gunnut wrote:I'm going to try a different method. Correct me if my logic is flawed. I'm going to take .5 off the bottom of the lee 45-70 FCD collet. That puts the crimp right at the case mouth, Too close for head spacing. Then take .05 off the top of the crimp ridge to move the crimp back from the case mouth .05 and narrow the crimp to about .05. I can't measure the crimping ridge. But, it apears to be about .10
Would .05 back from the case mouth be enough for head spacing?
Would .05 be a wide enough crimp?
All comments welcome.
gunnut-
Your proposed modification might work, but you're correct in wondering about the width of the crimping ridge. If you guess wrong, taking off .05 might leave you with too narrow a crimp, or still too close to the case mouth.
A workable alternative might be the one I suggested - I think it got buried in my long-winded post above. That is, narrow the crimping ridge as you propose to 0.05". But, take off more than 0.5 of the collet and the die body. Then, adjust the location of the crimp on the cartridge body by inserting washer-shims between the shell holder and the collet. Different thicknesses of shims will allow you to position the crimp precisely where you want it. The technique allows you to adjust the crimp for different bullets with different crimp grooves, and for different seating depths.
It doesn't make for speedy reloading, because the shims have to be placed over each case after it's put into the shell holder, and then taken off after the bullet is seated. It may add about 5-10 seconds to the seating process for each cartridge.
This works for me, but itis possible that the technique has a flaw that I'm not aware of. More experienced persons will point this out, I hope.
--Bob