Tips and tricks thread . . .

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Prof Young

New member
I suppose if you read through all the "realoading" forum threads you'd come up with a lot of tips and tricks. Let's start a thread and see what we can learn.

My "tip" is, When I use my turret press without a powered measure attached, I think the most dangerous thing that could happen is missing the "powered charge step. Having no powder or a double charge is disastrous. So, I put my powder dispenser next to the press and with brass and the bullets on the far side of the powder measure. Then when I'm reaching for brass or bullets my line of sight and my hand has to move by the powder measure making it harder to "miss" that step. It also acts as a reminder to visually inspect the powder load in the case before I seat the bullet.

Tell us your tips and tricks.

Life is good.
Prof Young
 
Speed with a single stage press comes with technique. Starting with using both hands. Put a bin of unprocessed cases on one side and an empty bin on the other. In with one hand, out with the other. Do one step to all cases then change dies.
 
When sizing with the expander ball , between the top of the die & the locking nut on the expander ball stem sandwich two washers between a rubber o-ring , screw the nut lightly down on the washer. The ball will self center when sizing the neck. Your runout will be average .001 with a standard F/L die.
 
Not really a trick but a few tips.

1. Keep the bench clean and as others have suggested, organized for efficiency

2. Never have more than one powder on the bench at a time. I keep mine in a cabinet and only the one I am reloading is on the bench. It gets put there and stays there until that batch is finished then as soon as that batch is finished it gets put up. That way you never forget which powder is in the hopper in case you get called away for something.

3. Keep it simple but be thorough and consistent. Remember that everyone does not need to load like they are shooting 1000 yard benchrest. While it is fun making the best ammo you can make, don't lose your mind over stuff that really does not matter that much in the big scheme


have fun and be safe
 
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Okay, I'll play.

One of the issues with reloading when you have roommates/family members in the house is that it's easy to get interrupted. Obviously this can lead to mistakes. To reduce the chances for mental error, I came up with a couple 'tricks'.

The first one was to take 10 discarded ammo box trays (those plastic trays that typical factory ammo comes in) and glue them to an old cutting board, 2x5. After de-priming, I place the first case in the first tray in the lower left corner head stamp up. The next de-primed case goes right above that one, and so on, until all 500 spots are filled. Now I can quickly and easily visually confirm that all cases are in fact -de-primed, and ready for the next step. If I get interrupted for some reason, the case I'm working on stays on the ram and still inside the die, so that I know that case is done when I get back. Also, I work the trays in a serpentine fashion; up the first file, then down the second.

When I was still on my single stage (now that I have a turret, de-priming and expanding happen at the same time), the next step would've been expanding the case mouth, and again I'd start with the first rank and file from the bottom left. After running each case through the expander, the case goes back to its hole, but flipped so that it's now case mouth up, again workingup one row and down the next, left to right.

This system allows me to be able to easily determine where I left off and has dramatically reduced my propensity for mental errors.

Second trick:

Interrupted during powder charging- I've found a little masking tape flag on a tooth pick with the target charge weight (and powder description) written on it, dropped in the last charged case allows me to quickly verify where I left off and the charge weight.

Now I can leave the bench for days without fear of losing my place if necessary.
 
I have a small 3"x4" form I created with load data for the load on which I am working. In front of me, at eye level, is a shelf where I have a clip attached. I use this clip to hold the data sheet for quick reference.

On my RCBS powder measure, I attach a small sticky note with the type of powder I am using.
 
If using a single stage, get a case kicker. I made my own and its surprising how much it will speed things up on a SS.
 
http://rapidcasekicker.com/




If your handy at all(if you're a reloader on this site I'm guessing you are) you can easily make your own. The catch can be a little tricky- I made one out of a milk jug. After using it a while I've learned how to throw the handle with the right amount of force to get them into my catch.
 
I always put a piece of 3M removable tape on the powder measure, marked with the caliber, bullet weight, and powder weight, and powder name. When I'm done, the extra powder goes back into the container and the tape goes on that container.
 
I have my favorite powders for certain calibers and favorite load and OAL typed out with a label maker and stuck to my 550B powder measure hoppers.
 
I have one of those goose-neck lighted magnifiers mounted to my bench. I can aim the light anywhere I need it, and when I need the magnification to examine anything about a round (helpful for my old eyes) I just reach up and pull it down to me.

The other thing I do is I use a Sharpie to draw lines every second row of the reloading block. That helps me keep count at a glance.
 
I use a 2 level computer desk in my reloading, it's pretty stable but I still have to be careful and not bump it when weighing loads. I use a cheapo tablet with camera set up in front of the beam scale to make it easier to see the pointer and reduces the parallax issue for these old eyes of mine. I only have one powder out at a time, all the rest are on the other side of the room, with a sticky note indicating the powder charge I'm working with, or range of powder charges I need/want when doing load development.

I try to follow the KISS method, but I'm still "new" to reloading, so have lots to learn.
 
Sacrifice two #9 shot shotshells and put the shot is a small container. Put powdered graphite on the shot. Poke (a few times) the case neck into the shot/graphite to inside lube the neck.

Use the flat on the shaft of an electric toothbrush to settle powder in the case when you have powder charges that need to be compressed. Run the vibrating flat up and down the side of the case. Powder settles out nicely.

Don't tighten the die ring until you fully insert a case in the die. This self-centers the case to the die and the die to the press.

Slightly bend the tip of a small skewer to use as a feeler probe. With a little practice you can drag the tip along the inside of the wall and feel thinned case walls. Cull those from the batch minimizing case head separation on brass that has been loaded several times.

A 50 BMG deburring tool is useful on small cases and is a lot larger than a standard deburring tool. This tool works really well to eliminate hand fatigue when deburring trimmed cases.

Don't eat yellow snow.
 
. I use a cheapo tablet with camera set up in front of the beam scale to make it easier to see the pointer and reduces the parallax issue for these old eyes of mine.
Click to expand...

I like that idea . I don't like needing to bend down to be sure it's right on the mark . This sounds like it would help with that . I'm not even apposed to finding a small camera and hook it up to a monitor . Oh the wheel are a spinning now :D
 
I've got my scale at eye level on a shelf-- if it's possible I highly recommend placing yours there also.

I used to have my powder measure on the bench but moved it up also---- so much better.
 
Eye-level to the scale

I stole my grand-daughter's little kitty chair to bring me down to eye-level of my scale's beam.

I do like the camera trick though - clever. I'm gonna look into that - uuh, so to speak :p.

When it comes to handloading, I'm less interested in tricks and hacks, and more interested in focus and consistency. Thus, I like hounddawg's post; I could have written every word of it. Well played 'dawg.
 
Like I stated in my 1st post I use a 2 level computer desk, the beam scale is at eye level, but the "zero" position is still difficult for me, so I just bought a $60 8" tablet with a camera, a wire mesh desk organizer to set the tablet in and a 20 rd box of loaded 223 ammo to weigh it down so it does not move/wobble. Line the camera lens up with the pointer/zero point, and very easy to see at a glance. Removes the parallax issue as well

I use the lower level of the computer desk for work space, loading tray(s), funnels, yada yada yada. I can use the tablet to look up load data or whatever since it's wifi as well. the power cord does get in the way a bit, but only when removing or inserting the tablet into the holder
 
I have the turret press, but use it alot as a single stage press.
When i load i do all the sizing.
Then priming.
When i'm doing powder i do 1 case at a time. Once the powder is in that case the bullet gets seated.
If i'm interupted for any reason it's no big deal as i don't have 47 cases with powder in them.
 
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