Staging primer pockets

[fritoguy]

May be a dumb question but I have a bucket full of military brass that I can't prime. I have tried several ways to remove the crimp with no luck. Any suggestions on a primer pocket swagger for a Lee single stage press to make this brass work? Any advice would be helpful.

[jmort]

I use and like the CH4D swager. It uses standard dies holes like you Lee Press has. Only other options are the bench mounted tools from Dillon and RCBS, the press mounted "dies" from RCBS, or cutting the crimp.

[cainttype]

If your press uses standard 7/8x14 die threads RCBS makes a swaging set that will work.

[Ickisrulz]

I cut them out with a powered deburring tool. I find it easier if I am using mixed brass.

[Cowboy_Dan]

I use the RCBS tool on my Lee Challenger. Only problem is that the primer catch bin blocks the nock-off collar from landing flush on the press. I can live with it because it just knocks the brass off at an angle. Someday I think I will file some notches to solve it.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Just use a countersink in a cordless drill. Much faster and easier than actually swaging with any tool available.

I have them all. I use the drill.

Randy

[Kilroy08]

I tried the RCBS press mounted swage tool and didn't care much for it. I felt it was too slow and tedious.

I now have the CH4D tool a bit and I'm fairly pleased with it. Just make sure to set it up properly so you don't have the swage rod travel past where a primer pocket ends. That will end up tearing the rims off of cases.

[petroid]

Just use a countersink in a cordless drill. Much faster and easier than actually swaging with any tool available.

I have them all. I use the drill.

Randy

Easy, cheap, effective. Its what I do

[Garyshome]

Dillon super swage, it may be expensive but it works really well and very fast to swage primer pockets.

[farmerjim]

I cut them out with a powered deburring tool. I find it easier if I am using mixed brass.

+1
I chuck my RCBS deburing tool in my harbor freight mini lathe. It does about 20 per minute.

[JSnover]

I bought the Lyman hand-operated tools for tight/crimped primer pockets. A little tedious but I don't process a lot of milsurp brass.

[dragon813gt]

Dillon super swage, it may be expensive but it works really well and very fast to swage primer pockets.

This, I've had all the other ones and they were just a waste of money. Ripped to many case heads off w/ the press mounted variety. Should have bought the Dillon from the start. I don't like cutting the brass.

[alamogunr]

Are you sure it is a crimp? I bought some surplus military .45ACP brass several years ago and had a terrible time seating primers. It was a wonder that some of them didn't go off. Someone informed me that some of the military brass had smaller primer pockets than normal. Not small primer size but enough undersize to make priming an iffy thing. That brass now resides in my scrap brass bucket.

NOTE: It was also brittle and many necks split on firing first time. Made the decision to scrap easy.

[jmort]

"I've had all the other ones and they were just a waste of money."

The CH4D works just fine, never "ripped the head off" a single case. I don't doubt the Dillon Super Swage works great.

[jmorris]

The fastest manual method is the 1050 it will also load your ammunition while it swages. It's only draw back is price.

It swages on station #3 as part of the load process.


This is how fast it is.


There are also swage dies (top left) that fit in a SS or turret press that do a good job or the Dillon SS (on the right) as well as manual or hex shaped (for powder tools) cutters as well. Out of them I would pick the RCBS dies for a bucket full, if I didn't already have a few 1050's.

[jmort]

BTW, if you watch the video in my post #14, you can see how the CD4D die set-up blows the doors off the Dillon Super Swage speed-wise. I will never own a 1050 so that is not an option for me. Too each their own.

[williamwaco]

Just use a countersink in a cordless drill. Much faster and easier than actually swaging with any tool available.

I have them all. I use the drill.

Randy

ditto. If you dont have one a 3/8 inch drill bit works well too.

[mdi]

Put me in the "cut 'em out" group. I'm kinda a simple guy (lifelong machinist/mechanic) and on my first encounter with military brass crimps I immediately thought of a countersink. I grabbed a 60 degree high speed steel countersink and cut the crimp out of mebbe 150 cases. 13 years later and it still works great. Sometimes powered, sometimes by hand. And, never had a problem with "over chamfered" primer pockets (9mm, 45 ACP, 30-06, 7.62x51)...

K.I.S.S.

[jmort]

"K.I.S.S."

I guess we have different definitions of KISS. Cutting away material by hand or by power equipment, as opposed to using your press with a die that forms the material in less than a second. Take your pick, but using the CH4D dies is just as fast and simpler and requires little attention comparatively.

[country gent]

Have seen some that were 3 point stakes to crimp primers alog with the more standard ring crimp. The 3 point stake will want to chatter cutting it at the start. The ring crimp cuts evenly and isnt a big problem. There are reamers made to true primer pockets and a small radious, swagers for presses of various desighns and styles. Dedicated machines for swaging pockets. I watched one old timer use a center punch and hammer. He had a little stand made up and set case on it then the center punc in the pocket and a couple light taps. Crimpt was pushed back into place and a nice chamfer formed. Deburring tools chamfering or counter sinks a drill sharpened to desired angle, even dremil burrs with tapered nose work for this. I have used a 3/8" single cut 90* grinder burr and it made a very smooth nice cut and was quick. Cutting these a dull tool does better in brass cases, less chatter and or grab.