case prep trick to cut down on time.

[M1hungry]

If you are lucky enough to own a drill press try using it for case prep. I slowed the press to the slowest speed and use it for the Military crimp remover (if you use once fired military brass), also the primer pocket uniformer and the champher/deburring tools work very well in the press. I find this one heck of a lot faster than the case prep centers plus the drill press is useable for other chores unlike a case prep center. You don't need a milliom dollar press just one that will has a chuck that will open an inch for the deburring and champhering tool. I use the RCBS universal bebur/champher tool for this step. Other than that the usual military crimp remover and primer pocket uniformer is all that is needed. Watch sales and pick up a drill prees for the same cost as the case prep center. Works like a charm.

 

[helg]

A regular drill bit is also a good tool to remove military crimp. You do not have to slow down the press motor to its absolute minimum. Just put it in reverse.

 

[E.Shell]

If you are lucky enough to own a drill press try using it for case prep. I slowed the press to the slowest speed and use it for the Military crimp remover (if you use once fired military brass), also the primer pocket uniformer and the champher/deburring tools work very well in the press. I find this one heck of a lot faster than the case prep centers plus the drill press is useable for other chores unlike a case prep center. You don't need a milliom dollar press just one that will has a chuck that will open an inch for the deburring and champhering tool. I use the RCBS universal bebur/champher tool for this step. Other than that the usual military crimp remover and primer pocket uniformer is all that is needed. Watch sales and pick up a drill prees for the same cost as the case prep center. Works like a charm.

Good suggestion. I prep brass is bigger lots (100 to 200 cases) and I had been using my small milling machine the same way.

...You do not have to slow down the press motor to its absolute minimum. Just put it in reverse.

What????

How does this work at all? Are you beating the edge of the primer pocket back with the back side of your cutting edges?

Cutting tools should not be run backwards, it will damage the tool's cutting edge and reduce sharpness.

Very slow rotational speeds are best for this sort of hand work, resulting in safer operation and smoother cuts on hand-held work.

 

[helg]

What????

How does this work at all? Are you beating the edge of the primer pocket back with the back side of your cutting edges?

????
If the above is against your believes, you do not have to try it. It works for me. Brass is just not that hard to make any damage to the cutting edge.

Very slow rotational speeds are best for this sort of hand work, resulting in safer operation and smoother cuts on hand-held work.

In my experience, slow-rotating drill in forward direction can easily damage primer pocket, if accidentally pushed too hard to the brass. It never happens with drill bit in reverse.

 

[Half-cocked]

It sounds like helg is using the drill bit as a sort of a burnishing tool? It will probably ruin the bit for normal use, after a while, but drill bits are pretty cheap.

 

[E.Shell]

????
If the above is against your believes, you do not have to try it. It works for me. Brass is just not that hard to make any damage to the cutting edge.
In my experience, slow-rotating drill in forward direction can easily damage primer pocket, if accidentally pushed too hard to the brass. It never happens with drill bit in reverse.

Thanks, I understand now.

FWIW, it's not against my own beliefs, it's against standard machine shop practice, which our handloading brass prep is a scaled back, dumbed-down version of.

Yes, you are beating/burnishing the edge of the primer pocket down, but it's obviously working for you.

Yes, you are ruining the high-speed steel cutting tool edge by running it backwards, even on something as soft as brass. Read ANYTHING on machine shop cutting tools for verification of this. As pointed out by Half-cocked, drills are indeed cheap, so who cares?

The key to our differing experiences here is the tool being used, and a twist drill will certainly grab and damage case, fingers, and anything else involved if used as a chamfer tool and run in the correct (clockwise) direction. While it really IS a tough tool to use for this job, if you're going to do this work with a twist drill, I don't see you having a safe choice.

While the best practice to remove military crimps is to swage them, many of us simply cut them. I use a regular RCBS burring tool, run clockwise at low speed. It has multiple flutes, doesn't chatter or grab, and it does a very nice smooth job.

 

[M1hungry]

Use an 82 degree countersink for the mil crimp removal. Works great in the drill press

 

[Maryland_Shooter]

Thanks, I understand now.

FWIW, it's not against my own beliefs, it's against standard machine shop practice, which our handloading brass prep is a scaled back, dumbed-down version of.

Yes, you are beating/burnishing the edge of the primer pocket down, but it's obviously working for you.

Yes, you are ruining the high-speed steel cutting tool edge by running it backwards, even on something as soft as brass. Read ANYTHING on machine shop cutting tools for verification of this. As pointed out by Half-cocked, drills are indeed cheap, so who cares?

The key to our differing experiences here is the tool being used, and a twist drill will certainly grab and damage case, fingers, and anything else involved if used as a chamfer tool and run in the correct (clockwise) direction. While it really IS a tough tool to use for this job, if you're going to do this work with a twist drill, I don't see you having a safe choice.

While the best practice to remove military crimps is to swage them, many of us simply cut them. I use a regular RCBS burring tool, run clockwise at low speed. It has multiple flutes, doesn't chatter or grab, and it does a very nice smooth job.

He Ed - when am I sending you that trimmer to use? Every time I walk by, I could swear I hear it calling your name.

I'll just drop it with Ken and send it down. No sense is overworking bad hands. Ask me how I know