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Posted: 8/22/2010 6:31:48 AM EDT
[#1]
It depends on how the reamer is made. Hornady's, for example, has a very positive stop-it would be very hard to take off too much material with it as long as you insert it perfectly straight. Others look less positive... I swage primer pockets myself, because I would have even more trouble screwing that up.
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Posted: 8/22/2010 6:41:15 AM EDT
[#2]
What would be considered too much material removed? The cases I've done so far it seems like it put a very slight bevel where the crimp use to be but that's about it. I just don't want to shorten my cae life or cause other issues. I do have a RCBS Pocket Swager on order and would like to some day upgrade to the Dillon Pocket Swager.
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Posted: 8/22/2010 6:49:28 AM EDT
[#3]
Be sure you have the tool you need.
There are two styles of reamers for primer pockets. One removes the crimp, the other uniforms the pocket depth. The second type will not remove a crimp. I have a Wilson crimp remover, and frankly, I don't use it now. It removes crimps just fine, but the problem is burnishing of the sides of the primer pocket which loosens it slightly. It's still usable, just not tight. |
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Posted: 8/22/2010 6:52:44 AM EDT
[#4]
You'll get cramps if you use it by hand for large volumes, you can motorize it by putting it in a drill. I use mine to touch up primer pockets that are still too tight after swaging them with the Dillon swager
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Posted: 8/22/2010 7:47:13 AM EDT
[#5]
I think using a reamer is a bad idea, but only if you care about how many reloads you get out of one case. The nature of re-using cases takes it's toll on case strength and therefore longevity (how many reloads can you get out of a case?).
Think FIRE/EXPAND CASE-DEPRIME-REFORM CASE-TRIM CASE-SWAGE PRIMER POCKET (OR DRILL IT OUT)-REPEAT. The primer pocket really only needs attention once of course, when it is reloaded the first time. But the point is that there's already enough stress on the case due to all the other steps, so removing material from the case probably can't be a help to keeping the case useful for many reloads IMHO. |
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Posted: 8/22/2010 3:53:17 PM EDT
[#6]
For small batches I use a Hornady reamer, near, and a PP uniformer far drill. Hornady changed their reamer slightly, it works quite well. I have no problems keeping it straight and it doen't hog out the PP. For large batches, the Dillon Super swage is my go to tool. 
This is what can happen with a countersink or a deburing tool with no stop. |
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Posted: 8/22/2010 8:17:21 PM EDT
[#7]
Be careful, its easy to go overboard and end up with a primer pocket that's too loose, its a bigger concern if you are using it with a drill.
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Posted: 8/23/2010 2:13:51 AM EDT
[#8]
I gave up on the swagger long ago since you must sort cases by headstamp to achieve uniform results. Way too slow.
I use a 100° to 110° counter sink bit in the drill press and ream the crimp away. I fail to see how this reduces the strength of the case since the primer doesn't contact that area to begin with due to the radius on the edge of the cup. Another advantage is you can tell at a glance whether or not the case has been processed. |
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Posted: 8/23/2010 3:33:51 AM EDT
[#9]
Quoted:
I gave up on the swagger long ago since you must sort cases by headstamp to achieve uniform results. Way too slow. I use a 100° to 110° counter sink bit in the drill press and ream the crimp away. I fail to see how this reduces the strength of the case since the primer doesn't contact that area to begin with due to the radius on the edge of the cup. Another advantage is you can tell at a glance whether or not the case has been processed. If you go too deep with ANY cutter, you wind up with less effective depth for the primer pocket. Take a look at dryflash's pictures-the cases on the left are unsafe because someone cut the crimp away WAY too deeply. It doesn't take much cutting to get to that point, either. |
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Posted: 8/23/2010 4:23:34 AM EDT
[#10]
Quoted:
Any Negatives to using a Primer Pocket Reamer? i just got load of LC 556 brass and I was told I cold easily remove the primer pocket crimps using something like the Hornady small primer pocket reamer. I did a couple and it actually seems to work fast and effectively when chucked to a drill. Just wanted to see if there were any pitfalls to tis method before I process the rest of my brass this way???? Thanks! Sir, one aspect of using a reamer not yet mentioned is that it removes some metal from the shell. This contributes to a variation in case weight that isn't controlled. I like to sort my brass by weight and determined that if I reamed the primer pockets to remove a primer crimp the individual case weights varied by a few grains. I stopped using a reamer when I bought my Dillon Super Swager. HTH 7zero1. |
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Posted: 8/23/2010 5:35:27 AM EDT
[#11]
Thanks for all the great feedback guys. It looks like I should be okay as the reamer only removes the small crimped area and the primer pockets still seem tight when I re prime the brass.
What about the RCBS Swager? I have one on order and was wondering if they are fast and effective? |
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Posted: 8/23/2010 5:43:54 AM EDT
[#12]
Quoted: Thanks for all the great feedback guys. It looks like I should be okay as the reamer only removes the small crimped area and the primer pockets still seem tight when I re prime the brass. What about the RCBS Swager? I have one on order and was wondering if they are fast and effective? Not as fast but you want one to use as primer pocket gage anyway, see part 3 of the tutorials http://www.ar15.com/content/page.html?id=452. Downside is you can't use the RCBS swager on a progressive machine as it's shell holder is the swager. |
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Posted: 8/23/2010 7:40:03 AM EDT
[#13]
Save your money, ignore the nay-sayers, and get the Hornady pocket reamer. I absolutely love mine. It removes so little metal I wouldn't even worry about it. After decrimping 1000 cases there was just a light dust of brass on the bench. I chuck mine into a cordless drill, I'll grab about six or so cases at once, hold them all together, inspect the heads and pockets, then attack them all with the reamer. It probably works out to about a case a second. It really seems to remove just enough metal. This is the only way I will ever decrimp cases... I see no need to buy a 100 dollar tool.
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Posted: 8/23/2010 9:14:34 AM EDT
[#14]
I have gotten all my semi-auto .308 brass from Scharch and it's prepped so I am going to ask is there a benefit to getting a primer pocket uniformer and debur the flash holes I have never done this on there brass ? and if so what is the best uniformer to use ? I already have a large universal flash hole tool with adjustable stop but have only used it on match brass
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Posted: 8/23/2010 9:52:20 AM EDT
[#15]
The only way to do it, no swagger will ever come close to speed or as clean and even of a cut, save your money on the RCBS swagger, I have one and used it once and put it back in the box.
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Posted: 8/23/2010 10:16:06 AM EDT
[#16]
I've done limited reaming with small size primer pockets, but from my experience, like others said you might have a problem with your hands cramping.
As to the process, what I do 1st, is insert pocket reamer just enough to take off most of the crimp, so the depth cutter can be inserted and the pocket depth cut, then go back and uniform the diameter and finish bevelling the base of the pocket. It may seam like a lot of extra work, but I only use the pocket reamer for military brass and only do a couple hundred at most at one time, and I don't have an issue with loose pocket either so I must be doing it right. I also have a bucket of 5.56 that I may decide to load one of these days, if so I'll likely try swagging them. If you have a lot of brass to uniform you might go with a swagger. |
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Posted: 8/23/2010 2:41:48 PM EDT
[#17]
I have used both drill and swage. IMHO swage is better - less room for screw ups.
Truth be told I had such a hard time with crimped brass, I am buying prepped brass in .223 next time out. $100 for 1K and already to go. My time is worth more than 10 cents a case. Use them 5X and it's 2 cents. |
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Posted: 8/23/2010 5:32:00 PM EDT
[#18]
Quoted:
Quoted:
I gave up on the swagger long ago since you must sort cases by headstamp to achieve uniform results. Way too slow. I use a 100° to 110° counter sink bit in the drill press and ream the crimp away. I fail to see how this reduces the strength of the case since the primer doesn't contact that area to begin with due to the radius on the edge of the cup. Another advantage is you can tell at a glance whether or not the case has been processed. If you go too deep with ANY cutter, you wind up with less effective depth for the primer pocket. Take a look at dryflash's pictures-the cases on the left are unsafe because someone cut the crimp away WAY too deeply. It doesn't take much cutting to get to that point, either. The reason those cases are ruined is because someone used a countersink bit with the wrong angle. I bet it was a run of the mill 80° bit like you find at the hardware stores. The 100°/110° bits are special bits and the ones I have are used to countersink a rivet hole for aviation sheet metal repair. It would be almost impossible to remove as much material using these bits as you see in those pic's. |
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Posted: 8/24/2010 2:35:02 AM EDT
[#19]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I gave up on the swagger long ago since you must sort cases by headstamp to achieve uniform results. Way too slow. I use a 100° to 110° counter sink bit in the drill press and ream the crimp away. I fail to see how this reduces the strength of the case since the primer doesn't contact that area to begin with due to the radius on the edge of the cup. Another advantage is you can tell at a glance whether or not the case has been processed. If you go too deep with ANY cutter, you wind up with less effective depth for the primer pocket. Take a look at dryflash's pictures-the cases on the left are unsafe because someone cut the crimp away WAY too deeply. It doesn't take much cutting to get to that point, either. The reason those cases are ruined is because someone used a countersink bit with the wrong angle. I bet it was a run of the mill 80° bit like you find at the hardware stores. The 100°/110° bits are special bits and the ones I have are used to countersink a rivet hole for aviation sheet metal repair. It would be almost impossible to remove as much material using these bits as you see in those pic's. ...or they used a chamfer/deburring tool. Same problem, really. And while the angle is a real issue, having no stop and nothing to keep the cutting edges' axis square with the primer pocket is also very important. It is just way too easy to take off way too much metal with any cutter that doesn't have a pilot AND a stop. |
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Posted: 8/24/2010 5:33:33 AM EDT
[#20]
Quoted:
Save your money, ignore the nay-sayers, and get the Hornady pocket reamer. I absolutely love mine. It removes so little metal I wouldn't even worry about it. After decrimping 1000 cases there was just a light dust of brass on the bench. I chuck mine into a cordless drill, I'll grab about six or so cases at once, hold them all together, inspect the heads and pockets, then attack them all with the reamer. It probably works out to about a case a second. It really seems to remove just enough metal. This is the only way I will ever decrimp cases... I see no need to buy a 100 dollar tool. I've been using the reamer method for years and years on military brass without any problems. The swagging method just never seemed to do the job. My favorite reamer is the Hornady Primer Pocket Reamer that fits nicely into my Lyman Case Trimmer using the Ream/Clean Kit. That way it goes in nice and straight and gives it a nice even trim. 
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