Newbie reloader - Questions

[mikeinctown]

Vanman, what really helps stability is having a shelf underneath and loading it up with your brass stock. For my reloading bench I just have some wire shelving with a hunk of countertop bolted to one of the shelves. I have probably 10,000+ cases on the shelves under the main surface and the thing doesn't move at all.

[LowBoost]

Anyone running one a Redding Micro Adjustable Taper Crimp die? If so, is it worth it? I have a lot range brass mixed stamps. Name a brand and I probably have some of that brass. I am considering the Competition Seating Die as I will be switching between FMJ, JHP, TCG and should help make slight adjustments easier.

Edited October 12, 2016 by LowBoost

[MemphisMechanic]

Here's my input without stopping to read any of the other replies. Just so you can compare it to other users responses to see if you're consistently getting the same thing:

On 10/10/2016 at 5:34 PM, LowBoost said:

1) I have read about the plunk test, and I had no problem with a round at 1.15 (G19). However, I have not read about anyone using such length. There are obviously physical aspects I can look at to identify there is just too much AOL, however, what is considered "too small", "normal", and too large? Books and powder manufacturers web site provide loading data, but the AOLs are pretty much standard. (If there is a standard, what is the purpose of plunk test with max AOL)?

If you're only loading for one gun, pick a bullet and plunk test it. Find the max you can load to before the bullet is hitting the rifling, and you'll know how long you can load. How long SHOULD you load? Well, loading longer than the book recipe calls for is safer due to reduced pressure and loading shorter could be less safe due to raised pressure from less case volume. The answer is to work up a load and then vary the OAL until you hit the sweet spot that is most accurate in your gun, and at least a few thousandths less than the max OAL so the cartridges won't choke your gun.

If you intend to load for all of your guns, you need to check all of them. CZs won't eat ammo at 1.150, so if you give your Glock ammo to a buddy with a CZ his gun probably won't eat it.

 

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2) I need to set powder charge. How much powder should I pit into the dropper to start? As much as I want? Fill it up? Can I leave powder in the dropper for days/weeks or should I empty it? If I should empty it, is there an easy way to dump out the powder into a container? Is it possible to remove the dropper without spilling powder?

I leave my press set up to load 9mm ammo for my Production gun, never load anything else. I keep the hopper above half full and never empty it. The hopper will discolor but there's no other reason to empty it unless you want to switch powders.

 

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3) When I add the primers, and I am preparing a few dummy rounds, is there any way to remove the primers from primed cases or do I need to be absolutely sure everything is set properly prior to priming any brass?  Assuming there are primers in the tube, is there a way to remove the primers to store them or are they just kept there until tube empties?

You can either load ammo until you run the machine dry on primers (I do this if it'll be a long time before loading any more ammo) or you can keep it constantly full of primers / powder so that you can effectively resume loading ammo every few days. People run their machines differently, and both work great.

 

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4) Wasp Waist

That's normal. Gauge your ammo (get a hundo gauge from the Ben Stoeger shop right away, trust me) and don't worry about the coke bottle look.

 

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5) Crimping. Do I need to leave some flare or do I remove as much flare as possible? The same applies for coated bullets? (I read these require little crimp)

Think of the crimp station as "flare removal". With coated bullets too much crimp leads to accuracy issues. Crimp just enough to remove the bell, then pull the bullet. There should barely be a line on it where the case mouth was.
 

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6) How often should I check for powder weight? I see some state they have loaded 1,000 rounds in an hour. That is nice, but how accurate are those charges?

   I might check every few weeks, or if something feels off. It's a Ronco powder measure. Set it and forget it.
 

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Just in can anyone provide some loading data for: .. Precision Delta 124gr FMJ + Titegroup

I've got you covered there, too. See second line:

 

Edited October 13, 2016 by MemphisMechanic

[VanMan1961]

1 hour ago, mikeinctown said:

Vanman, what really helps stability is having a shelf underneath and loading it up with your brass stock. For my reloading bench I just have some wire shelving with a hunk of countertop bolted to one of the shelves. I have probably 10,000+ cases on the shelves under the main surface and the thing doesn't move at all.

weight is great for stability

I was still getting some movement though.  I really should have doubled up the 1" plywood when I built this bench.  A strong-mount would have helped a lot, but I didn't have enough height in my basement.  Putting a 5th leg directly under the press did the trick though

 

Edited October 12, 2016 by VanMan1961

[mikeinctown]

Holy cow! that thing shouldn't move at all. I know the thickness of the countertop I am using is only like 3/4", plus the extra band of 3/4 at the front. Have it attached at a total of 8 places to the wire shelf. I wonder if me having 3 total shelves vs the two that you have makes it that much more stable? With 3 you really have a lot less leverage on each set of legs plus the middle shelf acts as a support. I also have the strongmount, which really does spread the load out from the press.

[arkadi]

I load on 1050, for minor and major. I check powder level in the case visually at the beginning of the session, when refiling components, and after clearing malfunction. It's very hard if not impossible to get double-charge on 1050 until specifically trying.

[VanMan1961]

LowBoost, when I started reloading on my 650, I started very simply and then added on more processes as I got more confident.

1. ran decapping and sizing first, to make sure my decapping was going ok.  There's bug where the old primer sticks to the decapping pin and then gets sucked back in to the primer pocket.  Station 2 then reseats the old primer and leaves the new primer still in the primer feed disc.  You can minimize this by slightly tapering and polishing the decapping pin.
2. I then set up and ran the seating die, and added the crimping die once I got that dialed in using the decapped brass (just making dummy rounds with no primer or powder)
3. then I added the powder measure to station 2 and once that was set up for the proper case flare, I added primers and started running rounds through, while manually placing bullets in station 4 - still using decapped brass
4. once all that was running smoothly, I started running cleaned unprocessed brass.  You need to develop the feel on the push stroke to identify any issues with priming.
5. after I was comfortable with the each stage of the progressive processes, I added the Mr Bullit feeder and really started to pound out the rounds   (after I worked up and chrono'd a good 9mm minor load)

I actually just got a 550B to work up other 9mm loads and tinker with 40S&W and 45acp loads.  It's much easier than trying to run small 20 round trial batches on the 650, and caliber changes take only take a couple of minutes.

[LowBoost]

@VanMan1961

That's why I have taken so long (since I got my 1050) to have some loads up. I have taken my time to slowly learn the mechanic aspect of the press, run some brass through stations, make adjustments, etc. The bulletf eeder is really a no-brainer to setup. I am not worried about decapping on the 1050 as I prefer to decap brass first, then tumble.During that process it is easy to identify any issues.

Thank you everyone for all the help. This is an amazing forum with invaluable wealth. I hope to keep learning with you all during my journey to my new hobby/sport.

Now, back to reading and learning theory and facts.

[SCTaylor]

13 hours ago, LowBoost said:

 

Now, back to reading and learning theory and facts.

Theory | brass + primer + powder + bullet = functional rounds

Fact | Theory is true!

 

Now go load some! I'll drop my chrono off sometime soon.