Problems

[Tom W.]

I was going to punch a few .45 cal gas checks with my FreeChex II ( I think) and failed miserably. I haven't used it in many years due to the fact that I had gotten a great deal on Hornady checks that a fellow didn't want. The aluminum was .009 and should have made at least one useable check.
Anyone out there have the paperwork that came with the FreeChex maker? I believe the heat treated end is the end that does the punching, and I tried the bottom part both what I thought was right side up and wrong side up, just in case. Either way it didn't do. The last time I used it was about ten years ago and used doubled over Pepsi cans and made excellent checks, but alas, my mind seems to be missing a cylinder or two.....

[Sagebrush7]

Charlie makes them with enough room to handle .013 - .015 thick material. Too thin and the Frechex tools will make turtles!

[Tom W.]

I finally got a google and saw what I was doing wrong. I just returned from the shed and did it like I was supposed to, and it did just fine. I had forgotten the pressure it took to do the first step, in addition to having all three pieces together at once...When you have a toy that you haven't played with in a while and you get as old as I have gotten you tend to forget.....

I have taken a Pepsi can and folded it once and made some very good checks years ago.....

[Yooper003]

And speaking of problems, I am new to GC, but have a mold for .308 that uses them. I purchased 1000 Hornady checks and proceeded. I am using a .309 Lee die to install. Was reading here where a person was having trouble installing some al checks & the answer was to put them through backwards, ( check first) makes sense. So , I wanted to see how that worked with my Hornady checks, first couple worked ok, little more force needed, next one wouldn't go,tried to punch back out, no go,had to drill it out to remove, won't try that again.

[Sig556r]

And speaking of problems, I am new to GC, but have a mold for .308 that uses them. I purchased 1000 Hornady checks and proceeded. I am using a .309 Lee die to install. Was reading here where a person was having trouble installing some al checks & the answer was to put them through backwards, ( check first) makes sense. So , I wanted to see how that worked with my Hornady checks, first couple worked ok, little more force needed, next one wouldn't go,tried to punch back out, no go,had to drill it out to remove, won't try that again.

If your CBs got gas check groove, you should be fine sizing upright in a Lee sizer, for plain base FP, you're better off upside down. Make sure to lube liberally.

[robg]

I use Lee push through sizers to fit gas checks 223/308/357 never had a problem nose first seating gas checks .if I don't want to size boolits I use a sizer with its pusher in and use another pusher and use the the press to push check on .

[parkerhale1200]

.009 is to thin, go with .013, works for me.

[Tom W.]

I finally bought an RCBS sizing die .309. It puts those checks on just fine. All of the 30 caliber pistols or rifles that I have or had, were single shots, so using the lee die wasn't a problem. But now I can see that nice red lube from WLL on my .30 cal boolits and they are not near as messy, nor do they start seating a bit deeper as I load. Of course, that's my fault for overly T/L the things and not always paying close attention....