Slight problem with my new crimp die.

[SC_Dave]

Just installed my Hornady LnL taper crimp/seater die. Got it adjusted properly for seat and crimp as best I can tell. However, on the down stroke of the ram the cartridge seemd to be catching on something and jarring the press enough to topple the bullet in the next round in the shell plate over. I know it is in seat/crimp die because I have run that step alone. I have pulled the die apart and see nothing obvious. Any ideas?
David

 

[rcmodel]

Belling to much, and the bell won't start in the die smoothly??

rc

 

[SC_Dave]

RC, it goes into the die just fine, seats and crimps good, it's coming out of the die that it "catches" slightly. Can't figure it out......

 

[rcmodel]

Well, color a "catchy" one with a black magic marker and run it in & out of the die again.

If it has something to do with the crimped round, it will rub the marker off the offending spot.

rc

 

[918v]

If it's catching on the way out of the die, then the problem lies elsewhere.

 

[45lcshooter]

Maybe there could be a slight bur on the die, or on the cases, that it catches on your downward stroke.

 

[SC_Dave]

It pretty much catches on every cartridge. I also looked into the die and it looks smooth. Could it be that it's new and for lack of a better term needs to be broken in?

 

[918v]

At what point in the stroke is it catching?

How far out of the die is the round when you feel it catch?

 

[rcmodel]

See post #4 again.

rc

 

[SC_Dave]

I blackened a case from half way up to the mouth with a sharpie marker, the only place it's rubbed off is on the very edge of the mouth. Here is a pic of one I just reloaded just in case your experienced eyes see anything.

 

[Blue68f100]

I would pull the bullet and check the crimp. I think you are applying too much. I use the Hornady TC die for 9mm and 45acp. When I first got mine they had a tendency to stick. I ended up pulling bullets finding that I was applying too much. Once I backed it off the sticking stopped. It got smoother the more I used it.

 

[SC_Dave]

Sticking is a good description, I will check that. I certainly could be crimping too much. I am considering doing away with my bullet feeder die and using a seperate seat and crimp die. My biggest problem is lack of experience. I really appreciate all input.
David

 

[rfwobbly]

I also believe you're applying too much crimp.

• First of all, your caliber looks like 9x19 Luger which calls for a taper crimp. However, most Hornady 9x19 dies apply a roll crimp. Is your die set specifically marked for taper crimp ?

• Secondly, you only want to apply just barely enough die to erase the belling. In the photo below, do you see the bright gold ring around the mouth of the case? That's what a good taper crimp looks like.



In the case of taper crimp, more is not better.

• Last you'll have much better results applying the taper crimp as a separate step from seating. Separate taper crimp dies are readily available from Lee or Redding.

Hope this helps!

 

[Steve C]

on the down stroke of the ram the cartridge seemd to be catching on something and jarring the press enough to topple the bullet in the next round in the shell plate over.

Its probably a little stickiness in the crimping portion of the seating die. New brass, trimmed brass and occasionally once fired will stick a bit as the sharp shoulder of the case mouth grabs any roughness in the die. Often you will see small thin wire like fragments of case brass that have broken off the case mouth edge in the die.

When I have this I do one of two things. On older proven dies that usually don't have this problem, chamfering the outside of the case or cleaning the die well with solvent will often stop this. If you get the same problem with the expander die chamfer the inside of the case mouth. On new dies where it seems the problem lies with the die I'll chuck an old bore brush in the drill, wrap it with fine steel wool and run it into the die to polish the die making sure I clean out the die to get rid of any particles left by the steel wool. So far this has worked for me.

 

[SC_Dave]

Last night I seperated my seat and crimp. The entire press runs smother now and it makes me slow down some as I set the bullet by hand now. I'm gonna see how that works, I'll keep you posted.
David

 

[jwrowland77]

I actually had this same exact issue when I first set up my seater/crimp die and also have a Hornady. I figured out I was over crimping. Once I got the crimp exactly where I needed it, it doesn't do it anymore. I can now seat and crimp all with one die with no issues and my reloads come out just fine.

 

[SC_Dave]

Thanks JW that's good to know. I may go back to the seat/crimp single die after I run the two seperate for a while.
David

 

[243winxb]

The photo looks like the COL is to long, causing the bullet diameter to stick in the seating die. If that die has a sliding sleeve to guide the bullet, i would say its undersize.

Taper Crimp Adjust Screw
Easily adjusts amount of crimp on the cartridge without changing bullet seating depth or loosening the lock ring.

Looks like hornady had to be different, or try to copy lee.