Finally set up the drill press for roll crimping

[Milton C Starr]

Originally Posted by Arthur Shaffer

If you were using a vice jaw that didn't fit the shell, a 1000 ton press might not work until you crush the shell head. If you do rifle work, the barrel clamp is exactly like the hull clamp jaws and requires tightening with a big wrench and a lot of pressure to get it to hold with an insert which exactlyfits the barrel. I have roll crimped with both a hand drill and a big drill press and they both work easily with any of an assortment of 1, 2 and 4 roller crimpers. None of them are ever tightened more than slightly finder tignt and can be held in place on a table top by hand holding. I think the secret is simply use a jaw that fits, lube the crimper and run 300-500 rpm. I use my stationary dril press set at about this speed because that particular press is used mostly for metal work and has an x-y vise permanently mounted. I have quit using the actual crimping vice. I simply clamp the hull jaws between the drill press vice jaws and center the first hell under the crimper. From there on I can even change gauges and not have to adjust anything.

610rpms is the lowest mine goes, using a hand drill I have done it and extremely slow speeds like a hand cranked roll crimper does which work well also. I couldnt do the 10 ga hulls by hand they would just spin the 8 gauge is much easier though.

I really need to get to the range soon and do some patterning testing on all these loads.

[charlie cleveland]

I ve got a drill press but have never used it to roll crimp my 8 ga shells but I need too...my roll crimps are not as nice as yours....I get some good roll s from time to time with the hand drill but some times they don't look to good...bugs me when this happens...charlie

[Milton C Starr]

Originally Posted by charlie cleveland

I ve got a drill press but have never used it to roll crimp my 8 ga shells but I need too...my roll crimps are not as nice as yours....I get some good roll s from time to time with the hand drill but some times they don't look to good...bugs me when this happens...charlie

Charlie you could probably get one of those drill guides for your hand held and you would get more even roll crimps. I seen a guy on youtube use this mini table top drill press as well https://www.ebay.com/itm/39323292122...3ABFBMqub2gelf

[charlie cleveland]

you surprise me with your computer skills...it looks like a good thing...charlie

[Milton C Starr]

Originally Posted by charlie cleveland

you surprise me with your computer skills...it looks like a good thing...charlie

Charlie computer work is what paid for my 6 frame 10 gauge haha.

[Stan Hillis]

Milton, I use a MEC Sizemaster to hold my shells on my drill press table. No slippage, and it does double duty!

SRH

[Milton C Starr]

Originally Posted by Stan Hillis

Milton, I use a MEC Sizemaster to hold my shells on my drill press table. No slippage, and it does double duty!

SRH

I dont have any sort of reloading press I am literally hand loading everything . I could fit all my loading tools in a small pouch well besides the drill press. If I was doing fold crimps I would get a press, I dont think anyone makes the hand held fold cimpers anymore.

[charlie cleveland]

I ve got some presses but mostly I load by hand the 8 ga and 3 1/2 inch 12 ga...I don't shoot as much as I use to....really like to load the odd stuff like round ball and buckshot in the 8 and 10 ga...killed lots of cans and paper targets with these loads...charlie

[Stan Hillis]

It's not a press, Milton. It only resizes the case heads, and you can interchange collets for any gauge. I can do from 10 ga. down to .410. I actually bought it when I used to reload for a short 10. I never had a 10 ga. press and only used hand tools like you describe, except for the Sizemaster. I picked up 3" 10 ga. duck load hulls in blinds and would resize the heads in the Sizemaster, after shortening them to 2 7/8", for use in my LC Smith 10.

It's a valuable tool for someone that picks up used hulls. All presses will resize, but not all use a collet to do it. Collet resizing is absolutely effortless.

[Milton C Starr]

Originally Posted by charlie cleveland

I ve got some presses but mostly I load by hand the 8 ga and 3 1/2 inch 12 ga...I don't shoot as much as I use to....really like to load the odd stuff like round ball and buckshot in the 8 and 10 ga...killed lots of cans and paper targets with these loads...charlie

Im not sure if any of the shot sizes im loading would even feed through a press.
With the weight of the T and F shot it only takes about 3 scoops of my dipper to fill the shell anyhow.

Ive been surprised at how durable the nickel plating is on this BPI shot, I crushed one with some pliers and still non of the nickel came off.