Reloading Hacks

A set of automotive style 'Feeler' gauges used between shell holder and cartridge case will give you a 'Bump' to the case without having to try and re-set a die just 0.001" or 0.002" to get a stubborn case 'just right'.

Trying to re-set a die 0.002" will drive you crazy!
Then you get to move it back...

This beats buying an entire set of 'High Tolerance' shell holders for a few stubborn cases when you load...
 
It's certainly one thing to be old, crusty, stodgy, set in your ways and totally oblivious to pop culture, but the fact is that life goes on around you no matter how grumpy you may be. News flash -- "hacks" is a live term, in use DAILY and is quite popular. I'm 44 and I'm quite well aware of it. The OP has absolutely used it properly for what he's asking. If anything, the OP may be unfamiliar with how many old and stodgy curmudgeons hang out in handloading forums.

Here's a hack that works extremely well for me...

I use scads of plastic flip-top ammo boxes, my favorites are the ones from Berry's. And my old stand-by for info has been the simple 3"x3" square post-it note for load info, but these days I simply use a dry erase marker. Allows me to write what is important and it comes off with a quick wipe when I next need that box.
 
It's certainly one thing to be old, crusty, stodgy, set in your ways and totally oblivious to pop culture, but the fact is that life goes on around you no matter how grumpy you may be. News flash -- "hacks" is a live term, in use DAILY and is quite popular.
Click to expand...

Yeah, "Hacks" is a rad term, it's, like, totally tubular...
 
Trying to re-set a die 0.002" will drive you crazy!
Then you get to move it back...

This beats buying an entire set of 'High Tolerance' shell holders for a few stubborn cases when you load...
Click to expand...

I used to post this picture a few years ago explaining how great this method worked .
k441.jpg


From some one that has used both methods to get consistently sized cases . The feeler gauge method works but is incredibly slow . That method requires you to measure the case head space on every case . This takes up quite a bit of time .

To understand why some cases don't size the same as others or are more stubborn to size . Is to understand work hardening and press deflection . Some cases resist sizing more then others and all presses have some deflection/flex .

Here are two pictures showing a and empty die just barely making contact with the shell holder when the ram is full up . The other is that same die set up when sizing a case . Notice the gap in the second picture . That gap is cause by the deflection/flex of the press .
SN05Kz.jpg

h3j3Nj.jpg


The more stubborn cases will cause the press to flex more then others . The way to combat this problem is to insure your die and shell holder make hard contact with cam over when possible . The problem with that is a standard shell holder when making hard contact will often size your case down way more then you want . This is were the competition shell holders come in . They allow you to size your cases longer in .002 increments while still making hard contact between the die and shell holder . This removes all press deflection resulting in VERY consistently sized cases . My cases are sized +/- .0005 of what I'm trying for every time when using the competition shell holders regardless if the case is stubborn or not . They are one of my top 3 must have tools at my reloading bench out side of the normat stuff ( calipers , press , scales etc .
 
Look, I'm not a baby boomer... They are old beyond their years and keep hollering about 'Damn kids on their lawn')

I'm not generation 'X' (X-lax, they all sound whiney & constipated)

There are no 'Hacks' in life,
You either work SMARTER, Or you work HARDER...

There are a lot of 'Specality' reloading gear retailers out there that would LOVE to sell you this or that...
This is a spill over from all the 'Tacti-Cool' crap available for 'Trendy' firearms owners.

The basics will always be basics,
Good IRON frame 'O' ring press that will whip the brass back into shape,
instead of the brass whipping the press OUT OF SHAPE...

Dies are like anything else, you get what you pay for.
The cheaper the dies, the cheaper the dies...

This is a PRECISION measuring operation, so don't buy your caliper or micrometer from 'Harbor Freight'!
If it isn't high enough quality to come with a 'Standard' to check its accuracy, you can't really rely on it for absolute measurements.

Start at the most basic level: CLEANING.
If you can't get the brass squeaky clean both INSIDE & OUTSIDE,
Then you are going to have issues all the way through,
From sizing, to neck tension, to chamber scratching/erosion...

Start with about 3 (or more) good BOOKS on reloading,
Learn the principals from beginning on up.
Leave the gadgets and 'Fad' gear for future processes when you have the basics down 'Pat'...
 
MG,
There is a reason I stress an IRON 'O' Ring press, less deflection of the press frame.

And in my 'Opinion' the ram should be LARGER on these presses.
Larger/Harder ram, less deflection.
(Not really an opinion, simply a fact of presses)

One 'Trick' is to keep the shell holder you use WITH THE DIE SET that cranks out accurate cases...
Everyone accumulates shell holders of different thicknesses, different brands, etc. and playing 'Mix & Match' with shell holders is the all time beat way to wind up making brass, out of the exact same die you used the last time, that doesn't come lose to what you bent 'The Last Time'.

I wish someone would come up with a LAMINATED, over built press frame,
Welded laminate being stronger/less deflection than a cast aluminum or steel frame,

BIG diameter ram, LONG bore support for the ram,
Press pin bearings or at least bushing in the frame for the ram (rebuildable),
 
Jeep,
Have you ever looked at the Hollywood Presses? Pretty much what you described, the senior press for the .50 is massive but so are their other presses. You can let the turret spin freely or use the lock rod to do single loading. When the rod is in place it keeps the turret from deflecting even the smallest amount.

Not sure if they are still in business but you can find them on eBay from time to time. Not cheap either as people tend to snap them up when they get posted.
 
Everyone accumulates shell holders of different thicknesses, different brands, etc. and playing 'Mix & Match' with shell holders is the all time beat way to wind up making brass, out of the exact same die you used the last time, that doesn't come lose to what you bent 'The Last Time'.
Click to expand...

A non issue with the CO-AX.
 
I have an "O" ring press but the issue with mine is the linkage detween the ram and handle . That's where i believe i get most of my deflection/stretch . The comp shell holders seemed like a better fix for me then looking for a beefier press . I helped a few guys out now that have had different types of presses . The comp shell holders solved the problem of inconsistent case sizing with all of them . These presses include the Hornady lnl , rock chucker and T-7 turret press .
 
The biggest issue I see today is 'Cheap' vs. 'One size fits nothing'...
You get what you pay for, and lately you don't even get what you pay for in some cases.

I built what I call a 'Rotary' press a few years back, should have fine tuned it.
Used what you could describe as a 'Camshaft' lobe, and a roller 'lifter' on the bottom of the ram...
Just a bearing built into the ram to ride the cam lobe.
Just spin the handle once per case, worked almost like a pin press.

Punched out great brass, but I never came up with a good way to stop the crank wheel after one revolution.
It REALLY made those tapered cases easier to deal with, momentum in the wheel would stamp out the most stubborn cases.

I think Dillon is headed in the right direction with the larger, more rigid ram, but I'd also like to see some tool steel arms,
And I'm aware that a cast steel frame (tempered) would cost $500 alone, but if I could get one I would...

I put a 0.003" last word indicator on a 'Red' 'O Ring' press not expecting to see anything, maxed out the 0.003" indicator trying to resize older military US .30 brass!
That was the deciding factor in starting my search for annealing correctly,
Even being aluminum, that press shouldn't have been getting stretched more than 0.003" each time I sized something...

I don't size ANYTHING on aluminum anymore,
I'll load on aluminum, but not size on aluminum.
 
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50 Shooter,
I watched a buddy of mine pump out $1,700 to 'Hollywood', wait 7 months to get another 5 months of grief from them over defective products.

He had me explain to the 'Tech' guy, which owns the place, about what wasn't working and why (I'm a machinest & gun smith),
The guy on the phone must have altheimers or something because he couldn't follow simple, common details & kept changing the subject...
At one point trying to tell me how he intends to 'heat treat' plastics!

There is no way I would ever do business with a place that treated people like they treated him.
He finally sold it on eBay and got a Dillon. One & Done from Dillon.
 
Lots of good stuff here, good post. Welcome to TFL. I too am a beginner and have found this place to be a great resource for information. It is hard to tease the most fruitful methods out of a metallic cartage reloading handbook. People that have more experience than us are a great resource.

I agree that the term "hack" refers to a short cut not otherwise used in the normal processes of things. One should never put absolute trust on the word of another, until it is an empirically proven result (tested 6 ways to Sunday).

Again thanks to the community for a good read.
 
Mr. Morris,
That is a connecting rod press.
Click to expand...

You now have my attention, can you post photos or maybe a video of your rotary press.

Would be interesting to see one that works off of rotary motion alone without any linear movement.
 
I've heard little tricks like a dryer sheet in your tumbler to reduce dust.
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I have heard about the dryer sheet in the tumbler; problem, I could not remember why. When I tumble cases I use tumble median and nothing and I was thinking there was nothing about the dryer sheet that was abrasive and again I use tumbler media and nothing and I do not want to use anything that dampens the effect of the media rubbing the case.

F. Guffey
 
Lanier motion ones from ram riding a cam lobe.
Took return springs is the reason I gave up on it.
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Oh, I see you think something is not rotary because there is a link that constraints its maximum movement that is not a spring.

I was looking at it in terms of motion to complete a "stroke" not unlike a rotary engine, just without all of the extra movement provided by the gears.
 
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