run through the hole from the top while pushing up on the plug from bottom to screw it in place. I can see why that design was changed.

Thought about making some blank threaded stems that could be turned down as needed to the proper size, with a cup nose that could be filled with epoxy. The only efficient (that means cost effective) way to do things like this is with a special type of lathe called a Swiss chucker equipped with an expanding threading die. Trying to turn the stems is possible but not cost effective using a regular lathe with single point threading.
 

RBHarter

West Central AR
I think all of my RCBS rifle dies have the 1/4-28 threaded rod in the seaters and the 1/2-20 in the pistol dies . ...............and ya forced me to go look . I have a 2012 6.8 , 2011 45-70 and 2002-5 222,223, 308 & 30-30 . Only the 45-70 of those and a 458 WM set use the 1/2-20 in the seaters . Maybe it kicks in at 35 cal ?
 

uncle jimbo

Well-Known Member
Maybe they'll make anything you want with a 1/4 x28 stem but they sure have a lousy website....still.

Yes they do.:sigh: there are a couple sites that sell firearms, reloading equipment and accessories. I will wait and keep looking on these. I will find an older set of 357 mag dies and pick them up. Usually they sell for 10 to 15 dollars for the older sets. And then I will fix the seater die and plug to suit my needs.