Been confined to a chair for the last 6 weeks from hip revision surgery, had to break everything to take old hardware out. Decided to make lemonade out of lemons, so I've been trimming a big batch of 5.56 milsurp brass I bought a few years back.
I have the simple LEE cutter with lock stud and a drill. It originally micced a bit long, so I used emery cloth to take a couple thousandths off the pin to get it to exactly 1.750. Have gone through a bit over 4,000 cases now. Have checked periodically, and all was well, until this last batch of brass. All of a sudden I'm reading 1.745
I would have thought that pin you screw into the cutter would have been pretty hardened and wouldn't wear down quite this fast. Has anyone else experienced this? I'll not toss them, this is the first loading from 1x. I think I'll just segregate them so I won't fight cannelure placement.
So, I'm still thinkin', yeah, I know, it's addicting. I micced my Lyman case guage. From the two lower recessed cuts in the ends of the guage, my electronic mic now reads 1.745 +/-. I thought it was supposed to be 1.750. Now thinkin' my mic is off. When cases fall in case guage, the case mouth is perfectly flush with the end of the guage.
I've got a real micrometer downstairs in my playroom, but is inaccessible to me at the moment, and the wife unit wouldn't know what to look for, but I'm thinkin' I'm OK to keep this trimming operation going, as guage shows proper length. Me thinks I need a new electronic micrometer.
Your thoughts welcome