dave148

Anyone tried the toolhead LED for this press yet?: https://www.doublealpha.biz/us/complete-daa-toolhead-led-lighting-system-mark-7

It sounds like it might be something different if the extra weight is actually helping. From the image, it looks like the disc and the shell plate are not in sync. I won't get a chance to double check if this position ever occurs on my machine until Saturday.

The rod that follows the primers in the tube. It looked like there might be a higher chance of a primer hanging up when it is pulled from the stack when there is more pressure on the rod. Can you tell where the mechanism is getting jammed?

What type of primers are you using?: Are they smooth on the open side like CCI, or are the prongs sticking above the rim? Have you tried lightening the primer backup rod?

How many rounds between increases of 0.5 grains?

I'm not surprised. People have different ways of looking at things. While I am new to reloading, I am not new to manufacturing, so I plan to use manufacturing control techniques in reloading. I don't expect anyone else to approach the problem the same way I am, but if they are interested, they can look up key words like Statistical Process Control (SPC), and process capability (Cp, Cpk) The problem with using range in statistical analysis is that depends on sampling rate. Standard deviation (sigma), does a better job of allowing comparisons between populations that are sampled differently. It is also not as affected by outliers as range is. It does assume a normal distribution, however. My original point was just to get feedback to see if my process was off track. Early corrections are usually better than late. If another beginner ends up reading this thread. Here is some additional information that may be of use: After a few hundred rounds manufactured, the priming system may have undergone a sort of break in, allowing 1 sigma to drop to between 0.0005 and 0.001" using only Geco brass. I did try to use a universal hold down die for the priming stage to see if I got more consistency, but there was no obvious advantage over using the sizing die. At this point, my guess is that case rim thickness consistency, and cleanliness are the two biggest variables for controlling primer depth.

I"m new to reloading, so I was looking to compare some of my Apex 10 resulting cartridge measurements to what others are getting. In one sample of ten 9mm cartridges using Geco casings, CCI No 500 primers, and 115gr blue bullets I got: Primer depth- Mean: 0.0036" std dev: 0.00129 OAL- Mean: 1.141 std dev: 0.0028 Case diameter at bullet end- Mean: 0.3764 std dev: 0.000599 With no experience in this area, and just using reloading books and articles as guides, I was hoping to get better control over the primer depth than this, given the +/- 3 sigma range with the above numbers would be about 0 to 7.5 mills recessed. Are others getting better control over primer depth than this?

What kind of primer depth consistency ary you getting with the Apex 10?

I think there is a confusion on what "cast iron" is. This is an alloy of iron and carbon with more carbon than what you would see in mild steel. It is what many reliable engine blocks are made of. The word "cast" in this case does not have anything to do with the fabrication process. Alloys of carbon and iron typically have a saturated fatigue curve, whereas many aluminum alloys have a fatigue curve that never saturates, and the metal just keeps getting weaker until it breaks. I think the mark Vii page on this product says it is manufactured by milling.