Digital Photography Feedback

[Tar Heel]

I was amazed to discover, after a friend loaned me his 20meg digital camera and I took a Macro shot of some of my hand loads, that the perfect loads I had assembled were not as perfect as these 56 years old eyes had seen them to be.

Beg, borrow or buy a digital camera and snap some shots of your loads. You may be amazed at what the camera lens will show you.

For example, I could have seated the bullet on the left a tad bit deeper. The bullet on the right has too much crimp on it. WOW. This is VERY HARD to see under normal circumstances but the camera lens picked it up great. Attached is a DOWNSIZED image. You should see the regular picture!

[kelbro]

That's why I keep the lights over the bathroom mirror not quite so bright

[btroj]

I figure that if it doesn't show up on paper it doesn't matter.
As for looking up close, a magnifying glass would work well also. I just look with the naked eye and trust years of experience and feel to get it right.

Nice photos.

[Sonnypie]

Can I solder this and still use it?



One day you will be like the rest of us....



(I really do like having a magnifying visor for a back up though.)
With 1.75's, and 2.25 visor, then the articulated magnifying light...
Well, I can see up a gnats butt.

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

sonnypie,

don't worry about soldering that case, although that might work.?.?

Just put a starter load of about 25gr of Bullseye below your regular powder charge and that will seal the brass to the chamber wall real quick like and those gaps should be no trouble at all.

Plus a couple loads with the Bullseye starter and you'll have enough brass flow forward to more'in likely be able to trim off the defects.

Kind of a win/win thing here.

Keep em coming!

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[303Guy]

Great pics. Those boolits sure do look good. Some of my reasonable looking boolits look awful under the lens. I've lucky in that I still have good eyes but I do need reading glasses and good light.

Now, about that interesting case there, what in tarnation caused that?

[Sonnypie]

sonnypie,

don't worry about soldering that case, although that might work.?.?

Just put a starter load of about 25gr of Bullseye below your regular powder charge and that will seal the brass to the chamber wall real quick like and those gaps should be no trouble at all.

Plus a couple loads with the Bullseye starter and you'll have enough brass flow forward to more'in likely be able to trim off the defects.

Kind of a win/win thing here.

Keep em coming!

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

I'll take that under advisement.
But alas, I have already thrown those cleaned up range finds away.
They were the cruddiest, most useless examples of disgusting brass I could find to test the new tumbler on it's break in run.

303guy,
Just some really bad looking, stuck in the mud cases that were so severely tarnished that hole didn't actually show until the stainless steel tumbler cleaned the crud away. The cases were actually black.
Below the hole there is pitting as well. No telling how many years, nor how the corrosion became to reducing the brass back to minerals.

[leadman]

Paper patching works on boolits. Won't it do the same for cases?? LOL

[WilNsc]

I use one of those desk mounted swinging magnafying lenses. Similar result, there's alot you think you see but don't see.

[tommygirlMT]

Good idea --- for me my man has 20/15 vision (that would be as in better then 20/20) --- so I have him check my loads for stuff I cant see sometimes --- I think that is why he is such a perfectionist --- he sees flaws the rest of us dont

I do believe that the digital camera option though in some cases would be better --- doesnt come with the potential ego friction issues

[Crawdaddy]

Sonnypie- no you cant solder it. It must be brazed. After brazing you will be able to double your powder charges.

[UtopiaTexasG19]

Use a band aid on that case followed with some super glue!

[W.R.Buchanan]

I work everyday under an optivisor. You can't work on what you can't see.

Well you can,,,It just looks like Ship when you get done!

Tar Heel: Those loaded boolits are nearly perfect. Your crimp is just about perfect, The boolits are seated about .010 too deep and as a result you get that small reverse lip just under the top of the crimp groove.

If you seated the boolit just a hair out further the crimp die would roll the case right down into the crimp groove and there would be no lip on the top end of the case and you would clearly see the top edge of the crimp groove above the case .

I tried to take a pic of one of mine I have on my desk but my Cannon S110 2.1 MP camera doesn't have enough resolution even in macro mode to clearly show it.

Just do what I said above and you'll see what I'm talking about. I found this out loading jacketed bullets, you crimp over the bottom edge of the cannelure not the top edge.

Randy

[MtGun44]

Thank goodness I am a bit nearsighted. I can take my glasses off and use plain safety
glasses or look under my glasses and still see nearly like I could as a teen up close. Need
good light, tho.

I use a head mounted 10X magnifier, similar to the one pictured, to do trigger work, and
then I use even more power for final inspection on sear noses and hammer hooks.

Another thing to try is to go to the drugstore and play around in their cheapo reading glasses
section. If you normally use a +1.5 set, try a +3 or 3.5 set. You will have to hold things closer
than would be comfortable for reading, but you will see it a lot better close up like that. If you
get the half glasses style you can look over them for normal and only use the stronger power
for really close inspection.

Bill

[williamwaco]

Paper patching works on boolits. Won't it do the same for cases?? LOL

Paper is not stout enough. Around here we use "duck" tape.





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[Tar Heel]

I work everyday under an optivisor. You can't work on what you can't see.

Well you can,,,It just looks like Ship when you get done!

Tar Heel: Those loaded boolits are nearly perfect. Your crimp is just about perfect, The boolits are seated about .010 too deep and as a result you get that small reverse lip just under the top of the crimp groove.

If you seated the boolit just a hair out further the crimp die would roll the case right down into the crimp groove and there would be no lip on the top end of the case and you would clearly see the top edge of the crimp groove above the case .

I tried to take a pic of one of mine I have on my desk but my Cannon S110 2.1 MP camera doesn't have enough resolution even in macro mode to clearly show it.

Just do what I said above and you'll see what I'm talking about. I found this out loading jacketed bullets, you crimp over the bottom edge of the cannelure not the top edge.

Randy

Thanks Randy and thanks to all of you for the replies. I think that case was a result of mixing thrice fired brass with new brass and adjusting the die with the new (shorter) brass. Will review my brass anyway and ensure all is trimmed accordingly. I will then back out that crimp or bullet a tad if need be. The throat in this cartridge really determines seating depth so I have very little wiggle room to play with. Frankly, since these are for a T/C Contender, I don't need a crimp anyway.

Having loaded for a Casull for 20 years, I am used to a crimp that looks almost like that. The original RCBS loading dies have that special "Casull Crimp" in them that gives you a ring at the top of the cartridge.

My original "macro" shots taken at 2 megapixels and at 8" from the cartridge are so lame looking now.....

[Olevern]

There are some really talented photographers here. It's amazing what a good camera and a little skill can produce. I got the good camera, maybe someday....

[Tar Heel]

OK....that's it...no more pictures. Sure looks like ear wax!

[Tar Heel]

There are some really talented photographers here. It's amazing what a good camera and a little skill can produce. I got the good camera, maybe someday....

Yup...the wife won't let me shoot <guns> in the house so the digital camera it is!

[303Guy]

I've got 20/20 hindsight! I use stronger drugstore reading glasses for lathe work and soldering those tiny little electronic thingies. I need half glasses with the bottom half missing so I can see what I'm tripping over! Going up or down stairs is the worst when looking over the top of my readers.