Shavings

[Ronvandyn]

Hi All,

OK, got all the stuff for reloading together and have done about a box and a half of 40 S&W, but something odd is happening.

When I seat the bullet into the casing, I get tiny threads of shavings from the rim of the casing.  So thin that when I touch them they basically turn to dust and blow away.  It happens on every case.

Any ideas what I am doing wrong, or is this kind of thing normal for this caliber?

Ron

[justsomeguy]

Try setting the flair die a little deeper. :dink:

[Dan W]

Jacketed, plated or cast lead? A little more case mouth flare should fix it, but only go as much as needed to end the shaving. Extra flare is not a good thing for brass life

[unfy]

sounds like you're loading lead.  i had to flare my case mouth a lil extra on my lead .40 loads as well.  not too much, but 'just enough' heh.

also, if you're loading a powder thrower (rather than scale & funnels), particularly if you're using a progressive press, make sure the powder hopper is high enough that the brass alignment cone doesn't re-crimp the mouth, but not too low as to not fully actuate the hopper/thrower.

also, with lead, you'll always get a bit of 'dust' over the long haul... just clean up with an oil / dry-lube damp paper towel every so often (every batch or two, depending on if anyone might disturb your reloading area or not... lead is bad for ya and all)

[Ronvandyn]

CMJHP's.  The shavings are coming from the casings, not the rounds.  But from what you guys are writing is sounds like I may have to to much flair.  So, do I back that die out a bit to reduce the flair or is there normally some other adjustment that I can do to fix it?

[justsomeguy]

Actually I was suggesting a little more flare. Don't worry too much about case life as pistol brass lasts practically for ever. As far as the shavings go, are you sure the case mouths have been properly chamfered and deburred?

[unfy]

I've never seen jacketed rounds shave.  I've had a few get semi crushed from being crooked while seating though.

i'll echo justsomeguy's response -- you might need *more* flare, not less.  same logic would apply to cast bullets.  also, if you're resizing your brass, chamfer/deburring is critical.  hell, even going through your brass and hitting them all once real quick with the tool(s) might not be a bad idea.  every 5-10 reload's for a particular batch of brass i'll primer pocket clean and inspect.

i will note that on my .40s&w brass, i probably have 1-3 in 1000 fail inspection, including one i've seen with a blown out primer flash hole.

with my current setup for bigger-flare-needing lead bullets.... sized / deprimed brass comes out of the die at 0.4180 inches diameter at the mouth (outside of the brass, not inside).  after the flaring, it's 0.4320-0.4325 measured on the outside.

[Ronvandyn]

OK, disconnect here.

Its not the rounds.  Its the casings that are getting metal shaved off.  The JHP rounds are just fine, its the edges of the round opening to the casing where the flair is that is getting hit by the die on the way up to seat the JHP round.

Ron