A few questions on my new reloading bench

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Lavid2002

New member
Hi guys....a few questions on my new reloading bench.
1)why wont my .223 case trimming gauge fit into my cutter? My .308 screws into it fine...but this one, the part that fits into the cutter and allows you to only go a certain ammount into the case wont screw into the cutter. It goes about half a turn, then stops-not abrubtly though...it increasingly gets tighter..what should I do?
2)Lee zip trim....how does it work? I put a case holder on it and slid a .223 casing onto it...the shellholder doesnt grasp it firmly, after a pull of the handle the case holder loosens and the case wobbles about...eventually falling out of the holder. How does this work? It looks like its threaded behind the shellholder...is there a part that fits here that locks the shellholder into place I left in the box or what?
3)Lee powder scale....My scale rubs against the sides...and it is hard to measure on sometimes..any tips for using it? Thanks for everything guys!
Dave
 
L

Lavid2002

New member
ok

2 problems solved, the case holder needs to be tightened...and I took a rag to a pair of plyers, held the case gauge and inseted til it stopped, screwed it out..repeat 50 times whilst watching fav. tv show
now it goes in all the way.. Great
Ill just buy lee dies anyways there not THAT expencive...and I have a bullet seater/crimper now If i ever need one : D Also, I can choose to buy a new decapping pin If i ever want one and I learned my lesson.
 
1

10-96

New member
Solution for your zip-trim: Put it way far back into the bottom of some obscure cabinet or drawer. Get the shellholder with the small nub on it and chuck it up into a small rechargeable variable speed drill. Use the forward/backward button to tighten and losen the shell into the shell holder. This will get it finger tight and will not damage the holder nor the brass. If your drill is light and you run through 10 or so- you'll notice it becomming easier.

Do you have the Lee Reamer/Chamfer doo-dad? Do away with that also and get the evil looking thing made by RCBS. I don't know, maybe I had a bad Lee doo-dad, but that darned thing dang near caused me to become all sorts of irrational and psychotic.

Not sure why your scale is misbehaving unless it's warped or something. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RELOAD UNTIL YOU'RE 100% SURE OF THE FUNCTIONALITY OF YOUR SCALE. If re-setting the beam into it's grooves and very minor tweeking does not help- then it's better to return it or destroy it. Do you have a trickler and a powder dump? Those things are absolutely fantastic to have. Set your dump a wee bit light and then set your trickler to the side of the powder pan and trickle it up to proper weight. For trickler- I like the Redding. It's heavier and tends to walk less. For my RCBS one, I loaded the bottom end with shot and sealed it with Form-a-gasket to seal in the shot.

Oh, and I've long since done away with the Lee Lube stuff- way too slow. I bought the RCBS Lube Pad and pump spray case lube to lube my cases with. I also got the blue Midway brand case neck lube/brush combo kit with the brushes and pure ground mica for dry-lubing the insides of the case necks. Twas a big help.
 
L

Lavid2002

New member
how much lube?

I lubed the CRAP out of a casing ant it got stuck...it says dont put any on the shoulder because it can dent the case....whats the deal? Do I lube the neck too? I was so shocked this casing got stuck. anyways....whats wrong with the lee chamfer/deburrer tool?Doesnt work?
Thanks!
dave
 
1

10-96

New member
Lavid- Did you lube the inside of the case neck? Which lube method are you using? I have the pad I mentioned. I squirt down the pad, lay 5 cases down side-by-side and roll them back and forth. Then I dip them into the ground mica. I've never had one stick since I've started doing this.

I don't know, maybe I got a bad Lee chamfer tool thingy- but I found the RCBS to require a whole lot less effort and time- it seems to have 3x the number of cutters.
 
L

Lavid2002

New member
alright

im on a tight bidget right now. 516 plus hazmat fees. 342 for reloading equipment plus s+h. Then I have my cleaning kit for my new rifle I have to order. Shellholder I forgot, expander decapping pin retainer and zip spindle for my .223 hornady die I broke. AHHHHHH So much money...shouldnt reloading SAVE you money?! haha
Ill buy the RCBS chamfer,deburrer tool when I get some money back.
 
1

10-96

New member
Yeah- let it wait. That's the beauty of reloading- being able to pick stuff up and upgrade as it fits YOU and YOUR needs. I've been reloading for nearly 10yrs now and I still chug along with my first Lee single stage and maybe half of it's original kit. It all gets the job done, but it's just human nature to look at a process or tool and wonder "What if this could be done better?" That's a good thing- else we'd still be chukking big rocks at critterrs.
 
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Incognito

New member
Replace the Zip-Trim with a drill (cordless) and chuck the shell holder in it; very effective.
1) Trim with Lee hand-held cutter/gauge.
2) Deburr/chamfer with Lee tool (it does work & only a little is needed)
3) Use #0000 fine steel wool to polish/remove lube.
4) Use clean cotton cloth to remove residue.

drill.jpg


casepol.jpg


My .223 case length gauge was really hard to seat into the cutter. Pliers and tape were used to tighten it down. I'm just going to leave it in there and buy a new cutter for my next caliber.

lube.jpg


I agree with 10-96 in that RCBS case lube pads along with using fine powdered mica inside the necks is also effective.

The Lee Powder scale I received with my Anniversary Kit (pre-breech lock) is very accurate, although somewhat slow (as are most beam scales). Nice thing about Lee dies is included shell holder.
 
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T

The Lovemaster

New member
One cool thing about the Lee rifle dies I have, the resizing die has a small hole at the top to allow excess lube to flow out of the die. Hopefully this removes all shoulder-denting issues. I haven't had any yet.

I use the Lee hand trimmer with my drill, it's a little tedious, but it works for small batches of brass. The Lee debur/chamfer tool works great too, especially for the $2 I paid for it.
 
L

Lavid2002

New member
Just dont get it....

Whats up with the steel wool for polishing brass? O thought that was Mr.Case tumblers job? Shouldnt it already be polished?
 
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Incognito

New member
Steel Wool

Whats up with the steel wool for polishing brass? O thought that was Mr.Case tumblers job? Shouldnt it already be polished?
Click to expand...

So far I've been tumbling my brass for two hours after I've decaped the crimped primers (I'm using once fired LC) with a LEE decaper. This gets the the cases clean enough (not polished) for resizing. When the cases are resized, the decaper pops out those stuborn pieces of walnut stuck in the flash hole (so I'm not too eager to throw them back in the walnut ;)). After the case is trimmed and debured you simply make a pass with the steel wool, followed with a cotton cloth (old shirt) which not only gives them a nice finish, but removes all the lube as well. The cases are at this point ready to reload.

This method works very well at removing anealing discoloration. Obviously, if I tumbled the brass for considerably longer I could get the same result as using the "wool" ,but for the meantime I'm happy with this method :).
 
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