41 cal Plain Base checkmaker

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

My Patmarlin 41 cal. PB checkmaker arrived today :holysheep
SO I gave it a go !

first I cast up some NOE 41 cal. Keith 210gr. HP with a soft alloy.
I used some range scrap that's about 8 BHN according to my Lee tester.
My plan is to use a real soft alloy, then have a gas check installed so
I can drive it much faster/hotter (for MAX expansion) then I normally
could with that alloy in a plain based boolit.
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/NOE41KeithHP.jpg

I set up my LCC press on the stand...so I could stand. It seemed a natural
for cutting disks, since I'm always leaning over and upward to see inside
the top of the cutter die to allign the strip of alum. above the cutter.

edited:
I had a member contact me on my experience cutting the disks,
asking if I had an issue with the Punch "grabbing" the popcan strip.

as you could see, I used .004" coke can material.
yes the punch does grab the popcan strip somewhat.
While, I did NOT polish the the punch, I did use a q-tip to
apply a light coat of gun oil on the punch as well as the inside of the die
in the area of the slot. I repeat this q-tip/oil treatment
every couple of alum strips (about 20 disks punched).
That seemed to help alot. I learned that from my
other patmarlin checkmakers (30 cal and 35 cal)
AND yes this larger size does grab the thin popcan
strip more than my others.

I did figure out another little trick.
when lowering the ram/punch (this is when it grabs the strip).
I jiggle the press handle quickly as it lowers the punch,
quickly enough so it's almost vibrating.

I really only had a hard time with the grabing on the
first and second punch of the strip. Out of the 10 strips
I punched, I had 3 where I had to jank out the strip on
the second punch, trim in with scissors and start again.

ALSO, after the punch has been lowered, I pull the strip back
about 1/4" and bump it with the punch to straighten the front end out,
then I push the strip ahead that 1/4" plus another 1/4" and
bump it again to straighten the back end out.
Then it's near perfect and the strip slides anyway I want.
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/punchingdisks.jpg

forming the checks is the easiest part of making the checks
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/formingdisks.jpg

after I sized/crimped a few,
I learned quickly, if I wasn't careful, they'd go on crooked.
I chose to chamfer the top of my .411 lyman lubesizer die.
That made it simple and trouble free to insert the checked boolit.
Once that was done, crimping/sizing/lubing was as simple as sizing/lubing
plain base boolits without a check.
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/checkinstalled.jpg

[fcvan]

I've gotten to where I'm punching soda (ok, beer) cans with much less hassle. I started cutting the top and bottom off of the can without cutting down the side. I squash the can down flat and cut into strips with a Harbor Freight paper cutter. Cutting double layer seems to work better and twice as fast. I lubed the punch with a little BAC boolit lube and the strips don't hang up. I'm really digging plain based checks!

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

@fcvan, thanks for the hint. I got alot of cans already cut, when I cut more, I'll try that.
===============================================

Day 2:
Playing with this 41 PB die.

I set out to solve this "grabbing" issue while cutting disks.
The side of Cutter/Ram (where the freshly cut popcan strips rub/grab against)
does have some machining lines, that seems to be the obvious problem.

I put some protective tape on the cutter edge and down the side about 3/8"
then I chucked the Cutter/Ram into my drill press and smoothed out the
machining lines with a "Very fine" 3M scotch-brite abrasive pad.
Then I polished that same area with my tabletop grinder/buffer using red rouge
on the cotton buffing wheel.

This made all the difference in the world.
you can see in the photo's how straight the punched popcan strips are.
they were getting pulled and wrinkled before.

btw, the polished area is like a mirror finish. It took me a minute to
figure out why the photo of that area looked burnished. That is the
reflection of the light coming through the window and old dingy
yellow/brown window shade, which is pulled down halfway.
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/fullview-2.jpg

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/closeup-2.jpg

[LeadBrain]

Thanks for the review and hints. I have one that I haven't had out of the package yet but will hopefully soon. Your info should make it a little less trouble some.