FOLD CRIMPING NEW (unfired) HULLS 

A frustrated reloader wrote he was not able to place a good crimp on a new hull. In fact, he was mashing a number of NEW hulls.  Curmudgeon detects a reloading equipment solution.  

A fact of life for the reloader:  Not all reloading devices are designed to place nifty fold crimp on NEW hulls!  The devices we use are called reloaders.  By definition - to an engineer designing a reloader re-loading means the re-packaging of a previously fired hull.  Thus a new hull is not considered.  

The reloader blesses himself with crisp clean new hulls.  Curmudgeon dearly loves loading NEW hulls.  So how does he produce all those nifty crimps? 

#1. CURMUDGEON greatly prefers the 6-point crimp.   Less surface impressed with folds = less plastic resistance.

#2. On his reloading devices, CURMUDGEON replaced blunt-edged crimp starters with  SHARP-edged crimp starters.  [See BP catalog in MEC parts area as SUPER CROWN CRIMPERS in several styles 6 or 8 points and gauge sizes. On Ponsness-Warren reloaders these parts may be ordered.]  

If you see a crimping problem occurring with new hulls (or any hull) - check the crimp-STARTER device.  If this device is not sharp-edged, you will have to crunch the hull into the starter a number of times to shape the hull mouth into forming a proper crimp.  To save yourself from grief (and if it fits your reloader) purchase a sharp edged crimp-starter and place it on your machine.  MEC reloaders benefit from a sharp-edged crimp starter when reloading new, unfired hulls.  A dull edged crimp-starter will operate okay if the hull has been previously fired because the hull mouth plastic retains memories of the original crimp.  CURMUDGEON has NEVER missed placing a perfect crimp on a new hull!

CURMUDGEON also avoids progressive reloading devices when filling HIS NEW HULLS.   Equipped with the sharp-edged crimp-starter progressive loading with new hulls is made possible, but CURMUDGEON is old-fashioned preferring to press new hulls into the crimp starter - several times!      

ROLL-CRIMPING NEW HULLS

New hulls are fine for roll-crimping and once again the Reloading CURMUDGEON

Never misses a perfect crimp.  Well, almost never.  A wee drop of oil in the rolling-groove every dozen roll-downs seems to make for easier roll-crimping.  And it is very important to making a good crimp, the crimp head spins in the COUNTER-CLOCKWISE direction!  

Re-rolled hulls may require some hull mouth smoothing with the Spin-Doctor before re-rolling.  Moving between fold-crimps and roll-crimps should be avoided - unless the mouth of the hull is trimmed away. (Note: Dreaded shrinkage sometimes occurs to plastic hull mouths upon repeated firing.  But then, new hulls are rather cheap - so keep a bunch on hand.    

Shotgun CURMUDGEON