Pat Marlin check maker

I recently got back into casting boolits for my 44 mag. I have pat's check maker and the Free check's The free checks works good but is hard on my hands. I like Pat's but it keeps jamming up when you try to pull the disk cutter back down in the die. I've gone through a few set screws that hold it in the holder. Im using coil and foil aluminum material. Seems like its building up aluminum material from cutting in the die wall making it a real tight fit. I clean it and it works for about 5-10 disks and starts to jam up again. I tried turning the die to find the sweet spot and it works for a few and jams up again. It jams after the disk is cut and you are trying to lower the cutter so you can slide the material to cut the next disk. I like the check maker but it is a real pain to use. It makes really nice gas checks. Any one having this problem using the same check maker?

All I can say is they don't all do that. I have the .357 and the .30 cal and they work flawlessly.

Call or message Pat. He's a great guy to work with, and he'll take care of 'ya!

Are you lubing your die? Some on here put lube on the side of the material to be cut. I just smear a little lanolin on the edges of the punch when it sticks out of the top of the die body. I do this every few discs. Prevents Al buildup.

I had the 41PB and 44PB Patmarlin checkmakers.
I was using popcan metal.
I would lube a Q-tip with Sprue plate lube (Synth 2 cycle oil) and I would circle the q-tip inside the outer die cutter area every strip (about 12 disks), it would lube the die and clean the debris out in the same motion. It's a little bit of a pain, but once you develop a system, it becomes automatic.

Also, I polished the sides of the cutter post, mine had some minor machining lines in it, after it was polished, it would slide back through the material better ( the action that you described your jamming issue)...BUT be extra careful to NOT polish the cutting edge.

I have one and is just like the op's. Mine likes the shelf it lays on.
Thank you
16s

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JonB_in_Glencoe

I had the 41PB and 44PB Patmarlin checkmakers.
I was using popcan metal.
I would lube a Q-tip with Sprue plate lube (Synth 2 cycle oil) and I would circle the q-tip inside the outer die cutter area every strip (about 12 disks), it would lube the die and clean the debris out in the same motion. It's a little bit of a pain, but once you develop a system, it becomes automatic.

Also, I polished the sides of the cutter post, mine had some minor machining lines in it, after it was polished, it would slide back through the material better ( the action that you described your jamming issue)...BUT be extra careful to NOT polish the cutting edge.

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Lube it. I started using sprue lube and all is good.

I tend to put a drop of 2 cycle oil on top of the cutter every once in awhile, seems to make it work better.

Well guys i cleaned up the check maker and put a little 2 cycle oil on the cutter and so far it seems to have made a night and day difference. I didn't think this tool was in need of lube. So far so good.
1616s16 you should revisit your check maker. The lube really made it work for me. Thanks for the help guys.

Just punched another 100+ discs to double check and its flawless. A little dab of 2 cycle oil will do ya.

Something else that my help. You can easily lube the strips with Jhonson's paste wax. I usually lube only one side but both sides are good too. It goes on very thin and isn't sticky. Just swipe a small cloth into the wax and swipe the strip with it. I use the strip right away before it dries
n.h.schmidt

I ended up selling my PM and making my own. ;)

I use my BP lube (Beeswax and olive oil) Clean and lube at first sign of sticking. Gp

I have the Pat Marlins Check Maker. I was having problems and contacted Pat. He was extremely helpful and even replaced one 30 caliber maker that wouldn't seem to perform, (made it past quality control, it happens).
For the sticking problem, I discovered a slight bit of my home made case spray lube or dab a bit of Ed's Red on a 1/8th sheet of the blue paper shop towel, folded around the alum. strip and pulled through to apply a LIGHT coat of lube to both sides of the material I'm punching, serves two purposes. One, makes cutting seem easier and two, forming the cup is easier also and they don't seem to hang up. Occasionally, about every 20 to 25 strips, mine are 9.5 inches long, I use a q-tip with a slight bit of Ed's Red to swab out and wipe down the punch rod and the die body. I've found this maintenance step makes for a smoother session, besides makes a good break time to refill the coffee cup.

Hi Lead Chucker,

Your dies have a problem and I can correct them. Please send your dies back and I will rebuild them or send you a new set and get them working properly.

Just the nature of the beast- sometimes some bad parts or a strange combination of issues cause problems. Like, for instance... I just found a tool moved mysteriously on one of my CNC machines this week causing my FEM dies to fit to tight in the ram. Never had that happen in 10 years.

Stuff happens that's why I have always taken care of any issues like this. Just shoot me and email and I will send you return instructions.

If I don't know about the problem, I can't fix it.

Warmest regards and keep your powder dry!

Pat

Also...

Would like to add, sometimes the metals you use make all of the difference. Some metals just are not suitable for forming gas checks. As always experiment and try before you buy large quantities. After all, you are manufacturing your own product basically.

More tips on operation on my website in the "Learning Pages" and "Frequent Questions."