TIGHTEN PRIMER POCKETS, here's how.
- Thread starter tbrice23
- Start date
Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
Thanks. I see where you stated you're using a 1/4" bolt. I'll probably buy the largest hardened bolts that will fit into my .284, .308, and .338 case necks. Maybe a 7mm bolt for the .284 and .308, and a 5/16" or 8mm bolt for the .338. Hardened bolts are relatively low cost.
If I get the primer hole too small of a diameter, I'll use my Dillon primer pocket swager to open them should I happen to overdue it with the bolt and hammer. Working the primer hole a little may even toughen up the brass and make it more resistant to swelling. But you seem to be getting them to the desired inside diameter with some periodic measurements during the hammering process.
If I get the primer hole too small of a diameter, I'll use my Dillon primer pocket swager to open them should I happen to overdue it with the bolt and hammer. Working the primer hole a little may even toughen up the brass and make it more resistant to swelling. But you seem to be getting them to the desired inside diameter with some periodic measurements during the hammering process.
Yeah, get as large diameter as you can. You can still undersize slightly so you can wrap tape to protect your case necks.
I think the work hardening of the inside edge is what is allowing multiple subsequent firings after the initial repair.
In my experience it depends on what the primary cause of the loose primer pockets are. If it is caused by overoressure, and you continue to use the same load, the primer pockets can loosen up again. If you back off the load, they can be OK. If the loose primer pocket had to do with the brass(or primers) being out of spec, it works well. I think that when using either a ball bearing or a primer pocket swager, you are only swaging a small portion of the outer edge of the primer pocket. The seal is not the same as a well mated primer pocket that makes contact with the primer throughout the entire contact surface. You need to keep an eye out for gas leakage. IMO.
That was my experience with the Hart primer pocket salvage tool. I could tell by the feel when seating a new primer as it moved past the snug portion of the primer pocket at the edge of the case head. Not a very satisfactory result. I never torched a bolt face with escaping gas, because I wasn't able to use it on too many casings before it no longer tightened up the primer pockets at all.
My plan is to hammer on a casing or two and purposely overdue it in the effort to compress more than just the case head edge of the primer pocket. Them come back in with my Dillon primer pocket swage tool to enlarge the primer pocket back to the correct size. Maybe I'll be able to recover more of the primer pocket a little further down from the case head. Maybe not...
Ball bearings and bolts are cheap. A handful of .300 Win Mag Lapua cases aren't any good the way they are, and they aren't available for purchase any longer at any price because Lapua stopped making them ~6yrs ago. It won't cost much to try this out. I like the approach better than the Hart tool that sits on my shelf. Just need to order a few ball bearings.
LoneTraveler
Well-Known Member
I have built jig setups to form brass by using large ball bearings, Take ball bearing size and divide in half for plate thickness, And drill hole bearing diameter size. If you use a 3/4 ball bearing, take a 3/8 inch plate of steel and drill a 3/4 inch hole through it, then attach this plate to a bottom metal plate by drilling a hole in each corner of both plates tap drill size, then drill out the top to bolt size and tap the bottom plate. Install screws to hold the plates secure or just epoxy glue the plates together, for a quicky fix. This will give you a perfect secure half of the ball bearing to work cases on. I found my old Herters military crimp remover in a closet, Looks like a time for some redneck hillbilly engineering design.
Wile E Coyote
Well-Known Member
Stumbled on this thread a couple days ago. Brilliant!
Unfortunately, we didn't have bolts or bearings to build the jig as tbrice23 does in the video, so we applied some "Yankee" ingenuity. The bolt was replaced with a piece of .250" "drill rod". The rod was cut to an appropriate length so it could be clamped in a vise and have the case hang upside down freely - primer pocket up. The anvil end was then chucked in a drill press and filed square with slightly rounded edge. Once we were happy with the shape ( about 90 seconds later) the rod was hardened and tempered. A wrap or two of electrical tape is added as done with the bolt in the video.
Since we didn't have a ball bearing to press on the primer pocket, we took a 6" piece of .500" drill rod and shaped a semi - spherical end on it using the drill press and a single cut mill file. This piece was also hardened and tempered.
To use it, clamp the 1/4" anvil solidly in a vise as close to vertical as practical. Hang the offending case on the anvil and make sure it is centered and hanging freely - NOT touching vise !!! Use the 1/2" rod just like a punch to compress the pocket.
The trick is to align (eyeball straight is OK) both the anvil and punch so that they are on the same axial center-line when struck.
Total time to build this was about 45 to 50 minutes. That includes a gas cylinder change.
I retrieved 26 pieces of 7mm RM from the scrap pail that was perfectly serviceable except for the primer pockets being too open - .210"+. Using this new tool, we were able to recover 24 of 26. (2 cases had 'other issues')
If one doesn't have access to drill rod, old twist drills could be annealed, shaped and re-hardened and tempered in a pinch.
Offered as another way to do this with different materials for those who need it.
Pete
Unfortunately, we didn't have bolts or bearings to build the jig as tbrice23 does in the video, so we applied some "Yankee" ingenuity. The bolt was replaced with a piece of .250" "drill rod". The rod was cut to an appropriate length so it could be clamped in a vise and have the case hang upside down freely - primer pocket up. The anvil end was then chucked in a drill press and filed square with slightly rounded edge. Once we were happy with the shape ( about 90 seconds later) the rod was hardened and tempered. A wrap or two of electrical tape is added as done with the bolt in the video.
Since we didn't have a ball bearing to press on the primer pocket, we took a 6" piece of .500" drill rod and shaped a semi - spherical end on it using the drill press and a single cut mill file. This piece was also hardened and tempered.
To use it, clamp the 1/4" anvil solidly in a vise as close to vertical as practical. Hang the offending case on the anvil and make sure it is centered and hanging freely - NOT touching vise !!! Use the 1/2" rod just like a punch to compress the pocket.
The trick is to align (eyeball straight is OK) both the anvil and punch so that they are on the same axial center-line when struck.
Total time to build this was about 45 to 50 minutes. That includes a gas cylinder change.
I retrieved 26 pieces of 7mm RM from the scrap pail that was perfectly serviceable except for the primer pockets being too open - .210"+. Using this new tool, we were able to recover 24 of 26. (2 cases had 'other issues')
If one doesn't have access to drill rod, old twist drills could be annealed, shaped and re-hardened and tempered in a pinch.
Offered as another way to do this with different materials for those who need it.
Pete
Wile E Coyote
Well-Known Member
Why not? ! ! !
Getting a couple more firings off impossible to find brass or brass that has a lot of time invested preparing for service is what I'm lookin' at. May not use these recovered cases as my A1 long range stuff but they seem to be quite serviceable for foulers, sighters, or shorter range work.
Pete
Wyo7200
Well-Known Member
Has anyone tried it with the small sized primer pockets? Just wondering what sized bearing is being used. Read through the 8 pages of this thread but didnt see it mentioned. Wouldn't mind getting a few more loadings out of the FC stamped .300 blkout cases I made if it works on them.
No sir I haven't tried.
The only small PP cartridge I have is 6br Norma and they're Lapua brass. I run the high pressure node and still have tight pockets.
I would start with 1/2" bearing and see if it worked.
But I can imagine a 3/8" working better because of the steeper slope angle in relation to the small pocket diameter.
The only small PP cartridge I have is 6br Norma and they're Lapua brass. I run the high pressure node and still have tight pockets.
I would start with 1/2" bearing and see if it worked.
But I can imagine a 3/8" working better because of the steeper slope angle in relation to the small pocket diameter.
Wile E Coyote
Well-Known Member
I'll try my 'tools' on some .223 this weekend and post if someone hasn't done so by then.
Thinking about it, I would expect better results with the smaller primer pockets because the rim of the PP will make contact at a more vertical angle. Being so, I would think LESS force would yield the same result. We'll see.
Pete
