What clever little things have you "invented or discovered" that you can share?
- Thread starter mooseman1
- Start date
I believe mule is talking about the inertia bullet puller, while you are taking about the one that threads into your press.
For the inertia bullet puller, the collet grabs onto the case head, but it doesn't work that great, hence the suggestion of using the shell holder, something I intend to try next time I need to do that. However for your style of bullet puller, the advice is not applicable.
For the inertia bullet puller, the collet grabs onto the case head, but it doesn't work that great, hence the suggestion of using the shell holder, something I intend to try next time I need to do that. However for your style of bullet puller, the advice is not applicable.
- Location
- Ottawa origanally Muskoka
I salvaged an old sewing machine motor and foot switch, made a pulley on the lathe.
excellent idea for the trimmer
.......wish i had known of this idea the other day,when i passed up an old sewing machine during my dumpster dive
RCBS ChargeMaster
I'm sure I heard of it in the forum here somewhere, but just tried it last night and it works so well, it bears repeating......
For coarse powders, insert 1/2" of a (MacDonalds) plastic drink straw in the end of the powder tube. This causes the granules to "hang up" less.
Previously, when working with this load (IMR4831), if I set to the desired weight, about 30% would go over by at least a tenth, and up to three tenths. So I always set up 3/10 under and trickled up. Kinda defeating the whole purpose of the ChargeMaster, and I was considering getting rid of it....Anyway, last night inserted the plastic and its cured!
Loaded 50 rounds, with none going over.....and I even backed up most of them by weighing on a better scale.....I'm still getting used to trusting this RCBS one (I think they are Oehler?).....anyway, every charge was dead on....
Only thing to watch is not to bump the powder spout when removing the pan, as granules in there can easily fall into the charge.
I'm sure I heard of it in the forum here somewhere, but just tried it last night and it works so well, it bears repeating......
For coarse powders, insert 1/2" of a (MacDonalds) plastic drink straw in the end of the powder tube. This causes the granules to "hang up" less.
Previously, when working with this load (IMR4831), if I set to the desired weight, about 30% would go over by at least a tenth, and up to three tenths. So I always set up 3/10 under and trickled up. Kinda defeating the whole purpose of the ChargeMaster, and I was considering getting rid of it....Anyway, last night inserted the plastic and its cured!
Loaded 50 rounds, with none going over.....and I even backed up most of them by weighing on a better scale.....I'm still getting used to trusting this RCBS one (I think they are Oehler?).....anyway, every charge was dead on....
Only thing to watch is not to bump the powder spout when removing the pan, as granules in there can easily fall into the charge.
A quick wipe with a dryer sheet pulled through the funnel worked excellent for me.
If anyone is loading cast bullets that have been liquid aloxed, you'll know how the alox eventually builds up in the bullet seater and changes your seating depth. To fix this drill a hole down through your bullet seater, you can probably remove close to half the diameter, the seater die will seat on the ogive, and the lube will work its way up into the hole and keep on pushing through, instead of building up.
This is good. I got some ballistol on order.
But...
I used to lube all my cases, i.e. 9 mm, 38 sp. 44 mag 45 acp.
Even though my 38, 44, and 45 are revolvers.
With a revolver you only recycle your own brass, of course.
Saved time lubing the 9 mm cause less force is required on re sizing.
Not so with the revolvers brass.
BattleRife
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- of No Fixed Address
Many cheap soldering irons have 3/8" barrels that with just a little polishing fit into the heater hole on a Lyman 4500 Lubri-sizer very nicely. That's why my lube heater cost me 50 cents at a yard sale.
Same idea, but I keep a bunch of lengths of oak dowel with my bullet puller. They stop the bullet from coming out quite all the way and you can pop the bullet out by hand after so the powder doesn't get comtaminated and/or stuck to the lube.
your right that works great.thank's bigslide
Here are a bunch of small things I have done over the last year to make loading faster and easier. Some might be useful, some not, but they are here for your consideration.
Case feeder Mirror: Got a big convex Trailer Towing mirror from Canadian Tire for $20 and mounted it to the ceiling to see how many cases are left in the case feeder.
Powder Drop Mirror: For ease of checking the powder level of the cases before seating the bullet, to ensure no squib loads or double charges. Combine it with a flashlight to see inside the case, and you can effortlessly see into the cases without bending over the press every pull of the handle.
It is a folding mirror taped to a paint can. Super cheap, but very effective.
My view from where I pull the handle.
Giant garbage can chute: For those long loading sessions when you don't want to stop and empty your finished bullet bin every 5 minutes. Take an old gun box, cut it in half, and fiddle with it until you get the right angle so the cartridges do not go too fast down the chute into the trash can. As you can see, 4000 cartridges of 9mm don't come close to filling the can up, but with bigger stuff like 223 and 30-06, it fills fast. I also keep a piece of cardboard on top of the cartridges to seperate them, and dump the new rounds in every 500 or so.
How many primers do I have left in the tube? How many bullets have I made?
Take some whiteout, count 100 primers that you put into the tube. Load 10 rounds. Mark a ring with whiteout, wait for it to dry, then load another 10 rounds, mark another ring, repeat. Cheap and easy way to keep track of how many rounds you load. I put a danger mark at 5 rounds left to let myself know to stop and fill the tube.
An easier way to mark brass with a sharpie... Just get a ruler or straight edge of some kind, in my case an old stencil found in a cabinet, and apply gentle pressure to line them up. Makes marking brass way faster.
A short period of time marks a lot of brass.
Case feeder Mirror: Got a big convex Trailer Towing mirror from Canadian Tire for $20 and mounted it to the ceiling to see how many cases are left in the case feeder.
Powder Drop Mirror: For ease of checking the powder level of the cases before seating the bullet, to ensure no squib loads or double charges. Combine it with a flashlight to see inside the case, and you can effortlessly see into the cases without bending over the press every pull of the handle.
It is a folding mirror taped to a paint can. Super cheap, but very effective.
My view from where I pull the handle.
Giant garbage can chute: For those long loading sessions when you don't want to stop and empty your finished bullet bin every 5 minutes. Take an old gun box, cut it in half, and fiddle with it until you get the right angle so the cartridges do not go too fast down the chute into the trash can. As you can see, 4000 cartridges of 9mm don't come close to filling the can up, but with bigger stuff like 223 and 30-06, it fills fast. I also keep a piece of cardboard on top of the cartridges to seperate them, and dump the new rounds in every 500 or so.
How many primers do I have left in the tube? How many bullets have I made?
Take some whiteout, count 100 primers that you put into the tube. Load 10 rounds. Mark a ring with whiteout, wait for it to dry, then load another 10 rounds, mark another ring, repeat. Cheap and easy way to keep track of how many rounds you load. I put a danger mark at 5 rounds left to let myself know to stop and fill the tube.
An easier way to mark brass with a sharpie... Just get a ruler or straight edge of some kind, in my case an old stencil found in a cabinet, and apply gentle pressure to line them up. Makes marking brass way faster.
A short period of time marks a lot of brass.
zippy_the_wonder_chimp
CGN Regular
- Location
- Fraser Valley/Lower Mainland
nice pics Kevin M.
When pulling bullets and powder from Czech surplus 7.62x39mm rounds,
Henry Nierychlo suggested a brief soak in boiling water to warm up the
sealant in the neck and make the process easier.
For me, this is faster/easier than using the bullet seating die to depress the
bullet and break the laquer coating.
I wouldn't recommend using open flame for this!
When pulling bullets and powder from Czech surplus 7.62x39mm rounds,
Henry Nierychlo suggested a brief soak in boiling water to warm up the
sealant in the neck and make the process easier.
For me, this is faster/easier than using the bullet seating die to depress the
bullet and break the laquer coating.
I wouldn't recommend using open flame for this!
Kevin M. is your dark grey floor those red/yellow/green/blue interlocking foam rubber squares turned upside down?
Mine are in my gun room! Padded warm floor for cheap.
Nope, I have those in another room. These ones are pure grey. Warm floor for really cheap though.
