The part where the primers fall though. Is rusting on mine. I noticed it when i was dumping the primer bottle. I steel wooled it and applied barricade to it. I have dies from the 70's that are not rusting.
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The part where the primers fall though. Is rusting on mine. I noticed it when i was dumping the primer bottle. I steel wooled it and applied barricade to it. I have dies from the 70's that are not rusting.
One round at a time.
Member of the NRA,GOA and FAOC. Gun clubs Zerby rod and gun club. Keystone Fish and Game Association.
Sorry, I have no problem with rust ever......one of the perks for living in New Mexico. But if I want green and mountain meadows I have to travel north for 45 minutes.
Last edited by GWS; 07-07-2020 at 11:11 AM.
I size boolits, deprime and size and also expand case mouths. I have had few troubles with mine once I learned to adjust it properly. I would agree about filling the tube feed with boolits, you could take the spring off the shuttle and just plunk them in the bushing by hand. Not bothered at all by the handle.
"If everyone is thinking the same thing it means someone is not thinking"
"A rat became the unit of currency"
Used it again today. First up was a gallon freezer bag full of RP 223 brass. No issues when it came to depriming. May have had a few primers hang up but there were hundreds of cases in the bag so it wasn’t a big deal.
Next up was swaging the primer pockets. Smooth sailing at first. And then the case inserter stared to hang up at the shell holder. Would push the handle down, case inserter would release the case and move about a case length back and stop. Took it apart, nothing apparent, wiped it down and put it back together. Did it initially on reassembly a few times but was fine from then on out. Had issues w/ case alignment from time to time. More on that to come.
After that batch was fixed up I switched over to process LC 7.62 brass. Pulled out a quart bag that was all LC 07. Adjusted the case inserter jaws for the larger case. But there was random weirdness. The jaws would close to much and the case would end up on top of the jaws. This would lead to a case flying as it was pryed out of the tube support. No rhyme or reason why it was doing this.
Switched it over for swaging the primer pockets. I really appreciate how simple and easy it is to setup. Tested a few cases to make sure I could insert a primer and all was good. W/in the first ten cases I had constant misalignment problems. But I was able to pinpoint, not fix, the issue.
The case inserter had very inconsistent drops. It wasn’t setting them over the swage rod. Here is what it looked like when it wasn’t far enough into the shell holder.
And here’s how it looked when it was set properly over the swage rod. You can see the “2” on the shell holder.
Because the case inserter is run by a spring it’s not consistent. I could take a case that wasn’t inserted far enough, remove it, run it through again and and it would be set properly. I’m chalking this one up to design limitations. W/ no hard physical connection between the case inserter and upper die carrier you are at the mercy of a spring. I’m going to say the alignment problems w/ 223 cases are caused by the same thing.
I finished up swaging all the 7.62 primer pockets in fairly short order. I would use the case inserter to push the cases in a little further if they came up short.
I don’t like adjusting the Dillon 600 and was going to order a second one so I could have one set for each type. Would have spent more time overall had I attempted to switchover one tonight. I think I’m going to order a second APP swage kit for the same reason. This way I can swap out in seconds instead of a few minutes.
I’m hoping I can get the case inserter to stroke fully every time. As well as getting the jaws to open and close consistently w/ 7.62 brass. Going to try F/L sizing the 5.56 brass w/ it. If it doesn’t work it doesn’t work. If it does it will be quicker since I only have to handle the case once. By then the WCT I ordered should arrive and I can see how well that works. Have everything else and the only part I have to figure out is timing for annealing.
The APP has saved me a quite a bit time w/ depriming alone. Don’t know if that makes up for time loss w/ swaging the primer pockets. But I’m happy w/ the purchase.
I may have to get me one of these.
Sounds like a challenge, could be fun.
Problem is more junk to take up room.
When mine does not position the case properly but is picking it up and exiting the case feeder smoothly it has always been the alignment of the shell holder , a dinged case head , or a short stroke on the handle.
The shell holder has to be just right to get smooth feeding.
Well the mailman delivered mine about 8:00 pm Monday night. I got it mounted, up and running today. I just got through de-capping Roughly 2000, 9 mm cases! The only issue I had is one of those sneaky little 380s managed to find its way in to the tubes instead of a 9 mm! Personally for the price I think it’s about the best thing since sliced bread. Tomorrow I got about 1000 ACP cases To de-cap
Long, Wide, Deep, and Without Hesitation!
Why would you swage RP 223 brass? They don't have a crimp.
I have been running the crap out of mine. I am figuring out how to make it work without mods. Sized bullets this weekend, small 358's. After adjusting the finger grip on the claw the press did not drop a single bullet at the start or end of the tube. The same adjustment also made 223 and 30 carbine work without dropping a single case. I have not tried to size 225 bullets yet, I suspect they may be a problem as they are so short. Those little fingers are the key to making it run right.
To try and work out kinks w/ the press. It’s not like it hurts to run them through. I was not able to set primers in some of them. And judging by feel when they were run on the swager the pockets were tight.Originally Posted by tomme boy
Except for the handle, my APP experience is exactly the same as the OP's. Both 223 and 308 have alignment issues. And the misalignment is not in the direction of the slider so it is entirely established by press and shellholder relationship.
The primer pocket swager does not put enough radius on the primer pocket for different types of crimps and I had a lot of trouble with seating primers.
It was quicker to ream the pockets with a chamfer mounted in a drill and then resize on my Rockchucker - and a lot less aggravating.
It did work well to resize 9mm brass. The only problem was that the breech lock bushing would loosen during resizing.
I contacted Lee and explained my problems and explained how I had followed their instructions to the letter. Andy at Lee blew me off and claimed my swaging misalignment was caused by running with the dies loose (Bull!!!) and told me to use a 1/2" wrench on the 9mm die body and "give it all I got" to keep it from loosening. (there is no 1/2" wrenching flat on their die body).
I think these cheap presses suffer from tolerance stacking. Some of us get the short end of the stick.
My work schedule was screwed up today so I was home by 11am. Gave me time to try full length sizing LC 5.56 brass. I had the press broken down and put away. I appreciate how quick it is to setup. Only took a few minutes.
Sprayed the cases w/ Dillon Case Lube and took off running.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/dragon813gt/x7610C
Had one issue that wasn’t press related. The rim on a case must of had a crack in it. Because it ripped out of the shell holder and stuck itself in the die. My youngest son saw me removing it and went and got his toy hammer. Now I have to worry about him getting up on the stool and hitting the die w/ his hammer
Press works perfectly for full length sizing LC 5.56 brass. I don’t shoot 308 in a high enough volume to warrant using this press. It seems like it has enough leverage to size them w/ relative ease. But I will use a single stage for that.
I need to find a way to get Slo-Mo movies off my phone that doesn’t involve a computer. Didn’t realize I was shooting in Slo-Mo. I had been hand feeding w/out the tube. When I put the tube on the clearance wasn’t high enough. Caught a case being pryed out and flying across the room. Quite amusing to watch
Nice video ! You have your press running smooth.
I did. Don’t know what happened but I had a lot of stuck cases. I’m not a fan of spray lubes for bottle neck cases and I’m going to blame it. I caused the issue to persist by not switching over to mink oil(lanolin) sooner. Once I did no more stuck cases. Now they’re in the tumbler to remove the lube. Still have a couple gallons to size and I might just break out a single stage. Don’t want mink oil all over the APP.
I have tried a few different lubes and they all stick in the Lee 223 fl die for me. I can take the same lubed brass and run it through the same die in my rcbs press and not get any stuck cases. Same way even with 9mm.
I am not using the APP for any case sizing at all. Not worth the headache. Swaging and bullet sizing it works great.
I lube my rifle cases with Hornady case lube, just the smallest amount in the palm of my hand and roll 7 or 8 cases thru my hand. That tiny dab will get a bunch of cases done and needs refreshed every 40 or 50 cases. I have run a couple thousand 9mm and 30 carbine and about a 1000 380 and mixed 223 thru mine since it came in. I have yet to stick a case. My 9mm die is Lee, my 380 is Hornady, my 223 and 30 carbine are RCBS. That sounds very frustrating and would drive me nuts! The main reason I picked mine up was to size PC bullets, but so far that is the process that has seen the least use.
Maybe clean your die inside with IPA? Is the die leaving any scratches on the case? Maybe a bit of brass buildup in a die, that will make them very sticky.
I have seen a few cases not go into the shell holder correctly, pulled them and checked them in normal shell holder and found the there was either a booger on the rim, ejector tried to take a bite or the case web was swollen and they did not want to work well in a normal shell holder. Those go to the junk bucket!
Bullet sizing. These were old and had age hardened and I was dropping the .002 inches.
https://youtu.be/Hd-HpZhBXNM
Some others that use the APP and other automated machines have trouble with LC brass. It seems the LC bras when they stamp the lettering in the case it isn't done as well as it could be. It often leaves high spots on the case head. This lifts the case enough so the rims rub on the shell holder. This extra resistance stops the cases a bit short of center.
When you runs the case through a second time it passes just fine, this is because the high spot is in a different place and doesn't lift the case as much.
One fellow keeps a piece of 400 grit sand paper so as he's inspecting cases he runs LC cases one pass on the paper to smooth off these high spots. He then has no feeding issues as far as the cases moving through the shell holder.
I have found the some 223 cases don't have the extractor groove cut evenly around the case. Using a Lee priming tool some cases don't fit in the shell holder, turn them a bit and they slide in.
On close inspection I found that the bottom of the groove can be out of round by a couple thou and be tight in the shell holder.
I haven't found this issue on the regular shell holders.
So perhaps a bit more case prep before you run them through your APP might clear up some of your issues.
On the cases I found tight in the priming tool shell holder, I gently clamped them in a cordless drill. I have a set of diamond coated jewelers files. I use one that fits the extractor groove. With the drill spinning the case I lightly run the file across the groove. This takes a bit out of the groove and allows them to go in/out of the shell holder.
I have a set of diamond bit that fit in my Dremel tool. I might try opening the shell holder a bit. This would take less time. I don't have much of the LC brass. Mostly range pick up.
I have plenty of other brand brass with out the hassle.
Some of the other brand brass does have crimped primer pockets. I think they do this because it can get shot out of AR type rifles. Don't want people complaining about primers falling out and jamming up the guns.
I shoot all my 223/5.56 ammo out of my bolt action rifle. Sp with that brass I have much l;ess trouble than that shot oiut of an AR type rifle.
No dents or dings to worry about.
Leo
I bought this to potentially save time. Not to add more steps to processing. If I have to do anything special I will go back to using one of the other presses I have. It’s not like LC brass is odd. You will find a lot of people using that brass specifically. I had the same issues w/ at least one other brand so far.
If it only works for depriming that’s okay. But at that point I may as well just use another press and size at the same time. A picky and finicky press is not a way to save time. It’s certainly priced accordingly.
I guess I enjoy the challenge of spending $75 for a press/case feeder and making it unpicky and unfinicky!
For pistol you can't not save time.....decapping and or debulging with a case feeder. Yes you can get out your progressive if it has a case feeder, and match it......but why take your progressive off line just to decap before you tumble when you don't have to....or to run brass through a Redding GrX die. No time saving in that.......
Last edited by GWS; 07-10-2020 at 06:03 PM.
The case feeder does not save any time w/out a collator. You have to account for filling tubes, which take time. I’m able to grab and insert a case while moving the handle up. There is no wasted time w/ this method and I can keep up w/ the press.
And you can certainly save time when loading pistol.....w/ the likes of a turret or progressive. Processing brass in a separate step is wasted time and effort. The only time I go to this length is when trimming revolver brass. But this is done one time. Otherwise dirty cases get tumbled and then loaded on a LCT or 550 in one shot.
I realize everyone has their own steps when it comes to loading. But when you’re talking efficiency, time, loading tubes and performing any process off press, or beforehand, is inefficient. For true efficiency you want to fill a powder hopper, load collators w/ primers/cases/bullets and pull the handle once for every loaded round. I was obviously not expecting the APP to be this type of press because it’s incapable. W/ more time to shoot and more room I would buy a 1050 or Mark 7 press and set them up w/ auto drives so I didn’t even have to pull the handle.
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