PPC Alternate Shell holder for looser fit?

B

Boyd Allen

Active member
Does anyone out there, who loads PPC, have an RCBS #9 shell holder, and will it work for a PPC? The reason that I ask is that recently a friend has found that a couple of his presses were holding cases slightly off center, and that with modifications that remedied that, the concentricity of his sized cases improved. If a #9 has a looser fit, but will still work, it may be an easy work around for someone who does not have a lathe.
 
He should loosen the ram play and modify the shellholder pocket on the press. Using the bigger shellholder will bend and or break off the rims. Make everything float good except the shellholder.
 
He modified the shell holder and the top of the ram, and the results were good. I want to see what can be done this way (looser shell holder), and I know that it may not work, but the cost of trying is minimal. One thing that he as changed is how he operates the press, he brings the ram up carefully so that the case makes very light contact with the die, hopefully allowing some centering to take place, and then reverses it slightly before coming up again to complete the stroke. I agree that turning down the ram may be the preferred approach, but would only do this with a second ram, so as to reduce risk of messing up a press if the results are not as predicted. This is only stage one.

Some time back, I started using a Lee lock ring, and it seemed to help, but now that I have seen and played with one of PMA's micro die adjusters, I am looking to float the case instead of the die, and hoping to get to the same place, with the advantage of being able to make quick accurate die adjustments. Thanks for your suggestion.
Boyd
 
Boyd for what its worth I have been using the shellholder that I use for my BR cases,never had a rim torn of as they come out of the die very easy.
 
A loose fitting shell holder would depend on how it's being used. Very little compares to a case where the rim pulled loose from the shell holder.

Be careful here....
 
Thanks, that is why I am looking for something in between. I have used a .308 holder by mistake and got away with it, but am not sure that I can count on the disaster that you referred to would not happen. Lee uses the same holder for the .35 Remington as the .308 family. RCBS does not, and the rim diameter of the .35 is smaller, which makes me wonder if the shell holder is slightly smaller, hence my inquiry.
 
My car was pulling to the left because the left front tire was low on air so I let 20 pounds of air out of the right front to equalize it. Does that about sum up the case holder solution?
 
No, because there are disadvantages to running 20# in your tires, and I don't think that there will be problems with a slightly looser shell holder, but I WILL test it. Have you ever taken a close look at press alignment? I think it may have bee Ferris Pindel that once said that unless you can be sure that things are perfectly aligned, that it is better to leave them loose enough to self align....or words to that effect. Also, every Forster press owner in the world will probably tell you that they believe that that press is better because it has some float built in, that conventional presses do not, and then there are the guys that have done testing and found that an O ring under their sizing die's lock ring, or a Lee lock ring, that has one built in, has improved the concentricity of their sized cases. This is a similar effort. I have a Lee #2 shell holder that seems to work, but it is so loose that it makes me a little nervous.
 
I just got off the phone with RCBS customer service, and I was right. The #9 shell holder is sized between those for the .308, and those made for the PPC. The nominal rim groove diameter is .461 and may be as large as .466., So I am going to pick one up, do some sizing, and compare the results on my concentricity gauge.
 
Well...I wish all my failed experiments cost me less than $9. The PPC rim is too thick for a #9 shell holder. Oh well, that's life on the cutting edge of progress ;)
 
....or I could just use the #2 Lee that I mentioned earlier, and make sure that I have a suitable punch and hammer in the car in case it slips off of a rim. I have used it a little, and it pulls cases so far. I guess that it is time to take my concentricity gauge to the range and do a comparison of sized cases using it, and my RCBS #32. Any one thinking of starting to load for .35 Rem.? Have I got a deal for you ;-)
 
Id fix the press. Youll have to rig up every size shellholder you plan on using and then theyll be matched to that press- nevermind keep it movin.
 
I was just down setting up some stuff in the gunroom and took a minute to run thru some shellholders. I found empirically that the following shellholders seemed to fit well and center up on the PPC case visually.......I didn't measure anything.

5 pc-RCBS #32
2-Lee #1
2-Lee #12
3-Redding #12
3 asstd no-name #12
2-Hornady #6


FWIW

al
 
On the subject of "centering up"

Because cases blow out unevenly the caseheads of a batch of fireformed case will walk back and forth as much as .006-.007 due to chamber clearance and in any case cannot ever be more "centered" on the "centerline" of the case itself than .004 variation even in tight match chambers.

Boyd's idea of slacking up before punching it home is a good one.

al
 
alinwa said:
On the subject of "centering up"

Because cases blow out unevenly the caseheads of a batch of fireformed case will walk back and forth as much as .006-.007 due to chamber clearance and in any case cannot ever be more "centered" on the "centerline" of the case itself than .004 variation even in tight match chambers.

Boyd's idea of slacking up before punching it home is a good one.

al
Click to expand...

you could try using a oring to hold the shell holder in instead of the clip on the ram
 
redlabel said:
you could try using a oring to hold the shell holder in instead of the clip on the ram
Click to expand...

That's interesting, inexpensive,requires no machining, and is reversible if it doesn't yield the desired results. I think I'll try it.

Thanks for posting it,
Dick
 
Btw

Has anybody done a comparison of straight versus not straight rounds in terms of accuracy? I'm somewhat serious with this question as I don't really know. All I ever did was replace the spent items to some degree and shot again.
 
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