Spin polishing reloads using a modified shell holder

[Darth Jäger]

Modified shell holder






The primer drop thru hole happens to be 5/16" which is the drill diameter for a 3/8-16 thread.
I also counter sunk the bolt end to clear the live primer while being held so the clamping pressure is on the head stamp part only. Also, as you can see I milled 3 flats on the shank for chuck jaws using the hex head
in a vise before I hack sawed it off. The flats aren't necessary, but it was easy enough having a mill to do it with.

I spin rounds wiping them w/ the scotch-brite to make 'em bright before dusting them with Mohawk lacquer
for brass, this keeps 'em showroom shiney for years to come, if your saving them for future hunts.

Now, here's where it gets real interesting . . . . .

Does spinning live ammo like that on a drill effect the powder & performance of the round?

My answer is yes, in a good way! After testing at both 100 & 200 yards compared to Not spun ammo from the same lot (10 rounds vs 10 rounds made as a lot of 20)
I did the test using CFE-223 in .223 & H4895 in .308
Ball powder groups were noticeably smaller (1/4-3/8") while stick powder groups were a little smaller.
The results were the same after testing 3 different times / 3 different lots. I'm very pleased with this.

[Nueces]

Nice work! This answers my idle question about shellholder hardness versus a tap. Your idea could also be useful for lathe work on empty cases, for which I would plan a clamp bolt with a primer pocket size stub, to center the case.

[dverna]

What a neat idea. I would have no use for it (shinny clean) but I appreciate the thought and execution.

Now, the reduced group size is interesting and unexpected. Just a question...Is that with brass that had been coated with lacquer? Might want to try doing the accuracy test with spun and uncoated and also with not spun but coated. It may tell you more.

Is the accuracy improvement due to spinning and cleaning, or a slightly "fatter" case coated with lacquer, or a combination of both?

[Drm50]

Some one sells those I have two of them. Don’t know make got in misc. at sale one time. Were in
Packages new when I got them.

[Darth Jäger]

Nice work! This answers my idle question about shellholder hardness versus a tap. Your idea could also be useful for lathe work on empty cases, for which I would plan a clamp bolt with a primer pocket size stub, to center the case.

Never be afraid to think outside the box right? I put them in my lathe chuck and using the tail stock, ran a standard HSS cut tap right thru, with a little cutting oil of course. I too wasn't sure if they were heat treated or not, but not one bit of trouble, worked like a charm.

[redhawk0]

Very slick...and the shell holder can still be used in the press...nice work.

redhawk

[Darth Jäger]

Now, the reduced group size is interesting and unexpected. Just a question...Is that with brass that had been coated with lacquer? Might want to try doing the accuracy test with spun and uncoated and also with not spun but coated. It may tell you more.

Is the accuracy improvement due to spinning and cleaning, or a slightly "fatter" case coated with lacquer, or a combination of both?

I appreciate your interest. I thought maybe the lacquer played a role but I don't think it did b/c I just dust them with it once real fast, I mean to where you'd think you didn't put any on. I body size my cases using a Redding competition shell holder that just bumps them down .001-.002 to fit. I don't believe they're any "fatter" because they would jam if they were, but I understand where your coming from. I've read about people's fresh reloads as compared to ones rattling around during transporting and such getting better results with the latter. So I'm leaning that way, however I do need to do the accuracy test you suggested to know 100% - thanks for pointing that out.

[sparky45]

Lee makes that setup for their trimmer.

[Darth Jäger]

Lee makes that setup for their trimmer.

I didn't know that, thanks, but after looking at it online, I'm still happy with mine. I load for 9 different calibers and tapped their shell holders and use just that one arbor for all of them. Money spent = zero. I'm a machinist by trade, so if I can make it out of bar stock or modify something by machining it to meet my needs, I feel good.

[MUSTANG]

Lee makes that setup for their trimmer.

Darth Yaeger; like your machine work.

Been using the Lee Lock Stud Case Holder since the early 1980's to polish out major stain from Range Pick up Brass using 000 or 0000 steel wool; then tumble with other brass. Also used it for decades to trim brass with the appropriate stud/cutter.

Attachment 269862



I also used in the 1980's what was referred to as a "Case Spinner"; it was a steel stud that fit into a drill and one would insert it into the mouth of the rifle case and it would "Spin" the case while you polished the case with steel wool, or cloth and Brasso in the other hand. Tried several and they sort of worked; but no where near as easily as the Lee product - so I gave up on them and they are deeply buried in an ammo can of rejected reloading equipment somewhere in my reloading shed.

[Omega]

Good work there, I wish I had the equipment to do my own, I would make all these little tools too. But as it is I have to look for stuff on the market already, and usually when I have already finished the job I go looking for tools for. When I decided to convert 1k LC 5.56 cases, I used the Lee hand trimmers to trim the cases. The individual case holders that come with the trimmer work ok, but it's heck on the hands. I then found the wooden ball for the trimmer, and this universal chuck, went and got it and did another 1k cases just to make sure it was worth it. Now, I have these and use them for things like this; I use the Lee 3-jaw chuck to polish individual cases like that, mostly old bullets I aquire, or that I left in the bed of the truck for too long

https://www.amazon.com/LEE-PRECISION.../dp/B000N8MZ5C


https://www.amazon.com/LEE-PRECISION.../dp/B00162UHEA

[Darth Jäger]

Darth Yaeger; like your machine work.

Good work there, I wish I had the equipment to do my own, I would make all these little tools too.

Thanks guys, and thank you for contributing. Now anybody looking at this thread will see many options for locking cases in a drill chuck.
Exactly what I was looking for years ago before I did the tap thru the shell holder thing.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Like the Lee Trimmer, I think they came out in the 80's. The Lee is very accurate and gives more accurate case length than all but the L E Wilson. The Lee doesn't adjust but does work very well. I used the Lee Trimmer as power trimmer chucked up in my lathe.

[Conditor22]

yes that a reloading die lock ring and a lee trimmer die shell holder

[MarkW]

The best way I've found to use the Lee case trimmer is to chuck the cutter and pilot in a drill press (I have a lathe too but drill press works fine) and then hold the case with the holder and lock stud installed in your hand while you press it into the cutter blades. This way you don't have to stop the cutter and it only takes a couple seconds to put a new case into the shell holder. This is for trimming of course and not polishing but thought it relevant to this thread.

[dtknowles]

I have spun polished brass and ammo for years. At first I just chucked them in the drill. That did not work for rimmed stuff but for rimmed cases I put a bore brush in the drill and just push the cases onto the bore brush and it held well enough to polish cases. As a extra benefit I could use the bore brush to clean the inside of the cases too. I polished hundreds of rounds of 30-06 that were under water during Katrina by chucking them in a drill. I have a couple Lee Case holders/trimmers now. Not really any easier than just chucking them in the drill except you can polish closer to the case head. When I did the 30-06's I did them head first and then flipped them.

I don't have a lathe but I do have taps. I could tap a few shell holders and cut the heads off bolts to make something like that.

You are an inspiration and you tool looks nice.

Tim

[robg]

i use the lee trimmer.to keep cases in better i found a bottle cap that fitted tight over the shell holder and drilled o hole in it to fit the cartridge case .put case in holder slide cap over the case and on to shell holder hold it central and you can polish the case with a cloth without it coming loose and falling out.