#6 Shell Plate on Pro 1000 for 9mm?

[petroid]

Hi all,

I have a used Pro 1000 with a #19 shell plate for 9mm/40S&W. I am sizing and priming off the press so that I can expand/charge, seat, and crimp on the press. Doing it this way has relieved any headaches I have encountered with the Pro 1000 priming system. All that said, the press loads 40 beautifully. But because the shell plate was made to fit 40 and 9mm, the 9mm being smaller rim diameter it doesn't work so great. My problem is that when the case enters the expander plug, it isn't always straight. If it is off center, the case gets smashed against the plug. I can guide it in with my finger, but it is very tedious and makes the whole process cumbersome and slow, exactly the opposite of how a progressive press should work.

I have read and seen videos of a #6s shellplate (for 32-20 and 25-20) being used for 9mm on a loadmaster to prevent the problem of primers not seating centered. I was wondering how well or if this would work at all on a Pro 1000. I realized that my problem is not with the seating of the primers, but if the 9mm case fits the #6 shell plate better, perhaps it could remedy my case alignment issues with the expander plug. I know that the rim diameter of the 32-20 more closely approximates the 9mm than the 40 does, but the rim thickness is larger than 9mm and 40, so I don't know if the tradeoff would be worth it. Any ideas?
-Pete

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

This mod should solve your problem and it's pretty easy to do from the pics:

http://www.mikesreloadingbench.com/m...0bench_014.htm

Even though it's done for the Loadmaster, the dimensions the shellplates are cut for shell casings should be the same.

[petroid]

Dave I saw that mod but it seemed to be geared toward centering the case over the primer pin. My problem seems to be that the case is tilting in the shell plate and not entering the expander die straight. Do you think this mod might help my problem as well? I thought about attempting it but since it requires epoxy I don't want to ruin my shell plate if it didn't work. Thanks, Pete

[Tom Myers]

If I remember correctly, the #6 shellplate was modified by chamfering the top profile of each station on the plate to compensate for the smaller rim thickness of the 9mm cases. This provided a snug and centered fit of the casees in each of the 5 stations.

[petroid]

Tom, I saw that in the video. Since the 32-20 has a bigger base and thicker rim, the shell plate modification has to be made to allow the 9mm case to sit on its base. I'm not sure how if its ok to have that much clearance for the rim of the case, as it allows the case to tip more easily, but I don't have one to test out. I think I might try a piece of wire in the shell plate slot to reposition the 9mm case. If it works, I'll epoxy it in and get another 19 shell plate for the 40

[magic mike]

The modified 6s shellplate will work better than the modified 19s especially during extraction from a sizing die.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

The modified 6s shellplate will work better than the modified 19s especially during extraction from a sizing die.

Mike (from Mike's Reloading Bench) has more experience by far than I working with the Lee shell plates. I've done a small ton of recent research, but it's been focused strictly on the Lee Loadmaster, not the Lee Pro 1000.

If I were looking at modding the Pro 1000 shell plates, I'd go with what Tom advised and Mike backed up. Comes from serious experience and experimenting I'm betting.

Belated welcome to the forum Mike.

[petroid]

The modified 6s shellplate will work better than the modified 19s especially during extraction from a sizing die.

Thank you Mike, I'm very glad you chimed in. On your advice, I think I'll try and obtain a #6 shellplate for the pro1000 and modify it to fit 9mm and see if I can make it work for me. As long as you think it will work on the pro1000 as well as it does on the loadmaster, that is

[Norbrat]

I dug out my #6 & #19 Pro 1000 shellplates and tried a few 9mm cases in each.

There doesn't seem to be much difference in how much the case wobbles; the #6 might be little tighter.

Still, for $15 for a shellplate from FS Reloading, it's not a big investment to try one.