pound coin on the press ram

ezzy6.5

Well-Known Member
Hi All,

I was talking to a fellow SD member on Sunday and we were discussing the little quirks that we do to try and ensure consistency and repeatability in our reloads. One of the things we were talking about was placing a pound coin on the ram to make sure the die is square (ish) ine its thread in the press.
I have never met anyone else who does this and thought i was the only one (I actually have a flat s/s shim that I use but it's like a pound coin)

Do any of you do this as well?
what other little steps do you do (other than the usual required steps)?





Ezzy
 
I know a well known gunsmith who im sure everyone would know on here he does similar using a thick piece of tubular steel.
 
Hi All,

I was talking to a fellow SD member on Sunday and we were discussing the little quirks that we do to try and ensure consistency and repeatability in our reloads. One of the things we were talking about was placing a pound coin on the ram to make sure the die is square (ish) ine its thread in the press.
I have never met anyone else who does this and thought i was the only one (I actually have a flat s/s shim that I use but it's like a pound coin)

Do any of you do this as well?
what other little steps do you do (other than the usual required steps)?





Ezzy
I've never thought to do this but next time I do some loads I'll try it. atb Tim
 
Actually I have never found dies not being aligned to be a problem. Sometimes I wonder if some go looking for problems that are not problems at all.
 
I must be being thick here.

What can you do about it, apart from maybe taking the press or die back to the retailer, if you did find something was a bit squiffy?

And... I'm not convinced that using a coin will show much up that not using a coin would show up anyway.

So, how is this all supposed to work?

Please explain.
 
One of the things we were talking about was placing a pound coin on the ram to make sure the die is square (ish) ine its thread in the press.

Oh my gosh! Used to do THAT ten years ago, before the CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT pistol ban with a flat washer to give the advised "air gap" between carbide sizing dies and the top of the shellholder.

Never done it, however, on rifle dies as I always totally full length size and screw the sizing die down until it contacts the top of the shellholder. Then screw the lock ring down and lock the lock ring to the die. So that when removed and replaced it is always the exact same position and alignment. I use exclusively RCBS.

So in a way it has the same "squaring up" effect.

So, yes, I do think that there is merit in your idea

How it works is that you assume three things:

1) That the top of the shellholder is square to the perpendicular of the stroke of the ram.

2) That the bottom of the sizing die is square to the perpendicular of the axis of the hole drilled up said sizing die that sizes the case.

3) That the shelholder recess in the ram is machined perfectly.

Thus assuming 1) and 2) that means that a perpendicular line drawn up the axis of the ram and up the axis of the hole in the sizing die will now be one straight line.

A bit like those lines on a computer printer set-up page where you pick the one that looks like one single continuous vertical line.

Now with RCBS you can take 1) and 2) as a given. With some of the crappy shellholders and presses I've seen I doubt it!
 
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They do, and Bonanza (Forrester) uses NO threads to hold their dies. They are somewhat loose in their mooring being held in place by the special lock rings. This allows for the die to align itself with the cartridge. Lee's lock rings, if not overtightened, will do the same. Frankly, there is enough give in the shell holder to compensate for slight alignment error.~Muir
 
I think some people have miss understood what I was trying to say in this post.
I was simply trying to ask what litle quirks different people have when reloading. I wasn't asking if I was right or wrong, just curious that's all.

Don't know why I bother sometimes.

Ezzy
 
After many years of reloading, the only thing I changed from was from a lube pad to a wee tin of wax given to me by Callum Ferguson. This is applied by rubbing some metween my fingers, and then applying it to the cases.

I am happy with the tollerances in modern reloading equipment in producing rounds for deer stalking purposes, and sub 1/2" groups in my rifles is plenty accurate enough for me without any further fiddling.
 
Like I said, I actually use a s/s shim not a coin. It's been on the surface grinder so its pretty flat and square.

So is a shell holder, and you don't run the risk of a flying stainless shim when the magnetic chuck lets it go.
(or the bits of shatered grinding wheel that accompany it)

Neil. :)
 
Hi Stu

I've always done this with a washer, I was taught wrongly or rightly I dont know (or care now so dont tell me :D) to back out the die half a turn after it touched the shell holder so thats why I use the washer to hold the die as I tighten the lock ring.

So Hornet 6 its not touching the shell holder thats why use the washer/shim.

It's just something I read when I started and never had reason to change the way I have done it.

Wayne
 
They do, and Bonanza (Forrester) uses NO threads to hold their dies. They are somewhat loose in their mooring being held in place by the special lock rings. This allows for the die to align itself with the cartridge. Lee's lock rings, if not overtightened, will do the same. Frankly, there is enough give in the shell holder to compensate for slight alignment error.~Muir
Another tip I heard is to put a rubber O ring under the lock ring to allow the die to float and get better alignment. Haven't tried it because i have a co-ax press, but I have heard it often enough in relation to target shooting...
 
So is a shell holder, and you don't run the risk of a flying stainless shim when the magnetic chuck lets it go.
(or the bits of shatered grinding wheel that accompany it)

Neil. :)

Ahhh not all stainless steels are non magnetic ;). Off hand I cannot recall which of the three basic types it is that is magnetic.
 
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Ahhh not all stainless steels are non magnetic ;). Off hand I cannot recall which of the three basic types it is that is magnetic one one is.

You're correct Brit, the 400 series tend to have various levels of magnetic qualities as they have more steel and less nickel making up the alloy.
 
Ahhh not all stainless steels are non magnetic ;). Off hand I cannot recall which of the three basic types it is that is magnetic one one is.

Correct to a point, but no stainless will stick to a magnetic chuck as well as tool steel, so my point still stands.

Neil. :)
 
You're correct Brit, the 400 series tend to have various levels of magnetic qualities as they have more steel and less nickel making up the alloy.

I was thinking more of the basic types like ferritic, Martensitic and austenitic not grades.
 
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