I have been continuing my experiments with Primer Remanufacturing. Over the last couple of years, I have been remanufacturing primers for personal use and firing them to establish processes that work for me. This includes using a variety of historical primer mixtures. Previously my tests were all “Did it go Bang”, with most information gathered being visual and not easily quantifiable.
To date; I have not been using the primers for actual shooting and load development as I still retain a good supply of New Manufactured Primers – except my Large Rifle Primer supply is dwindling downward so I am getting more serious in collecting good quality personal data for my remanufacturing efforts. There are some really good resources such as AARDVARK Reloading videos and MEWE, but those needed to be translated to my personal equipment, supplies, and abilities. This and future posts will be results of “My Techniques”, using my supplies. Hopefully with some Measurable and Quantifiable outputs.
The following were the general Techniques and Materials I used for Three Tests:
For all tests, I removed the anvils from expended Remington 9 ½ Large Rifle Primers forceps to hold the cup firmly and a Dental Pick to pry the Anvil out. Cups and Anvils cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner with Dawn Dish soap and Lemishine. Primer cups had dimples removed and the cups resized using the NOE Primer Cup Die Set.
https://noebulletmolds.com/site/?s=Primer+Size+die
Test #1.
Used a 1/8 inch paper punch to cut circular disks with the blister centered from a roll of Toy Pistol Caps. A single 1/8 inch disk with blister was inserted into each of ten primer cups. Above the toy cap, the primer cups were filled with scrap Smokeless Powder (Collected from those minor dribbles and spills on the bench while reloading). A drop of alcohol/varnish mixture (20 to 1 ratio of 91% Alcohol and Liquid Varnish) was placed on top of each Primer cup and Primer mixture.
An anvil was placed on top of the mixture in the cup; and the primer with centered- but still loose anvil was positioned in a Lee Ram Primer (https://leeprecision.com/ram-prime) and the Primer was pressed into a .308 case; seating the anvil as part of the primer seating. The mixture is still wet in this “Seating Process”. I let the cases with newly seated remanufactured primers dry for 48 hours before testing. The while still wet primer seating (for this technique) facilitates the primer anvil being seated with the primer mixture “Desensitized” by being wet.
Test #2.
Used “Prime-All” mixture for this test (Reported to be equivalent to H-48 Primer Mixture). Each of the 10 Primer cups were filled level to the top with the Prime All mixture. A 1/8 inch paper punch was used to cut circular disks from cash register receipt paper. A paper disk was placed on top of the primer mix, and the paper disk/Prime All was lightly packed down with a wooden chop stick for each of ten primer cups. A drop of alcohol/varnish mixture (20 to 1 ratio of 91% Alcohol and Liquid Varnish) was placed on top of each Primer cup and Primer mixture.
An anvil was placed on top of the mixture in the cup; and the primer with centered- but still loose anvil was positioned in a Lee Ram Primer (https://leeprecision.com/ram-prime) and the Primer was pressed into a .308 case; seating the anvil as part of the primer seating. The mixture is still wet in this “Seating Process”. I let the cases with newly seated remanufactured primers dry for 48 hours before testing. The while still wet primer seating (for this technique) facilitates the primer anvil being seated with the primer mixture “Desensitized” by being wet.
Test #3.
I used “Prime-All” mixture for this test (Reported to be equivalent to H-48 Primer Mixture). Each of the 10 Primer cups were filled level to the top with the Prime All mixture. A 1/8 inch paper punch was used to cut circular disks from cash register receipt paper. A paper disk was placed on top of the primer mix, and the paper disk/Prime All was lightly packed down with a wooden chop stick for each of ten primer cups. A drop of alcohol/varnish mixture (20 to 1 ratio of 91% Alcohol and Liquid Varnish) was placed on top of each Primer cup and Primer mixture.
During this Test #3, I used the NOE Primer Cup Die Set to seat the anvil into the primer cup over the Primer Mixture. My goal was to be able to use my RCBS press for seating anvils into primer cups with a good level of control, and allow me to eventually remanufacture and store hundreds of primers for later use (as opposed to installing into Brass and seating anvil as was done in Tests #1 and #2). The parts used to seat primers in my RCBS press appear in the following photo:
I used the NOE 7/8 threaded “Bolt” inserted upwards into the RCBS Press (Screw it all the way up – picture shows partially screwed in). The goal is not to have maximum leverage; rather to be able to “Feel” the Anvil as it Seats into to cup. This is done carefully so as to not deform the cup with too much pressure.
The small Clevis Pin (found at Ace Hardware) is inserted into an RCBS #1 Shell holder. This forms the bottom of the Primer Seating operation. the See the picture below:
I tried it in the RCBS #3 Shell Holder for .308/30-06; but the Clevis pin does not drop into the Shell holder deep enough. Other Shell Holders may work, but I wanted the flat surface of the Shell Holder top to fully support washer that the primer cup sits in.
A washer (from ACE Hardware) with a hole just larger than the primer cup is placed on top of the #1 Shell Holder and Clevis pin described above. The primer cup previously filled with Prime All Mixture,1/8 inch disk paper, and Alcohol/Varnish mixture is set into the hole in the washer (See Picture Below):
The anvil is set on the top of the primer cup/primer mixture. The handle for the ram of the press is pulled down slowly until it touches the anvil/primer cup. Then the handle is lightly pushed down until one feels the anvil seat. Lift and inspect, remove the newly remanufactured primer – and repeat.
The mixture is still wet in this “Seating Process”. I let the newly remanufactured primers dry for 48 hours before testing. The while still wet primer seating (for this technique) facilitates the primer anvil being seated with the primer mixture “Desensitized” by being wet. When dried; the primer mixture is active.
Results/Analysis
I wanted to compare the results of different techniques and primer mixtures. The only “Measuring” instrument that I could think to employ for this application since I am not ready to load live ammunition was sound. I downloaded a “Decibel Meter” to my phone and used it as a scale to interpret the performance of different tests. The following table provides results of the three Tests.
Some analysis:
1. A single Blister from Toy Caps performed significantly lower than the other two. (Pfffft Sound compared to Crack from other two tests. It may require 2 Blisters to generate higher performance.
2. Seating the Primer Anvil in conjunction with the Seating the Primer Cup/Primer into brass will work; but does not seem to give as consistent primer ignition as seating the anvil as a separate step compared to seating the primer anvil/primer into the brass case.
3. The sound level for the process discussed in Test #3 was considerably higher; probably resulting in a more energetic primer and probable better result with Loads. I also believe the "Anvil Seating" is a better technique.