Post by magnumwheelman on Mar 10, 2016 11:40:18 GMT -5
I keep forgetting this new smart phone takes good pictures... so sorry, no pics yet...
several years ago, I bought my Martini in 50-70 Gov... I got the "package" the dies, a couple 100 loaded cartridges, 50 or so new Dixie cases, the bullet mold, & several 100 cast bullets...
... over the years, I've shot up most of the loaded rounds I got with the rifle, & I'm thinking seriously about a Contender barrel in 50-70 this spring... so I started looking at putting my reloading stuff together & prepping cases, only to find out, that I didn't have a shell holder in the box of dies that came with the rifle ( I like to buy a shell holder for each caliber, & keep it in the die box, & also a shell holder for my Lee hand prime tool )... The box was void of any shell holders, & my "set" of extras shell holders didn't have one big enough for the big rimmed cartridge...
... so off to the internet I go... yep... RCBS shell holders in stock... hmmm... no Lee shell holder for the Hand Prime Tool... so I bought a 2nd RCBS holder with intention to modify it... even thopugh it's hardened, it's not that difficult to cut off the lug, & open up the center hole to fit the plastic surround for the primer... I got that done, using a thin "slicer" wheel in my 4.5" angle grinder & my bench vice, then the Dremel & a long tapered cone shaped stone, to open the center hole... hmm... everything went well, piece of cake... until I find out why Lee probably never made a shell holder for the 50-70...
the 50-70 case doesn't fit through the top of the slot in the hand prime tool... ( now, I'm not the guy that whips out the dremel... or a bigger hammer, everytime something doesn't fit )... but since I still had the Dremel plugged in, with the stone still in the chuck, I went to work on the hand prime tool body, carefully making sure I wasn't screwing up the fit of the shell holder or removing too much metal to where it wasn't properly supported... I thought the tool body was going to be just cheap cast, but it turned out to be harder than the shell holder...
but, about 45 minutes to an hour later, & I was running my 50-70 shells through the Lee Hand Prime tool
several years ago, I bought my Martini in 50-70 Gov... I got the "package" the dies, a couple 100 loaded cartridges, 50 or so new Dixie cases, the bullet mold, & several 100 cast bullets...
... over the years, I've shot up most of the loaded rounds I got with the rifle, & I'm thinking seriously about a Contender barrel in 50-70 this spring... so I started looking at putting my reloading stuff together & prepping cases, only to find out, that I didn't have a shell holder in the box of dies that came with the rifle ( I like to buy a shell holder for each caliber, & keep it in the die box, & also a shell holder for my Lee hand prime tool )... The box was void of any shell holders, & my "set" of extras shell holders didn't have one big enough for the big rimmed cartridge...
... so off to the internet I go... yep... RCBS shell holders in stock... hmmm... no Lee shell holder for the Hand Prime Tool... so I bought a 2nd RCBS holder with intention to modify it... even thopugh it's hardened, it's not that difficult to cut off the lug, & open up the center hole to fit the plastic surround for the primer... I got that done, using a thin "slicer" wheel in my 4.5" angle grinder & my bench vice, then the Dremel & a long tapered cone shaped stone, to open the center hole... hmm... everything went well, piece of cake... until I find out why Lee probably never made a shell holder for the 50-70...
the 50-70 case doesn't fit through the top of the slot in the hand prime tool... ( now, I'm not the guy that whips out the dremel... or a bigger hammer, everytime something doesn't fit )... but since I still had the Dremel plugged in, with the stone still in the chuck, I went to work on the hand prime tool body, carefully making sure I wasn't screwing up the fit of the shell holder or removing too much metal to where it wasn't properly supported... I thought the tool body was going to be just cheap cast, but it turned out to be harder than the shell holder...
but, about 45 minutes to an hour later, & I was running my 50-70 shells through the Lee Hand Prime tool
