Processing brass in Bulk

[ar15barrels]

now that nearly a year has passed since you wrote this...would you do anything different?

I've been doing it this way for at least 6 years and I have not found anything better in all that time.
I only wrote the thread a year or so ago.

[mstlaurent]

Randall,

I'm looking to do a setup similar to yours with the Dillon trimmer and RCBS lube die on my LnL press, now that nearly a year has passed since you wrote this...would you do anything different? I'll be doing both .223 and .308.

Thanks,
Mark

One suggestion I would make, since I'm doing the same thing with an LNL: make sure that as part of your setup for processing brass you remove the priming punch. If you get stray brass chips in the priming punch it can hang up the shuttle and damage the shuttle and/or cam follower. With the Dillon trimmer on you will get a lot of chips flying around, even with the vacuum attachment. If this is a permanent setup (i.e. process on the LNL and load on another progressive), I would remove the cam follower completely and just let the spring tension hold the shuttle in place for the entire stroke.

[sargenv]

But I noticed he is not checking his charges (powder check die).

I suspect he is using a powder suited to mass quantity loading, either a short stick or ball powder. Since he is basically loading blasting ammo (ie short range or under 100 yards) there is no need to check the powder since it likely all drops + or - .2 gr or so.. and so long as it runs his particular firearms, why bother?

I load for 223, 30-30, and soon 308 win and use a similar method to Randall and I never do a powder check. I usually use exclusively ball powder for 223 and 308 and in the case of 30-30 I use trailboss which meters just fine through my Dillon measure. 8.5 gr of it fills the 30-30 case about 70%.

[joelogic]

I dont see the point of a powder check on a progressive.

[mstlaurent]

I dont see the point of a powder check on a progressive.

I do. What else do you have to look at on the up-stroke? Why not play it safe? Maybe your powder caked up in the drop tube. Maybe you just had to clear a jam and you think you know where you were, but you're wrong. Maybe you lost your place because your wife just interrupted you to ask if you've seen your youngest child and/or the electric carving knife.

To me, minor annoyance + severe consequences = no brainer. YMMV

[RaymondMillbrae]

I gotta agree..the powder check is indespensible.

Just that little feature sold me on the XL650.

In Christ: Raymond

[Fyathyrio]

Randall,

Thanks, good to know!

mstlaurent,

Good point, I've learned the hard way that stuff can build up around the primer shuttle and cause probs.

[JC Smith]

Hi Randall,

Have you ever had a problem with scratched dies? I did a similar setup on my Dillon 550 with the RCBS lube die and Dillon trimmer. The first 100 cases worked like a charm but sometime during the next 100 the size/trim die became scratched and about half the second batch of cases had long scratches in them from the shoulder to near the base. The brass was all from the same lot and it had been cleaned and polished. On disassembly I found some sort of coarse debris stuck in the threads of the lock nut (the one that locks the die to the tool head... it wasn't there when I assembled the setup). The nut could not be removed from the die without either some serious cleaning effort or considerable force. Neither was used and the die was returned to Dillon for their inspection. They sent me another one but had no clue as to how it happened. Do you have any thoughts before I try another batch of cases?

Thanks - JC Smith

[joelogic]

Scratched dies happen. Tumble the brass longer. I ruined 2 dies until I just started tumbling for twice as long. I used a chamber honing brush to polish the die back to new.

[JC Smith]

Thanks, but it wasn't that. This brass looked better than new, except for the obligatory ding from the deflector.

[ar15barrels]

Have you ever had a problem with scratched dies?

Most likely, you were not lubing correctly and you picked up some brass on the sizing die.
That brass sticks to the die and then scratches every case you size.
Either that, or you had a burr at the vent hole.
The vent is right at the shoulder and is designed to vent off excess lube so you don't get lube dents.
The vent often clogs up if you use too much lube and acts just like you explained by locking up the locknut on the outside of the die.

[JC Smith]

Most likely, you were not lubing correctly and you picked up some brass on the sizing die.
That brass sticks to the die and then scratches every case you size.
Either that, or you had a burr at the vent hole.
The vent is right at the shoulder and is designed to vent off excess lube so you don't get lube dents.
The vent often clogs up if you use too much lube and acts just like you explained by locking up the locknut on the outside of the die.

Being new to this trim setup almost anything is possible, but:
>It wasn't a burr on the vent hole, I checked that when I cleaned the die before using it plus the scratches on the cases cover about 1/3 of the body... way too much to be from the vent hole.
>The lube die seemed to be doing its job, in fact a little too much. I had a number of cases with small lube dents in the shoulder.
>I did find quite a few brass trimmings inside the top of the die and in some of the sized cases. I didn't think they could scratch a steel die but I see how they could scratch other cases if they were stuck inside the die. However, the die itself appeared to be scratched. I tried cleaning it with no luck. Sent it back to Dillon and they seemed to thing it was scratched too.
>I wish I had disassembled the nut from the die and looked closer at the stuff that was in the threads. It looked like it could be steel, the threads appeared to be galling, but I can't say for sure. I do have good macro pictures of it however. I wish the lock nut had a little more thread to engage. That die seems to have to go too far into the tool head, not enough thread above the head for the nut to hold on to (because of the "windows").
>I'm going to try again soon. I'll report back.

[cjskalka]

"station 2 has a 22-250 neck sizing die set high in the press
this knocks out media from 2nd tumbling and neck expands DOWNWARDS like a lyman M die."

Is there any particular reason for using a 22-250 neck sizing die instead of just taking a .223 small base die with expander and just backing it out a lot so that the only thing working the brass is the expander? Or did you just happen to have a spare 22-250 die laying around you wanted to put to use?

[ar15barrels]

That die seems to have to go too far into the tool head, not enough thread above the head for the nut to hold on to (because of the "windows").

I put the locknut on the underside of the toolhead.

[ar15barrels]

did you just happen to have a spare 22-250 die laying around you wanted to put to use?

Yes.