I’ve found the repetitive process of carefully manipulating and exchanging a variety of different tools (eg.deburring & chamfer; Lyman flash hole uniformer; primer pocket brush & cleaners; Lee Case Trimmer; nylon cleaning rod brush etc) to be a somewhat time consuming, tiring and fiddly task. The following simple alternative streamlines the process. Note that most of the tools are positioned relatively close together (in a 15 x 20 cm area on my reloading bench) - minimizing hand movement, with a forearm / wrist rest for supporting the case holding hand in some instances (resulting in less fatigue and more precise manipulation).
1. I now chamfer the internal neck with several hand turns of a Lyman Utility Crank. (Note, I discarded the SINGLE adjustable external neck cutting blade because unless the case was precisely positioned it tended to deburr only one small section of the neck).
2. To deburr the external neck, I partially counter sunk the ‘rocket nose’ end of my RCBS chamfer / deburring tool into the bench top such that the three ‘fins’ protruded vertically. Simply apply light downward pressure, with the finger of one hand resting on the primer pocket and slowly twirl the case back and forth a few times with 2/3 fingers of the other. Easy !
3. The threaded end of the following tools (nylon cleaning rod brush, Lyman flash hole uniformer, primer pocket brush & cleaners) are threaded into pairs of suitable nuts and then counter sunk / epoxy glued into the bench top – allowing more controlled manipulation of the shell. Eg. Similar technique to Step 2 when cleaning the Primer pockets. Also, the internal neck is quickly cleaned with a few up and down strokes. I use a tooth brush to regularly remove any brass shavings etc from the various relevant tools and case prep bench area.
4. For case trimming - I use a Lee case holder / lock stud assembled on an elevated horizontally bench mounted old electric drill. Simply attach the case, insert the relevant hand held Lee Case Trimmer (Case Length Gauge and Cutter) and activate the drill. Note, I use an adjustable Velcro strap around the drill’s trigger handle to regulate the speed and a readily accessible boxed ‘house hold light’ switch (connected via the trigger’s power supply wire) to activate the drill. Alternatively, simply operate the drill via the power point switch.
5. For case cleaning – I also place the case in the drill mounted Lee case holder / lock stud assembly and clean it externally using a hand held nylon scrubbing pad – simply squeeze the pad around the rotating base and then slowly pull it to the neck end.
Some other simplified reloading procedures that might be useful :
I weigh every load from my baffled RCBS Uniflow Powder Measure. Rather than using the case I use an old 35mm film container for collecting and directly transferring the dumped powder onto the Scale’s tray. Once the powder has been checked / adjusted, I then pour the powder into a hand held case positioned below a fixed mounted powder funnel – minimizes manipulating the funnel and any associated powder spillage. The powder trickler is also fix mounted such that it feeds directly into the Scale’s tray – simply twirl the trickler’s knob when required.
A picture tells a thousand words – if someone simply explains HOW I’ll post some photos of my rather compact / portable / ’work anywhere’ wooden box like reloading bench (L76 x W41 x H43 cm) – excluding the RCBS Rock Chucker press and a Lee case holder / lock stud attached to a fixed horizontally mounted electric drill, everything else is quickly and securely locked away inside (including dies, powder, bullets, Scale etc). The tiered production line set up has provision for a detachable Cartridge Loading Block, Powder Measure / Trickler and Scale, a fixed powder funnel, and a dedicated case prep area – as explained above.
I’ve also constructed a 24 kg ‘T’ shaped wooden rifle bench rest with both a padded / modified scissor jack assembly and rifle butt support (a 71 cm x 10 cm x 12 mm piece of steel is simply glued & screwed along the base for a bit of ballast !). It has height adjustable ‘rubber door stoppers’ for legs and is ultra stable for bench testing batches of hand loads. Two rubber castor wheels at the jack end and a folding ‘tool trunk’ handle at the butt end facilitates transportation. I also use the rest when cleaning my rifles etc
