Swager preferences

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testar77

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I am not new to reloading, but am just getting into .223. I have some good sources for once fired crimped brass, soooo that means I better learn how to do it. I would like to see what you guys think is the easiest, most idiot proof tool out there is. It wouldn't hurt if it was fast too ;) thanks in advance.
 
Dillon super swage is fast, pretty idiot proof. Ch4d is almost as fast, more room for error, and 1/2 the cost. I use the ch4d one. I like it.
 
I have a fellow reloader that has the Dillon and it is OK but I have the CH4D (the kit with the ram prime option as well) and find that once it is set up it is faster than even the Dillon. Watch the You Tube videos of both in action and decide for your self. I find that with the RCBS and Dillon you have to separate into head stamps and adjust for each web depth. With the CH4D you set it up for swage size and just run the brass through without worry about the web as nothing goes into the casing. Using it on the top of the press makes for a faster less fiddly job as well (not needing to insert the brass onto a post as the other two do).

FWIW I have an RCBS one that I never use any more I really need to sell.:eek:
 
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I have used several different methods. Even the hand held tools are pretty simple for just a few. If I am looking at a 5 gallon bucket full, the Dillon 1050 is my best friend.

IMG_20150120_102721_411-1_zps5ce96744.jpg
 
I used to use the RCBS swage but got tired of my hand hurting for days afterward. I purchased the Dillon super swage 600 and was amazed at how easy and effortless it was to use. Good money spent!
 
CH4D swage die.

If you set up right for economy of motion you can pace as fast as a Dillon bench mounted tool without much trouble. It takes very little press swing and you can go as fast as you can get a case in and out of a shell holder.

It was about $35 to my door.

Don't confuse it with the slow and clunky RCBS swage die, that thing is an abomination.
 
K.I.S.S. Use a neck deburring/chamfer tool or a 60 degree counter sink (I've been using my Lyman deburring tool/chamfer tool). Put the chamfer tool in a drill or power screwdriver and push the case primer pocket against the turning tool for about a second...
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rr0fGYmMO8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLBskLuZ730

couple quick videos describing how the ch4d kit works. Made them to answer a couple questions a buddy of mine had. Yes, I destroyed a piece of brass in the second video.

My voice is nasal, really annoying, so throw it on mute.
1st video, me removing a universal decapping die, installing ch4d kit, swaging one piece of brass.

2nd video, I adjusted the handle angle on my press so the ram was 99% up already so I didn't have to bend down to do the swaging.. video quality is shakey, all over the place, but you can see how fast I am going one handed while trying to hold a cell phone. Its quite a bit faster running two handed. the one you see cant when I pull the lever.. I almost ripped the rim off it. Didnt have it seated fully in the shell holder, press was at maximum leverage, and brass is weak.
 
I think you will find the Dillon to be the best tool for the job. I have torn rims off brass using press mounted swagers, due to the lack of a rod proceeding thru the case mouth and pressing the empty against the swager button.

I can envision a press mounted tool with a spring loaded shell holder on the ram and a die with a strong rod to press through the case mouth against the inside of the empty against the swage button located beneath the shell holder.
 
stubby..

It is a possibility, but the press mounted ones aren't that bad. That piece of brass I destroyed in the video is because I was paying more attention the the screen than the brass (its 1 out of 1k I've swaged that had any damage).
 
Stubbi, the die on the left in my photo above is a press mounted swage with a back up rod.


The 1050 has a cam on the crank that raises the swage rod up into the shell plate as the backup rod comes down into the case from above.
swager.jpg

It's likely the most expensive swager you can buy but it by far the fastest method.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La83ZVKnBzw
 
The Dillon has worked well for me. I have the RCBS set and don't use it anymore. You can also ream the primer pocket to be rid of the crimp. There are reloaders that swear by either method. All crimps are not equal, some are just plain difficult!:banghead:
 
I'd love a dillon, I just couldnt justify it for how little I have to swage. Only 100% way is a pocket reamer or uniformer that cuts it out
 
I know.

I'm almost tempted to get one and charge a nominal fee, per 1k, to swag primer pockets...I don't think it would take very long to pay for itself.

If I was really ambitious, I just get another LNL AP for this and add Dillon's Rapid Trim 1200B to one of the two open stations
 
that looks like the brass would be oriented wrong for a trimmer... I've been trying to work on a lever that will swage on the down stroke of my lee press, decap up top, swage at bottom of stroke.
 
I don't think you'd save much time with a case feeder.

Your hand has to be there to pluck out the processed case anyway, it would take much extra movement to drop in a new case
 
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