My intent is to manually feed the cases until I am comfortable with the load and it has been proven to perform well in my guns. Then I will turn on the case feeder and crank them out.
On a side note a good friend gave me about 5k 40S&W brass yesterday. He no longer loads for it and had a rubbermaid tub full of it. And he has loaded them before so no tricky primers. Looks like it needs to be cleaned so I will be able to play with the tumbler for awhile while i wait on the press to arrive.
That still leaves a bunch of cases in the feed tube. If the goal is to clear the press, using the .38 case is a nice way to go. No messing around with the feed tube.
Perhaps it seems important to feed one case at a time for a few minutes without having to empty out the tube.
When I want to turn off the case feeder I want it off now. Even the two to three left when I use a the hole/paperclip trick are in my way and need to be cycled out by hand. I tried the blocking trick in the drop tube. I could feel the press trying to move the case over the case blocking the hole. So I just drilled the hole in the tube and stick a paperclip through the hole.
Woohoo! Stuf is already starting to arrive. :supergrin: I ordered a smaller tumbler but it was out of stock so they upgraded me to this one at no extra charge.
I just remembered the name of the last tumber I used. It was a Thumler. I should have dropped the cash on one of those. Damn. Oh well, if this craps out I will replace it with a thumler.
I just remembered the name of the last tumber I used. It was a Thumler. I should have dropped the cash on one of those. Damn. Oh well, if this craps out I will replace it with a thumler.
I just got a gift from a friend whom I used to reload with. 39.5 lbs of 40 S&W once fired brass. Mixed heads. I sorted it and found a couple hundred 9mm and 45 brass too. All for free.
More stuff is arriving. I got a partial shipment from Dillon. I got the toolheads, a caliber change kit, my scales, the extra case feeder plate and the Dillon case lube. I also got my media seperator, my impact bullet puller, and calipers.
Today I got notified my Lyman's manual has shipped. Finally, something I can sink my brain into for the next 4 weeks till my press comes in. My RCBS dies are due to ship next week.
Hard to believe its only been 3 weeks since I ordered.
Oh, I also found my reloading bench. It was here all along. My daughter wanted her room remodeled for her birthday and my wife was going to sell her old dresser/changing table that happens to be extremely heavy and solid oak. the top is 1" thick oak planks. I bet it weighs 300 lbs easy. Now that I have my ammo in it, all my bullets and brass too its probably very close too 4-500. It has two levels too. Not sure which I will use for the press yet.
Is there any harm in reloading indoors? My wife seems to think spilled powder will require a full CDC Hazmat response to come out and clean up. :upeyes:
Glock1,
No harm in reloading indoors but do any case tumbling in the garage or outside, and with a cover on the tumbler.
Spilled powder? Don't waste the stuff. Actually, there is very little reason to have a powder spill. That said, keep only one powder jug on the bench at a time, and I'd recommend that you keep a slip of paper indicating the powder and charge weight the hopper was last set to. Keep a foxhair or similar brush hanging on the bench and use it to brush any powder flakes that may get loose.
Primers will be hard to find if dropped on carpet. They also might startle your other half should she be vacuuming and find one. Some say the beater bar will set them off. I don't know as I load in the garage. If you can get a chair mat to place in front of the bench, it would help quite a bit. Be sure that it doesn't generate a static charge as you don't want to take any chances with the primers.
One good thing about reloading indoors - it is always climate controlled. My garage gets quite uncomfortable during the summer months.
Despite your best efforts, decapped primers WILL get all over the floor. So will powder and new primers.
It is handy to have a small ShopVac around to clean up the mess. Not that a normal vacuum cleaner will be a problem it's just that some wives are so picky!
I load in the house. I do not let the wife vacuum in the reloading room. Just in case a live primer should go off. I also vacuum up small amounts of spilled powder also. And yes a vacuum will set off a live primer not every time. Gary from Dillon once posted about his maid setting off a live primer when vacuuming he said it was not a pretty sight.
Tell your wife she has a lot more dangers things in the house than powder and primers.
A Kirby will pop a live primer nearly every time. Doesn't hurt a thing. Your next purchase clearly should be a $2K vacuum built like a tank. Or just be careful. I use a shop vac in my room. Powder is not a issue. I wouldn't worry about it. It's a good fertilizer from what I hear.
I hope you all know I am going to toss a few live primers around the house now to scare the hell outta my wife, daughter and pets. lol. Just kidding. Maybe. :supergrin:
I don't plan to have any spills but we all know how plans work. I have a sparkless shop vac I used when I was powder coating. I will use that for my reloading room just to be safe. If you have never seen a powder flash fire, it can leave one with a moisture control problem around in the lower waist area. :whistling:
If I blow up the Dyson my wife will be kinda upset. lol
I have a carpet at my bench and vacuum every now and again. My Hoover upright does set off primers; probably hitting and spinning off the brush. dunno I've looked each time and see no damage to the paper bag inside. To me, they are not much louder than hitting a thumbtack or something else and spinning them around in the vac - but the telltale is the smell; no discernible smoke, just smell.
I was sorting through the almost 8k brass I have now when I noticed alot of them were crimped. So, I got on Dillons site and ordered a Super Swager. I also found the videos on how to somewhat automate it.
I am going to clean all the brass and then sort out the berdan and crimped.
I also ordered the corn cob media and got the nu finish and mineral spirits.
Despite your best efforts, decapped primers WILL get all over the floor. So will powder and new primers.
It is handy to have a small ShopVac around to clean up the mess. Not that a normal vacuum cleaner will be a problem it's just that some wives are so picky!
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