doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Roll crimping help!

I am roll crimping new Cheddite hulls that I trimmed to 2.5". I use a roll crimping die that I believe I got from BPI (90& sure of that) on my drill press with a wooden clamp that I built to hold the shell. I turn the die at 530 rpm, although using 800+ rpm didn't seem to make and difference. I'm not applying much pressure, though the hull seems full, it does not seem over full at all. (1 oz of 7.5s, sg16 wad).

Any suggestions about making more consistent (and prettier) crimps? I can't believe these are going to be very reusable.

You need lubricant on your crimper. I�ve used the same beeswax/olive oil patch lube I use for blackpowder shooting.

No kidding? Heck, that's too easy!

Thanks!

Yes on a little lubricant, also use your lightly oiled cloth against the crimping tool to both clean and to heat the tool up by way of friction. Keep the crimping tool warm to hot


I have discovered by trial and error which tools work with which plastic hulls better. I have BP, Lyman, Precision, antique brand x, and GEAP heads.

Also look at your trimmed length in relation to the load. Sometimes a little more or less plastic works better

Of the currently available roll crimp heads GAEP and Precision are probably the best. Also, be sure your roll crimp head is very warm or even hot to the touch - I used a "screwed up" cartridge to warm the crimp head when I loaded a batch of hulls and it really helped get good crimps on 24 gauge hulls.

who is GAEP?

The crimp head is warm even hot. Hot enough that I think the plastic is being pulled and stretched around the case mouth. Nearly melted. The lube helped, but I'm not getting presentation grade crimps yet.

Because I had to cut these down from 2.75", they are not skived on the ends. That may have something to do with it too.

I'll keep at it and experiment with lube.

Thanks everyone.

Brent

There's no better crimp made than with a vintage hand cranked crimper. Right now your drill press is spinning too high an RPM combined with too much downward pressure. Finding the balance is key. A hand cranked crimper offers the Goldilocks amount of pressure and friction. GAEP is an Italian product. Charles makes excellent crimping tools; the best in the business. Gil

From the looks of your uncrimped hulls they are too long. You should only have about 1/8-3/16" max from the shot card to top of hull, and 1/8" is better.
The better crimper for the drill press or hand drill is one having two indents in the crimper but as stated the hand crimper is faster and does a great job. I have never used any lubricant, the heat generated by the roll crimper is what does the crimping, and being unskived does not seem to be an issue.

You dont need much hull sticking up to get a good roll crimp. I used to roll crimp my 2-1/2� hulls when they were getting too worn out for fold crimping. I woild cut them down another 1/8� (so to 2-1/8�) and then roll them with the same load. Then toss them after firing them.

I have not ised lubricant before. I had good lick with bringing the crimper down to the plastic and allowing just a second of spinning on it to warm it up and then plunge down the crimp. Has always worked well.

Having to much material to have to fold over can cause all sorts of issues which i think may be your primary issue.