Quote:
|
I have Lee Challenger press which does not cam over, from time to time, I would get a hard to size case, if I don't check, the die may not fully close to shell holder and I would have chambering problem. Is there a easy way to make sure die close to shell holder instead of checking it visually? Yes, I do add 1/4 - 1/2 turn when I set up the sizing die. Presses cam over like RCBS probably can go by feel, but Lee press does not cam over!
|
I have no fewer than 30 presses, a few of them are 'GORILLOS' when it comes to sizing a case; problem, digging cases out of the sizing die slows me down. I have also shoved cases into chambers with modified presses, again, removing the cases took time.
And then there is the reloader; there is something about the case a reloader does not understand, the case has resistance to sizing. I have cases that have so much resistance to sizing they refused to be sized. When that happens the top of the press flexes and spreads from the bottom of the press. When I want to know if the case won or the case won I use a feeler gage to measure the gap between the top of the shell holder and bottom of the die.
I know, most of you are confused but if the reloader adjust the die down to the shell holder with the ram up with an additional 1/2 turn of the die after contact to create a gap the press must spread .0357".
And then there is cam over; I have cam over presses, all of my Herter presses are cam over presses; when adjusting my cam over presses I use a different method/technique. When finished no one can tell the difference between cases that were sized on a (bump press) cam over press and a non cam over press. My Rock Chucker presses are non cam over presses; for me
not a problem, My Rock Chucker presses lock up, jam-up or go into a bind, the one thing my Rock Chuckers will not do is cam over.
Problem with Rock Chuckers?: It is not the press, it is the owner of the RC, there is no way to get them to shove themselves away from the key board, they will not take the time to look under the table to check what is happening when the ram is raised. One day panic set in; a reloader made a video of a ram in a Rock Chucker being raised; it became one of those "and then" moments, the ram did not cam over, it kicked forward
not one single reloader thought about it but if the ram kicked forward at the top it had to kick back at the bottom. All they did was jump on their keyboards and started typing.
Anyhow, I have made shop calls, I have found presses that were so tightly wound I could not understand why they did not explode. I have friends that are hard headed, if there was such a thing as a reloader abusing a press their presses would be taken away from them. I have a strain gage, I could place it in a press to determine the amount of effort necessary to spread the top of the press from the bottom; I have no interest in abusing a press or gage.
Most reloaders believe the use of a feeler gage is a joke when adjusting a die to the shell holder, again, it is not easy to pry a reloader from the keyboard. And then there is lube, most of my case sizing can be done with any old lube but when it gets to the tuff sizing of cases I use a no-name lube.
F. Guffey