What clever little things have you "invented or discovered" that you can share? - Page 6

4fingermick · March 8, 2007, 07:07 PM

Good stuff, Zippy, unfortunately, Midway refuse to ship anything overseas and some of theri stuff turns up in gunshops, but it is pretty expensive that way. MIck.

bcominos · March 9, 2007, 03:37 PM

Looks like the outdoor kitty is going to miss its feeder! Back to the ol' bowl!

Cpl Nobbs · March 10, 2007, 05:12 PM

wire mesh wastebasket that fits inside plastic wastebasket. instant media separator.

total cost at Dollar Store $2.12.

Bronson7 · March 10, 2007, 05:37 PM

Great ideas here on media separators!
Bronson7

4fingermick · March 10, 2007, 06:17 PM

Your a class act Bronson, I guess I'll have to chuck the onion bag and upgrade to the fancy wastepaper model. I have been trying a collander and bucket, but can't seem to do it wthout getting at lease one sniff of the dust, yuk!

**Walkalong** · March 10, 2007, 06:26 PM

Quote:

And.......leveling platform

Real cool Bronson7......

grosland · March 22, 2007, 09:02 AM

At Harbor Freight Tools, I purchased a 2'x3' ruberized mat that is sold for lining tool box drawers for about $2. This mat makes a wonderful non-slip, non-maring surface on which to place guns and misc. on the range bench top. It's cheap, easily transported and well serves its purpose.

swan hunter · March 22, 2007, 10:29 AM

I latched on to a very old lap top computer to store all my loading data on it. The battery is shot and not worth replacing. I only need the thing to run a spread sheet program that I use to keep and edit all my loading data on.
I load for many different guns and I store the load data along with my group size for each load.
I also use it to store my gun inventory along with my wish lists.
Otherwise, we would have tossed the computer.

goon · March 28, 2007, 01:34 PM

When you first try out a new type of bullet...
You are gonna get 100 rounds out of a box of them, right?
No.
You are going to get 99.

You take the first one and make a dummy round with it. Do this for each bullet type you buy.
Then when you want to switch your dies from 125 grain JHP to 158 grain LRN, all you have to do is loosen up the die, run your loaded 158 grain dummy round the whole way in, and tighten everything back up until it won't move anymore.
It is a very quick way to adjust reloading dies and even works with the crimp when you have to change from .38 SPL to .357.

I also use the wire mesh container for separating brass from tumbling media but mine was free. I found it in my dad's basement.

heypete · March 29, 2007, 05:08 PM

1. Place cleaned and tumbled cases into plastic ziploc bag. Spray briefly with Hornady One-Shot. Seal bag and shake vigorously for a minute, being sure to agitate all the brass within. I've never found a more quick or easy means of lubricating the cases prior to reloading. I'm sure I'm not the first person to think of that.

2. Write "<-- Off" and "On -->" on my Lee Perfect Powder Measure hopper with a sharpie pen. This ensures that I know which way to rotate the hopper to turn on or off the flow of powder, making sure I don't dump a huge amount of powder onto the carpet again.

4fingermick · March 31, 2007, 07:44 AM

HEYPETE, I found that if I cut the powder off and throw a couple of times into an empty case before I remove the hopper/reservior, I don't spill a drop. Ask me how I know this

heypete · March 31, 2007, 01:52 PM

*nods* I throw the powder into the jug of powder, not into a case. Avoids confusion and possible danger that way.

4fingermick · April 4, 2007, 10:26 AM

I use a fired case and throw it straight back into the hopper ( I usually only load Pistol rounds and you need to use a case with the autodisk to get it to cycle).

HeedJSU · April 8, 2007, 12:40 PM

Empty "Milk Chug" bottles make a good storage system for anything. I use mine for de-primed brass sorted by caliber and headstamp.

Justin

Feral_Goz · April 9, 2007, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cpl Nobbs

wire mesh wastebasket that fits inside plastic wastebasket. instant media separator.

I bought one of these wire mesh wastebaskets today (and a plastic bucket to go with it). Best 4 Aussie $$ ever spent!!!. I used to try and separate the media using an old collander (took 5 mins or more). Using the wastebasket takes all of a few seconds to separate.

I use baby formula tins to store all my brass. They are some form of cheap metal, with a plastic lid that seals pretty well. Better they get used for something useful, rather than filling the recycle bin.

Feral_Goz

1Longbow · April 9, 2007, 08:32 PM

Probably thought of before ,but I use cheap pillow cases to cover my presses. .When I'm done reloading I just throw them over the Mecs or Dillions ,keeps the dust off. --1Longbow

koja48 · April 9, 2007, 09:12 PM

Bought 1 of these early-on . . . no funnel available. Cut the head off of a spent .17HMR case, tapped the neck into a .17 caliber RCBS powder funnel, & the problem was solved! Works well . . .

Gnarkill · April 14, 2007, 09:55 PM

These aren't anyting brilliant, but just a couple of good ideas.

This first one is for anyone with an RCBS Pro-2000 or w/ a piggyback system. I was finding that when changing plates, powder funnels, or dies my powder measure got slightly misalligned. I used some mailing labels, duct tape, and a sharpie to mark the position that is correct for my uni-flow powder measure.
powder mark.jpg

Also for these RCBS owners a water/propel bottle with the cap drilled out serves as a perfect primer catcher. I put lube on my press to catch the primer cancer-dust and with the bottle sealed with duct tape I have almost 0 dust in my room.
brass case and primer catches.jpg
I also found that large snack containers from Sam's Club make awesome pistol brass storage containers. They keep the filth in and with a simple label you know EXACTLY what stage the brass is in.

I used a standard fold up table for my bench. It works pretty well, but bows a little bit when you put alot of pressure on it. Anyways my setup is in a college apartment and I need storage vertically that's cheap. I went to target to get something to add table-space for storage. They have $10-15 shelves that are supposed to be 2-tiered, but I used only the top and got corner supports from the hardware store that I put in. This shelf is perfectly dimensioned to store a couple powders, manuals and other random stuff.
shelf.jpg

I recently started reloading rifle brass and I am sorting that for consistency (unlike my pistol brass.) I wanted a way to (again) store it vertically in seperate compartments. I went to Lowe's in their plastic storage/shelf section and got these black bins. They come in packs of 4 and can even be hung off an included support horizontally which I think would be incredibly helpful. They were about $6 per four. These work great for my brass.
brass shelves.jpg

BTW the slimjims and booze are there simply for storage, I don't have alot of room. I don't gobble slim jims and Bacardi when I reload.

Hope this helps.

mc223 · April 22, 2007, 01:08 AM

For those who insist on tumbling decapped cases. Throw those cases back into the empty tumbler(no media) and let them rattle about a bit. Out of a couple hundred cases, you will only need to pick media out of a few with a toothpick or your tool of choice.(compressed air works very well)

peterotte · May 8, 2007, 06:46 AM

Darrel, is STP a 'smoke stopper'? I used to use Bardahl smoke stopper as a case lube and for lubing 303 rounds. Works better than 'case lube' and I did not remove the residue from the cases - just wiped them with my fingers. I take the view that the guns are designed to withstand bolt face thrust - and they do.

Pete

peterotte · May 8, 2007, 06:57 AM

This is a trick still in the testing stage. Don't resize cases at all. I am testing this idea of holding the bullet in the case mouth using no more than a few plies of paper hand towel formed into a cup in the case mouth and seating the bullet. I use another case pressed over the bullet to cut off the excess paper. I then lube the case and the case/bullet junction (which theoretically seals the paper against moisture ingress). I am doing this in a hornet with a rust damaged barrel so wear caused by abrasive paper is not an issue. (Some writing paper contains abrasive clays or something). Results are good so far - zero case stretch and apparently good accuracy. The idea is to eliminate any possibility of distorting cases during reloading and to ensure that the bullet is properly lined up with the chamber throat. The paper iether burns away or gets blown away.

Does anyone know whether paper hand towel is abrasive to steel?

Pete

redneck2 · May 8, 2007, 07:35 AM

Your "new" invention is only a few hundred years old.

Buffalo hunters used paper patched bullets a hundred years ago. I'm going to try to make some up for my .45-90 sometime if I ever get around to it. They use high cotton typing paper cut on the spiral. Do a search on the BPCR forum

Edit to add...there was an article a few years ago in Handloader that detailed the process. I believe the BPCR site has a link to a book that covers paper patching

peterotte · May 10, 2007, 05:21 AM

The paper patch/seat is not an "invention" but a discovery. A friend's uncle used that trick for his Martini Henry 45/577 ammo - reloading his few, expensive, cases at the range, using loo paper to seat the bullets. I am applying it to jacketed bullets in a 22 hornet and 303 Brit. Finicky things to reload, those hornet cases. The paper 'seat' is difficult to get symetrical plus it needs to hold the bullet firmly without expanding the case mouth as the case is nearly at chamber dimensions already. I shall look up the black powder guys as suggested. Apparently, early paper cartridge type ammo used nitrate treated paper.

Pete

scrat · May 10, 2007, 09:02 AM

Quote:

BTW the slimjims and booze are there simply for storage, I don't have alot of room. I don't gobble slim jims and Bacardi when I reload.

i saw the bacardi hahahahah

taking the atf to a whole new level

DennisB · May 10, 2007, 10:23 PM

I trickle and weigh each round of all rifle calibers I shoot. This gets sorta tiresome, especially with the .22 centerfires. Since I'm also into tri-focals now, leaning over/squatting to read the scale ain't no fun. So I snagged one of my wife's old warpaint compacts with the 2"X3" mirrors in the lid. Then I cut a short piece of 2X2 at about 45 degrees and attached the mirror to it and set it at the pointy end of the scale so I can check zero easily. The photo shows it (if I can get it to upload).

March 22, 2007, 10:29 AM	#133
swan hunter Member Join Date: February 15, 2004 Location: southern IL Posts: 152	Use an old lap top computer I latched on to a very old lap top computer to store all my loading data on it. The battery is shot and not worth replacing. I only need the thing to run a spread sheet program that I use to keep and edit all my loading data on. I load for many different guns and I store the load data along with my group size for each load. I also use it to store my gun inventory along with my wish lists. Otherwise, we would have tossed the computer.

April 9, 2007, 09:12 PM	#142
koja48 member Join Date: February 21, 2005 Location: SE WA State Posts: 1,912	.204 Ruger Powder Funnel Bought 1 of these early-on . . . no funnel available. Cut the head off of a spent .17HMR case, tapped the neck into a .17 caliber RCBS powder funnel, & the problem was solved! Works well . . .

April 14, 2007, 09:55 PM	#143
Gnarkill Member Join Date: September 10, 2005 Location: Columbus Posts: 50	Some kinda helpful stuff These aren't anyting brilliant, but just a couple of good ideas. This first one is for anyone with an RCBS Pro-2000 or w/ a piggyback system. I was finding that when changing plates, powder funnels, or dies my powder measure got slightly misalligned. I used some mailing labels, duct tape, and a sharpie to mark the position that is correct for my uni-flow powder measure. powder mark.jpg Also for these RCBS owners a water/propel bottle with the cap drilled out serves as a perfect primer catcher. I put lube on my press to catch the primer cancer-dust and with the bottle sealed with duct tape I have almost 0 dust in my room. brass case and primer catches.jpg I also found that large snack containers from Sam's Club make awesome pistol brass storage containers. They keep the filth in and with a simple label you know EXACTLY what stage the brass is in. I used a standard fold up table for my bench. It works pretty well, but bows a little bit when you put alot of pressure on it. Anyways my setup is in a college apartment and I need storage vertically that's cheap. I went to target to get something to add table-space for storage. They have $10-15 shelves that are supposed to be 2-tiered, but I used only the top and got corner supports from the hardware store that I put in. This shelf is perfectly dimensioned to store a couple powders, manuals and other random stuff. shelf.jpg I recently started reloading rifle brass and I am sorting that for consistency (unlike my pistol brass.) I wanted a way to (again) store it vertically in seperate compartments. I went to Lowe's in their plastic storage/shelf section and got these black bins. They come in packs of 4 and can even be hung off an included support horizontally which I think would be incredibly helpful. They were about $6 per four. These work great for my brass. brass shelves.jpg BTW the slimjims and booze are there simply for storage, I don't have alot of room. I don't gobble slim jims and Bacardi when I reload. Hope this helps. Last edited by Gnarkill; April 14, 2007 at 10:15 PM. Reason: expansion

May 8, 2007, 06:46 AM	#145
peterotte Member Join Date: May 8, 2007 Posts: 212	Case Lube substitutes Darrel, is STP a 'smoke stopper'? I used to use Bardahl smoke stopper as a case lube and for lubing 303 rounds. Works better than 'case lube' and I did not remove the residue from the cases - just wiped them with my fingers. I take the view that the guns are designed to withstand bolt face thrust - and they do. Pete

May 8, 2007, 06:57 AM	#146
peterotte Member Join Date: May 8, 2007 Posts: 212	Case Sizing - new discovery This is a trick still in the testing stage. Don't resize cases at all. I am testing this idea of holding the bullet in the case mouth using no more than a few plies of paper hand towel formed into a cup in the case mouth and seating the bullet. I use another case pressed over the bullet to cut off the excess paper. I then lube the case and the case/bullet junction (which theoretically seals the paper against moisture ingress). I am doing this in a hornet with a rust damaged barrel so wear caused by abrasive paper is not an issue. (Some writing paper contains abrasive clays or something). Results are good so far - zero case stretch and apparently good accuracy. The idea is to eliminate any possibility of distorting cases during reloading and to ensure that the bullet is properly lined up with the chamber throat. The paper iether burns away or gets blown away. Does anyone know whether paper hand towel is abrasive to steel? Pete

March 8, 2007, 07:07 PM	#126
4fingermick Member Join Date: August 10, 2006 Location: Bathurst, Australia Posts: 317	Good stuff, Zippy, unfortunately, Midway refuse to ship anything overseas and some of theri stuff turns up in gunshops, but it is pretty expensive that way. MIck.

March 9, 2007, 03:37 PM	#127
bcominos Member Join Date: April 21, 2006 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 35	Looks like the outdoor kitty is going to miss its feeder! Back to the ol' bowl!

March 10, 2007, 05:12 PM	#128
Cpl Nobbs Member Join Date: February 1, 2007 Posts: 45	wire mesh wastebasket that fits inside plastic wastebasket. instant media separator. total cost at Dollar Store $2.12.

March 10, 2007, 05:37 PM	#129
Bronson7 Member Join Date: February 20, 2003 Posts: 203	Great ideas here on media separators! Bronson7

March 10, 2007, 06:17 PM	#130
4fingermick Member Join Date: August 10, 2006 Location: Bathurst, Australia Posts: 317	Your a class act Bronson, I guess I'll have to chuck the onion bag and upgrade to the fancy wastepaper model. I have been trying a collander and bucket, but can't seem to do it wthout getting at lease one sniff of the dust, yuk!

March 22, 2007, 09:02 AM	#132
grosland Member Join Date: February 10, 2007 Location: Paradis, LA Posts: 13	At Harbor Freight Tools, I purchased a 2'x3' ruberized mat that is sold for lining tool box drawers for about $2. This mat makes a wonderful non-slip, non-maring surface on which to place guns and misc. on the range bench top. It's cheap, easily transported and well serves its purpose.

March 28, 2007, 01:34 PM	#134
goon Member Join Date: January 20, 2003 Posts: 5,701	When you first try out a new type of bullet... You are gonna get 100 rounds out of a box of them, right? No. You are going to get 99. You take the first one and make a dummy round with it. Do this for each bullet type you buy. Then when you want to switch your dies from 125 grain JHP to 158 grain LRN, all you have to do is loosen up the die, run your loaded 158 grain dummy round the whole way in, and tighten everything back up until it won't move anymore. It is a very quick way to adjust reloading dies and even works with the crimp when you have to change from .38 SPL to .357. I also use the wire mesh container for separating brass from tumbling media but mine was free. I found it in my dad's basement.

March 29, 2007, 05:08 PM	#135
heypete Member Join Date: September 12, 2004 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 967	1. Place cleaned and tumbled cases into plastic ziploc bag. Spray briefly with Hornady One-Shot. Seal bag and shake vigorously for a minute, being sure to agitate all the brass within. I've never found a more quick or easy means of lubricating the cases prior to reloading. I'm sure I'm not the first person to think of that. 2. Write "<-- Off" and "On -->" on my Lee Perfect Powder Measure hopper with a sharpie pen. This ensures that I know which way to rotate the hopper to turn on or off the flow of powder, making sure I don't dump a huge amount of powder onto the carpet again.

March 31, 2007, 07:44 AM	#136
4fingermick Member Join Date: August 10, 2006 Location: Bathurst, Australia Posts: 317	HEYPETE, I found that if I cut the powder off and throw a couple of times into an empty case before I remove the hopper/reservior, I don't spill a drop. Ask me how I know this

March 31, 2007, 01:52 PM	#137
heypete Member Join Date: September 12, 2004 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 967	nods I throw the powder into the jug of powder, not into a case. Avoids confusion and possible danger that way.

April 4, 2007, 10:26 AM	#138
4fingermick Member Join Date: August 10, 2006 Location: Bathurst, Australia Posts: 317	I use a fired case and throw it straight back into the hopper ( I usually only load Pistol rounds and you need to use a case with the autodisk to get it to cycle).

April 9, 2007, 08:32 PM	#141
1Longbow Member Join Date: February 10, 2003 Posts: 17	Probably thought of before ,but I use cheap pillow cases to cover my presses. .When I'm done reloading I just throw them over the Mecs or Dillions ,keeps the dust off. --1Longbow

April 22, 2007, 01:08 AM	#144
mc223 Member Join Date: June 18, 2006 Location: Just Down the Road Posts: 852	For those who insist on tumbling decapped cases. Throw those cases back into the empty tumbler(no media) and let them rattle about a bit. Out of a couple hundred cases, you will only need to pick media out of a few with a toothpick or your tool of choice.(compressed air works very well)

May 8, 2007, 07:35 AM	#147
redneck2 Member Join Date: December 25, 2002 Location: Northern Indiana Posts: 6,325	Your "new" invention is only a few hundred years old. Buffalo hunters used paper patched bullets a hundred years ago. I'm going to try to make some up for my .45-90 sometime if I ever get around to it. They use high cotton typing paper cut on the spiral. Do a search on the BPCR forum Edit to add...there was an article a few years ago in Handloader that detailed the process. I believe the BPCR site has a link to a book that covers paper patching __________________ I have three AR-15's. One is for precision target, one is specifically for deer hunting. The third is for anyone who tries to take the first two. Last edited by redneck2; May 10, 2007 at 06:45 AM.

May 10, 2007, 05:21 AM	#148
peterotte Member Join Date: May 8, 2007 Posts: 212	The paper patch/seat is not an "invention" but a discovery. A friend's uncle used that trick for his Martini Henry 45/577 ammo - reloading his few, expensive, cases at the range, using loo paper to seat the bullets. I am applying it to jacketed bullets in a 22 hornet and 303 Brit. Finicky things to reload, those hornet cases. The paper 'seat' is difficult to get symetrical plus it needs to hold the bullet firmly without expanding the case mouth as the case is nearly at chamber dimensions already. I shall look up the black powder guys as suggested. Apparently, early paper cartridge type ammo used nitrate treated paper. Pete

May 10, 2007, 10:23 PM	#150
DennisB Member Join Date: April 13, 2007 Location: Fort Worth Posts: 29	Old Eyes I trickle and weigh each round of all rifle calibers I shoot. This gets sorta tiresome, especially with the .22 centerfires. Since I'm also into tri-focals now, leaning over/squatting to read the scale ain't no fun. So I snagged one of my wife's old warpaint compacts with the 2"X3" mirrors in the lid. Then I cut a short piece of 2X2 at about 45 degrees and attached the mirror to it and set it at the pointy end of the scale so I can check zero easily. The photo shows it (if I can get it to upload). __________________ Dennis in Fort Worth