First attempt at station sharing with seater die

[Paddy]

So I've been lamenting the loss of my powder cop die on my LnL AP recently ever since my addition of a bullet feeder. So in an attempt to restore powder copping abilities I purchased an rcbs combo seater crimp. Kinda hard to love this approach after using separate dies for this task(s).
First run did some mixed brass with Hornady 185gr HP and got wildly varied COAL and I don't even know why.
This was 45acp btw.

Worst part is that since I'm casting this caliber now my intent is to move away from jacketed and plated completely and I fear that this combo thing will be even worse then. Maybe not? I should try it first but I may remove my cop again. . I really need a 7 station press it seems.

 

[rsrocket1]

Ditch the powder cop station. Get a goose neck LED lamp for $10 at Ikea. It fits flush against the center hole of the LnL AP. You could also get one of those fancy LED stick-on strips that mount on the inside of the frame to illuminate into the case. The time you save by not placing a bullet onto the case can be used to quickly glance into the case to ensure there is powder in the case. Make it a robotic habit and you'll be fine. I use a separate taper crimp die in my LnL AP because I also dislike combo seat/crimp in one station for many of the calibers I load.

 

[Walkalong]

Seating and crimping .45 ACP at thew same time should be quite straightforward. There is such a small amount of "crimp" and bullet movement while crimping it causes no problems.

Check your crimp adjustment. I bet it is way too much.

 

[.452]

Ditch the powder cop station. Get a goose neck LED lamp for $10 at Ikea. It fits flush against the center hole of the LnL AP. You could also get one of those fancy LED stick-on strips that mount on the inside of the frame to illuminate into the case. The time you save by not placing a bullet onto the case can be used to quickly glance into the case to ensure there is powder in the case. Make it a robotic habit and you'll be fine. I use a separate taper crimp die in my LnL AP because I also dislike combo seat/crimp in one station for many of the calibers I load.

Great tip on that LED goose-neck lamp! And a great price too. I've been using a 1970's style Tensor Hi-Intensity goose neck for that purpose and the head is really way too big.

By the way I use a LEE Classic progressive press dedicated to .45 ACP, and make sure that I look into each and every case for powder. Not casually glance but really look to see if it looks right before adding the projectile. I got religious after a squib of unknown origin in a set of load proof cartridges.

It took me a while to get used to and trust the LEE, as my first progressive. Now after fiddling with it for a while I don't know why I never had one before. I can't imagine changing calibers though, so it is dedicated to only .45 ACP. It's on a LEE bench plate quick-release base so that if the bench position is ever needed it can be removed easily.

 

[Paddy]

I don't like the look inside method because I'm using that time to pick a new case, look it over and make sure it's a large primer and place it in the machine. I like to glance at the powder cop. Also, looking in the case tells me that yes or no there is powder, but the cop can tell me if it's consistent and it reads a slightly high or low charge. I can live without it and have been, but I miss it and boy, he machine is so wonderful it would just be icing on the cake, and a decent safety measure. Maybe I will get all Rube Goldberg and try to make a cop that works at the bottom of the stroke.

I love my bullet feeder so much, so there's no way that's going away!

Mr Walkalong, does your opinion of combo seat/ crimp hold true for lead coated boolits too?

 

[9mmepiphany]

Get a goose neck LED lamp for $10 at Ikea. It fits flush against the center hole of the LnL AP.

I have one of these and even got it in a color to match my press. If you can't get the matching color and want to paint it, the color is Rust-oleum's Regal Red.

When I mounted my LNL on an Inline Fabrication Ultramount, the goose neck was too short to reach the center hole. you can then go with the clip-on mounting

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40315673/

 

[Walkalong]

Mr Walkalong, does your opinion of combo seat/ crimp hold true for lead coated boolits too?

Yes.

 

[Mad Chemist]

I always seat and crimp in the same step for pistol and most revolver rounds. I do this on both a Loadmaster and a Turret set up. It's easy and repeatable.

I second Walkalong's opinion that you probably have too much crimp. Did you reduce the amount of crimp after changing to cast boolits? They are going to need a little less since they should be larger in diameter than equivalent plated or jacketed bullets.

 

[rdtompki]

I'm in the same boat. I'm transitioning my LNL AP to a bullet feeder. I trust my powder meter, but with the bullet feeder, even with very good lighting, you don't get as good a view of the case as when you're manually seating the bullet. Still at 4K rounds/month I've got to go bullet feeder. I can always move it over to a 1050. No way I'm going to a single step seat and crimp BTW, not after 40K rounds with my RCBS micrometer seater and Lee FCD die which for me has been a flawless setup (9mm only)

 

[jmorris]

How I did it today.

 

[GW Staar]

Jmorris: That doesn't look like your usual equipment. Anuther project?

I used to use the mirrors too....and it still comes in handy at times!



But these days I prefer the hidden movie camera.

so

But either way you get your powder cop station back. I know you can seat-n-crimp pistol on one station, and I used to do that, but I like to use a crimp die....less to adjust and worry about. I've seen a lot of junk made with combo seaters...some people just don't have the patience......it's too easy for them to crimp too soon before it's all the way in.

 

[jmorris]

Yeah, a fellow on another forum gave me a press he was tired of messing with, so I decided to learn something new.

 

[Paddy]

Yeah I tried the mirror thing and I think it was a little too small or something, and I even brought down an old monitor that could be available for cam viewing. Maybe that's the key but I'm also trying to minimize cables to the press because it's on a large turntable with my other progressives so it's a little non typical.
However both of these solutions are still not a quantitative measure more just a test of total powder drop fail.

I'm glad JMorris chimed in here, he's just the man to fashion up some sort arm-swinging-plunger type cop that would engage on the priming stroke of a LnL. Or course maybe he has an eye for the monitor instead, I'll probably try that first.