Distractions...

[fatelk]

So stupid... We all know not to reload while distracted, how dangerous that can be. The same holds for tinkering and anything else. I feel stupid. At least what I did wasn't dangerous; I just turned a useful tool into scrap metal.

I've gone to powder coating and push-through sizers, and getting away completely from lube-sizing. I have Lee sizers for most calibers I load, except a couple. I'm really cheap and have just been picking them up when I find them cheap. I need one for Makarov bullets, but Lee doesn't make a .366" sizer. I found a cheap used .357" one at a show a couple days ago, and have been carefully honing it out with a rod and sandpaper.

I've had some very frustrating, discouraging days at work lately, and that's been on my mind a lot. My mind was wandering as I patiently rolled the sizer back and forth, stopping to measure every so often. Finally it was about a half-thousandth from where I wanted it, so I switched sandpaper to 600 grit to finish it.

Only I inadvertently used 320 grit, a nice fresh, sharp piece. I sat there rolling it back and forth, thinking about all my troubles, forgetting to even stop and measure. Now I have a very nice, polished, push-through sizer that measures a very concentric .3685".

Oh well. I spent a lot of time making a piece of scrap. At least it didn't cost much. I think I bruised my ego more than anything. I like to think I'm very careful and precise maybe not so much. :/

[poppy42]

Lee will make any size you want for about $35.00. I shoot both a Makarov and a Polish P64 and all my boolets are sized to .363 and my accuracy is great and no leading in either gun. If your using a Lee Makarov mold it has a lube groove and should be sized with a lubesizer like a Lyman 45,450,or 4500. I found tumble lubeing doesn’t work as well in my guns chambered for 9x18. You should check out the Makarov forum (Makarov.com) and the p64 forum (p64resource.com) they have a Plethora of information on all guns chambered for the 9x18 cartridge. I hope you find some of this information useful. Good luck
Poppy42

[BNE]

Yeah, work can get to you. My last stupid mistake resulted I getting a truck door screwed up.

[fatelk]

Yeah, I know I can buy a custom sizer. I'm just cheap, and not in a hurry. I've had this Lee Makarov mold for a number of years, used it a lot, thousands of bullets. I tumble lubed, then pan lubed them before I bought a custom .366" sizer for my Lyman 450 from Buckshot. I still run them through the 450 (dry) after powder coating, but that's so slow, and I'm about ready to get rid of the very last of all my lube-sizer stuff. They've always shot well no matter how I lubed them. Tumble lubing was the least effective method, though. I recall some leading from that.

I'll find another cheap die to modify, or maybe eventually I'll just break down and buy a custom one. I'm not in a hurry, it's really no big deal. It was just a simple project to tinker with, not really about the cost, other than that I'm cheap and not in a hurry. More than anything I just felt stupid.

Work has really got me down, in a bad way. The actual job and local crew are fine, but the company is another matter. I guess I need to stop feeling sorry for myself and get some focus before I screw anything else up.

[Land Owner]

Your brain "checks out" for just a second and disaster strikes. Don't we all know it!

How do we foresee these instances? We cannot. Call it "Karma". Call it "payback". Call it "penance". Call it "if it was not for bad luck we'd have no luck at all".

Best to dodge bullets rather than to take one squarely in the chest. Call it a "wake up". Just don't do it again.

[beemer]

We all get distracted, I'am glad it's not something more painful and personal. It happens and I have the scars to prove it. I have tried some things that didn't work as well but sometimes it did.

I understand how work can be, I've worked with some great people at a company owned by a, well lets just say I didn't think to highly of him.

I have a Mac too, haven't shot it in a while so I need to get it out.

Dave

[BigAlofPa.]

Distractions while reloading i have had under charges resulting in squibs. The bullet getting stuck in the barrel. Never an over charge thank god. Now when im loading i tell everyone do not disturb me. And i lock the door behind me too. And no phone in the loading room.

[lightman]

It can happen to anyone. At least yours didn't result in ant injury and the messed up piece was not expensive. If you're the only one kicking your behind then its all good!

[rockrat]

If you can find an old junky 223 size die, you could cut off the top part enough to bring the top area down to your .363". The shoulder junction is .354", so you might have to come about half way down the case body to get your necessary dimensions.

I did this to get a .446" sizer for my 43 mauser. Used an old 30-06 die

[Tom W.]

I will have to admit, even with the cancer and all the other problems, my blood pressure has gone back to normal after retiring...

[bmortell]

when im loading or doing something that I need my mind not to wonder I usually listen to a video or something with earbuds. might seem counter productive but it prevents my mind from changing course over 20 random things and keeps it one area.

[Smoke4320]

when im loading or doing something that I need my mind not to wonder I usually listen to a video or something with earbuds. might seem counter productive but it prevents my mind from changing course over 20 random things and keeps it one area.

I can understand that.. I worked in noisy environments for years.. so when I want to concentrate I need background noise otherwise I get distracted over the little noises here and there

[rockshooter]

Rockrat!
good idea!
Loren

[Reverend Al]

You're looking at this all wrong! Now that you have a nice .3685" sizer die you need to buy some sort of 9.3 calibre rifle since it would be the perfect size for cast boolits in one of those ... right?

:Bright idea:

[firefly1957]

You might try the die as is oversized bullets with starting loads to see how they shoot and if they chamber.

[Winger Ed.]

Its easy to do.
One time I was pre-occupied and to get my mind right,
I set up and sized over 1,000 7.62 GI Brass that probably came out of a M-60 with a generous chamber.

I'd take breaks & all, but when I was done, I tried to chamber one in a M1-A.

I'd tried the last one instead of the first one I sized.
That's when I found out the die hadn't been set low enough.

It wouldn't chamber enough for the bolt to close.

[lead-1]

I got side tracked one time and switched out a little box of brass I had been single staging, I proceeded to prime and charge 50 rounds of brass that hadn't been sized. Yup, bullet was pushed in with finger pressure, dump the powder and remove the decapping pin to size and do right.
Sure was a pain in the behind but only 50 rounds were messed up.

[mjwcaster]

My biggest one reloading was getting in the groove with a batch of 45acp, finishing up one batch of boolits then grabbing the next can.
I managed to load several hundred of them before I took a break and then realized the new can o boolits had not been lubed (tumble lubed at that time).
A Dillon 550 sure let’s you screw up quickly.

Turns out unlubed boolits lead like crazy.
But you do not need to lube every one, I think I shot them mixed with a lubed boolit every other or every third one.
Doing the same thing right now with a batch of 380’s that the hitek didn’t cure right, at least not all of them.
I am getting no leading if I mix in 1 tumble lubed boolit with 5 bad hitek (6rd mag)

So my initial screwup just gave me more experience that I am taking advantage of years later.

Funny thing is when I posted about my brain fart years ago and my planned testing lubed/unlubed there were a few people here who seemed upset that I wasn’t pulling the unlubed ones down.

Any rounds that might be questionable/dangerous for any reason get pulled down, even those that end up loose, not in a well marked box, even if I am sure what they are. But for something that worst case scenario would just let me practice my deleading skills, I’ll shoot those.

Just like my mom always says, ‘anything that can be fixed with just money isn’t that bad’

Kind of like don’t sweat the small stuff.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Fishman]

You're looking at this all wrong! Now that you have a nice .3685" sizer die you need to buy some sort of 9.3 calibre rifle since it would be the perfect size for cast boolits in one of those ... right?

:Bright idea:

Yes, this! I’ve got a 9.3x62 and that’s a little big for its .366 bore but other 9.3’s might be a little larger. I’d bet it would work for my gun just fine.

[Land Owner]

Just ID'd the latest "screw up"...over crimping 380 ACP headspace-on-case-mouth boolits producing failure to fire from light strike firing pin indents. Can see that case mouths are flush with boolit diameter in lube groove. Makes a 1# "hand hammer" out of what was to be a concealed carry and defense "gun". Now, will the collet-type puller do its 150-round job on the exposed boolit diameter or will I have to kinetically pull them?

[fatelk]

If you can find an old junky 223 size die, you could cut off the top part enough to bring the top area down to your .363". The shoulder junction is .354", so you might have to come about half way down the case body to get your necessary dimensions.

I did this to get a .446" sizer for my 43 mauser. Used an old 30-06 die

That’s a good idea. I picked up an old Herters .222 die at a show for almost nothing; I’ll fiddle with it when I have time, see what I can do. I assume the die will be pretty hard to cut, probably have to use a cutting wheel.

Thanks for the idea!

On another note, I really have to get “mind on task” when I’m working with any of this stuff. I had another incident shortly after the first one, that I probably shouldn’t admit to. I decided to clean and organize my casting area a bit, and mothball it for a while. One of the things I did was empty the last couple pounds from the melting pot.

A short time later I was moving a pile of ingots. They were old ingots (cold) so no gloves, but I had stupidly forgotten that I had just dumped a hot one from the pot onto the pile a little while before. I was reminded instantly and got away with a burn on one finger that’s in the process of healing up. It could have been a lot worse. It also could have not happened at all if I’d have had my mind on what I was doing instead of stressing about work.

[fatelk]

Just to wrap this thread up, I thought I'd post a little photo of what I made. One of these days I need to save up and buy myself a lathe. Making stuff like this without one takes an awful lot of time. Worth the time to make something like this? Not a chance, but I did anyway. It makes very nice, round, .3655" bullets. I made an extra long push rod out of a 3/8" bolt, too.

238510

[nun2kute]

Thanks Pal, now im going to be trying to get Roy Clark and Buck Owens out fo my head all day !!!! :-P