bought used reloading equip, a few ?s

[Hawken50]

i just bought a box of used misc. reloading stuff at my gunshop. a pacfic press, lyman dies in 30.06 and 243, rcbs trim dies for 30.06 and 243, rcbs dies in 357mag, and 30-30 dies with a CH emblem that i didn't recognize, and a powder dispenser missing parts that i think came off a shot shell reloader. most of it is in pretty rough shape but the price was right. 35 bucks.

i've been reloading for .243 for awhile now so i know what i'm doing, just have some questions about this stuff.

1. what are trim dies? never heard of them before.
2. how can you tell if the dies are carbide or not. most of them look like stainless, my old dies have a matte finish, these ones i just got look polished, almost like chrome.

thanks for your help!

 

[ReloaderFred]

Some of the older Lyman and C-H dies were chrome plated, hence the silver appearance. Carbide dies have a ring of carbide pressed into the mouth of the die. Most carbide dies are for straight walled pistol cartridges, but there are carbide dies for bottleneck cartridges, too, but they are very expensive. I have one for .308 and one for 357 Sig. If you hold the die up to the light, or shine a flashlight inside it, a steel die will be smooth in appearance on the interior, whereas a carbide die will have the carbide ring and then be recessed for the rest of the length of the die interior.

Trim dies are usually used in conjunction with a file and a loading press. You run the case up into the die and then use the file to take off the amount of brass that sticks out the top of the die. The top portion of the die is hardened, so it won't also be filed during the process. There are other kinds of trim dies, too, but these are the most common.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Ross]

You wrote:...a powder dispenser missing parts that i think came off a shot shell reloader.
Is there any brand indication for the measure?
Is it a drum or a sliding bar type?
Is the hopper metal?
Does it have a clapper? ("knocker" - But someone may be watching and I should avoid mentioning knoc****.)
Cheers from Darkest California,
Ross

 

[Hawken50]

it has a plastic cylinder that holds the powder (or maybe shot, i don't know) the rest of it is metal. i can't post pics, but i'll try to find one on the net. theres a sticker on the powder cylinder that lables it as a Pacific.

 

[SASS#23149]

Rifle caliber dies are almost never carbide and you MUST lube the cases before sizing them or the case is stuck like you would not believe. :banghead:
The sizing die usually says 'fl' for full length sizing,or 'ns' for neck sizing only.Neck sizing can be done without lube I think,but not positive.Only neck size brass shot in your gun for reliable feeding and extraction.

 

[Wilburs Horse]

Don't try to reload without reading a good instruction such as found in the Speer Reloading Manuals.

 

[Hawken50]

Don't try to reload without reading a good instruction such as found in the Speer Reloading Manuals.

don't worry, got that covered. i prefer the sierra manual though.