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Thread: Making Sparkplugs: My first 100 primers

  1. #201
    Boolit Master
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    Today was a busy day with lots of loading, ASBB coating, sizing and casting (probably 30 lbs of 105s and 120s for 38Sp & 9mm). I did assemble and "wet prime" 200 9mm cases using S&B cups & anvils. I also "dry primed" 500 38Sp cases. I had 2 out of the 500 go off. Not a terrible rate and I was in the garage, wearing hearing protection and a leather glove.

  2. #202
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    Quote Originally Posted by P Flados View Post
    I will probably run all Fed through the sizer just to keep things smooth going into and coming out of the loading plate.
    I have noticed fired primer cups are sometimes a loose fit. Some I can push out with very little effort using a small punch. I don't see the point in sizing any of them. My concern is a loose primer backing out of it's pocket while in the magazine.

    I'm using the NOE .173 sizer but I think it's a bit too small...would like to open it up to .175 or so but am not sure it's worth the effort.

    23 degrees outside here today. I think once I feed the cows I'll spend the rest of the day inside, unless I really get bored and fire up the heater in the barn to do something out there. Wife won't let me smoke a cigar in the house. What nerve, eh?

  3. #203
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by P Flados View Post
    Today was a busy day with lots of loading, ASBB coating, sizing and casting (probably 30 lbs of 105s and 120s for 38Sp & 9mm). I did assemble and "wet prime" 200 9mm cases using S&B cups & anvils. I also "dry primed" 500 38Sp cases. I had 2 out of the 500 go off. Not a terrible rate and I was in the garage, wearing hearing protection and a leather glove.
    Safety glasses or googles my friend!!! I won't trust commercial primers never mind remanufactured ones.
    Don Verna


  4. #204
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by dverna View Post
    Safety glasses or googles my friend!!! I won't trust commercial primers never mind remanufactured ones.
    I wear glasses full time. I know my glasses with polycarbonate lenses are not rated, but I have "tested" them in the past and feel they provide adequate protection. If anyone is thinking of working with reloaded primers, I would consider it foolish to not have some form of eye protection.

  5. #205
    Boolit Master
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    For resizing primer cups, I opened up the ID of my die to the point to where many pass through with little or no sizing. I am not trying for uniform, just trying to prevent oversized.

    I did get to the range today. I tried one of my early batches of primers that I was worried might have some SRP cups in my 327 SP-101. I know this gun is unreliable with SRPs and sure enough about 3 out of 50 or so required multiple strikes to go off. On the other hand my 38 SP LCRx has fired a bunch of these same primers with 100% first strike ignition. Of no surprise, my TC Contender is also at 100%.

    Other than the "expected" problem above, I probably shot 200 with no other issues.

    I also talked to the range staff about this project and gathering brass to be returned to them after harvesting primers. I also gave them some money to cover brass that I might want to keep (I recently priced scrap brass at $2 per lb and I weighed a not quite full 1 quart ziplock right at 2 lbs). I came home with some more mixed brass. I think I will start slowly working through most all of the common headstamps one at a time and try to be more systematic for evaluating brands.

    The only two brands I have eliminated so far are really GFL (a.k.a Fiocchi) and Aguila.

  6. #206
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by P Flados View Post
    For resizing primer cups, I opened up the ID of my die to the point to where many pass through with little or no sizing. I am not trying for uniform, just trying to prevent oversized.
    How did you open up your die? 400 grit emery cloth wrapped around a dowel of some kind?

  7. #207
    Boolit Master
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    I have some silicon carbide grit. I mixed up some 220 grit & oil and coated a couple of dozen "scrap" brass finish cups and pushed them through the die. Then I made a snug fit wood dowel, coated it in 600 grit & oil and used a cordless drill to polish the ID. It now sizes cups to 0.1757" or so.

    I am trying to use my aluminum anvil removal strip to identify which cups need sizing. It was made with a D Reamer and has holes right at 0.177". I used the same reamer on my actual loading plate, but it seems that the plastic did not cut to full diameter. I need to make a soft steel D Reamer with a slight taper so that I can use depth of insertion to control how much more material is removed. I want to open up the holes just enough such that a 0.177" cup slides through easily.

    I wanted to do the work on the loading plate today, but at 32 °F my nose would have been dripping and getting all over my tooling.

  8. #208
    Boolit Master
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    I have created a new thread to go along with this one. I did a pic heavy walk through of me reloading 50 SPP.

    https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...40#post5340740

    This thread is getting long, and I though a separate thread only for pics and tips would be nice.

    And I did get the holes on my loading plate opened up to 0.178". It made using the plate much less tricky.

  9. #209
    Boolit Buddy Castloader's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mvintx View Post
    I have noticed fired primer cups are sometimes a loose fit. Some I can push out with very little effort using a small punch. I don't see the point in sizing any of them. My concern is a loose primer backing out of it's pocket while in the magazine.
    Isn’t this a primer pocket problem? If not, the primer cup can be expanded with a simple custom punch of the correct size and performed during dimple removal.

  10. #210
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by Castloader View Post
    Isn’t this a primer pocket problem? If not, the primer cup can be expanded with a simple custom punch of the correct size and performed during dimple removal.
    Yeah, there's a good chance of that. Some of my 9mm brass has been fired many times and in several guns, but it's not like they're loaded to anywhere near maximum levels. But the brass could be getting work-hardened. The primer pockets on the .223 brass I run through my service rifle will get loose after 5 or 6 firings and then they go into the scrap bin. I haven't notice that problem with any of my pistol calibers.

    The loose primer was sized .173" so I probably need to open up the die like pflados has done to his. Yeah, an oversized punch might might work but I'd like to keep this operation to as few steps as possible. I'm already spending a lot of time on this new hobby and I haven't reloaded a single primer yet. Maybe this week.

    I've already given up on sorting the many primers that I've collected over the years...another suggestion from pflados. Better to stick with the known makes from my reloaded ammo. The last 10,000 small pistol loads that I've cranked out have been all CCI.

  11. #211
    Boolit Buddy Castloader's Avatar
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    (Probably) Final Update

    In the interest of providing our members with the best and latest knowledge and for those who come here to peruse this topic in the months and years to come, the Mewe group has about 1,000 members who do nothing but work on primer reloading. All the folks that deserve the real credit are over there. I am glad to have labored here on behalf of the CastBoolits family, and as far as boolit casting goes, I'll be here for a long time. As for making primers, the Mewe group is the best place for the most updated techniques, sources of supply and general support.

    https://mewe.com/group/5ffcbdeadbcef71f84e867ef

    God bless America

  12. #212
    Boolit Master
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    Hey, help please?

    Just getting started. Working on EPH20. I keep getting an error message when I try to join the "mewe" group, so I'm asking my question here.

    I ordered and received my Sodium Hypophosphite because I wanted to see if that was going to be possible now. I've got it, so now to purchase everything else. I need to know how much Lead Nitrate to order to correspond proportionately to my 400 grams of the Sodium Hypo??

    ??

    Thanks!
    Vettepilot
    "Those who sacrifice freedom for security, have neither."
    Benjamin Franklin. (A very wise man!)

  13. #213
    Boolit Master
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    Lead Nitrate (LN) was much cheaper and easier when I started late last year. Are you planning a Lab Alley order?

    https://www.laballey.com/products/le...=7219012304955

    To be close to balanced, you would want to get 1,000 grams.

    As long as you do not have any major oops events and your labs yields are close to typical, 1,000 grams of LN will allow you to reload over 60,000 small primers or around 40,000 large primers.

    For many folks, the above probably exceeds the total number they will ever reload.

  14. #214
    Boolit Master
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    Thanks so much for your answer! Yeah, that's WAY more than I need! I accidentally got a double order of Sodium Hypophosphite, so I figured I would keep it proportionate, but that's nuts! I did not realize how many a quantity will make.

    Thanks again,
    Vettepilot
    "Those who sacrifice freedom for security, have neither."
    Benjamin Franklin. (A very wise man!)

  15. #215
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    Just checking in, let's keep thread alive! Had much success with reloading these little boogers. (Also on MeWe PR). Someone remind me of the cup thicknesses for SRP and SPP. .020+ for SRP? .017+/- for SPP?
    The unexamined life is not worth living....Socrates
    Pain, is just weakness leaving the body....USMC
    Fast is fine, but accuracy is FINAL!....Wyatt Earp

  16. #216
    Boolit Master
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    I am currently firing newly reloaded primers in some guns and ammo loaded ~ 1 year ago in the LCRx.

    In my Lo Point, LCRx 38 SP and TC Contender I am getting a real high percent with a good prompt ignition. Rounds requiring second strike or rounds with less than normal ignition probably number a half dozen (and nothing in recent months).

    Today I had 4 primers not go off when struck in a Contender. Factory Ginex SRPs in 7 TCU. I may not have seated the primers good due to less than adequate primer crimp removal from 223/5.56 brass.

    So lately my reloads have performed better than factory

  17. #217
    Boolit Bub
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    This is something I have been wanting to try to do. Thanks to everyone for all the great info in this thread!

  18. #218
    Boolit Master deces's Avatar
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    Oh, this is a great thread, I will definitely be following this one.
    These men and their hypnotized followers call this a new order. It is not new. It is not order.

  19. #219
    Boolit Master
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    Does using the coffee grinder on the NC mean that the mortar and pestle step with glass/nc is not now needed when mixing EPH20?
    "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." -John Adams 2nd POTUS

  20. #220
    Boolit Master
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    If you individually process your NC and glass appropriately, simple mixing will work fine. That is how I do my EPH-20.

    Getting NC to a good mesh size is one of the details where there has not really been a convergence on what are the "best methods".

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check