Bull Skater,
“I weigh 270lbs and use a RCBS full length and a small base die with a RCBS jr. press”
nothing wrong with the 270 pounds, then there is the Jr. press, at the last gun show in Dallas at Market hall I sold a Rock Chcuker and a Jr. My advise to the new happy owner of the Jr. press I cautioned him about limitations. I informed him I had a RCBS press that was less effective, it is a Pardner. he was polite and informed me he had a Rock Chucker and was aware standing on the handle was more about bad habits than the limitations of the press.
I have one grand daughter that has an interest in what I do when reloading. Speed? as in cases sized per minute? I am never in mortal combat with reloading, kindergarten, maximum weight 70 lbs.. the press is high enough for her to pull the press handle with her feet off the ground, after the handle makes the turn, she releases the handle then pushes the headle through its arch while standing up. She does not start on another case until I tell her what a magnificent job she did on the last case sized. And yes, it scares me to think about the small hands and fingers working with presses.
She raises the handle when lowering the ram by placing the handle on her shoulder and pushing up.
I have neck sizer dies, I have small base dies, I have case forming dies, and I have full length sizing dies. I have had collectors/shooters/reloaders send me dies with cases stuck in them, I have removed the stuck cases, used some of my lubes, and attempted to size my cases in their dies, same thing, stuck cases. One occasion I stuck 5 cases out of 10, then things improved, by the time I sized 50 cases the die started working in a predictable manner. When I ask him about the stuck cases he started with “I cleaned the die with etc., etc., and that is when the problem started. I clean dies with a towel on a dowel, I do not use a degreaser, when my dies work I do not want to de- anything, I apply the leaver policy, when I find it works I leaver the way I found-er.
For most case sizing anything works, for the rest??? Helping a friend that insist on Imperial and Dillon in the can and or bottle I never knew if the die was going to give the case back, there were times I thought we were going to brake something, like the die and or press or neck sizer assembles. I offered to return home and get some different lube, back to the part where I said there is Imperial and Dillon, out side of those two choices there is nothing. AND I am not going to change that.
I purchased a set of 44 Special/44 Remington Magnum RCBS carb. dies for $5.00, he offered to clean them, the $5.00 price was based on too ugly to be worth more, I left the dies with the instructions nothing was to be done to the inside of the dies. He returned the dies, in all appearance the set looked like he swapped his dies for my dies. Lucky for me, I found the dies just before the disappearance of equipment and components. Still waiting to feel the effect of the crises.
F. Guffey