Roll Crimping

[Cory Rams]

I’ll have check and see what kind of press I used the other day next trip over.

[Stan Hoover]

Originally Posted by edgarspencer

It's slowest speed is too fast for 8 & 10ga. Barely slow enough for 12ga.

Edgar,
Can you share what speeds you would recommend??

I received my first roll crimp tools last week (16 & 20 ga), and I did a few 20 gauge with decent results but not great. Let's say, I will not be showing them off to you guys who are accomplished rollcrimpers

Thanks for all the good tips by everyone.
Stan

[Andy]

I used my press last night, I think the slowest speed is around 1100 rpm. I did better than by hand, but a bit uneven and choppy. Of course these were previously 8pt crimped hulls so that's not ideal to begin with.

[Milton C Starr]

Ive had alittle luck roll crimping I just started a few months ago. I think roll crimping is one of those things everyone has their own tips and tricks that works best for them. I read the 16 ga reloaders say they get the best results 60-120rpms, but you're not going to find a drill press that slow most likely. I have come up with a few ideas to get a better roll but I havnt tested them yet.

[Stan Hoover]

Thanks for that info Milton,
I’m in search of an older drill press as we speak, have wanted to buy a general purpose drill press for my small shop for awhile now.
I’m looking for a good one��, if you know of one, let me know.
Stan

[edgarspencer]

Originally Posted by Stan Hoover

Edgar,
Can you share what speeds you would recommend??

Stan, Given that the old hand crank tools were in use for paper hulls, I run my Rockwell press at 300 rpm. I'm using Nick Ross tools which have more pins than the common ones sold by either BP or precision.
The key to roll crimping plastic hulls is A) start with a smooth case mouth. If you're roll crimping 2 3/4" hulls, you already have enough extra to trim off, because the roll uses less than the star crimp. B) Heat. Start with a light pressure on the hull and withing a few seconds you'll feel it begin to roll, because the plastic is more pliable when warmed up by friction. Once its begining to roll, give it more pressure, and don't delay, because you can soften the plastic too much, and get crappy results.
I roll my 8ga hulls at a much slower speed, because the tool has six pins. I do them in either my Bridgeport with the back gears engaged.(I'm not suggesting you go out and buy a 2000lb milling machine) Anything more than 150-200 rpm and the tool heats up and scars the outside diameter of the hull.
Be aware of the tool temperature. I load up a tray with 25 or 50 hulls at a time, but don't roll all at one shot because the tool gets too hot. Rolling paper (I roll 12,16 & 20 paper also) heat doesn't seem to hurt the hulls but paper likes the slowest speed, or it scars, almost tears, the lip.
I've had many conversations with Nick Ross, and I will say, he puts a great deal of thought into his tools. To the extent, he is considering two different tools for 8 ga. hulls because of the hull thickness difference between Winchester and Remington industrial hulls. The 'smoothness' of the inside diameter of the finished roll is as important as the outside, and the internal tool profile takes hull thickness into account.
Cheddite paper hulls are thinner than Federals, and roll well with Ross tools, but I roll the Federal hulls in and old Deluxe Bridgeport Implement Co hand cranked roller.

[Milton C Starr]

Im thinking perhaps a easy way to do it is when roll crimping to just pop the driven pulley off and find something like one of these wheels and hand turn it. I noticed with my PR crimper it doesnt like any sort of lubrication in fact it wont even begin to crimp but the BPI seems to work either way. The above green hulls are 8 gauge Remingtons I did with the BPI cant remember if I used the drill press or hand drill. I have rolled crimped one old paper hull maybe from the 1970s with the BPI crimper with a hand drill. It worked but the old paper and the jagged way I cut the old crimp didnt look the best. I ordered some expensive custom paper hulls last week I might try something different crimping those they are to expensive to mess up haha.

If you wanted to get real simple id buy a hand crank drill attach it to a drill guide and do it that way. Really when you break it down you just need something that can hold a 1/2" chuck horizontally stable at a slow speed, I think anyway you could achieve that with a hand crank would probably work best. Or if these are just going to be used in a sxs or any break open gun run down to the local Dollar General and buy a hot glue gun or tube of duco cement. It really depends if you care how pretty they look you get better case mouth life using a glued in overshot card. Me personally I dont care as I get rid of them after 1 firing as I like my ammo to look pretty

[Stan Hoover]

Thanks Edgar for your thorough explanation of how you do roll crimping and all the helpful tips.

And thanks to you also Milt, I appreciate all the knowledge I can pick up on this great forum.

As they say, Life is to short to learn only from your own mistakes, learning from other peoples mistakes is a plus

Thanks to this thread, the roll crimpers that I did buy are the ones produced by Nick Ross, so now the search for a good press will start. I love when I have an excuse to buy something that I've been wanting for a while.

Thanks again,
Stan

[edgarspencer]

When I was old enough to take a gun out by myself, the only shotshells were paper, and loading paper hulls was initially my attempt to recreate the smell and nostalgia. I began rolling my own when I found a nice old hand roller. Since then I learned there's more to it, but, like Milton, I like my shells to look nice too.
Apart from the appearance, rolling gives advantages in lower pressures for old guns.
I've pattern tested lots of these, and found that overshot cards need to as thin as practical in order not to skew the pattern. or, doughnut hole them.
Another detail of importance is that the roll be physically uniform all the way around. If not, the mouth opens up first at the point of least resistance, and the pattern is skewed. The depth of the roll does not need to be any more than what it takes to do a complete 180 degree turn. More, and it builds pressure opening up the mouth; Less, and there's the risk the loaded shell will pop the card loose and spill the shot. Plastic hulls need reconditioning after fired. Reloaded paper hulls are never as pretty as they were new.
All I need now is time to get out and empty a mess of these shells.

[Fishrising (Ben)]

Anyone using a “portable drill press” or “drill guide” versus a dedicated drill press? Ie one that you use a hand held drill in? Like one of these? How is your experience with them?

https://www.amazon.com/Milescraft-13...s%2C146&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/BEAMNOVA-Benc...%2C146&sr=8-17