Frustration from freechex III

[500MAG]

Would you like me to post you a sample to try, if the coil you were using came from me it will be .008" x5/8" 3103 hh white painted one side, aluminium finish on the other.Roof flashing is too hard and it can vary in thickness this can cause the problems you are finding,but you can rest assured that charlie will respond very quickly to any problems you may have. ian

Already spoke to you by email this morning.
Thanks,
Charles

[xacex]

I just received my .224 die from Charlie and the first time I used it the checks stuck in the tube pretty tight. After freeing them I lubed the inside of the tube with Imperial sizing lube on a Q-tip and have not had any trouble since. I'm chalking it up to a new die with burrs etc. I'm using the .011 aluminum roll from Yonky and it's working fine.

I did have a lot of trouble getting the checks to stay on the bullet but have figured that out as well. I was not able to seat the check on the bullet by hand and now use my press to seat it firmly and squarely before running it through my .225 Lee sizing die check first. Can't hardly pry them off now.

Hmm, that seemed to work. Thanks! I have been seating them check first but I notice that the base is kind of rounded. I hope that wont affect accuracy with them dished like that.

[altheating]

I found that mica works best for me. I keep the inside of the die swabbed with mica. Keep any oil or silicone out of the die. I notice that I occasionally get a hanger if I put the strips in the wrong way. The die seems to like the strips fed into it with the curl up "I'm cutting them on a paper cutter". I think there must be a feathered edge on the strips that cause a aluminum smear on the edge of the die. I also lightly dust the pile of strips with mica. You will also notice that on the inside of the small portion of the die you will see a bit of accumulated aluminum right on the top inner edge. I use a piece of super fine sand paper to remove it about every 1000 checks or so. That seems to be my cause of the hangers in the tube. Like someone else said, if you don't see checks fall after punching out three or four STOP! get them out before they really plug the tube.

[uscra112]

At what point does the cost and aggravation of making your own gas checks outweigh the cost of buying them from a company that makes them by the million and can employ professional process control engineers to make them right? Even at $40/1000 I reckon them cheap compared to fussing with the problems y'all keep bringing up.

[lxk308]

Even at $40/1000 I reckon them cheap compared to fussing with the problems y'all keep bringing up.

Not really

[wool1]

Watching this thread with interest, I'm having the same problem.

[JeffinNZ]

I'd have to disagree. A FC III in a $25.00 arbor press can knock out 1500 GC's an hour easy. In my neck of the woods GC's are a ridiculous price (twice the amount you mention). A smart shooter could sit down, make 2000 checks, sell half of them and effectively shoot his for free.

[altheating]

It took a bit of learning, but now I'm cranking them out with out a hiccup. I'm up to 26,000 made so far. As far as cost I'm in it for $100. At $40 per thousand that's $1040. At that price I think I can live with a bit of learning aggravation. I cut all my strips with the sheet lying the same side down. feed the strips in the Freechex tool the same way with the curl up. Dust with mica and keep the inner tube lip clear of aluminum smear. One thing I notice is some guys are dumping them in a container that is positioned right under the die. I use a slide so I see exactly when a check hangs up. I know right then that the die needs a cleaning.

[lxk308]

My first try, I made over a thousand gas checks in no time with the FC III. I had a few hangups with the checks getting stuck in the tube but so what. I'm sure that making my next thousand gas checks will go smoother and faster. I figure that I'll be ahead money wise in no time rather than buying boxes of gas checks (when gas checks are back in stock).

[skeet1]

I clean and lubricate my FreeChex III with Frog Lube works very well. I think the aluminum flashing seems to be a little dirty and leaves residue in the tool. When this flashing is used up I will be getting my next material from Yonky. As far as the quality of the tool and the chex it turns out, I can't be more pleased.

Ken

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

At what point does the cost and aggravation of making your own gas checks outweigh the cost of buying them from a company that makes them by the million and can employ professional process control engineers to make them right? Even at $40/1000 I reckon them cheap compared to fussing with the problems y'all keep bringing up.

I load alot of calibers. The "point" of which you ask, for me is....a common caliber like 22 is a no brainer...I can make all I want for a lifetime...maybe sell or trade a few along the way. Now I load and shoot a few 25 cal rifles and 6.5 rifles...I will buy those checks... I may use 100 a year or so. ALSO, I have a couple of Patmarlins plain base Checkmakers for 41 and 44...no commercial check like those are available.
Jon

[sirgknight]

This was touched on in one of the replies and may not even be the cause of your problem. When I first got my tool I quickly discovered that I wasn't always quite holding the material all the way to back of the tool. This unattentiveness led to the check not being completely formed and left the check with a slightly pointed edge, sometimes barely noticeable, but just enough "out-of-round" to clog the tool. Once I learned to be careful to hold the material completely to the backside of the tool...walllahhh!!, each check dropped completely clear of the tool into my bin. Even then, there was virtually no material remaining on outside of the strip where the check was cut. Once you get the hang of how to hold the tool with your fingers the "flush" feel will come naturally. I've used the .008 brass, .014 aluminum, .010 copper and .016 copper without any problems.

[Roger Ronas]

possum, that material you got from me with the FCIII was from Yonky.
I sold you the stuff before I ran more than 3-4 checks and because of my eyesight decided it wasn't for me.
Charlie will fix you up if it goes that far.

HTH
Roger

[Swede44mag]

I make checks not because it is cheeper but because I don't have to depend on any company having them in stock and dont have to wait for the UPS truck.

[possom813]

possum, that material you got from me with the FCIII was from Yonky.
I sold you the stuff before I ran more than 3-4 checks and because of my eyesight decided it wasn't for me.
Charlie will fix you up if it goes that far.

HTH
Roger

Yonky and I chatted via pm, and I think I may have the problem solved, I just have to get the posterior out of the chair and build a tighter mount to keep the die at a perfect 90 degrees all the way around.

[500MAG]

I think the problem I was having was a combination of just about everything mentioned.
-Wrong material (roof flashing that was too springy)
-Wrong or too much lube
-poor mount
-impatience

I made a new mount, took me only about 15 minutes and changed my material to what Charlie recommended.

I measured and cut out a piece of wood from a 2x6 that fit right in my arbor press (4x4 & 1/2"). I drilled a hole 5/16 all the way through and then a 9/16 drilled a little less then 1/2" through to mount the tool. Works great allowing me to make sure the material is pushed all the way in to the back of the tool, like Sirgknight mentions.

[yonky]

I think the problem I was having was a combination of just about everything mentioned.
-Wrong material (roof flashing that was too springy)
-Wrong or too much lube
-poor mount
-impatience

I made a new mount, took me only about 15 minutes and changed my material to what Charlie recommended.

I measured and cut out a piece of wood from a 2x6 that fit right in my arbor press (4x4 & 1/2"). I drilled a hole 5/16 all the way through and then a 9/16 drilled a little less then 1/2" through to mount the tool. Works great allowing me to make sure the material is pushed all the way in to the back of the tool, like Sirgknight mentions.

Have you sorted out all the problems you were having?i found its a bit of trial and error,eventually you will find that everything drops into place, and away you go....

[500MAG]

Yeah, working great now and I placed my order from you.
Thanks

[chalder]

I am having problems with my Freechex3 nothing major and I email Charlie and to put it bluntly he was a male member. He told me to just send it back for a restocking fee and didn't even offer to replace. It wasn't like I was constantly bothering the guy just asked a couple of questions. Product is good customer service sucks!!!

[yonky]

I am having problems with my Freechex3 nothing major and I email Charlie and to put it bluntly he was a (edit). He told me to just send it back for a restocking fee and didn't even offer to replace. It wasn't like I was constantly bothering the guy just asked a couple of questions. Product is good customer service sucks!!!

Hey fella,Charlie is a first rate guy who will go out of his way to help anyone,i know your new to the forum but there's no excuse for using language like that either