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Tonight I worked up a load of Berry's Plated Bullets in .38 spl for the wife's S&W. That was a great way to spend the eve, but I also managed to answer a couple of nagging questions also.
For this load I started at 4.5 grains and ended at 6.5 grains, making 20 rounds at each level in .5 grain increments using my Hornady LnL progressive. I set my new (to me) RCBS lockout die at 4.5 grains, and wondered what sort of tolerance it has for load deviations. Turns out I didn't have to reset it at all for any changes in charge weight. Once I was done with the batch I tried 7.0 (it caught a bit, but let it go through) and 7.5 grains just to see. It finally jammed at 7.5 grains, relatively close to double the initial set point, but still sensitive enough to catch a double charge at that weight and powder. Good to know that on mouse fart load levels it may let a double charge slip through, but you should still feel a bit of increased resistance.
My second issue I resolved was wondering how much powder do I have left in the container? I have collected a few Hodgdon powders, most in 1 lb containers, and I finally remembered to weigh an empty one so I could determine exactly how much powder was remaining and do the math for how many rounds I could make out of it. If you're curious, an empty 1 lb Hodgdon can weighs 61 grams according to my semi-crappy Harbor Freight kitchen scale.
Now my new question...I've had my Frankford Arsenal tumbler setup for over a year now, but never bothered to try the polish that came with it. Tonight I finally tried it, and what caught my attention immediately upon opening it was that it smelled exactly like Gojo hand cleaner. It also feels like it has a similar, but not nearly as coarse, abrasive agent in it. It's thinner then Gojo, so if Gojo was used it could be cut with some water perhaps. Anybody try Gojo to polish their brass?
A quick price check shows the 4 oz bottle of FA polish is $5.69, a 16 oz bottle of Nu Finish is $11.38, and a 64 oz Gojo runs about $8. My main concern is possible wear or damage over time to dies from the abrasive residual that may still be on the cases. I also didn't see any real improvement compared to plain walnut, so I probably won't try the Gojo, just tossing it out there for the more adventurous but frugal to try. My brass smells like an orange grove now...dunno if that's a good thing yet.
Ah, the Zen of reloading...perhaps if I sit at the bench long enough, I'll solve all the problems of the world!
For this load I started at 4.5 grains and ended at 6.5 grains, making 20 rounds at each level in .5 grain increments using my Hornady LnL progressive. I set my new (to me) RCBS lockout die at 4.5 grains, and wondered what sort of tolerance it has for load deviations. Turns out I didn't have to reset it at all for any changes in charge weight. Once I was done with the batch I tried 7.0 (it caught a bit, but let it go through) and 7.5 grains just to see. It finally jammed at 7.5 grains, relatively close to double the initial set point, but still sensitive enough to catch a double charge at that weight and powder. Good to know that on mouse fart load levels it may let a double charge slip through, but you should still feel a bit of increased resistance.
My second issue I resolved was wondering how much powder do I have left in the container? I have collected a few Hodgdon powders, most in 1 lb containers, and I finally remembered to weigh an empty one so I could determine exactly how much powder was remaining and do the math for how many rounds I could make out of it. If you're curious, an empty 1 lb Hodgdon can weighs 61 grams according to my semi-crappy Harbor Freight kitchen scale.
Now my new question...I've had my Frankford Arsenal tumbler setup for over a year now, but never bothered to try the polish that came with it. Tonight I finally tried it, and what caught my attention immediately upon opening it was that it smelled exactly like Gojo hand cleaner. It also feels like it has a similar, but not nearly as coarse, abrasive agent in it. It's thinner then Gojo, so if Gojo was used it could be cut with some water perhaps. Anybody try Gojo to polish their brass?
A quick price check shows the 4 oz bottle of FA polish is $5.69, a 16 oz bottle of Nu Finish is $11.38, and a 64 oz Gojo runs about $8. My main concern is possible wear or damage over time to dies from the abrasive residual that may still be on the cases. I also didn't see any real improvement compared to plain walnut, so I probably won't try the Gojo, just tossing it out there for the more adventurous but frugal to try. My brass smells like an orange grove now...dunno if that's a good thing yet.
Ah, the Zen of reloading...perhaps if I sit at the bench long enough, I'll solve all the problems of the world!
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