Expander die setting or bullets?

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greener

Expander die setting or bullets?

Post by greener » Mon Jan 19, 2009 11:58 pm

I loaded about 1000 rounds of .38 special in December and noticed that I was backing the bullet seating screw on my Lee seating/crimp die towards the end. I made a note to check the dies and finally got a round tuit for that this weekend. I've checked the dies (apparently too) infrequently and haven't found anything. This time the seating/crimp die didn't look quite as clean.

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Not sure if it is a problem with the expander die setting or I've purchased bullets with the wax seal extending over the bullet edge. Guess I'll have to increase the cleaning frequency.

Edit: For some of us, I guess it helps to put the problem in writing. After posting this, I went back and read my reloading log more closely. The chunk of wax is very likely from a box of 125gr LFP bullets. Seems that a number of them have the wax ring extending slightly over the edge of the bullet.

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Post by Bullseye » Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:53 am

That's a pretty good plug you have going there. No wonder you've had to back out your seating die. Mimicking my best Service Tech voice,"Well...there's you're problem right there!" :D

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bearandoldman
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Post by bearandoldman » Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:55 am

Rob, greetings to the Sunny South from the Sunny North, glad to know your heat is working again and hope that you had a good range day yesterday. It's is Sunny and warm here this morning at 9:30 EST, my remote temp gage on the back porch already has us a a balmy 10F,we are already in the double digit temps.
Hard to believe that the object in the left of the pic is all wax/lube, is it hard also because it looks awful shiny and smooth? You must have had your seating plug adjusted to where it was ready to fall out of the die itself. I also use the Lee dies butt I use the 4 die set with the separate crimp die, just my preference but it does take an extra step but also lets me control the crimp diameter better. Some of my 1911's are a little more sensitive to size than the others. Have been buying commercially cast for the .45 and get my .38's from a young fellow that used to work at the shop I took you to, he has his own shop know about 15 miles North of here. The bullets I have been getting never seem to have a hard lube on them, most of them seem to feel almost sticky. Don't really need a whole lot of lube as all of my loads are refused for just plain fun shooting. I load the 1911 stuff to .2 grains over what will reliably run the gun.



Well have a great day and I am on my way to 1K
You have great day and shoot straight and may the Good Lord smile on you.
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greener

Post by greener » Tue Jan 20, 2009 6:47 pm

You are doing a fine job of getting to a 1000. Looks like you will be there well before Valentine's Day.

The plug looked like lead when I punched it out of the die but it is not dense enough for lead and is quite malleable. Looks like it came from the lube/wax in the groove on the bullet and just got dark from the dust. (The green stuff in the band on the bullet in the picture, pardon my lack of technical expertise).

I have a Lee Pro 1000, which has 3 dies. I may end up with a Loadmaster because I have a separate press for the factory crimp die. Not a big deal since the 1000 works satisfactorily. I have a carrier/shell plate and a turret w/dies for 9mm, .38, .45 ACP and .45 colt so all I have to do is swap out carriers and dies, connect the powder chain and index the shell plate. The only other set up I've done is take a standard bullet and verify the seating/crimp die setting. I also verify the seating die setting when I change bullet types for the same caliber. It looks like I was adjusting for the buildup each time I switched bullet types. And, yep, the adjusting screw was pretty well backed out.

I don't recall seeing any problems in the first six months or so of using the press and I also think the problem really started when I bought the 125gr bullets. They seem to have more of the wax/lube on them. When I was messing around loading these bullets in the 9mm cases I noticed the seating die got a bit cranky by 40 rounds. I'll bet it is from quicker wax buildup.

Looks like I need to set the expander/powder die for a little wider opening and increase the check and cleaning frequency on the seating/crimp die. Between loading in batches of 50-100, setting the seating die depth between batches and the soft wax I didn't see any problems with seating depth. All the rounds seem to shoot well.

I thought I had followed Lee's instructions pretty well. This is something I don't recall in all the stuff I've read about reloading.

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bearandoldman
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Post by bearandoldman » Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:01 pm

I normally set the expander so that the bullet will drop in about 1/16th very freely, this keep it in line with the hole in the die to set the bullet depth. Like I mentioned before, I use a separate crimping die.
Right now the outside temp is 9F an going down. They say warmer weather is coming, but not when, maybe June????????
Bear just came in and woofed me for a dish of dog food, think this old man will kick back with a tall glass of ice water and Jim Beam Black, it prevents getting sick from bad water. :D :D
You have great day and shoot straight and may the Good Lord smile on you.
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greener

Post by greener » Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:04 pm

Enjoy the cold and warmer. I usually try to immobilize the bad parts of water in a reduced temperature crystalline structure. If it is good single malt, I don't pour if the water is running within 10 feet lest I ruin the flavor.

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Post by bearandoldman » Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:13 pm

greener wrote:Enjoy the cold and warmer. I usually try to immobilize the bad parts of water in a reduced temperature crystalline structure. If it is good single malt, I don't pour if the water is running within 10 feet lest I ruin the flavor.
But now they are saying record cold temps this weekend, should have been a weather man, all you have to be is close some of the time and you are a success.

Don't do that single malt stuff, lost the taste for Scotch years ago and switched back to good old Tennessee sour mash, American Booze. Prefer Jack Daniels or Jim Beam Black Label, the JB has a little lighter taste. Really like it straight bit if I do that I do too much and may regret it. Have not done that in many years, sometimes you do get smarter when you get older. :) :) :)
You have great day and shoot straight and may the Good Lord smile on you.
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