ChemistShooter
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Everything posted by ChemistShooter
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Hmm, from the previous comments, the water isn't a problem. It's what might have been in the water. I sorta think your primers were not soaked in distilled water. Look them over when they're dry. I use CCI and the lead styphnate compound is a golden color. Going on the assumption all the primers use the same compound, it might be wise to see if the compound still has that gold color and not black or brown. If the compound is soluble in water, then water has probably dissolved some of it away. There's probably a lot more primer in there than you strictly need, so you'll get away with losing a little of it.
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Experience has shown mistakes happen when something screws up on the shell plate. That's when you make squibs, when a case drops wrong or the handle stops short and you know a fired primer got pulled back, and you have to stop and fix it. That's why I want my press to run perfect. If the press is perfect, so are the cartridges. I got a Lee U-shaped press and a decapping die. Doesn't take all that long, and the 650 just runs.
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I'm sure "grind it to a point" is something trivially easy for a mechanic. Not so much for those of us not of a mechanical bent. Those of us who stare up at the sky for 10 minutes when trying to tighten up a screw from the bottom.
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"dry under a fan for at least 8 hours", y-e-e-e-e-e-e-ouchies. I mostly lurk here but I have to say something. Go to a hardware store and buy some denatured alcohol. How much depends on how much brass you clean at one time. To dry brass: Put wet brass in container. Pour in denatured alcohol to cover brass. Let it sit for a minute or two, maybe shake it or stir it around a little.The denatured alcohol will suck the water off the brass and replace it with alcohol, which will dry a HELL of a lot faster. Pour denatured alcohol BACK into container. It's reusable up to the point it's mostly water . Spread brass in a single layer on a towel, cloth or paper. It'll dry in an hour, shorter with a breeze on it. Normally I let mine sit overnight. It's bone-dry. For the record, I decap first and clean ultrasonically. The reason I decap is the deprimer thingy on my Dillon press would sometimes get stuck on a fired primer and pull it BACK into the case. And I want my press to run PERFECT. So now I decap in a separate step. If you try this, store the denatured alcohol AWAY from primers and powder. Volatile, flammable solvents and explosives do not good neighbors make.
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Typical primer loss with Dillon 550
ChemistShooter replied to westy6's topic in Dillon Precision Reloading Equipment
I loaded several thousand rounds on a 550B and never had a sideways or flipped primer. I loaded CCI SPP into 9mm Blazer brass. My initial thought is if a primer comes out upside-down or sideways it went into the primer cup that way. It's possible the primers are flipping because they're hitting crud in the tube. Are you cleaning your primer magazine tube regularly? I run an isopropyl alcohol-soaked pad (get them at a drug store) through my primer magazine tubes and primer loading tubes after every loading session with the primer following rod. If I've run around 500 or more primers, I will see a little sprinkling of gold dust (primer compound) on the pad. The tightness of the nut on top is also a good thought. All you need is finger-tight. That's it. Watch out the tip is still good too. Technique also comes to mind. I am always very careful to hold the primer loading tube STRAIGHT up-and-down over the magazine tube, and pull the little clip out in a single smooth motion. Hope this helps. -
650 downstroke question
ChemistShooter replied to crispyrice's topic in Dillon Precision Reloading Equipment
I am far from an expert, but it is my understanding the press is supposed to do that. The ram is deliberately designed to reach its maximum height a little before the handle reaches maximum downstroke. This ensures there will always be maximum force available for re-sizing. -
Preventing rounds without a primer
ChemistShooter replied to GregInAtl's topic in Dillon Precision Reloading Equipment
I do everything in multiples of 100. I keep my cleaned brass in bullet boxes. I put 3 or 4 One-Shotted boxes in the casefeeder (still learning what the casefeeder will take). Load up a matching number of primer tubes. Load first tube of primers into primer magazine. Pull the load handle six times to load primer tray. After the sixth pull, I turn the casefeeder on so a case will be re-sized with the seventh pull. On MY 650, the eighth pull will insert the first primer into the first case. Yours might be different, I guess. Load away, adding primers when the primer alarm goes off. I haven't needed to add a weight to the primer following rod. I've never had the slightest problem with that. So far everything has matched up perfectly. The last primer goes into the last case. I do pay close attention to the feel on the last few rounds, just to make sure. So no powder dropped into a primer-less case, no powder spilled all over the shell plate. -
Y'all have helped me so much---I pay back what I can. The 115 gr thing is me being a scaredy-cat and only moving a little at a time. I went real slow with the Power Pistol. I'm sure I will branch out to 124 and 147 gr one day.
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Gun: SA XDM 9mm 3.8 full-size Range: Indoor Bullet: Bayou Bullet coated lead .356 in 115 gr RN Brass: Blazer Powder: Power Pistol 5.5 gr OAL: 1.161 Shots: 1069 1098 1090 1109 1103 1127 1145 1109 1108 1122 Average: 1108 SD:19.7 ES: 76 PF: 127
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Ok, got it.
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Where do you get wooden Q-tips? I don't recall ever having seen a wooden Q-tip.
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So noted.
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Or both. Quite likely both. Gun continues to function properly after 300 rounds. Somewhere in all the fixing, something cured the problem, most likely the gunsmith cleaning the striker channel. +1 on the pencil trick. I checked the height first thing after cleaning the punch. 1.220', dead on Dillon specs. I used my laboratory ultrasonic cleaner to clean the striker channel, (so I wouldn't have to take the slide apart), which is more powerful than a brass ultrasonic cleaner. And that was BEFORE the trip to the gunsmith. It must've been unbelievably sludgy in there. My little Springfield manual says not one word about cleaning the striker channel. Off to Google "how to clean a striker channel with an ultrasonic cleaner" . . .
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Lower velocity with warm barrel
ChemistShooter replied to tedahlenius85's topic in General Reloading
Chemically speaking, the energy yield from the powder reaction is going to depend on the difference between starting and ending temperatures. The higher the starting temperature, the less temperature difference, the less energy you get from the reaction. It would be a very small effect, but I'm guessing 50 fps is a small percentage of your observed velocity. If this is the cause, there's nothing you can do about it. outside of waiting until the barrel cools down. -
One new thing. Somebody mentioned inserting a pencil into the barrel and seeing how far it shoots out. Turned out to be a good trick. Before cleaning---pencil barely made it out of the barrel. After cleaning---pencil shot out about two feet with the same spring. (Not a Springfield Armory striker spring, as they would not sell me one, third-party.) Now i have to figure out how to clean the striker channel with my little sonicator.
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Sorry. Didn't mean to disappear like that. Family problem dropped me off the Internet for a a good while. Just ordered a 650. May yet need a bit of advice here and there.
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Took the gun to the gun shop and explained the entire problem. (Also took some new reduced-power trigger springs.) Gunsmith took the gun apart, phoned me and said the striker channel was really, really dirty and that he suspected that was the true cause of the light strikes. He cleaned gun thoroughly and installed new trigger springs. Immediately took gun to gun range and tested it. 150 rounds fired without the slightest problem. So far it's looking like the gunsmith was right. Although I still think the primer cup was at least a small part of the problem. Had an immediate improvement in accuracy, too. Don't have to fight the trigger to get the gun to go bang anymore. I could just concentrate on proper grip, sight alignment, and trigger pull.
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I don't know. My Radio Shack calipers are not up to this particular task. All I can say for certain is the primers are below flush.
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No, no trigger job. Hmm, I did take the trigger out to clean it and put it back together. But I didn't take the trigger apart, just took the parts out and cleaned them. The trigger was feeling flaky. It was a lot better after I got all the carbon off. I sonicated the slide in ethanol. I pulled a ton of crud out of the slide, and that was after a regular cleaning. It was still turning dark after an hour and three solvent changes. Might have been crud in the striker channel.
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Hmmm, ok, plunk test performed. They rotate freely and fall out. Same as my good batch. Length all exactly the same, 1.160". Springfield Armory would not send me a striker spring. I consulted with Springer Precision. They sent me a spring labeled "OEM Spring". I have a friend who builds AR-15s. He showed me how and stood over me while I changed the striker spring, and we tested with 250 rounds at the local range. Don't know what the weight is, but it was 500 rounds ago. Right at the moment I still think it was crud in the primer seating cup. You shoulda seen my cleaning solution. It went from clear to gunpowder gray. That friggin' cup was filthy.
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Thanks for the input. Don't think that's what the source of my problem is, though. I had an older batch I shot 50 rounds out of without a single FTF. If the pistol was the problem, it would've happened no matter what the ammo was. My cleaning solution turned gray. Gunpowder gray. Powder build-up in the cup.
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Yup, that's it. The primers are seated just a hair too deep. You can't detect it with calipers. You can't see it if you look down straight at them. But shine a bright light on it and look at it from the side next to a good round for comparison, and it jumps out at you. The non-firing primers have much less bulge visible. The next question is how this managed to happen. Drag out the 550B manual and check the primer seating cup height. 1.215", dead on Dillon specs. However. The inside of the primer seating cup looks like it's coated with tar. I have not cleaned it once since I got it. Right at the moment, I think that's the source of the problem. I will sonicate the cup in acetone, load a hundred, and see if that fixes it. Question for the pros: What is a good way to measure primer depth and know your primers are set properly? Calipers can't do it. Could you do it with an inside micrometer?
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The primers are below flush. Definitely not high. Primers being seated too deep is not a problem I have heard of before----which makes that a possibility, I guess. I've got a batch that shoots just fine. I'll get the calipers out and see if there's a difference. I will measure the primer cup distance on the press too. Thanks to all for the help.
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9 mm XDM 3.8 Full-size. I replaced the striker spring 500 rounds ago. Couldn't get a factory replacement, can't recall who at the moment.
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Around 20% of my rounds failed to fire. I took my gun to the gun shop and they said it worked fine, and it had to be the ammo. Now I'm not sure if it's the powder or the primers. I am loading 3.9 grains Titegroup over 115 grain Eggleston Munitions .356 coated lead 9mm. The TiteGroup I am using is coming out of an eight-pound container. I've had it around 3 years and there's only about 1 pound left. I have kept in a cool and dry closet, but I live in south Louisiana so I am wondering if humidity could be the issue. The primers were CCI 500 Small Pistol Primers. The ones that didn't fire don't look right. There is a tiny dent where the striker hit them. Normally when I get a mis-fire I shoot it again and that works. Not this time. The best answer I can come up with is it's the primers but I don't really know. One thing is different about this batch of primers. I bought them off the shelf at Bass Pro instead of getting them (presumably) fresh from the factory. Have any of you ever seen anything like this?