Novice Mistakes

[unknwn]

I really can't figure what all the fuss is about.
After learning that the pros of stainless pins in a thumler's FAR outway the cons of dry vibratory case cleaning I learned the low effort/high satisfaction method of drying my wet brass:
After rolling them back and forth in the large towel I dump them into a brass sorting plastic strainer and hang it above the exhaust side of the dehumidifier that dries out my basement. The air blowing out of the dehumidfier is both warm and dry. After a few hours or so,they are as dry as you could expect.

Simple, low effort, no additional cost. What's there to argue about?

 

[dbarnhart]

6. When using the RCBS Primer Pocket Swager, get your thumb out of the way before you pull the handle.

(I bet you can figure out how I know that)

 

[Dentite]

I want to eventually get into wet SS cleaning. I use vibratory with walnut but I don't like the small amount of dust (and no dryer sheets are going to remove ALL the dust). So after vibrating I rinse them off good in a bucket. Dump them on towel and roll them back and forth for 30 seconds. Dump them into a container and leave in the garage for a while and they are nice and dry here in AZ even in the winter.

I've decided I dislike wiping off sizing lube enough that now I just dump them into a container, then I go wash them off and repeat.

Won't work easily if you want to go from sizing to seating in one day but if you are batch processing it's no big deal for me to wash the brass. Oh...and I get waterspots but they don't bother me that much.

More than one way to skin a cat that's for sure!

 

[Ryanxia]

As someone hoping to get into reloading/handloading I find this thread interesting, not to mention the stickies are helpful in this section.

 

[mcdonl]

My "favorite" mistake so far.... tumbling 9mm with .45ACP brass... Oy Vay... talk about a pain in the butt!!

 

[788Ham]

I've cleaned my brass to get the fired, black crap off the cases. They're easier to inspect for cracks, or split necks, plus they load and extract a little easier also. I don't think because I clean the brass, I'm going to win first prize at the grange picnic or county fair, seems like some really go to a whole lot of non-sensical BS to do a simple job, and the tumbler does that for you.

 

[gilly6993]

I've made plenty of mistakes but the most important thing I've learned is never force the press while doing anything.....nothing good ever happens...

 

[whubbard]

I've made plenty of mistakes but the most important thing I've learned is never force the press while doing anything.....nothing good ever happens...

Any stories gilly?

 

[gilly6993]

Any stories gilly?

As embarrassing as theses are here's a couple that come to mind.....

I have a Hornady AP and I remember when I first started the press would go all the way up on the down swing....instead of taking a step back and looking things over I mad sure it went up with some pretty good force....turns out there was a primer jammed in the feeding system and I would up bending the rod that guides the feeder....

Another time I was loading 9 mm and a case would size/ deprime.....well I forced that sucker in there and turns out I had a 22 case inside the 9....well I jammed the 22 on the depriming rod that it ruined it.....

Another good story....if you have the wrong plate on the press it's not good....I had a 45 plate on the press while loading 9's....didn't get very far as the 9 case got stuck in the die....got it our with the help of this site but it ook some time....

long story short....the few extra seconds it takes to step back and look over the situation will save a lot of time and money by forcing something

 

[rsrocket1]

My "favorite" mistake so far.... tumbling 9mm with .45ACP brass... Oy Vay... talk about a pain in the butt!!

A reloading anti-god must have invented cartridges such that 9mm, 40 S&W and 45ACP fit tightly inside each other and make tumbling a PIA.

I heard that if you put the larger cases in the tumbler first, they fill with walnut/corn cob and won't get the smaller ones stuck inside them.

My thought is that if you've separated them already, why would you want to mix them back up again only to have to separate them again!

 

[Samari Jack]

My "favorite" mistake so far.... tumbling 9mm with .45ACP brass... Oy Vay... talk about a pain in the butt!!

.380 ACP & 9mm tumbled together = a lot of sorting with a sharp eye and re-tumbling.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I should probably watch this thread...

Question: It's possible to make hollowpoint rounds, right? You just need a hollow point bullet mold?

I own a Forster Case Trimmer which is actually a small lathe. Forster makes a Hollow Pointing Tool that adds a hollow point to the bullet. I don't own one but I have seen it used and it's actually quite fast and works well.

Make your favorite LSWC bullets and practice with them. Then load up a dozen or so for carry and cut a hollow point into them. That ya go...

 

[jeeptim]

WOW!!!!!!

 

[longdayjake]

I too will have to chime in about how good a vibratory tumbler is. Just use it right and it is plenty good enough.

 

[fatmanonabike]

Found on youtube.
If you are using a Frankford Arsenal bullet puller, forget the fiddly aluminum collet/o-ring assembly. Use a shell holder instead. It works orders of magnitude better and locks down tight as well. With a bit of practice (unfortunately) you can pick up the defective round directly with the shell holder saving some more handling time. Be sure to point the shell holder entry towards the handle. The OP seemed to feel like it distributed the forces more evenly and it made sense to me.

 

[jfremder]

Found on youtube.
If you are using a Frankford Arsenal bullet puller, forget the fiddly aluminum collet/o-ring assembly. Use a shell holder instead. It works orders of magnitude better and locks down tight as well. With a bit of practice (unfortunately) you can pick up the defective round directly with the shell holder saving some more handling time. Be sure to point the shell holder entry towards the handle. The OP seemed to feel like it distributed the forces more evenly and it made sense to me.

Just dont try this with a high primer and an off centered cartridge...