For now just random notes I’ll put together later:
Lead Melting
Sort if needed we, junk
Melt , clean and make ingots –
Category: Reloading
what I am doing as I start the reloading experience
Reloading Steps – Pistol
Pistol Single Stage: Caliber:_________
_____ De-Prime
_____ Clean in ultrasonic
_____ Primer pocket go / no-go
_____ Swage (if Necessary)
_____ Lube/Resize
_____ De-Bur flash hole (if Necessary)
_____ Trim/Chamfer (if Necessary)
9mm trim to 0.749*
_____ Clean in wet tumbler
_____ Load
*The 2015 standard is 0.754” -0.010” is the current range and the middle value is 0.749” . Which should, by tradition be the trim to length.
Lee Load Master Turret Holder
After mounting up my Lee Load Master I discovered I need a place to store my Turrets.
I got 2 pieces of pine, 10x12x1 inch
Glued them together:
Then I drilled in 3 – 4 inch holes
On another piece of pine I used the turret as a template and marked the die holes:
Then I drilled them out:
Using my trim router I took the edge off everything:
And glued it together:
I cleaned up all the outside edged on the table saw, added the french cleat to the back and put a coat of varnish on:
I’ll get an action shot in here when I get the turrets setup.
Maintaining the Lee Automatic Processing Press (APP)
After decapping around 3K of once fired 223 brass the APP started acting finicky, the long spring would bind and the red feeder was getting ‘gritty’ . I contacted Lee to see what they recommended for maintenance. Here is their reply (I changed the employee name to LeeDude):
LeeDude @ Lee Precision
Staff – 07/27/2020 9:27 am
Keep the black slide rail clean.
Lubricate the two steel columns the upper toolhead rides on, with oil.
Sincerely,
LeeDude
Lee Precision, Inc.
4275 County Road U
Hartford, WI 53027
Easy enough, here is how I did it.
Got everything I needed together and took it apart:
You can see the build up on the Black Slide Rail:
There was also build up on the top and bottom of the Molded parts riser:
I dropped them in my Harbor Freight ultra sonic cleaner using water and a cap full of purple Simple Green.
Wiped them down and lightly oiled the two steel columns and shell plate. The instructions say “STP motor oil treatment or motor oil” I used 3 in one on the steel columns and Ballistol on the shell plate.
Looks like new! Well almost…
Hope this helps someone.
Lee APP replacement parts site: https://leeprecision.com/deluxe-automatic-processing-press-app-parts/
Lee Automatic Processing Press (APP) Stand
Decided to make a stand for my new Lee Automatic Processing Press (APP). Essentially a box with a lip. I used some Red Oak I had in the shop.
I was going to mount the press in the middle…I quickly changed my mind and moved it to the right side:
Cleaned it up and bolted it down. I wanted to be able to remove it if I needed to.
Added The Reloaders Network Handle and mounted it up:
The rounds will drop in one of my home made parts boxes.
In version 2, I think I will make the stand so the press will hang over the edge of the counter. Then I can french cleat the parts bin to the top or have the brass or bullet drop into a bucket
RCBS Reloading Die Storage
I wanted a better way than this to store my reloading dies:
I started by cutting some scrap plywood I had laying around and making a generic 12 x 6 inch box with 1/8 inch slots:
I put a hardboard on the back:
I then cut some hardboard shelves, I made them a little longer so I could grab them and pull them out.
And here we go:
I realize I will quickly out grow this, but it does the job for now.
Lee Load Master Mount from Becks Armory
First off Richard Beck richard@becksarmory.com at Becks Armory is a great guy to work with. The mounts are hand crafted in America with quality materials. All mounting hardware except the wood screws was also included. The wood screws to mount the rear bracket to my bench are not included because the thickness of my bench was unknown to Richard. My mounts were packed VERY well and received quickly after shipment.
Richard also said he can create custom mounts based on the same design. I just need to send him the measurements. I might get one made for my RCBS Accessory Base Plate. That will be a separate post 🙂
Here is a link to directly to the bracket I got: . http://becksarmory.com/product/lee-load-master-mounting-kit/
Below is a quick post of what I did to get it mounted.
First thing I did was mount the brace. I used ½ inch wood screws to get the job done.
Then I drilled the bottom 2 holes from back to front.
I held the mount in front and placed the 2 bottom bolts into the before mentioned holes. Made sure it was level and marked the top 2 holes as shown above and drilled them out. Then mounted it up.
When I do it again, I will make a jig with the hole pattern and drill the holes out that way. Don’t know why I didn’t think of that till after the fact.
Here is a shot with the press mounted.
Reloading Consumable Storage Fridge – Part 2
I added the Gun Saver Dehumidifier to the bottom front of the fridge.
You can see the temperature rise and rise ….
Room Stats:
Temp: ~76
Humid: 73-75
The Humidity is dropping:
The Temperature got to almost 90 degrees! I was not comfortable with that. I moved the rod to the freezer area. You can see the temperature drop.
Room Stats:
Temp: ~76
Humid: 73-75
The humidity went up a bit. We will see how it looks in a day or so.
Room Stats:
Temp: ~76
Humid: 73-75
The outside and inside temperature dropped a bit, but inside the fridge it looks pretty stable:
Looks like the humidity is pretty stable too. Within ~1%
Will keep an eye on it and post major changes.
Reloading Consumable Storage Fridge – Part 1
With the Covid-19 thing wrapped in an election year, reloading supply consumables have disappeared. To better store what I have I decided to make a storage environment. AKA the ammo/reloading fridge:
First thing I did was gut an old fridge I had:
Then using paint I had on hand I painted it up and put it back together.
Then I ran electric through the ice maker hole. Added a power strip and hooked up a Raspberry Pi to take and record Temperature and Humidity:
Next I will add a Gun Saver Dehumidifier and take some readings.
Reloading Steps – Rifle
Caliber:______
De-prime
Clean in Ultrasonic
Lube/Resize
De-Bur flash hole (if Necessary)
Trim/Chamfer
223/5.56 trim to 1.750*
224 Val trim to 1.590**
300 AAC Blackout 1.358***
6.5 Creedmoor 1.190****
Clean in wet tumbler
Load
* 223 REM The 2015 standard is 1.760″-0.030″, so 1.730″-1.760″ is the current range and the middle value is 1.745″, which should, by tradition, be the trim-too length.
** 224 VAL The 2018 standard is 1.600″-0.020″, so 1.580″-1.600″ is the current range and the middle value is 1.590″, which should, by tradition, be the trim-too length.
*** 300 BLK The 2015 standard is 1.368″-0.020″, so 1.348″-1.368″ is the current range and the middle value is 1.358″, which should, by tradition, be the trim-too length.
**** 6.5 CREED The 2015 standard is 1.920″-0.020″, so 1.900″-1.920″ is the current range and the middle value is 1.910″, which should, by tradition, be the trim-too length