Some of you saw my earlier thread on my new Giraud case trimmer. Well, I finally got all (well, most...) of my .223 brass sized, deprimed, and trimmed/chamfered/deburred . . . and DAMN it was a big bag of brass! It weighed 38.5 pounds, which translates to about 2,917 cases.
Oh, and I had already pulled out about twenty Berdan-primed .223 cases . . . yes, I said Berdan-primed. That should be a criminal act, to leave Berdan-primed .223 cases at a public range. :lol:
So now, the next step is to swage the primer pockets. Here's my Dillon 600 Super Swage in action:
I have it held in a vise with some blue tape to protect it, a string running under the bottom to lift the case after it's been swaged, and a rubber band to pull the case down. (The string/rubber band thing was shamelessly stolen from YouTube, it's not my invention.)
Does anyone else use the Dillon 600? Does anyone have a different or better way to deal with crimped primer pockets?
The primers on some military ammunition are crimped, to better secure the primer and make sure it doesn't come out during use. This works just fine, until Joe Reloader tries to pop a new primer into that primer pocket.
So, what I'm doing is swaging the primer pockets back to normal size, effectively nullifying the effect of the crimped pockets. A little rod gets pushed into the primer pocket when I crank the handle, and it forces the primer pocket to open to the correct size.
Stick to handgun reloading, and you'll generally never have to worry about it.
The Dillon Super Swage is almost a must for anyone that reloads military cases.
For those that say "It's way too expensive, I just use a Drill Bit or countersink, it does just as good a job for only penny's" I would offer that the swaging tools are the only way to make sure the primer pocket remains concentric.
Reaming will follow any off center crimp while swaging presses the metal back where it's supposed to be.
I find that I get more uniform swaging if I presort the brass, keeping the headstamps all the same for each batch. Some variations in web thickness will cause the radius to vary. Sorting allows for you to adjust to each brand's characteristics.
This tool is also great for putting some more radius on the primer pocket mouth on brass from S&B or Fiocchi which tends to be a little "square".
BTW, that berdan primed brass is good for one thing. Put it in the scrap bucket and sell it to the recycler. Helps cut the reloading costs. I never complain if I have brass like that, or for other calibers I don't load for, when I empty my range pickup bag.
_________________ "I've learned from the Dog that an afternoon nap is a good thing"
BTW, that berdan primed brass is good for one thing. Put it in the scrap bucket and sell it to the recycler. Helps cut the reloading costs. I never complain if I have brass like that, or for other calibers I don't load for, when I empty my range pickup bag.
I still have one of these too. I bought it because I was too cheap to buy the Dillon. Then I got tired of getting a sore hand from slapping the press handle to get the case unstuck from the swaging tool. Also found that it didn't put enough radius on the primer pocket mouth when processing harder brass like LC.
I finally stepped up to the Dillon which is so "effortless" I can swage brass while watching TV from my recliner. I have it screwed down to a piece of particle board about the size of a TV tray.
_________________ "I've learned from the Dog that an afternoon nap is a good thing"
Totally slick set up. Can you post a video of the assembly of the "easy bake improvement" install modifications? That would be a big help - and cost on both the swager and case trimmer plus the supplier you used for purchase. Muchos grassyass in advance!
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Mon Sep 19, 2011 9:17 pm
MadPick
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Location: Renton, WA Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2011 Posts: 52035
Real Name: Steve
Totally slick set up. Can you post a video of the assembly of the "easy bake improvement" install modifications? That would be a big help - and cost on both the swager and case trimmer plus the supplier you used for purchase. Muchos grassyass in advance!
As for the Super Swage modification, here's a Youtube video that probably shows it better:
Basically, you tie a string from the handle to the nut on the other end; this string forces the case holder to rise when the handle is lifted. You then attached a rubber band from the case holder "tab" to something fixed (in this case, the pin for the handle) and that forces the case holder down once the tension on the string is gone -- when you start to lower the handle.
It works pretty well, though the string loosens up a bit over time, and rubs on sharp edges on the underside of th swager so it breaks occasionally and needs to be replaced.
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