Alternative to Dillon Super Swage 600

Here's my even cheaper and faster alternative:

weldon1.jpg
 
BTW, Jim.... I ordered my Giraud Trimmer yesterday! Can't wait! Ordered both the machine set for 5.56, AND the quick change tools for doing the 30-06 brass.
 
ive never been overly enthused with Dillon's SS600 (and i drink the blue koolaid!)

i've had MUCH better/more consistent results using Sinclair's primer pocket uniformer (1 piece, not set screw adjustable so you CANT go too deep).

i finish them off by keeping my RCBS trimmate next to my giraud, and just touch the edge of the primer pocket to a reamer. just knocks that edge off, and makes priming (even on a progressive) easy as pie. upside is, i'll only ever have to do it once too.

the reamer works well because, as a rule, primers are harder than primer pockets, and just knocking the old primers usually flattens the "crimp" out.
 
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I am also interested in an alternative to the Super Swage. I have a ton of 5.56 military brass, and I've been using an RCBS reamer. I hate it, and it's very time consuming. Can anyone suggest a faster alternative?
 
A quick twist of the lee chamfer tool takes a crimp down pretty fast and doesn't stretch the rest of the hole out. I had an eye on one that had a handle on it...I think by forster"?" I've been using the RCBS tool on 5.56 brass and it is a PITA. The Lee chamfer tool can be used when you trim...it really is just a simple 180º twist to remove the crimp. After 20 million cases you'll have enough scrap brass trimmings to buy yourself a cup of coffee too.
 
For many years I used a CH primer pocket swager. This unit was a die that screwed into a press. The case was held by the rim at the top of the die and a swager was mounted on the ram. The ram would then force the swager into the primer pocket of the case held in the die by its rim. The die and ram were similar to what Duke posted. It is available for less than $30, or was, last time I checked.

This system worked great for pistol and rifle brass (mostly pistol) until I tried to swage the pockets of some once fired military .223.
These primer pockets were so tough that the force necessary to swage them was deforming the case rims. This is why I switched to the Dillon swager which supports the case from within and places no stress on the case rim. I bought mine several years ago and paid less than $120, more like $80 or $90. I don't think this is too much to pay for a swager that is a self contained unit; the cheaper swagers need a press to function. I must admit, however, that the cheaper CH swager worked great and I would never had bought the Dillon swager if all I did was pistol brass.
 
cricco said:
I am also interested in an alternative to the Super Swage. I have a ton of 5.56 military brass, and I've been using an RCBS reamer. I hate it, and it's very time consuming. Can anyone suggest a faster alternative?
Click to expand...

I recently bought over 20K once-fired Radway Green .223 cases with crimped pockets for a large (obviously) reloading project.

I already had one of the RCBS swaging die sets so I tried it in a single stage press. It still left the cases hard to prime, and is way too slow.

Next I tried the Dillon swaging tool. The resulting cases primed OK w/CCI primers, but they were hard to prime with Wolf primers. The Dillon tool is faster than the RCBS swaging die, but still too slow.

I ended up buying a Weldon Countersink bit like this for about $20:

weldon1.jpg


I chucked it up into my drill press and swung the table out of the way. To remove the crimp, I just touch the primer pocket onto the bottom of the spinning bit. You get a feel for it and end up removing only the little burr left over after the spent primer pushes out the crimp.

It's about 4 times faster than any other method I've tried, and leaves the cases easy to prime.
 
Jim, when you get a chance..... Could you check your tool and advise what the tool number is on it?

CS-18??

My previous question is wrong, the min cut on that one is .307", way too big for the needs.

The CS-18 will do min cut of 3/16"
 
Gammon said:
For many years I used a CH primer pocket swager. This unit was a die that screwed into a press. The case was held by the rim at the top of the die and a swager was mounted on the ram. The ram would then force the swager into the primer pocket of the case held in the die by its rim. The die and ram were similar to what Duke posted. It is available for less than $30, or was, last time I checked.

This system worked great for pistol and rifle brass (mostly pistol) until I tried to swage the pockets of some once fired military .223.
These primer pockets were so tough that the force necessary to swage them was deforming the case rims. This is why I switched to the Dillon swager which supports the case from within and places no stress on the case rim. I bought mine several years ago and paid less than $120, more like $80 or $90. I don't think this is too much to pay for a swager that is a self contained unit; the cheaper swagers need a press to function. I must admit, however, that the cheaper CH swager worked great and I would never had bought the Dillon swager if all I did was pistol brass.
Click to expand...

I have a CH swager sitting in a drawer in my reloading room. My experience with it was exactly what gammon posted, especially with .223 brass. Like him, I also bought a Dillon. I bought the CH swager used for short $$. I've thought about selling it, but don't have the heart to stick someone else with it. The CH unit is well made, it just doesn't work very well. [thinking]

YMMV.
 
EddieCoyle said:
I recently bought over 20K once-fired Radway Green .223 cases with crimped pockets for a large (obviously) reloading project.

I already had one of the RCBS swaging die sets so I tried it in a single stage press. It still left the cases hard to prime, and is way too slow.

Next I tried the Dillon swaging tool. The resulting cases primed OK w/CCI primers, but they were hard to prime with Wolf primers. The Dillon tool is faster than the RCBS swaging die, but still too slow.

I ended up buying a Weldon Countersink bit like this for about $20:

weldon1.jpg


I chucked it up into my drill press and swung the table out of the way. To remove the crimp, I just touch the primer pocket onto the bottom of the spinning bit. You get a feel for it and end up removing only the little burr left over after the spent primer pushes out the crimp.

It's about 4 times faster than any other method I've tried, and leaves the cases easy to prime.
Click to expand...

I never thought to try a chamfering tool on my drill press. Thanks for the tip.
 
Gammon said:
I never thought to try a chamfering tool on my drill press. Thanks for the tip.
Click to expand...

The Weldon tool in the picture works great. It has a single cutting edge, doesn't chatter, and doesn't remove too much material. I tried some other c-sink bits without success first, then went with the Weldon and haven't looked back.
 
Jim,
You were going to check the actual part, and advise the Weldon number that's engraved on it.

I'm going to buy one, like the one that you use, but want to make sure I don't get the wrong one.
 
Thanks. I am prepping to do a massive reload of 5.56 when my Giraud comes in.
Of the brass that I have, the vast majority of it is crimped. PPU, Lake City, and a couple of other brands.
I only have about 2,000 ps that are commercial, with no crimp.

I have primers in place as well as powder and bullets.
 
The one I use is a Weldon DB18 90 degree.

Google for a source - I bought my set 30 years ago from a guy in a truck that used to sell tools to the machine shop where I worked in high school.
 
Duke, there is a crapload of them on e-bay, mostly in lots of 6 or more for around 10 bucks, Some used, some re-gound, if you go that route, I will buy one from you.
 

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