Alan R McDaniel Jr
05-16-2009, 11:40 PM
In an attempt to grease these wheels:
My Reloading process is as follows:
Visual inspection and sorting of fired brass and cleaning to remove grit if warranted. I roll the cases on a pad soaked with lanolin anhydrous and cut with WD-40 to lube the cases lightly. I use a bare smidgeon of lube inside of every 5th case to lube the expander ball.
Full length resize/decap all cases and check for irregularities and split necks.
Into the vibrator they go 30 - 45 min. I use ground corncob. I'm not that interested in shiny. I just want them clean.
Separate media and clean inside of cases and case necks to remove any media clumps. I have a small sewing machine motor with a cleaning rod tip end attached to rotate a bore brush to do this. I can also slip a cleaning patch over the brush to get any grime or excess lube out of the case neck.
I use a small thin awl to scrape the primer pocket of residue that will flake out and to insure that the flash hole is clear of tumbling media. I do not scrape the primer pocket to clean every fleck of residue and I try not to hit the pocket walls too much at all.
I am visually inspecting case necks and looking for signs of incipient case head separation at all times. I have a little rod made from a coat hanger to scrape against the inside of the case to check for a ridge. Any case that is damaged or is even suspect is discarded. I crush the case neck wit a pair of pliers and it goes in the brass bucket. I've got lots of brass and it's cheap compared to eyes. If I find one case head with a ridge I check all cases in the lot and discard with extreme prejudice.
I place all cases in loading blocks and check again. If you rotate the block and look into the dark case mouth you can see splits in the necks that you cannot see from the out side.
Now I check for case length and if one is too long I run all of them through the trimmer to get them all the same length.
Prime using a Lee Priming tool. I put as many primers as I have cases into the tool so that when I am through I can account for all primers. I do not like the idea of having a live primer laying on the floor.
When I am through priming I count out bullets for the number of cases I have.
AT this point I will just say that I throw the powder charge. My recent acquisition of the RCBS 1500 scale and dispenser has changed forever the way I do this. Periodically I check the charge on my balance beam. It has always been on the mark.
I seat my bullets to recommended OAL for weight and type. After seating the first round I chamber it in the firearm it is to be used in. There have been a number of times, particularly with pistol ammo that the bullet needed to be seated a tad deeper to allow the crimp to get into the groove properly. It is discouraging to get out ready to shoot and none of your cartridges will chamber. Obviously sufficient care should be exercised while doing this to guard against an accidental discharge. That disturbs wives and neighbors.
One more visual inspection and maybe a wipe off with a red rag and they are ready to be boxed up and labeled with all pertinent information.
One thing I would stress is case inspection. No case is worth the problems it creates if it fails. I may have more steps than necessary but each time I touch the case calls for another inspection.
Whenever I am reloading I try to do only that. When I first got the powder dispenser it was working really slow and I would turn it on and let it run while I did other tasks but since I got it working correctly I stay at the bench for each load. If I get distracted or just don't feel like doing it any more I complete the step I'm on, block the cases and cover them with a rag. I don't reload when my head's not in it. I don't eat or drink at my loading bench, I load ammunition there.
I love to load my own ammo. It is a source of immense personal satisfaction for me. I have been doing it for all of my rifles and pistols since I was 14 years old. There was a brief time when I was loading my own shotgun ammo but for the time and the finished product (in my case) I could buy better quality, cheaper. So I quit it. I still have all the equipment (12 and 20 ga) if I ever want to get back into it. I may get some 10 ga stuff because it's tough to find ammo in anything but T and BB, and lead shot is hard to find at all.
Feel free to comment or criticize, my skin is thick and I don't cry easy.
Alan
My Reloading process is as follows:
Visual inspection and sorting of fired brass and cleaning to remove grit if warranted. I roll the cases on a pad soaked with lanolin anhydrous and cut with WD-40 to lube the cases lightly. I use a bare smidgeon of lube inside of every 5th case to lube the expander ball.
Full length resize/decap all cases and check for irregularities and split necks.
Into the vibrator they go 30 - 45 min. I use ground corncob. I'm not that interested in shiny. I just want them clean.
Separate media and clean inside of cases and case necks to remove any media clumps. I have a small sewing machine motor with a cleaning rod tip end attached to rotate a bore brush to do this. I can also slip a cleaning patch over the brush to get any grime or excess lube out of the case neck.
I use a small thin awl to scrape the primer pocket of residue that will flake out and to insure that the flash hole is clear of tumbling media. I do not scrape the primer pocket to clean every fleck of residue and I try not to hit the pocket walls too much at all.
I am visually inspecting case necks and looking for signs of incipient case head separation at all times. I have a little rod made from a coat hanger to scrape against the inside of the case to check for a ridge. Any case that is damaged or is even suspect is discarded. I crush the case neck wit a pair of pliers and it goes in the brass bucket. I've got lots of brass and it's cheap compared to eyes. If I find one case head with a ridge I check all cases in the lot and discard with extreme prejudice.
I place all cases in loading blocks and check again. If you rotate the block and look into the dark case mouth you can see splits in the necks that you cannot see from the out side.
Now I check for case length and if one is too long I run all of them through the trimmer to get them all the same length.
Prime using a Lee Priming tool. I put as many primers as I have cases into the tool so that when I am through I can account for all primers. I do not like the idea of having a live primer laying on the floor.
When I am through priming I count out bullets for the number of cases I have.
AT this point I will just say that I throw the powder charge. My recent acquisition of the RCBS 1500 scale and dispenser has changed forever the way I do this. Periodically I check the charge on my balance beam. It has always been on the mark.
I seat my bullets to recommended OAL for weight and type. After seating the first round I chamber it in the firearm it is to be used in. There have been a number of times, particularly with pistol ammo that the bullet needed to be seated a tad deeper to allow the crimp to get into the groove properly. It is discouraging to get out ready to shoot and none of your cartridges will chamber. Obviously sufficient care should be exercised while doing this to guard against an accidental discharge. That disturbs wives and neighbors.
One more visual inspection and maybe a wipe off with a red rag and they are ready to be boxed up and labeled with all pertinent information.
One thing I would stress is case inspection. No case is worth the problems it creates if it fails. I may have more steps than necessary but each time I touch the case calls for another inspection.
Whenever I am reloading I try to do only that. When I first got the powder dispenser it was working really slow and I would turn it on and let it run while I did other tasks but since I got it working correctly I stay at the bench for each load. If I get distracted or just don't feel like doing it any more I complete the step I'm on, block the cases and cover them with a rag. I don't reload when my head's not in it. I don't eat or drink at my loading bench, I load ammunition there.
I love to load my own ammo. It is a source of immense personal satisfaction for me. I have been doing it for all of my rifles and pistols since I was 14 years old. There was a brief time when I was loading my own shotgun ammo but for the time and the finished product (in my case) I could buy better quality, cheaper. So I quit it. I still have all the equipment (12 and 20 ga) if I ever want to get back into it. I may get some 10 ga stuff because it's tough to find ammo in anything but T and BB, and lead shot is hard to find at all.
Feel free to comment or criticize, my skin is thick and I don't cry easy.
Alan