223 reloads problems..

[JHB]

I got my mistakes when changing between calibers when I use to do the work on a single stage. Looking back I probably should of loaded one caliber till I ran out of components but I use only doing 50 to 100 since I had prepped to the point of powder and bullet and was making enough for a range outing.

This is the reason I won't purchase Lee dies buy the time you purchase lock rings you could have bought RCBS or something else. Set the die tighten the set screw remove the die put it back in it returns to the previous setting. No fooling with adjustments unless you have to because of a component change. Lee lock rings are fine if you don't change dies on a turret or tool head. There breach lock bushings will cure that if you have a bushing for each die but that is still an added expense.

Plus when I started reloading the only thing using a breech lock type arrangement was cannons and Navy guns

 

[JeepHammer]

When I teach reloading classes for the local gun store, I get out the datum line & profile gauges, and have students make SAAMI spec (more or less) brass.
Not short, not long, not 'Coke Bottle', not all the issues discussed...

We use several makers dies to show/gauge the difference in how they bend brass.
We use 'Small Base' dies to show the difference in the dies, and what differences they make in brass.

I spend a LOT more time on bending brass than most classes do.
If they can make SAAMI spec brass then a bunch of their 'Issues' are solved.
The priming, charging, bullet seating & crimping is pretty simple to figure out once the brass cooperates!
Nothing matters if the brass doesn't cooperate...

If they can't get a brass that fits in a SAAMI sized gauge, then I work with them until they can, it's not a 'Pass/Fail' test, it's a work on it until you get it and can make a properly sized brass...
Almost none quit when they aren't being hammered on and it's not a drag race to the 'Finish', I would rather have them UNDERSTAND the forces being applied than just have them knock out rounds for one firearm and not be able to figure out problems...
Most people, one on one, will rationally & calmly figure out the equipment & issues, put them in a group with competition and things go south...
No one reloads in a 'Group' while 'Racing' to the finish, so no reason to teach like that.

 

[JHB]

When I teach reloading classes for the local gun store, I get out the datum line & profile gauges, and have students make SAAMI spec (more or less) brass.
Not short, not long, not 'Coke Bottle', not all the issues discussed...

We use several makers dies to show/gauge the difference in how they bend brass.
We use 'Small Base' dies to show the difference in the dies, and what differences they make in brass.

I spend a LOT more time on bending brass than most classes do.
If they can make SAAMI spec brass then a bunch of their 'Issues' are solved.
The priming, charging, bullet seating & crimping is pretty simple to figure out once the brass cooperates!
Nothing matters if the brass doesn't cooperate...

If they can't get a brass that fits in a SAAMI sized gauge, then I work with them until they can, it's not a 'Pass/Fail' test, it's a work on it until you get it and can make a properly sized brass...
Almost none quit when they aren't being hammered on and it's not a drag race to the 'Finish', I would rather have them UNDERSTAND the forces being applied than just have them knock out rounds for one firearm and not be able to figure out problems...
Most people, one on one, will rationally & calmly figure out the equipment & issues, put them in a group with competition and things go south...
No one reloads in a 'Group' while 'Racing' to the finish, so no reason to teach like that.

Now this is the way to learn how to reload. What I have seen is to many people are too lazy and cheap to purchase a few manuals. The just ask questions on load data and problems on the internet.

 

[JeepHammer]

Now this is the way to learn how to reload. What I have seen is to many people are too lazy and cheap to purchase a few manuals. The just ask questions on load data and problems on the internet.

Ignorant doesn't mean 'Stupid'.
Ignorant simply means you don't have an education in a particular subject.

Ignorant is REPLACED with education.
'Stupid' can't be easily fixed, if it can be fixed at all.

It's like handgun classes, I hand out the bricks with belt clip and have the participants put them on.
Half don't show up the next week, no commitment to carrying a brick around everywhere...

My workstations are modular, 4'x8' of floor space that fits on a dolly...
I wheel in the work stations and we start with an RCBS Rock Chucker, singe die, single stroke, and we bend brass.
When they can make brass do what they want, we move to other machines & other equipment.

I also make up little 'Gimmies', like a flat bottom 'U' shape adapter, inverted over the die, and with a dial indicator installed in the flat, you can precisely determine how much you move the die up/down to get the shoulder exactly where you want it.
If the student buys a dial indicator like they have seen in class, I simply give them the fixture since it's not commonly available.

I have case dummies (solid, not hollow) made in SAAMI spec for some common calibers, and we use them to for initial die set up.
You will have to move the die down to compensate for brass rebound, but it's a real good place to start your dies out, and the dummies cost about $1 out of a CNC lathe.
If it's an exotic caliber, they have to do things the old fashioned way.
This is the same idea of using a headspace gauge to quick set dies, but WAY less expensive than a headspace gauge.

It's also some common sense education.
You don't need a motor driven Dillon Super 1050 with all accessories for under 1,000 rounds a month.
If it's pistol brass, in different calibers, then something like a Lee 'Turret' (tool heads for each caliber) is cost effective & production is reasonable.
All common reloading equipment works, nothing proprietary (and expensive) needed.

If it's one hole rifle rounds, then it's a solid, 'O' frame single die press.

If you load A BUNCH, then consider a self indexing progressive.

I URGE the students to buy gauges, and learn to use them.
You have a MUCH harder time finding issues without gauges, and they make 'Last Word' checks much quicker with less errors.
At as little as $20 each off the common market there is no reason to not have one (or more).

By running them past several types/brands of machines, several kinds of dies & other equipment, they get an idea of what they want to do, and when they get a passable round out of the process without undue expense or equipment costs.
Not everyone is going to reload for dozens of years, and I try not to swap them in initial costs in the event they give up reloading.

I don't do many classes anymore, to keep prices reasonable, I actually lost money, and although it was supposed to be two weekends, it often turned into months of phone calls & visits from students...
I wouldn't leave them hanging, but it is time consuming, and since the ammo shortage broke, there aren't nearly as many wanting to reload.