LoadMaster Up and Running

[Ranch Dog]

The lube application looks fine to me. I take it the case mouth flare is from the flaring decapper used with the App? Seems aggressive. I wonder if that is setting things in motion; the drag and resistance that the case rim cannot compete against with the LM's shell plate.

horseman, are you using that flaring decapper on the APP? It is used in prep for swagging.

[klr]

The lube application looks fine to me. I take it the case mouth flare is from the flaring decapper used with the App? Seems aggressive. I wonder if that is setting things in motion; the drag and resistance that the case rim cannot compete against with the LM's shell plate.

Yes, that flare is from the APP decapper. I don't like it at all. I think it's Lee's attempt to make the APP work with 223, but it's been an epic fail for me. The upper swage rod is .220" diameter, and with that flare, the case mouth is .240". So if the brass is mispositioned or leans .011" one way then the rod hits the case mouth and I have to align the case by hand.

But I don't think that flare is causing the resizing problems. The hardest resistance is felt when the base is inserted that last little bit.

But resizing isn't that hard and the single stage press does fine. The Loadmaster shell plate holds the case rim only at two places on the opposite sides of the rim instead of half of the circle.

[horseman]

horseman, are you using that flaring decapper on the APP? It is used in prep for swagging.

No, I haven't used that die. All of my 223 brass has been processed earlier but not sized.

Klr, try a different lube. Or try using the Lee lube without diluting it on a few cases. A 223 case shouldn't be that hard to resize.

[Ranch Dog]

For grins, I decapped my 218 Bee cases with the 22 Cal HD Decapping Rod, rather than the 22/30 Cal rod that comes with the Swagging Kit. I fed a tube of cases through the APP without issue.

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[klr]

Klr, try a different lube. Or try using the Lee lube without diluting it on a few cases. A 223 case shouldn't be that hard to resize.

They don't strike me as hard to resize at all on my single stage press.

I have several other lubes, but the problem is I don't want to use individual application with my fingers or a lube pad like I've done for years. I'm trying here to use a lube system that is fast for a large batch of brass.

I took a handful of lubed brass and gave them another liberal application. We'll see if a heavier coating makes a difference.

[klr]

I'd be grinning too if mine lined up like that. Here is how about 30 to 50 percent line up:



This is the rod that came with my swage kit.

[klr]

I applied more case lube. About twice as many sprays as before.



I resized 60 through the Loadmaster without a problem. Lesson learned: Lay the lube on heavy when resizing on the Loadmaster.

[Ranch Dog]

I'd be grinning too if mine lined up like that. Here is how about 30 to 50 percent line up:

This is the rod that came with my swage kit.

Dang, no problem with it making the case somehow none concentric?

Okay, that flair is still bugging me (not that that matters). Is the decapping rod set only deep enough to pop the primers out? Does it seem that the case mouths are reaching the 30 caliber portion of the rod?

[klr]

Dang, no problem with it making the case somehow none concentric?

Okay, that flair is still bugging me (not that that matters). Is the decapping rod set only deep enough to pop the primers out? Does it seem that the case mouths are reaching the 30 caliber portion of the rod?

Case mouths are concentric.

I installed the decapping rod per Lee's instructions: Decapping rod flush with top of lock nut collet thing. Once in maybe 50 cases I would have to wiggle the brass to get the primer to fall free so I don't think it's too deep.

They state that the flare is necessary for swaging rod to enter case mouth smoothly. Yea, it bugs me too. I could raise the rod up a little and get less flare but then I'd get about 80% of the cases requiring positioning by hand during the swaging process

I'd love to hear about others' experience with the APP and .223 brass.

[Ohio3Wheels]

I used the decaping die that came with the swagging kit. It was supposed to be set up for 22 so I just installed the kit loaded the tube and started decaping. Somewhere north of 300 I was done and have moved on to swagging. I've probably done 120 so far and only one or two required assistance for alignment, I just wished the collator worked with 223 cases.

Stay well, be safe, make smoke,