Newb with 3AM thoughts about - EVERYTHING!

[cdhbrad]

Agreed.  I use a combo of crushed Walnut and ground corn cob and the NuFinish makes it all shine like new.  It seems to cut down on dust, etc. too.       

[M1A4ME]

Agreed.  I use a combo of crushed Walnut and ground corn cob and the NuFinish makes it all shine like new.  It seems to cut down on dust, etc. too.       

Sure does.  I usually only have polish in one vibratory cleaner.  The other day I put some in the one usually not having polish in it and when I was scooping around in the media with my hand taking a look at brass before either dumping/separating it, or running it a couple more hours, I noticed how much cleaner my hand/fingers were after the wax was added prior to that batch of brass.

[Wobbly]

Wobbly that tube looks like a great idea I?ll be adding it to the weekend list of projects. 

That tube and jug is rather mandatory if you have small children in your home. Just cut an opening in the jug's cap sized so that the tube stays in place. The tube should be long enough so that when the ram of the press goes to the top of the stroke that the tube is not pulled out of the jug.

In no time at all the jug will weigh enough where it will stop dancing around on the floor. You'll see. Once you have that maintenance-free trash disposal set up for 30 days, you'll never go back to open container primer disposal. It's, in a word, nasty.

 

[Wobbly]

As mentioned, add a capful or so of NuFinish to your tumbler and let it work into the tumbling medium before you add the brass.  [snip]

Plenty of good advice on this thread.  You will work out what works best for you.

Actually, any car polish will work. NuFinish has components that cut through crud a little better, and it's a liquid making it disperse easier in the media. BUT, any car polish will work, and everybody has an old can of Turtle Wax or some other paste wax hanging around.

Mainly the car polish applies an oxygen-proof sealer to the outside of the brass. When you seal away the oxygen, then the shine stays around a bit longer. It's that thin layer of anti-oxidation coating that provides some small but helpful level of lubrication to the brass.

But if you didn't have any, and had to buy something, then I'd second the motion to buy NuFinish.

One downside you need to be aware of... if your bottle of car wax is left in a cold garage (below 50F), when you shake the bottle as instructed, the bottle will burst open covering you, your bench, and anything nearby in a splatter of thick, white, waxy, gooey mess. Don't ask me how I know this.

 

[cdhbrad]

I haven't tried liquid car wax but I ran out of Nufinish once and tried some Turtle Wax Scratch remover.....worked great.  I just use NuFinish because its easy to find and reasonably priced.   

[nstg8r]

when you shake the bottle as instructed, the bottle will burst open[/color] covering you, your bench, and anything nearby in a splatter of thick, white, waxy, gooey mess.

 

Ha, sounds like a hard earned lesson there.

I got lots of old car wax, so looking forward to giten 'er done!

[Wobbly]

As mentioned, add a capful or so of NuFinish to your tumbler and let it work into the tumbling medium before you add the brass. Mine is shiny as new after a couple of hours in my Lyman 1200.  Also, a used dryer sheet cut into strips and added to the mix will collect dust.

The dust is a serious consideration with dry tumbling methods and during media separation. You DO NOT want to breathe that dust.

? I tumble outdoors. These days, most homes have an electrical outlet on the rear deck or porch. My shop is on a hilltop with a pleasant breeze, so I simply leave the top off when tumbling and the dust is wafted away. I use the top to seal the unit when I bring it back indoors.

? If you tumble indoors, then you want to be sure and secure the top during the entire operation. Sifting and media separation still need to be done outdoors.


? You want to be sure and wash your hands with soap and water at the end of every tumbling session.


BTW... A countdown electrical timer can be had from Amazon for less than $11. See This Page

Hope this helps.

[optimator]

I tumble and then deprime. I load on a 550. I've been reloading about 20 years and just started lubing pistol brass in the last year. It isn't necessary, but it sure makes the press run smoother. I use a home made mix of denatured alcohol and liquid lanolin.

[nstg8r]

Ok, I've got my Dillon SD running great and now I'd like to start loading. Along with the used press came about 200 round/cone nose 124gr lead bullets. I don't know much about them other than weight and what I can get from calipers.

9mm LCN 124gr length by Trevor Steel, on Flickr

9mm shank by Trevor Steel, on Flickr


What I do know is that when I try to find my OAL, due to the shape the length is past 1.169. I also know that the shank is about .256 which is where I figure I want to seat the bullet. Would this be correct?

Looking at Lyman's 50th, I see they load lead 120gr at min 3.0 gr and max 4.1 of Win231. I assume that this would be in the safe zone for a heavy weight bullet.
Lee's Modern Reloading has load data for 124gr starting at 3.0 and 4.0 for Win231.

So my plan is to load the ladder at 3.0, 3.4, 3.4, 3.6, 3.8, and 4.0 gr. all at the length of .75+.610-.256 = 1.104 => 1.10"

Is this a reasonable plan?

[Wobbly]

Looking at Lyman's 50th, I see they load lead 120gr at min 3.0 gr and max 4.1 of Win231. I assume that this would be in the safe zone for a heavy weight bullet.  Lee's Modern Reloading has load data for 124gr starting at 3.0 and 4.0 for Win231.

Yes, you want to seat about .250 deep, so that most of that large diameter is inside the case mouth. So we're not loading to an OAL so much as just burring that large feature of the bullet inside the case. You'll need a large flair on the case to make sure no lead is being removed during seating. Watch for little lead "eyelashes" falling away from the seating die. You absolutely don't want to see those lead shavings coming off the bullet.

So my plan is to load the ladder at 3.0, 3.4, 3.4, 3.6, 3.8, and 4.0 gr. all at the length of .75+.610-.256 = 1.104 => 1.10". Is this a reasonable plan?

Yes, it's a good plan, but I think you got a typo there... 3.0, 3.2, 3.4, 3.6....

Just load about 5 at each increment. With only 200, you're not going to work out every last detail becasue you'll be out of bullets in no time. You just want to find what operates your gun pretty good so you can use them up.

BTW, that does look sort of like a Missouri Bullet Co offering.

[nstg8r]

3.4, 3.4  Correct, that should read 3.2

Thanks for the tip on Missouri, I checked their site and while they do look similar I don't see any with a red wax ring. But, that could be because what I have is at least 5 to 6 years old. Maybe earlier production was with red...

[Wobbly]

That bullet is from a common mold that many manufacturers use. Once the bullet is cast, the bullet is then sized and lubed. So the OD and the color of the wax/lube are the only hints of the original manufacturer.

Due to the multiple vendors, you don't need to lose any sleep over who made those exact bullets. But you might hold back 2 or 3 for comparison.

[nstg8r]

Yes, you want to seat about .250 deep, so that most of that large diameter is inside the case mouth. So we're not loading to an OAL so much as just burring that large feature of the bullet inside the case. You'll need a large flair on the case to make sure no lead is being removed during seating. Watch for little lead "eyelashes" falling away from the seating die. You absolutely don't want to see those lead shavings coming off the bullet.

Dang it, I noticed these "eyelashes" when I loaded up my last of 5 rounds in my ladder. So if I understand this correctly, I've shaved off some of the diameter of the bullet and that will impact the seal between the lead and the bore. This would cause lower pressure and reduced velocity.

I suppose I'll need to break down the cartridges and start over with fresh bullets? And readjust the belling of the die.

[M1A4ME]

I would shoot them.

The "eyelashes" are most likely just a small piece the case mouth cut off the base of the bullet around the outside corner.  The majority of the bullet that touches the lands is still there.

I adjust my die so the case mouth is opened/belled just enough so that when I set a lead bullet on it the bullet will drop in so that the top of the case mouth is about 1/2 way up that bottom lead ring from the base of the bullet to the bottom grease groove.  If you're shooting bullets with no grease groove then adjust it so that the bottom of the bullet will start down into the case mouth and "stick" in it when you pick up the bullet/case by the bullet.

[IDescribe]

I would shoot them.

^^this^^

Do not break those down.  You want NOT to do that when you're loading.  You want to refine that out of the process.  But the rounds will still shoot.