so waht ya doin today?

[Intheshop]

So,struck out at my favorite local gunstore on 223 cases.... also need a second she'll holder.They had every dang # RCBS except the 223?

Wifey and I are headed out for an adventure....... looking for water( beachy).In our travels,we juuuust happen to be going by one of Va's oldest gunstores( what are the odds?).Got a wad of cash,what could go wrong?

Cpl things on the Lee 225-55RF..... I was sort of wondering,besides the tooling(bumping/swaging) and effort,why this rig is so durn acc with so little development time?So,while normally don't weigh bullets,I did yesterday...... got bored looking at split case necks.This is a 2 cav mould.Using an M5 Lyman..... uhhh,there was only two piles of bullets. And,the term splitting hairs kinda don't do justice? Meaning,weighing was pretty much a waste of time...... they are that close to the same weight.Scratch that off the list.

Next,getting the GC's,"pre seated" just so..... before introducing them to the seating/swage die is oh,how you say?.... under developed.This can be improved,it's a little too Fred Flintstone for consistency right now.Takes way too much concentration.

Which leads to the next issue;once GC's are seated,the bullet base's very minor blems/pimples are telegraphing through GC's.

"Flyers" is a relative term..... and some would be dang happy with 1/2" 100yd groups.And believe me,they DO suffice for a varmint whacking rig,especially considering it's flirting with .002's and .003's consistency with 3 shots from a cold bore?Add to that..... I would rather be killing stuff than punching holes in paper?But those dang butt pimples got to go!Seat of the pants,experience tells me this is a fixable issue.Just haven't decided exactly how to go about it? Machine the bases before seating GC.....

Gonna be patient,waiting for 223 cases. Will be shooting an old R700V in 6mm (95g RCBS) ,letting the 223 issues stew awhile on a back burner.

 

[Bret4207]

In case you are thinking I am jumping to unfair conclusions on the "doper" - he had some sort of
an online presence, proclaiming the wonderfulness of weed and proudly announcing his status.

Bill

I think you were being more than "fair". In fact, "magnanimous" is the word that jumps to mind. I have so little use for people of that ilk that it's best I just stop here.

 

[creosote]

Every summer around here (since legalizing pot) we get an influx of Dred knot ? Freeks. They find a vacant lot up in the hills, plant there crop, leave at the end of the summer, and leave all there trash, engine blocks, tires, you name it. They don't have water or electricity. I see them drive by every day with water tanks. One old six banger dump truck goes by twice a day with two good sized tanks, that old engine just revving at 4 grand. I'm gonna go check my fire extinguisher now.

 

[Ian]

ITS, cut the sprues as early as you can, hold down the plate down while you move it just enough to cut the sprues off, then swipe back into battery before swinging open. That will eliminate any proud spots on the bullet bases. Putting some downpressure on the Lee plate tangs while you cut helps, just don't use so much that it lifts up against the wave washer on the other end and gives you angled bases.

 

[Ian]

All I know about Arduinos is you'd better build a backup.

 

[Intheshop]

Ian,the "plate",if you can call it that on this particular mould gets a 3or4 on a 10 scale.It pretty much sucks.Too lazy to take it off and surface it...... but,will before using it again.

 

[RBHarter]

Depending on your lay out .......

I've thought this out a bunch .
You need the bottom of your tank about 35-40 ft above your sprinkler .
You need a heat , melt link valve on a either an air head or below the frost line line . External fire threat is minimal during the freeze season so outside of keeping the cistern and drop line unfrozen that would do it the problem is cost first and valving second because I'm not sure such a valve exists much less with a 40" or more reach .

 

[Intheshop]

On the squatters N dopers......

Where's Tony Soprano when you need him?And that's all "I'm" gonna say on that one.

 

[Ian]

Actually, the two-banger Lee plates are a lot better than people give them credit for....once they're tuned up of course.

A little kiss from a sharp 60° countersink to deburr the hole, then dress flat, break the edges, polish. The thin metal and large hole keep the plate from sucking so much heat out of the bullet, especially if you bottom pour and pile on a big sprue puddle. That reduces base porosity if you don't have the luxury of washing out the sprue with a steady stream from a ladle while the bullet freezes and letting the excess flow back into the casting pot.

Note that NOE uses really thin, steel sprue plates and I don't recall ever having read anyone complaining about them being thin. They are finished a lot better than the Lee ones, though.

 

[Intheshop]

The Lee's that I've worked on get flattened on a h20 belt grinder...... takes maybe 10 seconds.Just can't let them get hot. Not complaining,just sayin.

The 225-55RF is easy to manage heat on whilst casting.And the sprue cut is well within any normalcy....... overall,well worth the 20$ they cost.

 

[Gary]

Turned out some case neck expanders, similar to Lyman M die expanders. Specifically wanted a .3085'ish size for my 7.62 x 39. Tried it and it works great. The 7.62 x 39 Die set doesn't expand enough for seating flat base bullets, but that's a thing of the past now.

 

[Pistolero]

Ian,
I assume you mean that they aren't reliable. Like they just crap out and are not
fixable? Don't know a lot about them, a coworker years ago made a few projects
with them, including some linked via the web.

Bill

 

[Ian]

Consumer-grade novelty item, like Strawberry Pi. Usually pretty good, but you're banking tens of thousands of dollars on it working when it has to.

I have an acquaintance who rigged several gate openers on remote pen traps to operate via cellular phone, back before that sort of thing was commercially available. He used Arduinos on the last version he hand-built and they worked great, most of the time. One thing he learned the hard way was the need to build in flyback diodes on both the input and output circuits.

 

[Pistolero]

Roger on flyback. Learned that on the aircraft. Main contactor (heavy duty version of old Ford style "solenoid")
will put back a really serious ringback on shutdown without a diode and resister to squelch it.

Going to lose net here soon, in Walsenburg.

Will be off for a few days, likely.

Bill

 

[Intheshop]

OK,if it hadn't been for a recent little medical issue..... I'd blame it on karma?But now I think it's just plain ole "possessed".

Wife N I get her "Linda Blair" model Subaru all packed to go for an adventure. We're happy,gonna go find some sand and water.

The blooming thing has a blankety blank,flat tire...... and yes,it's the same corner as the one she trashed a month or so ago.Brand freaking new $$$ Cooper has a screw in it.Go to the shop,drag a air hose and floorjack....... plugged it while the Mrs is worried cause I'm sweating bullets in the Sun..... we need a priest!

 

[fiver]

getting a 40" frost proof valve is simple as pie, opening it is the problem.
you could do it electronically [like a shot shell press uses] it's still a matter of turning on the motor from a remote location.

to operate 2 rainbirds and have a 35-40' radius you need about 30 lbs of [hydrostatic] pressure.
the pressure is necessary to pop up the heads and to let them run back and forth consistently.
I would also want the main stretch of pipe to provide the pressure and not the tank.

you should be able to get a remotely operated 12 or 24V electric servo and bolt it on a Vickers valve [easily installed in a 4" pipe with a groove cut in each side with a pair of Victaulic fittings] to flood the system.

the whole cell phone to the electronics thing is where I would spend a lot of research time, the pipe, tank and such has multiple options depending on the terrain, and can be installed in about a day's time with 2-3 guy's that have a clue on running pipe.

 

[Bret4207]

Finishing up last of 1st cut hay. Earliest I've ever had it done. It's light this year, everywhere, not horrible light but down 20% or so from what I think of as "normal". Not sure why. We had a real dry summer 2 years ago (the East doesn't get actual droughts, even if people call it that), followed by a tremendously wet year. Bother winters were more or less normal, freeze-thaw-freeze-thaw and so on. Not sure what, if anything, is the cause.

 

[Gary]

Setting at the computer with my PopTart(s), coffee and CCR on the player. Might not get anything done today.

 

[Hawk]

Having lunch today with the guys from where I used to work. Been retired for 2 years, but my entire department still shows up every other Friday to go to lunch with me.

 

[Brad]

Fired up the pot to shoot a new video. Used a different head harness for the GoPro, worked quite well.
I do need to buy some video editing software or at least buy the license for the software Walter's brother uses.