Hunterman, I use a Series II press, and an old Mity Mite and know that in some instances the PF internal ejector punch does not fit the blind hole of the press ram as it should. It is either flattened on the end making it impossible to slide into the ram's hole when the handle is moved downward, or two long to allow the handle to go all the way down. This is what snaps some stop pins. If the punch's tail doesn't fit the hole, you first feel a bit of resistance, and then the 2# of effort you apply is multiplied 30,000 times and the stop pin is history. So, It's standard procedure for me to 'dry run' every PF set I have to make sure the internal punch fits the press's ram well. If there is ANY resistance at all anywhere in the swage cycle, it's time to grind! I've had to grind down several overly long PF punch tails to cure this deficiency. Too, if that blind hole in the ram fills with those little lead wires from you swaging cores, it jams the punch's tail and you have the same pin breaking problem. I'm not sure if this deficiency exists with the 'S' press, or the walnut Hill press. Anyway, it's a simple fix: you just pull the ram's bayonet clips, drop the ram out of the press, and shake the 'squirts' out of the blind hole. Oh yes, you can make an emergency stop pin by using a drill bit that just fits into the stop pin hole. A drill bit is hardened, but you should order up a new pin right away as unless the bit is a perfect fit it will eventually ruin the hole.
