Quick Question: what this Die do, and do I need it

Status
Not open for further replies.
dartor said:
Not sure which version of the Uniflow you have, but RCBS makes a micrometer for the Uniflow. I have two Uniflows (over 25 years old) small rotor and large rotor with a micrometer in each one. They work very well.
Click to expand...
it came with the Rock Chucker kit. It has a manual throw. It’s really accurate and smooth too
 
Mark_Mark said:
I’ve been using the RCBS Uniflow with great success !
Click to expand...
Yes, the Uniflow is a good powder measure.

I have two, one I use for single stage loading and one that came with the a Pro2000 press set up for use on progressives. I mostly use the Uniflow for small rifle cartridges but it does work well for hand gun with the small metering drum.

I like the micrometer metering stem. It does not make the powder measure throw more precise charges but it does make adjusting easier. I record the setiing for a particular powder charge and this makes it easier to return to that setting at a later time. Also, you can use extrapolation to dial in a new powder charge. It gets the new charge dialed in more quickly than an estimate and guess proceedure or a bracketing and halving technique.

I use a Redding 10-X powder for most handgun reloading.
 
Last edited:
I use the Hornady case activated powder charge system on a Dillon BL550.

The Dillon powder measure is great. I have three SDB presses. But, the Dillon powder measure has an actuator attachment to the press. I am not sure how easy it would be to modify the Dillon powder measure to an RCBS or Hornady progressive press. I won’t say it is impossible, it is not a simple modification.
 
Last edited:
anybody got any luck with this? Prices of the Hornady powder drop is $170 with the case activated device

D3C4730D-48EB-4203-A2F3-2DC092EA3A2C.jpeg
 
This is a Hornady case activated lower for that Hornady Powder Measure mounted to an RCBS Pro 2000 die plate. (back). Mounted on plates by itself, you can leave the die setup alone and just lift the powder measure off (RCBS or Hornady) and mount it to another die plate.

As was mentioned the Mic setting just has to be documented in your load data....so once mounted to any caliber plate just change the Mic setting.

IMG-1915.jpg

I showed an RCBS engineer this picture, and he was amazed that nobody at RCBS had as yet thought of offering lowers to their customers of case-activated Uniflows.......it took them another 3 months, but they started offering the lowers separately......next picture shows the Uniflow lower side by side with the Hornady.....RCBS likes Chrome....;and stronger springs. ;) neither necessary.

IMG-1916.jpg
 
The Hornady P.M you show doesn't have a mic. I was thinking they added that....they do have a quick change as does RCBS, which allows you to buy the chambers separately, and just keep "chambers" preset rather than mic-ing. I'll add a picture of the concept:

So you just buy extras of these (top one) and preset them and put them away versus have to readjust each time you change calibers or loads.....they just snap in the cylinder.
Quick-Change Uniflow 3 on the top, Uniflow, old screw-in on the bottom......I think Hornady's quick change is similar. I use both mic and this, for different things. This system is best (easiest) for stuff I load a lot of.

IMG-3443.jpg
 
Last edited:
Mark_Mark said:
anybody got any luck with this? Prices of the Hornady powder drop is $170 with the case activated device
Click to expand...

You should be able to use your Uniflow with the Hornady case activated system and not buy the Hornady L-N-L powder measure. The Honady case activated system is a bit better user friendly when you want to remove the powder measure from the press for emptying.

I think the RCBS system was first and Hornady license builds their system from RCBS.

I prefer the Hornady case activated system.

While I have the Hornady L-N-L powder measure, it rarely gets used. I use the RCBS Uniflow or the Redding 10-X. I feel the diameter of the powder charge cavity affects the precision of the charge thown by the powder measure. At least for what I reload, the Redding or the RCBS Uniflow work better for the cartridges that I reload.

The measuring chambers for the Hiornady L-N-L are different than the chambers of the Uniflow and Redding 10-X. In my limited data collecting, the precision is variable due to the size of the metering drum cavity.

I'm not saying that the Hornady L-N-L powder measure is bad, I feel I can I be more precise with other powder measures that throw charges closer to what I am looking for.

Work to learning the idiosyncrasies of your reloading equipment and get the best reloading combination.
 
Last edited:
The RCBS/Hornady powder measure history is secret I guess, but not hard to decipher. They are so similar.

RCBS invented the Uniflow....Hornady copied it with a bigger powder supply. (licensed? probably)
RCBS 's piggyback progressive had this horrible case activated system. It sucked big time.
Hornady came in with their progressive using what both use now for case activation.
RCBS must have liked it because soon after Hornady marketed that, RCBS copied it and used it on later piggybacks and the Pro 2000 and Pro Chucker. (maybe a license that negated the Uniflow license?;)) Just a guess, but it seems feasible.

Oh, btw, the neat little RCBS powder thru "M" expander for pistols, that drops inside the Uniflow lowers also works with slight adjustment on the Hornady lowers.
 
Last edited:
cfullgraf said:
You should be able to use your Uniflow with the Hornady case activated system and not buy the Hornady L-N-L powder measure. The Honady case activated system is a bit better user friendly when you want to remove the powder measure from the press for emptying.

I think the RCBS system was first and Hornady license builds their system from RCBS.

I prefer the Hornady case activated system.

While I have the Hornady L-N-L powder measure, it rarely gets used. I use the RCBS Uniflow or the Redding 10-X. I feel the diameter of the powder charge cavity affects the precision of the charge thown by the powder measure. At least for what I reload, the Redding or the RCBS Uniflow work better for the cartridges that I reload.

The measuring chambers for the Hiornady L-N-L are different than the chambers of the Uniflow and Redding 10-X. In my limited data collecting, the precision is variable due to the size of the metering drum cavity.

I'm noit saying that the Hornady L-N-L powder measure is bad, I feel I can I be more precise with other powder measures that throw charges closer to what i am looking for.

Work to learning the idiosyncrasies of your reloading equipment and get the best reloading combination.
Click to expand...
thanks for the encouragement, I want to dump my Lee Pro 4000 so bad! Think I’ll just get a Dillion 750 or 650 to scratch the itch.
 
Pottimus said:
Love it, thanks.
Click to expand...
Buy Once… lol, Nobody here has just bought One! 1/2 of you guys here have a net worth of easily over 1-2-3-+ million dollars and still look for sales. It’s OK to be cheap and still cut your own lawn!

Love You! :)
 
Mark_Mark said:
to make the Lee Pro, 1/2 way functional. I have to Size & Prime & M expander the case separately

it might be good for pistol but not so hot for rifle
Click to expand...
I cannot get a loadmaster to function unless I feed it brass that was sized & primed on another press. Ive never seen it work well.
 
Buy once cry once....the most common saying around her it seems. Well,....I only buy once. (of each tool except for Uniflows) Some people have 5 1050's? Companies just keep adding new temptation.....buy once for me means one of each. What can I say, I like to try new things and tinker with them. Got to stay busy at my age.

But my brother buys blue.....and I teach him to run it. Not any better than my green, except for the 1050, and those are a pain to change calibers on.

As for powder measures.....I admit I've never use Redding. Not sure what the advantage is, same basic design. You guys should explain. Too bad Redding never ventured into progressive though, and with it case activated lowers. And describe the difference in the Models, please.
 
Last edited:
GW Staar said:
Buy once cry once....the most common saying around her it seems. Well,,,,,,I only buy once. (of each tool) Some people have 5 1050's? Companys just keep adding new temptation.....buy once for me means one of each. What can I say, I like to try new things and tinker with them. Got to stay busy at my age.

But my brother buys blue.....and I teach him to run it. Not any better than my green, except for the 1050, and those are a pain to change calibers on.

As for powder measures.....I admit I've never use Redding. Not sure what the advantage is, same basic design. You guys should explain. Too bad Redding never ventured into progressive though, and with it case activated lowers. And describe the difference in the Models, please.
Click to expand...

Some of Redding's powder measures are designed for different powder weight throws. Take a look at the chart in post #6 - that shows the "optimal" range for 4 of their measures. They have 1 or 2 other measures not in the chart that are more of a typical "1 size fits all" - e.g. their 3BR model is good for 5 to 100 grains. The ones in the chart do not have that broad of a range.
Are they better than others - I have no idea. I have 2 of them and I like them.
You can download their catalog from their website and peruse pages 20-23 to see the different measures. Link: https://www.redding-reloading.com/download-our-catalog
 
GW Staar said:
As for powder measures.....I admit I've never use Redding. Not sure what the advantage is, same basic design. You guys should explain.
Click to expand...
I've never used the Redding powder measures either, but researching them is what lead me to the Mark 7 Mechanical powder measure.

The Mark 7 is basically an optimized Hornady/RCBS powder measure....to allow production rates of up to 3500rds/hour
1. The rotor is constrained in the body to prevent lateral movement during rotation
2. The vertical movement is stabilized with guide rods to prevent twisting
3. The downward rotor rotation is substantially more violent for consistent cavity fill
4. The adjustment insert is locked in place with a nut...I'm assuming to counteract the above action
 
That, I admit has a reason for the high price tag. They spent some serious cash to develop and manufacture it. Out of my league, I'm afraid. Reloading is fun but it's not all I live for.....and I'm getting old. ;) Uniflow 3's are selling for like $100 on sale right now at Grafs. And they work pretty darn good, for what I want to do. High tech? No.

BTW, Mark_Mark, I did a review of the Uniflow 3 here on THR and compared it with the Quick Change, and other older Uniflows.....if you're curious. Uniflows are all I've used, and I have several different models.....so I can't compare it to anything else.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/uniflow-3-picture-review.871276/
 
Last edited:
GW Staar said:
That, I admit has a reason for the high price tag. They spent some serious cash to develop and manufacture it. Out of my league, I'm afraid. Reloading is fun but it's not all I live for.....and I'm getting old. ;) Uniflow 3's are selling for like $100 on sale right now at Brownells. And they work pretty darn good, for what I want to do. High tech? No.
Click to expand...
While I was looking at the Redding power measures, I drew the line at $300. That's why the Mark 7 Mechanical caught my eye. The Mark 7 Digital tweaks my High Tech interest, but even with the ability to set the charge from a smart phone isn't worth $700...which is actually less than the original estimated MSRP of $1k.

Same with their Electric primer collator was was originally targeted at $1k and is now rumored at about $700...you just pour primers in and the collator orients them and feeds them into the press.

I'm going to have to take a look at that thread on the Uniflow 3s. I already have the Lower powder measure dies adjusted for different calibers, but at $100 I might have to look seriously at getting extras
 
9mmepiphany said:
While I was looking at the Redding power measures, I drew the line at $300. That's why the Mark 7 Mechanical caught my eye. The Mark 7 Digital tweaks my High Tech interest, but even with the ability to set the charge from a smart phone isn't worth $700...which is actually less than the original estimated MSRP of $1k.

Same with their Electric primer collator was was originally targeted at $1k and is now rumored at about $700...you just pour primers in and the collator orients them and feeds them into the press.

I'm going to have to take a look at that thread on the Uniflow 3s. I already have the Lower powder measure dies adjusted for different calibers, but at $100 I might have to look seriously at getting extras
Click to expand...

Made a mistake in the previous post....Grafs not Brownells.....out of stock at Brownells and Midway.

Screenshot 2022-06-23 133241.png
 
Two things to remember about case-activated powder measures:

First - Richard Lee invented and patented the first successful case-activated powder measure.

All the other measures are copies of his design. RCBS copied it first. RL sued them for patent infringement and won. RL successfully sued and beat every other manufacturer of the case-activated powder measure, until the patent expired.

If the Hornady is a copy of the RCBS, both are copies of Lee's design.

Second - every powder throw out there works spectacularly. Except with a certain type of powder.
For some, it's a spherical powder that it can't handle. For others it's flake.
Whichever throw you choose will have a type of powder with which it struggles.

It's the nature of the beast.
 
cfullgraf said:
I use the Hornady case activated powder charge system on a Dillon BL550.

The Dillon powder measure is great. I have three SDB presses. But, the Dillon powder measure has an actuator attachment to the press. I am not sure how easy it would be to modify the Dillon powder measure to an RCBS or Hornady progressive press. I won’t day it is impossible, it is not a simple modification.
Click to expand...

I use my Dillon SD powder measure in my Lee single stage as case activated PM all the time.

Works great.

Called Dillon, told tec what I wanted to do and he sent powder die free of charge.

It's a very simple conversation, you'll need to use the old, spring system to return the powder bar, not the "new" fail safe linkage of SD"B" (mine was already a pre-B, before the fail safe)

I'm not home or I'd post a picture.

Sure can powder a bunch of brass, accurately and quickly!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

3
  • Locked
What Dies Do I Need To Load .223
Replies
19
Views
5K
FROGO207
FROGO207
S
Help needed. Dimensions of the seater plug in a Lee Seating Die in 45/70
Replies
11
Views
268
jmorris
jmorris
S
  • Locked
quick newb question about dies
Replies
10
Views
474
StretchNM
S
A
  • Locked
460 S&W dies
Replies
1
Views
466
bogus mcall
B
T
  • Locked
Multiple seating dies?
Replies
3
Views
269
USSR
U
Back
Top