Paperclip method for brass?

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Hey guys...

I found a few LC 5.56 cases that were suspect and used the paper clip to determine if there was case head separation and I could definitely feel the divot. Well the cat seems to enjoy the paper clips or they are so small I lose them, so I picked these up. I can feel the divot in the same brass but not as bad as the paperclip. I am using the straighter of the picks. Any issue using these instead of a paper clip? I have a lot of range brass to go through the next few weeks and want to make sure I'm doing it correctly.

Well let me edit this seeing how what I typed didn't go through. With the pick I can feel some sort of grit in the case that almost feels like rust. The paper clip only feels the divot. Any idea what the crust is?
https://www.harborfreight.com/6-piece-pick-set-93514.html
 
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I think the flex of a paper clip allows the point to snap into a separation. Plus your using your fingertips to hold a PC and where the picks spread out the feeling. More sensitivity. I got some of the big PCs that are about 5" folded out. They have worked for me since I started reloading in the 70s.
 
Same thing I use, just an old dental pick. Only headache is getting them into some case necks.

Don’t over think it. It’s a “finger extension,” much akin to a pointy stick. Pretty hard to mess up a pointy stick.
 
I use the sharpened bent wire feeler method along with shining a pen light in the primer pocket flash hole and looking inside the neck. The light in the flash hole works ok.
 
I found that shining a light into the flash hole shows me more than the paperclip does. to the point that I think I may have missed some with the paperclip.
The shadow cast by the light leaves no doubt. I use an older incandescent light too, the new LEDs are rough on the eyes
 
I've found, scraping .308 brass from my M1a, that the paperclip will miss a 'stretch' vs an actual start of a case separation. I've sectioned a few cases just to see what I was looking at... and it's not always obvious. Ironic might have a better idea...
 
When doctors close down offices and move they tend to leave little stuff behind which is only going to get thrown away. A suitable tool is easily made though.
 
If you cut a few cases like walkalong did you will get a better feel for what you are doing.

I made a little arm attachment for a runout fixture I built. It’s small enough diameter to fit inside a .224 caliber case neck, long enough to work with magnum cases and has a ball bearing contact surface.

Zero out the indicator and slide the case on and you can non destructively measure wall thickness at any point.

B83D2245-5B3B-4D94-A5BD-A2DA2FA0958D.jpeg

Obviously it will measure the same even if you don’t section the case.

5606C8DE-B399-411D-9859-344C4BEF62E0.jpeg
 
Well after doing a quart bag of brass last night I found one with a divot that I could start to see and it got tossed. I found some that were smooth as silk and some that only on one side felt list rust or crust on the inside. It was pretty thick too. I am at a loss because these are only fired 2x.
 
You are just "feeling" the ID for any thin spots. Paper clip, dental pick, probe, they all work and and the "differences" are just personal preferences" ("flex", "grip", and "sensitivity" are kinda what you feel when you use a tool and another user probably won't "feel" the same). If you really want to get into the case thinning detection, and possibly chart the thinning per shot, Mr Morris shows the definitive method. I have a "Machinist's Probe" I got in the late '60s that still comes in handy, and a length of spring steel about .060" in diameter, sharpened and bent, but sometimes I just sit on my stool and reach for a paper clip...
 
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ohihunter2014 said:
Well after doing a quart bag of brass last night I found one with a divot that I could start to see and it got tossed. I found some that were smooth as silk and some that only on one side felt list rust or crust on the inside. It was pretty thick too. I am at a loss because these are only fired 2x.
Click to expand...

It's not really a mystery. Head separations are most common in bottle necked cases but can also occur in straight walled cases. The reasons include:

1. Pressure.
2. Resizing die dimension versus chamber dimension (the more the dimensions differ the more the brass will be worked).
3. Brass quality (I found Federal brass to make great reloads but not last as long).
 
I've had head separations with 460 S&W Magnum brass. The reason was pressure. That cartridge is rated for 65,000 psi and I wasn't over that but the pressure still decreases case life.
 
jmorris said:
Reminds me of a problem I ran across with some new starline brass. I switched to range pick up brass and continued my load development without further issue.
Click to expand...

I've had the same experience... oddly enough, with Starline .38SPC brass (like that shown in the photo...) cracking after the 2nd or 3rd loading... and my Starline .45ACP brass is expiring faster than any other brass I use.
 
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