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Whats a good way to remove the crimp from military brass?
Military crimp remover
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"Fastest method i've found is with a reamer in my drill press."
Ditto. And I've happily used just a hand held VSR drill motor as well.
Ditto. And I've happily used just a hand held VSR drill motor as well.
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I have used a Lyman hand tool that has large and small primer size cutters that I have never had problems with. Just a few quick turns and it's done. I have read where others have said to be very careful because it cuts the primer pockets too deep, but I have never had problems with that. I know it's just a hand tool but I have done hundreds of .223 military brass and it didn't seem to me to take too long to do.
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A LEE chamfer tool works fine for me
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Probably the second fastest method is the Dillon Super Swage 600. I have done almost 1300 cases at a sitting with it, and that only took a little over an hour, potty breaks included. The fastest is to be loading on a Dillon 1050, in which case the swager is built in at one of the 8 stations. That means it adds zero time, as you just load the crimped cases like you would a case with no crimp. But the 1050 is limited as to the calibers it accommodates, so it may or may not work for you.
The swaging method does upset the brass outward around the perimeter of the primer pocket a little. Maybe a couple or three thousandths high. It flattens back out in firing, though. Occasionally you get a case which will have enough flow back over the primer pocket lip to need a second pass before it primes completely freely for the rest of its life.
The swaging method does upset the brass outward around the perimeter of the primer pocket a little. Maybe a couple or three thousandths high. It flattens back out in firing, though. Occasionally you get a case which will have enough flow back over the primer pocket lip to need a second pass before it primes completely freely for the rest of its life.
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It depends what you prefer
I have used the Lyman hand tools and they worked just fine. My preference is the RCBS swage die that is simple and effective. All the best...
Gil
I have used the Lyman hand tools and they worked just fine. My preference is the RCBS swage die that is simple and effective. All the best...
Gil
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1,398 Posts
To my knowledge the only method/equipment I haven't used is the Dillion swagger. Started with the RCBS swagger then bought the Lyman hand reamer. Over the years I acquired the RCBS tools made for there case prep center in addition to Lee's. Initially the RCBS swagger removed the crimps from thousands of military brass. Later as my brass supplies stabilized it was supplemented by other tools for those occassional cases needing crimp removal. I've always been leary of Lymans reamer that it may cause loosening of the primer pockets by removal of metal from the walls. Lee's worked okay but was very slow. The RCBS accessories for there case prep center is IMHO the best of the lot if not using a swagger. Use either the RCBS or Hornady's case prep center or a battery operated variable speed drill. The design only allows a small amount of metal removal before bottoming out on the case head.
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How I do it...
I've found the best way to get rid of that pesky crimp is with an 82-degree countersink. I bought this one at Sears in the mid-1980s. No longer available. I chuck it into my Black & Decker cordless and spin that troublesome little nuisance out in about three seconds. I find the best width to cut the chamfer is about 1/32-inch and a skosh. I find LC and PMC cases to be the ones that need a second kissin' more often than any other. Image is of .223Rem cases.
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I've found the best way to get rid of that pesky crimp is with an 82-degree countersink. I bought this one at Sears in the mid-1980s. No longer available. I chuck it into my Black & Decker cordless and spin that troublesome little nuisance out in about three seconds. I find the best width to cut the chamfer is about 1/32-inch and a skosh. I find LC and PMC cases to be the ones that need a second kissin' more often than any other. Image is of .223Rem cases.
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706 Posts
I've found the best way to get rid of that pesky crimp is with an 82-degree countersink. I bought this one at Sears in the mid-1980s. No longer available. I chuck it into my Black & Decker cordless and spin that troublesome little nuisance out in about three seconds. I find the best width to cut the chamfer is about 1/32-inch and a skosh. I find LC and PMC cases to be the ones that need a second kissin' more often than any other. Image is of .223Rem cases.
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I use a Uni-Bit . If I can not find it , a 3/8" ( I think ) HS steel drill bit .
God bless
Wyr
Merry Christmas
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863 Posts
It's the inexpensive Lyman hand held crimp reamer/cutter that I chuck in my drills. The bottom of the crimp cutter is flat, it won't deepen the pockets nor will it make the pockets a larger diameter unless it's fed in at a great angle. For procket uniforming I use the Lyman cutter in the drill. Ditto the Lyman flash hole uniformer. They have all worked quite well for my modest needs.
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4,735 Posts
RCBS primer pocket swager as it's affordable and mounts in the press for lots of leverage. It's not as fast as the Dillon but fast enough for small projects. If faced with a large amount or continuous need to open crimped primer pockets, would seriously consider the electric motor driven Dillon unit.
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I may be doing things wrong , I have the RCBS swagger & have had only limited luck with it . I end using a drill bit to ream the primer pockets .
God bless
Wyr
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What seems to be the problem with using the swager? Will try to help.
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On some , not all , I still have problems with the primers hanging up when I try to seat them . So , I end up jist hitting them lightly , reaming the burrs .
So , my thinking has been , I ended up processing this twice . Might as well just ream them the first time and be done with it .
This has been mostly .223 , lately .
My cousin uses the RCBS swagger successfully and has tried to toutor me , with only limited improvement ?
I am still open to suggestions ?
God bless
Wyr
Happy New Year
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Originally had same issue when first started using mine. Found I didn't have the center push rod lowered far enough too completely force the case onto the primer swager. Second possible problem is not having the die screwed down far enough where the press has to over cam at top of stroke. Once I eliminated both of those issues only occassionally was there a case that needed touching up. Be careful and methodical while eliminating the various bugs. Its possible to bend the center push rod if the case is not specifically seated on the primer swager. Never been a problem for me but have heard of others who've bent there rod.
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What Hailstone said should get you going. I adjusted my crimp remover by running a cartridge case up the die with the post backed off just a bit (enough to contact the bottom of the cartridge case) but not enough to fully seat the swaging button. Then I advanced the post gradually until the button was fully seated in the primer pocket. You should not see daylight between the cartridge rim and the base of the swaging button. You might have to "fine tune" the adjustment to get to this point.
BTW, I placed a rubber plumbing gasket around my press ram so that the cup on the crimp remover will not chip paint off my press when I'm swaging. I tend to over-do things. Hope this works for you.
BTW, I placed a rubber plumbing gasket around my press ram so that the cup on the crimp remover will not chip paint off my press when I'm swaging. I tend to over-do things. Hope this works for you.
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