What material do you use for the mandrel?
TIGHTEN PRIMER POCKETS, here's how.
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Triggerhead Ed
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In the shop the holes are usually in a solid plate and a mandral is not needled
I just lay ball on hole and hit it
Any flat bottom steel rod that will fit case neck should work
Might try putting the mandral in vice
I just lay ball on hole and hit it
Any flat bottom steel rod that will fit case neck should work
Might try putting the mandral in vice
Last edited:
crkckr
Well-Known Member
This is a very good idea! I've been trying to figure a way to tighten pockets for a while but I think this is about the best idea yet. I've tried putting "crimp dots" around the outside of the pocket with a sharp center punch. It works at least once but it takes up way too much time.
As to the stuff needed for repair work, a good mechanic only needs 2 items in his tool box, WD40 & duct tape. If it moves and it ain't supposed to, use the duct tape. If it don't move and it should, hose it down with WD!
Well. That's what some of the guys at the big airlines did, anyway! Of course, we had some fancy tape called "speed tape" (or "600 mile an hour tape") and we used LPS 1 or LPS 3, which is much better than WD (according to the FAA... they made us stop using WD!). WD is a whole bunch cheaper, however, and it's in every Wally World!
As to the stuff needed for repair work, a good mechanic only needs 2 items in his tool box, WD40 & duct tape. If it moves and it ain't supposed to, use the duct tape. If it don't move and it should, hose it down with WD!
Well. That's what some of the guys at the big airlines did, anyway! Of course, we had some fancy tape called "speed tape" (or "600 mile an hour tape") and we used LPS 1 or LPS 3, which is much better than WD (according to the FAA... they made us stop using WD!). WD is a whole bunch cheaper, however, and it's in every Wally World!
I think it is a better idea than superglue or locktite.
Rich Coyle
Well-Known Member
Or a dab of fingernail polish.
SidecarFlip
Well-Known Member
At this juncture, I see no point in as much as brass is in good supply. I shot 'em and anneal them and when they start to get marginal, scrap them.
Yeah, this was started in 2015 but I started tightening them a year earlier... most stuff was scarce!
I will continue to do it for difficult to form wildcat cartridges, also people who sort exhaustively, neck turn, ect... full match prep really hate to see so much effort and attention thrown in the trash.
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Jesse did a video on this back in 2018 and its posted somewhere on this site but here it is anyways.
Are you anywhere near Libertyville? And - would you use the same size ball bearing for any brass using LR primers (like .257 or .270)?I work and stay in north Illinois but my HOME and property is Savannah. S.W. TN.
My favorite saying is " you can't beat the hill-rod out of me"
But seriously, if we decrease the demand on new brass it will be better for all of us.
And also, I should have added that I don't lock the ball bearing in the vice but actually cradle it. The vice is opened slightly less than the major outside diameter of the bearing.
Excellent hack!. What is the purpose for taping the bolt and what length bolt do you use?
crkckr
Well-Known Member
The bolt must extend beyond the case mouth... how much is up to you. It must also fit snugly into the case neck, so you will either have to reform the primer pockets before the cases are sized or after, but it has to be consistent each time. I custom grind all of my rods for each caliber and reform after cleaning and sizing.
The idea of the whole thing is drive the ball into the primer pocket just enough to reduce the diameter of the primer pocket so that it will once again hold the primers tightly. If the primer pocket is too loose, you can have a number of problems, everything from having the primer fall out completely (especially when cycling in a semi-autol) to having gas vent around the edges of the primer when firing the cartridge, to having the primer blown out into the action during firing. While none of these are particularly dangerous to the shooter, they do effect reliability, especially having to stop and clean unburned powder out of the action!
Since I prime all my brass by hand with a Lee primer tool, if I run across a loose primer pocket (one that seats much too easily) I set that case aside. After I get a few, I try to gently tap the primer out with a decapping punch (safety glasses are an absolute MUST during this operation! I've never had one go off but there is always that possibility when dealing with live primers and any kind of percussion!). If the primer comes out, it get the ball & tap treatment. If not, it gets loaded and set in a "F/O" bin and kept seperate as plinking ammo. Once I have enough to make it worthwhile, I will shoot these rounds up and run the lot thru the process of reconditioning the primer pocket. This happens mostly (for me) with .223 brass, of which I happen to have a fairly large quanity. I do this mostly because I'm really, really cheap! A fair amount is old military brass, which tends to be a bit soft but the worst offenders are the cheapo Chinese brass cases.
Cheers,
crkckr
The idea of the whole thing is drive the ball into the primer pocket just enough to reduce the diameter of the primer pocket so that it will once again hold the primers tightly. If the primer pocket is too loose, you can have a number of problems, everything from having the primer fall out completely (especially when cycling in a semi-autol) to having gas vent around the edges of the primer when firing the cartridge, to having the primer blown out into the action during firing. While none of these are particularly dangerous to the shooter, they do effect reliability, especially having to stop and clean unburned powder out of the action!
Since I prime all my brass by hand with a Lee primer tool, if I run across a loose primer pocket (one that seats much too easily) I set that case aside. After I get a few, I try to gently tap the primer out with a decapping punch (safety glasses are an absolute MUST during this operation! I've never had one go off but there is always that possibility when dealing with live primers and any kind of percussion!). If the primer comes out, it get the ball & tap treatment. If not, it gets loaded and set in a "F/O" bin and kept seperate as plinking ammo. Once I have enough to make it worthwhile, I will shoot these rounds up and run the lot thru the process of reconditioning the primer pocket. This happens mostly (for me) with .223 brass, of which I happen to have a fairly large quanity. I do this mostly because I'm really, really cheap! A fair amount is old military brass, which tends to be a bit soft but the worst offenders are the cheapo Chinese brass cases.
Cheers,
crkckr
