I have two bits of information for those who may be new to the Lyman 310 "tong" tool. The first I've posted before, but it should be brought up from time to time. The second I just discovered today.
1. When setting up the depriming die, make sure the decapping pin only protrudes far enough to pop out the primer....no more! When I first started using the 310, I had the pin out quite a ways and broke several pins before I figured out what I was doing wrong. The 310 tool swings in an arc, so having the pin out too far stresses it back and forth during the depriming process. Those pins are tough little buggers, but repeated bending will break anything. Again, set that die up so the pin protrudes just enough to remove the primer.
2. About four years ago, I was lucky enough to score a set of brand new 310 dies for 6.5 x 50 Japanese (Arisaka) at a mouth watering price. They came in a nice, old Lyman box with individual boxes for each die. I didn't realize at the time that these are designed for the little Lyman Truline Jr. press, so I screwed the CMR (Combination Muzzle-Resizer) in to my 310 and began to deprime, resize and expand all in one easy step.
Well, almost. The primer came out just fine and the case neck resized just fine, but when I tried to pull the case back over the expander the case came out so far that the extracting hook lost its grip. I couldn't get the case out! This is because the expanding plug is just above the decapping pin....far too low. I considered pliers on the case and immediately rejected that idea. Instead, I unscrewed the entire die/case from the tool. I then placed the die in my RCBS Rock Chucker die hole, raised the ram and slid a shell holder in so that it gripped the rim and slid into the ram simultaneously. I lowered the ram and the case came out undamaged.
But what happened? I suddenly realized that the set with a CMR die is meant to be used in a STRAIGHT LINE tool only......such as the Truline Jr. To correct this problem, I'll call the 310 shop and order a separate universal decapping die. That way, I can run the case in and deprime it, neck size with the CMR (expander removed) and then use a separate expanding plug (.266 for cast lead), just like the five die sets.
The 310 is an excellent little tool and I wish Lyman would continue production, especially the steel handles. Once you get to know what the designers had in mind, you understand how the tool works and you'll get hooked too!