Shepard Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 I’d like to remove some of the resistance from my reloader. I currently use the undersized crimp and sizing dies and experience quite a bit of tension during the stroke. My question is if I have my barrel reamed will I be able to use standard dies and see reduced tension in the stroke or will the case just expand to fill the larger chamber and require just as much effort to resize with standard dies? Thanx Shepard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 Maybe first try one die or the other one. That might make your life a little easier. Load some and see if all is well with reliability. If so then you should be all good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidwiz Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 Are you using case lube? If not, I highly recommend it. If you are, perhaps your dies are dirty and need cleaning. Are your cases clean, both inside and out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Larry Cazes Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 Hornday One-Shot case lube will make a world of difference. Some tumble their loaded rounds to remove it and some like me just leave it on. Do a search, there's a huge amount of data available here on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shepard Posted July 21, 2004 Author Share Posted July 21, 2004 I use case lube and always tumble and clean my brass before reloading. The tension in the stroke isn't overwhelming but it is definitely present. I'm developing a bit of an tendonitis and want to smooth things out. The barrel I'm using is very tight (not my preference) and will occassionaly reject rounds that have been through both EGW and Lee FCD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 Here's what works for me: Come home from range with cruddy brass: 1 - Tumble brass for a bit (about 30 minutes) 2 - Roll size (if you have one, otherwise pass) 3 - Tumble brass (again) for about 45-60 minutes (I like it clean when I load) making sure to throw in a couple of shots of Dillon case prep (the blue stuff) in the media 4 - After removing brass, spray with Hornady One Shot (on pistol brass, Dillon lube on rifle) and commence loading 5 - Upon completion of loading, tumble ammo (about 200-300 pistol rounds max and 100 rounds of rifle .223 as a gauge of size). I'm not fearing ignition, just want everything to get a chance to get clean. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronson7 Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 Shepard, try using a standard crimp die first if you have one on hand. I stopped using the LFCD for that very reason (well, one of the reasons). Cast bullets were a real pain because of the post sizing of the LFCD. If you're running a very tight chamber then this may be a moot point. What kind of bullets/caliber are you loading? If you're loading cast, you may have to go to FMJs. Then again, as you say, you may just have a chamber that is just too tight. Bronson7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.40AET Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 Shepard-I used to be a big proponant of the EGW undersized die when reloading for .40's. The tension necesary to resize to a smaller size was making me nuts. I switched back to a standard Lee die (Lee makes the die for EGW) and the press was a hell of a lot smoother. The other thing I did to smooth out the press was Eric's powder measure retrograde. Found Here Changing to the standard Lee die had an unexpected outcome. More of my rounds passed the case check gauge. The FCD also helps a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shepard Posted July 21, 2004 Author Share Posted July 21, 2004 I'm using .40 s&w cast bullets in a tight barrel. And yea, the post sizing is one of the biggest issues. Will reaming the chamber give me more room to play with or will it require the same pressure to resize the more expanded case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Bagnato Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 I’d like to remove some of the resistance from my reloader. I currently use the undersized crimp and sizing dies and experience quite a bit of tension during the stroke. My question is if I have my barrel reamed will I be able to use standard dies and see reduced tension in the stroke or will the case just expand to fill the larger chamber and require just as much effort to resize with standard dies? Are you case gauging the rounds after they are loaded? If so are they then not chambering in the barrel? If that's the case have the barrel reamed again. I have purchased custom guns and had the same problem with Jacketed bullets. Reamers eventually dull this might solve some of the problem. The Dillon dies are .001 wider than the Lee EGW resizing die. The main difference is they are ground down so the carbide gets down to the shell plate. If you are already using the Lee FCD remove the under sizing die from the press. I noticed more resistance using the under sizing die also. I isolated the problem to the powder measure. The brass is undersized and the belling of the case caused more resistance on the up stroke. Since the brass is .001 smaller than the Dillon die. Just leaving the FCD die solved the problem for me. I also have less spilled powder from the case popping out of the die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Larry Cazes Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 If the resistance/sticking on the upstroke is the issue and like me you would like to keep the EGW U die to resize brass with the dreaded Glock bulge, try a 1050 powder funnel. Ive been running one for a while and it completely eliminates the brass sticking to the powdere funnel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooterj Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 are your cast bullets sized .401 ? A buddy of mine had to size his cast bullets down to .400 to feed reliably in his Wittness Gold Team .40 It was an easy fix since he cast and sized his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shepard Posted July 22, 2004 Author Share Posted July 22, 2004 I appreciate all the help. I'll start trying your ideas one at a time. If only I could find a reliable automated reloader for a reasonable price *sigh* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellow Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 I experience mirrors what openshooter said. I had the EGW undersized die, and during the upstroke after belling/powder charge, the funnel was "sticking" to the brass. It could have also been from the Lee FCD I was using. On my other press, which has a redding sizing die and an FCD, the brass was sticking to the FCD on the upstroke. I've also read of one person breaking the carbide ring out of the FCD, which smoothed up the strokes. Defeats the purpose of the FCD if you ask me. oh well, differ'nt strokes. "they got theirs, your got yours, and I've got mine . . . ." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmitz Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Here's what works for me:2 - Roll size (if you have one, otherwise pass) Rich Rich, what do you mean with Roll size? I performed a search. Please explain? What kind of tool do you use to roll size? Henny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellow Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 IIRC the brass is "rolled" between two plates giving uniform diameter top to bottom. Real handy for the glockafied brass. The roller is pricey. ..almost $500 for one caliber. Here's a link to the tool you need. http://www.casepro.net/ you can also buy roll sized brass http://www.competitionbrass.com/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmitz Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 Mellow, thank you for the tip and the link Henny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidwiz Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 Scharch Manufacturing sells once fired brass that has been roll-sized. The EGW U-die will take the GlockBuldge out of most cases. Be sure to chamber check everything after you're done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.40AET Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 try a 1050 powder funnel. Ive been running one for a while and it completely eliminates the brass sticking to the powdere funnel. Larry- How is the 1050 funnel different from the one on the 650?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidwiz Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 If you have problems with the brass sticking to a funnel, take some not-very-abrasive sandpaper and run it over the sides of powder funnel. IIRC, the Dillon Tech Support person suggested this while I was on the phone with them when I was setting up my 650 for the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.40AET Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 Polishing the powder funnel is a perfect job for the dremel. It's allready pretty smooth, buth the dremel will make it like a mirror. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidwiz Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 Isn't a Dremel a tool of the Devil? Or, as a friend put it, "The Dremel is the gunsmiths best friend, b/c it keeps them employed." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 I think you would find that a cheap powder funnel would be the perfect thing to break in your Dremel skills. But, there may be better ways to polish the powder funnel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Larry Cazes Posted July 24, 2004 Share Posted July 24, 2004 Larry- How is the 1050 funnel different from the one on the 650?? .40AET, The 1050 funnel only flares the case mouth. The one on the 550B, flares the mouth and also expands some of the case body as well. It doesn't appear to be the flaring section of the funnel that sticks but the body expand section does. The best part is that it completely eliminates the sticking and doesn't seem to make any difference in the finished rounds. I have about 15K of .40 brass from a police range that is mostly glock'ed and has been bulk cleaned in solvent. It requires the EGW U Smallbase die to resize. I don't like the concept of the Lee FCD so I don't use one. My .40 setup now runs SSMMOOOOTTHH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.40AET Posted July 24, 2004 Share Posted July 24, 2004 Larry- So does the 650 powder funnel have the same characteristics as the 1050 or the 550? I haven't used any Dillons other than the 650 so I have nothing to base a decision on. Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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