22 reloader 30 cal gas check

[bobby]

I received the gas check die set from 22 reloader. I am having a problem with it tearing off the rim and jamming it in the lower die. I have used .014 aluminum valley flashing, and .017 aluminum trim coll. If anyone has had this happen, I would appreciate telling me what was done to fix this problem

[deces]

I think your sheetmetal is to thin, perhaps you should try your luck with aluminum pull lids from sardines or smoked oysters.

[bobby]

That is what I was thinking,but his site as .017- .020. I will get some smoked oysters and try that

[Baja_Traveler]

I have the same problem - except that the ripped off doughnut piece is solidly jammed in the lower die. Never got a single useable gas check out of it. Emails - ignored, calls - unanswered, voice mail - mailbox full.

This is a sketchy outfit that does not back up their stuff. Buyer beware - the check maker is beautifully machined, but useless if it doesn't work.

Back to my 2 stage check maker, and taking the wasted $100 as lesson learned...

[kentfielddude]

I have the 30 cal 22 reloader gas check maker. I've made gas checks with 0.5mm aluminum. Requires quite a bit of force and they projectile shoot out of the top of the die. I also bought some 0.4mm aluminum that I've yet to test yet. This is where I got my aluminum from. https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804838736009.html?channel=twinner

[jdfoxinc]

Try annealing the Al sheet.

[bobby]

Yes I had to use a needle and a magnifying glass to get the doughnuts out , but still no luck getting it to work

[kentfielddude]

Also I applied a thin layer of sizing lube to my sheet of aluminum

[bobby]

Thanks, I will try to lube my strips and see how it does

[gloob]

If you'd actually given up hope on a easy fix/replacement and are thinking of doing some tuning, here are some pointers.

When the check bottom tears out and leaves a donut, the material is probably too thick. Of course, that's all relative to what you need to end up with. So the other way to look at it is the clearance between the punch and button is too small.

Another thing that will increase the likelihood of tearing out the donut hole is a sharp edge on the forming button, which is an easier fix.

Depending on what dimension you have, you can possibly take the button out, chuck it on some threaded rod, and turn it in a drill in some rigid sandpaper or emery cloth. Diameter of the button should be about 0-3 thousandths smaller than that of the gas check shank on your bullets. If it's already on the small end, then you may consider opening up the mouth of the punch. That would be more work, but files and sandpaper can get this done. Buffing is a good idea, especially on the button so checks (or the occasional donuts) don't get stuck to it.

If you have some thinner material you could try that, first.

[deces]

Thanks, I will try to lube my strips and see how it does

Have you picked up any smoked oysters yet?

[kentfielddude]

So I've done some experiementing. I made some gas checks with 0.4mm alumnium or 0.015748". They don't turn out as well as the 0.5mm gas checks I made eairlier.
I'm having difficulty getting the gas checks I made seat on some lee CTL312-160-2R bullets I cast out of straight linotype. The inside diatmeter of the gas checks are too small and I can't even get them started on the base of the bullets I casted. The problem is the gas check maker makes gas checks with an internal diamter of about .2715" while these old box of 30 cal hornday gas checks I have, have an internal dimension of .2835". I thought maybe the 0.4mm gas check I made might have a larger I.D then 0.5mm checks I made but they are both the same. The only different between the 0.4mm and 0.5mm gas checks I made is that the 0.5mm gas checks are longer. Same I.D and O.D.
I used NOE gas check seater to try and seat them, but the gas checks are mushrooming out and not staying on. I then tried to annealing the gas checks using a propane torch and it did help to prevent them from coming off after seating. Once I got them seated or the gas check expanded, I then ran the bullet and gas check base first through my noe sizing die and the gas check is now verry well attached nicely to the base of the bullets.

Also looks the be either a broken drill bit in the bottom of my gas check maker bottom punch/shell holder or maybe its just from how its machined idk.
Makes me think the design could be improved by drilling a hole through the center of the punch so you could punch out a gas check if they get stuck.


gas checks made from 0.4mm alum https://i.imgur.com/WV9FF9U.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/h309aJU.jpg
312330

attempt to seat gas check
https://i.imgur.com/HdCGIEq.jpg

gas check after ran through sizing die base first

https://i.imgur.com/Ssfeanp.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/e7RAtxt.jpg

[DME72]

the forming rod is machined too small. it should be about .283, not .271. the disc punch looks like it needs sharpening.it should be making clean cuts. i have built ed smith style single stroke check makers and all work great. basic machining if you have a lathe. you should be able to push the checks on without much effort.

doug

[bobby]

No I have not tried the oyster lid! I gave up and went back to my old check maker

[deces]

There must be something with the thickness of the metal. Before I used aluminum pull lids, I punched about 2k checks out of steel Copenhagen lids.

[bobby]

Yes, I figure the thickness of metal and a sharper punch

[gloob]

+1 DME72.

The "broken drill bit" thing. Appears the button is permanently fixed, rather than screwed. So it's possible it's not made to be removed. I find this odd, because of how finicky these dies are; they might need some tuning. So another possibility is that the "broken drill bit" is the end of a threaded rod, and the button actually screws out but only from the top. If you get a piece of brass tubing that is the first size smaller than the button and flare the end, it can be used as a wrench to see if the button unscrews. But since it's too small, already, that won't do you a whole lot of good other than you could give it a good polish while it's out.

If you had a way to machine a larger button for a better fit to your bullets, you'd have to also open up the top punch quite a bit, it seems. It's already stretching 0.5mm thick stock, due to lack of clearance.

Since you can't (easily) remove the button to get stuck donuts off of it, here's a tool I found helpful for this job. A thin strip of sheet metal with the tip doubled over. This should just slide past the donut and hook the edge. If you try it with a strip of your aluminum sheet, the folded over part will just break off. But a strip of Copenhagen lid or any mild steel would probably work!

[gloob]

In place of flared brass tubing of the exact right size, one of your 30 caliber cases might have a neck long enough to reach the button to try to unscrew it. Size it and don't flare it, if it's too loose to spin the button, and maybe you get lucky.

[DME72]

i think the forming rod as it is called might be pressed into the bottom piece. there is no way he made that all one piece. you have a better view of the top and bottom and sides?

doug

[jimb16]

"Buffing is a good idea, especially on the button so checks (or the occasional donuts) don't get stuck to it."

This is what I ended up doing. No more donuts or clipped rims. It works fine now. I'm using aluminum valley flashing for my checks. They are well formed and fit very nicely. I PC my bullets before checking.

[DME72]

did either one of you fix your gas check maker? just wondering.

[bobby]

I could not get it to work properly. I gave up and sold mine.

[Flying Anvil]

if you have any problems, get in touch with Bill at recoilstore.com

he sells 22 reloader stuff and is exceptionally responsive

[Flying Anvil]

lightingtap@gmail.com

[Wolfmaster]

Hello everybody,

I am from the Netherlands and i recently ordered and received this gascheck maker in .30 cal.
Unfortunately i encountered the same problems.
I tryed different materials eg aluminium and copper in different thicknesses from .2 to .5 mm.
None of them worked properly, sheared rim, stuck material in the die, stuck checks on the forming stem, etc.
Sending it back and get a new one witb probably the same issues i found to much hassle, so i decided to tune it up myself.

The forming stem is a glued an pressfit construction (7mm) so i drilled a partial hole from the underside with a 5mm drilling bit.
Then i used a 5mm punch to knock out the stem.
I made a new forming stem in the correct size (.284" or 7.2mm), rounded the top a little, and polished this to a mirror finish.
Glued this new stem back in the bottom piece with green locktite (for glueing gears on shafts).

Now the check maker works fantastic without any flaws, in all thicknesses and both in copper and aluminium.

Problems with this check maker are apparently a to small forming stem diameter and a bad finish (lack of polishing).

Greetings from the Netherlands.