What did you do in the reloading room recently?

gerrycaruso said:
If you find a way to separate sm. primer .45 from lg. without having to look at each one, let me know.
Click to expand...
Works best on a Dillon progressive where primers are seated at the top of the handle stroke: When your bucket of 45 brass is about 50/50, you set your press up to load small primers. At the primer seating station you will feel no resistance, remove and set aside the large primer piece of brass. You can later load all the large primer brass.

I did that with probably 40k of brass over a few years time. Small primer brass was everywhere at the time. I would guess 60-70% of it was small.

I have since come across 2 different designs of a camera / software sorting device at the case feed station. The more advanced system could sort by brass manufacturer stamp
 
SJan said:
Works best on a Dillon progressive where primers are seated at the top of the handle stroke: When your bucket of 45 brass is about 50/50, you set your press up to load small primers. At the primer seating station you will feel no resistance, remove and set aside the large primer piece of brass. You can later load all the large primer brass.

I did that with probably 40k of brass over a few years time. Small primer brass was everywhere at the time. I would guess 60-70% of it was small.

I have since come across 2 different designs of a camera / software sorting device at the case feed station. The more advanced system could sort by brass manufacturer stamp
Click to expand...
I have an extra tool head on my 650 with a universal decapping die. I plan to get a Swage It for the 650, and I am building a case collator. If you have the large primer swage pin, you can run through all your .45 brass and pull the small primer cases. When I was shooting 45, small primer cases were not common.
 
De- and re- priming now 308 brass with my new auto lubricator, damn, it is so nice not to have to do it anymore by hand before the process.
Wheels I used put a bit more oil than ideal, I can probably trim their ‘tires’ to transfer less oil. Pictures are in 3dprinting thread.
 
Loaded ammo, then loaded ammo into mags for a GSSF, (Glock), match this weekend. Seven divisions, 10 mags per division, typical round count 100 rounds.

Yeah - that's 50 G17/G34 mags each loaded with 10 rounds, plus 10 more for my G43X. I'll have to reload the G43 mags for the third stage, I only have 7.


IMG_2148.jpg
 
I've been having some issues with 147gr. FP Ibejihead bullets and feeding in my Sig P226. The same reloads feed fine in my M&P Gen1 and in my P320. I have spent some time making notes on the malfunctions which average about 1 or 2 every 500 rounds or so. From what I can tell so far I have no reason to suspect the handloads. My plan is to shoot factory Federal 147gr. FP in the gun this weekend and see if I have any issues.

In the meantime I just picked up a Redding Competition Seating die and I am going to switch over to that and see what happens. I also might play around some with COL and see if that makes a difference. I am currently at 1.135
 
so, i wanna run this question by you fellow reloaders. what would you be your initial knee jerk reaction on this contraption i made?
i ran 400 pieces of brass through it this morning - those oil pockets keep enough lube for about of 100 .308 cases, may be 150 go through it smooth before you start noticing stiffness.
i did those 400 pieces - deprime, size, reprime - with no prep at all - i mean no spray on cases, no pre-lube, nothing - just tumbled it after a pickup.

the pre-lube step was - for me - the part of the process i hated the most, as still some 308 shell would stuck in the die no matter what.

this thing makes a bit of excess oil on the bottom of the brass, but none seems to go into the pocket. plus, oil is no water anyway.

so, what do you think - is it something worth commercializing, or no one would ever care about such thing, as people prefer to lube an every piece of brass individually?
or for most it is simply not a problem that needs any solution? for me it was, but, i am not in that business for long enough to truly know what is what.

i think the idea is self-explanatory enough from the image - there are 2 little wheels in there, submerged into motor oil that then rotate and contact the shell as it moves down - lubing the sides of the brass, so, it does not stuck in the die. model can be done prettier, spill caps can be added instead of tape, of course, etc.

E98DE9DA-88A1-4FA7-BFE9-62610E4C0E68.jpeg
 
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Amputee Marksman said:
I've been having some issues with 147gr. FP Ibejihead bullets and feeding in my Sig P226. The same reloads feed fine in my M&P Gen1 and in my P320. I have spent some time making notes on the malfunctions which average about 1 or 2 every 500 rounds or so. From what I can tell so far I have no reason to suspect the handloads. My plan is to shoot factory Federal 147gr. FP in the gun this weekend and see if I have any issues.

In the meantime I just picked up a Redding Competition Seating die and I am going to switch over to that and see what happens. I also might play around some with COL and see if that makes a difference. I am currently at 1.135
Click to expand...
What sort of malfunction?

My 147g load at 130ish PF shoots fantastic, but us sometime too light to cycle a gun with a factory recoil spring. It really depends on the gun, some run on factory spring, some need a lighter spring. The malfunction encountered will be (weak) ejection of empty case occasionally failure to feed the next case
 
paul73 said:
so, i wanna run this question by you fellow reloaders. what would you be your initial knee jerk reaction on this contraption i made?
i ran 400 pieces of brass through it this morning - those oil pockets keep enough lube for about of 100 .308 cases, may be 150 go through it smooth before you start noticing stiffness.
i did those 400 pieces - deprime, size, reprime - with no prep at all - i mean no spray on cases, no pre-lube, nothing - just tumbled it after a pickup.

the pre-lube step was - for me - the part of the process i hated the most, as still some 308 shell would stuck in the die no matter what.

this thing makes a bit of excess oil on the bottom of the brass, but none seems to go into the pocket. plus, oil is no water anyway.

so, what do you think - is it something worth commercializing, or no one would ever care about such thing, as people prefer to lube an every piece of brass individually?
or for most it is simply not a problem that needs any solution? for me it was, but, i am not in that business for long enough to truly know what is what.

i think the idea is self-explanatory enough from the image - there are 2 little wheels in there, submerged into motor oil that then rotate and contact the shell as it moves down - lubing the sides of the brass, so, it does not stuck in the die. model can be done prettier, spill caps can be added instead of tape, of course, etc.

View attachment 681534
Click to expand...
Pretty slick! ;)
 
paul73 said:
so, i wanna run this question by you fellow reloaders. what would you be your initial knee jerk reaction on this contraption i made?
i ran 400 pieces of brass through it this morning - those oil pockets keep enough lube for about of 100 .308 cases, may be 150 go through it smooth before you start noticing stiffness.
i did those 400 pieces - deprime, size, reprime - with no prep at all - i mean no spray on cases, no pre-lube, nothing - just tumbled it after a pickup.

the pre-lube step was - for me - the part of the process i hated the most, as still some 308 shell would stuck in the die no matter what.

this thing makes a bit of excess oil on the bottom of the brass, but none seems to go into the pocket. plus, oil is no water anyway.

so, what do you think - is it something worth commercializing, or no one would ever care about such thing, as people prefer to lube an every piece of brass individually?
or for most it is simply not a problem that needs any solution? for me it was, but, i am not in that business for long enough to truly know what is what.

i think the idea is self-explanatory enough from the image - there are 2 little wheels in there, submerged into motor oil that then rotate and contact the shell as it moves down - lubing the sides of the brass, so, it does not stuck in the die. model can be done prettier, spill caps can be added instead of tape, of course, etc.

View attachment 681534
Click to expand...
Cool idea but seems like it could get messy and I’d be worried about having a consistent coating of lube on on the brass and leading to inconsistent sizing.

What kind of lube have you used in the past that would stick brass?
 
paul73 said:
so, i wanna run this question by you fellow reloaders. what would you be your initial knee jerk reaction on this contraption i made?
i ran 400 pieces of brass through it this morning - those oil pockets keep enough lube for about of 100 .308 cases, may be 150 go through it smooth before you start noticing stiffness.
i did those 400 pieces - deprime, size, reprime - with no prep at all - i mean no spray on cases, no pre-lube, nothing - just tumbled it after a pickup.

the pre-lube step was - for me - the part of the process i hated the most, as still some 308 shell would stuck in the die no matter what.

this thing makes a bit of excess oil on the bottom of the brass, but none seems to go into the pocket. plus, oil is no water anyway.

so, what do you think - is it something worth commercializing, or no one would ever care about such thing, as people prefer to lube an every piece of brass individually?
or for most it is simply not a problem that needs any solution? for me it was, but, i am not in that business for long enough to truly know what is what.

i think the idea is self-explanatory enough from the image - there are 2 little wheels in there, submerged into motor oil that then rotate and contact the shell as it moves down - lubing the sides of the brass, so, it does not stuck in the die. model can be done prettier, spill caps can be added instead of tape, of course, etc.

View attachment 681534
Click to expand...
I like the design but I'm not sure if a bottleneck cartridge will do well with not having 360°coverage on the lube.
Also, motor oil isn't the best lube for sizing
 
Mudflap621 said:
Cool idea but seems like it could get messy and I’d be worried about having a consistent coating of lube on on the brass and leading to inconsistent sizing.

What kind of lube have you used in the past that would stick brass?
Click to expand...
308 stuff gets stuck in the die with any type of lube. if lube coating is a little bit inconsistent or brass is too off size - stuck.
and when reloading 200-300 rounds, a demand for a personal coating of an every brass piece becomes irritating.

oil i used here is a usual low viscosity 0-20sae, so, it is like water, it does not stick nor can it affect anything when die rolls over the brass and presses it.
i guess it depends if one already has a flow that works. for me pre-lubing process was just a horrendous waste of time, with inconsistent outcomes.
 
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paul73 said:
308 stuff gets stuck in the die with any type of lube. if lube coating is a little bit inconsistent or brass is too off size - stuck.
and when reloading 200-300 rounds, a demand for a personal coating of an every brass piece becomes irritating.

oil i used here is a usual low viscosity 0-20sae, so, it is like water, it does not stick nor can it affect anything when die rolls over the brass and presses it.
i guess it depends if one already has a flow that works. for me pre-lubing process was just a horrendous waste of time, with inconsistent outcomes.
Click to expand...
I've had good results with lanolin based lube with both 30-06 and 308.
No need to individually lube - toss 50-100 in a shoe box, give them a good spray down, shake to distribute (about a minute) then let dry.
Once the carboard has absorbed a decent amount of lube then you can use less directly on the cases

A Q-Tip with some lube to keep the expansion ball from sticking every 50 or so cases keeps your shoulders where you want them.
 
pastera said:
I've had good results with lanolin based lube with both 30-06 and 308.
No need to individually lube - toss 50-100 in a shoe box, give them a good spray down, shake to distribute (about a minute) then let dry.
Once the carboard has absorbed a decent amount of lube then you can use less directly on the cases

A Q-Tip with some lube to keep the expansion ball from sticking every 50 or so cases keeps your shoulders where you want them.
Click to expand...
Same method here. Works like a charm.
 
pastera said:
had good results with lanolin based lube with both 30-06 and 308.
Click to expand...
i did not, may be it was due to the issue with the die i have, who knows. works like a charm until something gets stuck, and then it takes an hour to hammer it out.
last lube spray i had was a hornady one, i think, one that costs $20 a can. no more.

so, i do get a feel that it was my specific issue and a product like this would not be a thing that would be of any interest to most. ok. i kinda suspected the same, but wanted to confirm.
 
pastera said:
I've had good results with lanolin based lube with both 30-06 and 308.
No need to individually lube - toss 50-100 in a shoe box, give them a good spray down, shake to distribute (about a minute) then let dry.
Once the carboard has absorbed a decent amount of lube then you can use less directly on the cases

A Q-Tip with some lube to keep the expansion ball from sticking every 50 or so cases keeps your shoulders where you want them.
Click to expand...

Also same here. Lanolin spray is a miracle lube.
 
paul73 said:
i did not, may be it was due to the issue with the die i have, who knows. works like a charm until something gets stuck, and then it takes an hour to hammer it out.
last lube spray i had was a hornady one, i think, one that costs $20 a can. no more.

so, i do get a feel that it was my specific issue and a product like this would not be a thing that would be of any interest to most. ok. i kinda suspected the same, but wanted to confirm.
Click to expand...
Could be plenty of interest - not everyone has the same experience especially with 308.
For 223/556 it goes though my loadmaster for bulk sizing
308 gets done on the RCBS Jr even though the loadmaster can size it - better feel for what is going on so you can catch that case that doesn't feel right before you regret slamming it into the die.

As far as hammering the cases out - it shouldn't take more than 15 minutes if you have a case remover kit (or cobble one with a 1/4-20 tap, #7 drill, a 1/4-20 bolt and washer, and a socket that fits over the case head)
 
pastera said:
more than 15 minutes if you have a case remover kit
Click to expand...
when it rips brass piece off the plate and that destroys the base of the shell - it is fun.
i'm not looking much anymore for better ways of hammering out, i look for ways to stop that problem completely. as i just processed 400 random brass without any issues - it is promising.
i only wish dillon had one more station to mount a swage tool before priming station, but, well, not possible.

well, will see. i will play more in fusion, will make printable set of wheels for it. i though those lego ones will do, but i feel it is better to make it all printable.
 
I also use lanolin lube and a few shallow cardboard boxes. I lay all brass down in a single layer usually two passes than I will shake and another one or two sprays and shake again. From here I will forget about it for ten minutes while I get other things ready to go.

It’s important with a lanolin/alcohol mixture as well as One shot to let the carrier flash off before you size.

I feel not being consistant with your lube might be why your sticking so much brass, or there is a problem with the die.
 
Mudflap621 said:
I also use lanolin lube and a few shallow cardboard boxes. I lay all brass down in a single layer usually two passes than I will shake and another one or two sprays and shake again. From here I will forget about it for ten minutes while I get other things ready to go.

It’s important with a lanolin/alcohol mixture as well as One shot to let the carrier flash off before you size.

I feel not being consistant with your lube might be why your sticking so much brass, or there is a problem with the die.
Click to expand...
I don't even make a single layer in the shallow box. A couple sprays, shake a little and WAIT. I wait till I can't smell the alcohol then dump them in the case feeder. If it has been awhile since the sizing die was in use, the first couple cases get treated with Imperial sizing wax. This "lubes" the sizing die initially. Not afraid to say I have never even come close to sticking a case. I think maybe the ten minute wait may be the key to success with the lanolin/99% isopropyl alcohol mix...
I should mention that I am using Dillon's spray lube, Dillon's trim dies and RT-1500 case trimmer. Their trim dies are full-length sizing dies and the cases are trimmed to length at the same time...on a 650...it's fast and damned accurate.
 

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