Just picked up my loadmaster (updated post#46 new comment and problem)

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strikeraj

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Kitchener, ON
ordered through ebay, a loadmaster 9mm kit + FCD + decap die + bullet puller + case gage + adjustable charge bar + case collator, cost me $400 tax and ship included
gonna spend a night today to see if i manage to get it work
will keep you guys posted on my progress and most importantly, problem encountered
Cheers
 
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Congrats on your "winning" that setup. I heard that Ebay had banned anything firearm related on its service, including components and tools. Guess not. Good news and good luck!
 
Just be careful and PATIENT when setting up your Loadmaster. They are a bit fiddly to set up but work very well after that.

After you get it working......
I found that polishing the surface of the handle, where it pushes against the shell plate advance rod really smooths out the action on the handle upstroke. PM me if you need details.
 
first night report
1. my bench needs to be reinforced for sure... may be i will bolt it to the stud
2. it does take a lot of force to resize the brass
3. lost one primer, crushed one primer, had one flipped primer... but i forgot to bring a file to relieve the edge of the case retainer, so i guess it will be improved
4. my own mistake... spilled 4 gr of powder
btw, how do you guys deal with spilled powder on the floor? and crushed primers?

Thanks
 
strikeraj said:
2. it does take a lot of force to resize the brass
[...]
4. my own mistake... spilled 4 gr of powder
btw, how do you guys deal with spilled powder on the floor? and crushed primers?
Click to expand...

2) Use a light shot of spray lube, even with carbide dies, on 9mm

4) I vacuum the powder up, never a problem. Crushed primers, decap, soak in oil, discard.
 
thanks for the reply
how do u spray lube evenly on the case? cause i keep my tumbled cases in a plastic shopping bag only
if i am loading only one caliber with one kind of powder and primer, would there be problem if i leave the remaining powder and primer on the press?
and if there are primers left in the tray, how do i remove it without dropping primers? (i lost one primer that way already)
and how do you remove the powder hopper without spilling powder? (even if i turned it to "off" position, there is still a bit powder left in the disk hole i have been using)
Thanks
 
your 9mms shouldn't be hard to resize at all- i've got one in 44/45 and never had to lube it , my 9mm is a lee 1000 and the loadmaster is a force multipier press, so it's no big deal for loadmaster at all-but you really have to have it bolted securely to the bench- and solid wood like a 2x4, not planks, then the 2x4s are secured to your uprights with nuts and bolts- in other words a real good reloading bench, not just some table-, 2 you're going to get some powder leakage with the measure in the off position as it cuts off at the bottom of the funnel before the measure- no way to avoid it- the only way to avoid this is to undo it from the head nad take it off entirely- there's no problem with leaving either primers or powder in the system unless you want to change calibers- i normally leave all mine set up ready to go, but i'm the only one around , don't smoke, and there's no chance of anything happening to make it so- if you need to empty your powder, turn the hopper off,put in a case with a dead primer,capture your charge, and take it out at at station 4 and then undo the brass nits and take the hopper off - take out your primers,first take out the primer magazine- reverse of how you put it in- i like to block the feedway with something so the primers won't fall out either way- then take off your shell plate- you'll see 2 gates n the primer feed- the short end of the gate for station 3 and the long end of the gate for station 2- push them both out of the way, then lift the primer feeder out with your finger over the hole where the magazine goes- and tilt it backwards to clear the press- either that or with the press empty and the primer mag out, trip the black lever so that the primer feeds, then push down with your finger on the primer rocker arm so the primer comes up and take it out with a pair of needle nose pliers until it's empty-i normally do it this way if needed- your primers normally won't kink unless you allow the trough to get real low - i keep the trough full and refill the magazine only- that's a GOLDEN RULE FOR ALL LEE PRIMER TROUGHS- they work by gravity and are dependent on the suceeding primer's weight to make them feed-
i've never had to file or relieve anything on the loadmaster, and you shouldn't - belive me- i know this thing inside and out- i've had it dissassembled down to bares- everythin but take the ram out
if you have any questions the guys at lee technical are more than willing to help out- info@lee.com
 
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day 2 of testing
i have been using some CIL primers, but it seems that they either crush a bit(seeing the mark of the primer seater) or not seating deep enough. I have been adjusting the bolt at half a bolt face each time. Is that the problem of the primer or my adjustment?
the other problem is that i have a really big variation in OAL.The minimum OAL for the load i am using is 1.115" from lyman 48th edition using the data for 147 gr sierra TMJ. I am using west coast 147gr CMJ to reload. The OAL just varies from 1.110 to 1.122 in a batch of 30 reloads. Did I do something wrong? I have run all reloaded cartridges thru a lyman case gage and they all look fine.
Thanks
 
strikeraj said:
The OAL just varies from 1.110 to 1.122 in a batch of 30 reloads. Did I do something wrong?
Click to expand...

That's normal, not "big" - it's only .012". In fact, better than normal. Variances in OAL come from the bullet, measuring, and seating depth (which is affected by variances in press flex, how the bullet interacts with the seating stem, variances in grip, differences in the depth of each shellplate station, dings in the base/rim of the brass, variance in how the indexer locks up as the shellplate rotates, and so on).

You would have potentially less OAL variance on other presses (the Hornady LNL AP, for example, with good dies, brass, bullets, and measuring technique could have rifle calibre OAL variances in the .001" range), but for a Loadmaster with pistol calibres, .012" variance is OK and not unexpected.

You don't produce precision ammo on a Loadmaster, but you don't need precision ammo with most types of handgun reloading.
 
strikeraj said:
thanks for the reply
how do u spray lube evenly on the case?
Click to expand...

I put them in a layer at the bottom of a shoe box, spray and shake. With carbide dies, you need almost none to take some of the effort out. Just a mist - evenly doesn't really matter here, we aren't putting bottleneck cases into a steel die.

Lots of people use a spritz on 9mm, because it's tapered and therefore harder to size than, say, .45. Seems to depend on the brand (dillons relatively smooth, Redding more so), and the luck of the draw on the dies - some will be really well polished and some not as well.

A light mist can't hurt, costs next to nothing, so why not.
 
i've never even seen cil primers- remingtons, cci, winchester, federal-remember to keep your pressure constant as you pull down on the arm- that's what it sounds like to me, as well as the problem with resizing the 9mm-sounds like your losing a bit of pressure just as the arm goes to full bottom cycle- that'll give you problems seating primers
 
acrashb said:
That's normal, not "big" - it's only .012". In fact, better than normal. Variances in OAL come from the bullet, measuring, and seating depth (which is affected by variances in press flex, how the bullet interacts with the seating stem, variances in grip, differences in the depth of each shellplate station, dings in the base/rim of the brass, variance in how the indexer locks up as the shellplate rotates, and so on).

You would have potentially less OAL variance on other presses (the Hornady LNL AP, for example, with good dies, brass, bullets, and measuring technique could have rifle calibre OAL variances in the .001" range), but for a Loadmaster with pistol calibres, .012" variance is OK and not unexpected.

You don't produce precision ammo on a Loadmaster, but you don't need precision ammo with most types of handgun reloading.
Click to expand...

Then how do i know what OAL i should use? From the lymann manual the OAL for a 147gr TMJ bullet can be from 1.115" to 1.169"(the max length of 9mm).
And is it true that the minimum OAL does not depend on powder used, but just the kind of bullet only?
Thanks
 
t-star said:
i've never even seen cil primers- remingtons, cci, winchester, federal-remember to keep your pressure constant as you pull down on the arm- that's what it sounds like to me, as well as the problem with resizing the 9mm-sounds like your losing a bit of pressure just as the arm goes to full bottom cycle- that'll give you problems seating primers
Click to expand...

problem is when the case enters the resizing die, it is hard to keep a smooth action. Sometimes i even need to use two hands to push the case into the sizing die and pull it out. is it just me setting the press wrongly or it is actually that tough to get them in and out?
Thanks
 
strikeraj said:
Then how do i know what OAL i should use? From the lymann manual the OAL for a 147gr TMJ bullet can be from 1.115" to 1.169"(the max length of 9mm).

And is it true that the minimum OAL does not depend on powder used, but just the kind of bullet only?
Thanks
Click to expand...

I loaded the 147Gr Xtreme up with different charges to about 1.130~ and had good results with all the loads with that OAL. I loaded some 124Gr (Frontiers and XTreme (formerly West Coast) down at 1.090 and 1.110 and found that the longer rounds, in my case, the more concictent velocity reading. Since then I have loaded them longer around 1.120 - 1.130 for both and have had no feeing issues with my SIG.

The minimum OAL has to do with the powder and the bullet. Different powders have different burn rates and need more or less room for the gases to expand as they push the bullet out. The more room between the bullet and the powder the faster/slower that combo of bullets/power will chronograph at. (PS buy a chronograph if you don't have one. Checking the speeds of your bullets and the PF makes it easier to make notes about your loads and its fun.

Are you lubing your cases? A 9MM casing is slightly tapered so I found on my turret press that if I lubed every tenth case with some lee lube it would eliminate my stuck casing problem, to which stiff resizing is a precursor to. Also make sure ALL your dies are install according the the instructions that came with them.

Look into getting other manuals. Different manuals are good for cross referencing loads.
 
strikeraj said:
problem is when the case enters the resizing die, it is hard to keep a smooth action. Sometimes i even need to use two hands to push the case into the sizing die and pull it out. is it just me setting the press wrongly or it is actually that tough to get them in and out?
Thanks
Click to expand...

something's definately wrong, considering i use 1 hand for the whole process,unless you're about 47 pounds soaking wet- we're talking about 9mmx19 PISTOL CASES, RIGHT, NOT SOME RIFLE? maybe you have to take the whole thing to pieces and re-build it, re-set your sizing die properly, - go to the LEE precision site and watch the video 'LOADMASTER IN ACTION" - i think you've got a major problem on your hands or something's got twisted in the mail- take the head off, take out the shellplate and the indexer rod, and cycle the ram a few times to see if it binds- if it does, you need to do a realignment, as shown in the video- then start to rebuild the press according to the manual- it's a lot of work, but it sounds like it's a got to do it situation-the other thing that comes to mind is your center nut is too tight , but that only stops the shellplate from advancing-
either way, i'd be on to the boys at lee by now about this problem
 
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t-star said:
something's definately wrong, considering i use 1 hand for the whole process,unless you're about 47 pounds soaking wet- we're talking about 9mmx19 PISTOL CASES, RIGHT, NOT SOME RIFLE? maybe you have to take the whole thing to pieces and re-build it, re-set your sizing die properly, - go to the LEE precision site and watch the video 'LOADMASTER IN ACTION" - i think you've got a major problem on your hands or something's got twisted in the mail- take the head off, take out the shellplate and the indexer rod, and cycle the ram a few times to see if it binds- if it does, you need to do a realignment, as shown in the video- then start to rebuild the press according to the manual- it's a lot of work, but it sounds like it's a got to do it situation-the other thing that comes to mind is your center nut is too tight , but that only stops the shellplate from advancing-
either way, i'd be on to the boys at lee by now about this problem
Click to expand...
Yes i am talking about 9m luger.
The press is smooth as silk when there is no case in the sizing station.
And when i set the press up, i read the manual twice and followed the instruction on lee's video and darwint's youtube video on setting up teh press
may be i will just try to take it apart and do everything from scratch again
 
what i'm beginning to think is there's something wrong with the die- it almost sounds like a steel die instead of a carbide or the carbide's been worn off -i resize 44 mags and 45 colts with mine, never used a lube and had no problems- try the lube thing, and if that cures it, i'd be convinced that someone's subbed a steel die in there
 
t-star said:
what i'm beginning to think is there's something wrong with the die- it almost sounds like a steel die instead of a carbide or the carbide's been worn off -i resize 44 mags and 45 colts with mine, never used a lube and had no problems- try the lube thing, and if that cures it, i'd be convinced that someone's subbed a steel die in there
Click to expand...

I guess i will take another look into that. Is there a way to actually check if a die is carbide or steel?
 
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