jim6918 Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 (edited) Dillon 550C using factory Dillon dies. Loading a bunch of 9mm, 115 FMJ, and noticed that there are extremely fine brass particles collecting in and around station 4 and the ejected cartridge chute, not a lot, but enough to see. Dust sized particles. Smaller than a single grain of powder. I took great care setting up the crimp station. Finished round '"mic's" out to exact specs, and all rounds pass a case gauge and plunk test. No bulging of cases observed. Shot 50 rounds of this load last weekend in two different weapons, G17 and Sig MPX, with 100% success. Clearly I am a newbie. Is this something I should be concerned with? Edited October 26, 2018 by jim6918 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
858 Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Too much case expansion. You're probably shaving brass in the seating die, not the crimp die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George16 Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Too much “belling” or “flare” at station 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9x45 Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 Way too much bell. Only enough to sit the bullet, not even seat the bullet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikieM Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 Yes, indeed. Too much bell. It won't effect the quality of your ammo. Just a bit messy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim6918 Posted October 27, 2018 Author Share Posted October 27, 2018 (edited) Thanks everybody. My OAL for the 115 gr. FMJ is 1.10, which is right on spec for the charge, so I am not sure I am over-seating. Yes, I know there are recipes out there for longer case lengths, but right now, without a Chrono, I am going according to the manuals; and they work great in all my 9mm weapons, and pass all the tests. I know, I know, a Chrono is my next purchase I was very careful setting up the powder die. There is not much bell. You can barely feel it when you run your fingers over the edge, and the bullet just sorta rests on the bell before seating. It sure doesn't drop in. Decapped and sized case is .380. After belling, the diameter at the bell is .395, which is .015, about the thickness of a business card. Photo attached. Belled case is on the right of course. I hate to back off the bell any more as I could then have trouble seating the bullet. Edited October 27, 2018 by jim6918 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razorfish Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 I was very careful setting up the powder die. There is not much bell. You can barely feel it when you run your fingers over the edge, and the bullet just sorta rests on the bell before seating. I hate to back off the bell any more as I could then have trouble seating the bullet. Looking at your picture, that’s too much bell. You could reduce the flare but you don’t necessarily have to. When I load coated bullets into mixed brass I use a bit of extra flare to avoid scratching the coating. Yes I get a bit of pixie dust on the press but I never scratch my coated bullets. I’ve loaded and shot tens of thousands of these “over-flared” rounds and the brass holds up just fine. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
858 Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 15 minutes ago, jim6918 said: Thanks everybody. My OAL for the 115 gr. FMJ is 1.10, which is right on spec for the charge, so I am not sure I am over-seating. Yes, I know there are recipes out there for longer case lengths, but right now, without a Chrono, I am going according to the manuals; and they work great in all my 9mm weapons, and pass all the tests. I know, I know, a Chrono is my next purchase I was very careful setting up the powder die. There is not much bell. You can barely feel it when you run your fingers over the edge, and the bullet just sorta rests on the bell before seating. It sure doesn't drop in. Decapped and sized case is .380. After belling, the diameter at the bell is .395, which is .015, about the thickness of a business card. Photo attached. Belled case is on the right of course. I hate to back off the bell any more as I could then have trouble seating the bullet. Technically that is too much bell. You shouldn't need that much with FMJ. The brass shavings won't hurt anything if you don't want to back off the expander. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim6918 Posted October 27, 2018 Author Share Posted October 27, 2018 Thanks again. A guy shouldn't ask for advice and not follow it. When I go downstairs this morning I will try to back off a smidgen and see what happens. I wan't to get maximum re-use out of the brass and don't want to do a thing to weaken the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustybayonet Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 On 10/26/2018 at 3:16 PM, 858 said: Too much case expansion. You're probably shaving brass in the seating die, not the crimp die. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikieM Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 I'm seeing too much bell, as well. If you have too much bell at the case mouth you can sometimes hear it scrape the sides of the seating die as it moves up. Regardless, try setting your bell to were it's 0.002 more than the mouth of a sized case without bell. This is, of course, if you are using jacketed bullets, and be sure and measure with only half of your caliper jaws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdp88 Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 I had this problem when I switched to the Lee Factory Crimp Die. I was using some once fired brass that had been wet washed and used one shot to lube. I called Lee and they told me this sometimes happens with brass that has been wet washed. They said if I tumbled the brass in corn cob it should remedy the problem. I ran all the purchased brass through for an hour and the case shaving problem went away. It also fixed the brass running rough through the powder die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim6918 Posted October 30, 2018 Author Share Posted October 30, 2018 1 hour ago, tdp88 said: I had this problem when I switched to the Lee Factory Crimp Die. I was using some once fired brass that had been wet washed and used one shot to lube. I called Lee and they told me this sometimes happens with brass that has been wet washed. They said if I tumbled the brass in corn cob it should remedy the problem. I ran all the purchased brass through for an hour and the case shaving problem went away. It also fixed the brass running rough through the powder die. This is kind of funny. About a month ago, I posted a question about whether to hydro clean brass before decapping. Based on the description of the steps I was taking to prep my brass, several people said I was taking unnecessary steps. I am sure the people who responded are into high production. Basically I sort of did what I wanted anyway. Now I sort by caliber, hydoclean, clean, decap, clean again, and tumble. I know there's an extra step of two, but I'm retired and looking for things to do to occupy my time. My brass looks almost brand new. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 I'd suggest decapping before cleaning, that way you will get the primer pockets clean with one pass. I assume hydrocleaning means stainless pins ??? If so, try decapping and then pins, should be pretty clean and nice and shiny at that point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim6918 Posted October 30, 2018 Author Share Posted October 30, 2018 3 minutes ago, Steve RA said: I'd suggest decapping before cleaning, that way you will get the primer pockets clean with one pass. I assume hydrocleaning means stainless pins ??? If so, try decapping and then pins, should be pretty clean and nice and shiny at that point. Yes, I've heard that before. However, I decided to use a universal decapping die mounted in a separate dedicated toolhead in my 550C. Sure, I could have bought a separate hand decapping tool and die, but I like to sit at my stool and pull that handle. One of these days, maybe I'll hit the jackpot. I want to keep as much gunk off my machine, so I clean first. I am using a Hornaday Sonic Cleaner, perhaps I used the wrong terminology. Like I said, I looked at all the options and decided this fits my personality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JatCarver Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 Had the same problem when I first started reloading and everyone else that said it is correct imo, that’s too much bell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now