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Critical final
crimp cam adjustment Re: Hull bulging and spiraling crimp problem with the MEC loader: This is a problem that is particular to the MEC reloading press. At the final crimping station, there is no support for the bottom part of the hull and the hull itself must absorb all of the downward force put upon it by the crimping process. Usually, additional pressure of the outside housing being adjusted too low, while the center ram is adjusted too high, is enough to cause the problem of buckling -- even before the crimp is closed. Furthermore, without proper adjustment, a proper closure will not be possible without crushing the hull tube. |
| Other signs
that the final crimp is out of adjustment
in this manner are hulls that have a been crushed together in the center of the crimp,
sometimes creating a "swirl" in the very center of the crimp. The solution is to locate the cam adjuster for the final crimper - located near the base of the handle on the final crimp side. You will want to loosen the allen screw that secures the cam to the machine and turn the cam all the way to the right (clock-wise - toward the front of the reloader). Tighten the allen screw down again. Now, what you have done is to adjust the cam lobe so that it will release the outside housing assembly at an earlier point in the downward stroke of the handle. Hold the outside of the final crimper and watch for at what point the cam's lobe passes over the final crimp. If you find that subsequent to that adjustment the shells have a hole in the center of the crimp, make a slight adjustment to the cam in a counter-clockwise direction. Adjusting crimp depth is separate. That is controlled by the flat-bladed screw on top of the final crimp assembly. A note you should make as a loader of Fiocchi, Federal or Activ Hulls: These hulls will benefit from lowering the crimp starter about 1/16" to 1/8". |
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