Primer Crimp Removal Tool Harbor Freight Junk Alert

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Marco Califo

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I was in Harbor freight Tools and while looking for something else, this item caught my eye. It is the counter sink drill bit (3 of them actually) and an Orange Handle so you can use it like a screw driver.
It is item number 68535, on-line it is $4.99. I seem to have paid $5.99 in my local store. The bits are 45 degree angle.
https://www.harborfreight.com/3-in-1-hex-bit-countersink-tool-68535.html

I normally use these drill bits (available at Home Depot or Lowes for $7-9 for ONE), in a cordless drill and give each unprocessed case 1 full second on the drill trigger.
This hand tool would require a at least a few twists to remove the same amount of brass. Less work in a drill. But the hand tool could be ideal for touch ups just before priming.
It comes in a welded plastic package that takes a razor blade to open.
If nothing else, this is a bargain for 3 counter sink bits for $2 each. Since they are all 45 degree they each will cut the exact same material in our use, regardless of the outside bit diameter.

Update: Now that I got it out of the package and grabbed the first piece of brass I could find. . . . This is junk with no sharp cutting edge capable of cutting brass. It seems to make a shiny surface, but holding it over a dark cloth I counted one tiny speck of brass (and that may have been a bur left by a sharper edge that just got knocked off. So I am taking it back to Harbor Freight to recover my funds. A lot of Harbor Freight stuff is so inexpensive, that if you get it to work once, you got your money's worth. If not, they give you your money back (for 30 days anyway).
I am sure some folks can sharpen the bits, but if I pay for something I expect it to be sharp right out of the plastic case.
 

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I tried a few different gadgets that worked but nothing worked for me better than Dillon's Super Swage 600. Your time management and hands will thankyou over and over again.

You will understand when you see a box of 2,000 pieces of Lake City 5.56 brass staring you in the face.
 
I am sticking with the $8 sharp bit in a drill.
And I think I can do 1000 in 90 minutes.
That's 5 seconds each:
2 seconds picking up
1 second in the drill
2 seconds putting down.

I have heard that the Dillion is the best swager. But rather than push the brass around, I prefer to remove the interfering brass, and bevelling nicely.
 
as far as Harbor Freight goes I won't buy any electrical tools. I do like the stuff like zip ties and shrink tubing and I have a vise, a workbench and some plastic storage units purchased there. Oh and the 20 dollar electronic caliper I purchased a few years back at HF is still just as accurate as my 150 dollar plus dial Starrett

That being said I just went and got my countersink which was not purchased at HF and it works great for crimp removal. Thanks to the OP for the idea.
 
as far as Harbor Freight goes I won't buy any electrical tools.
Click to expand...

Not that I am invested with Harbor Freight, while their products are, umm, shall we say, sometimes lesser quality than other vendors? But I have to say I bought a Dremel knock-off for $20 a few years ago.

I've used it to polish all the metal parts in my Glocks, polish other items, ream out a Bigfoot THICK steel-core belt holes, ream a bunch of other things and it just keeps on tickin'....

I woulda been happy to get a month's service out of it for $20 but 3-4 years and more uses than I ever expected, Harbor Freight can sometimes deliver! :D
 
Best Harbor Freight tool

By far my best Harbor Freight tool purchase is a 50-pound anvil. Next best is 1/2" drive pneumatic hammer that has seen 20+ years of casual but robust service. Third best is a ultrasonic parts cleaner that was identical in design, function, and country-of-origin as offerings from Lyman at a fraction of the cost.

Worst tools from HF is a set of Pakistani-origin combination wrenches that flexed and cracked with little applied torque. Did not bother returning and placed them in the trash bin.
 
Marco Califo, The temptation to chuck the tools up in a drill must be too great, all of my counter sinks are aircraft counter sinks, a wild guestimate on the numbers would be close to 300. There has to be a difference between my air craft countersinks because all of my countersinks have shanks for electric and or air drills. So;) I am thinking the Harbor Freight counter sinks were designed for wood.

And then there is that part where someone decided to taper the top of the primer pocket to remove the crimp, I have always said I thought that was a bad habit, and now? at the risk of alienating another reloader I must consider changing my mind.

I did make a primer pocket tightening tool but I do not believe it will work after someone decides to taper the opening.

F. Guffey
 
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HF starts carry higher-price, higher-quality product lines. Bauer and Vulcan brands like pretty good. But they are longer dirt cheap.

-TL

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
 
Vulcan brands
Click to expand...
I do not know what brand carries the Vulcan name today but in the old days I had friends that were involved in manufacturing machines for machine shops. They had the opportunity to attend a Machine shop type trade shop in Russia. I thought allowing them to go was a mistake, it is said they almost caused WW 3 before they got out of there. They got out of there with everything they took with them.

They were my kind of people, they could aggravate the horns off of a Billy goat.

F. Guffey
 
"...plastic package that takes a razor blade to open..." Wielded by an engineer. The difference between brand name stuff and no-name stuff from China is the packaging.
"...in a cordless drill..." Takes the same amount of time using a chamfering tool. One second is probably too long as well. Just using the drill without the machine works the same as a chamfering tool.
"...Harbor Freight counter sinks were designed for wood..." HF says, "Countersink wood, metal and PVC", but still. I'm thinking the 45 degrees might be why it doesn't cut right.
 
Are you sure you are turning the tool in the right direction? Same as with bolts, nuts, etc.; "righty tighty, lefty loosey"...:D

I have been using 60 degree countersinks for de-crimping primer pockets for as many years as I've used military surplus/once fired brass., mebbe 20?. Can't remember the mfg. I used them as a machinist/mechanic and they were in my toolbox, so...
 
The only thing wrong with Harbor Freight tools is the buyer. They have some good tools and some that are just cheap. If you buy te cheapest tool for the job then you get cheap. If you know anything about tools and the use you will give them, Harbor Freight is a great place to find tools to fit your needs. You can even find "professional" grade tools if you know what you are looking for. I bought a set of drills for a project that I was making out of stainless steel. The high speed drills I have owned for 25 years wouldn't cut the stainless so I got a set of cobalt drills from Harbor Freight. They went through the stainless without much effort and left clean holes that readily accepted the rivets. That drill index cost less than I paid for the high speed drill set that I bought so long ago but they are a purpose based buy. You cant use them on mild steel, brass or copper because they will catch and break. When used on hard steel they are great!
 
I just use the nose of my RCBS chamfering tool. A couple twists, and done. And since I already bought the tool for chamfering trimmed cases, there's no additional expense to use it for cleaning out GI primer pocket crimps.
 
I have the RCBS case prep center. I have both the small and large primer pocket crimp removal tools and I have the press operated swage AND I have both primer pocket uniforms. and I have the wood handle crimp removal tool and all of those of those counter sinks, the nice thing about my counter sinks is the guide, sounds expensive.

bevel/taper or a radius: I still believe it is a bac habit.

F. Guffey
 
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I have the FA case prep center. I have two small primer pocket crimp removal tools that fit my FA case prep center. I have a Lee handheld chamfer tool. I do not have a press mounted swage tool. And I do not have any countersinks.:rolleyes:
 
I use a razor to cut primer crimps. A few seconds per case, but it does get tiresome.

As an aside, I will mirror that some good stuff can be found at HF. The Pittsburgh line is a decent value. I bought a 2' 1/2 pull bar that has taken some abuse and is still going strong. I make 1911 pistol grips with HF brad point drill bits. They work great. I would not suggest any precise measuring tool or torque wrench from HF. Especially when the measurement needs to be spot on.
 
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