| Posted: Sun Oct 18th, 2009 06:51 PM |
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1st Post |
fryboy
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while many company's make and sell caliber specific ones or fit all ones for many cases the plastic tray that comes in pistol boxes work great ,45 acp's for example hold just about any case that takes the same shell holder( 308,30-06 etc)9mm trays also work for .223 cases,the softer plastic remington ones also work for lube trays for spray on lube ,the harder plastic ones i have found tend to melt with oneshot, i use these for sorting brass into as well as many other task ,they are cheap and quite often one can get them for free,as a bonus some even can be filled with loaded rounds and flipped by placing another one on top and/or for a easy way to insert loaded rounds into a flip top ammo box, there are different sizes and the ones that work best for me are th open bottom type , the closed bottom type work for cases that dont fit well in some other rounds,357 & 38 specials for example will fit nose down in a 9 mm tray but not rim down ,but in a 40 or 45 caliber closed bottom tray they fit decent (this one doesnt work for loading of flip top boxes tho ) the uses can be many and experimenting usually finds the best practical uses
speaking of trays, a forstner bit and a drill press makes great wood trays if u have the knack and tools, or a spade bit and drill completely thru then glue a piece of scrap formica or 1/8 -1/4 hard board or something similar to the bottom,one good way to make them is to draw it out and make a pattern on a piece of paperboard( cereal boxes work great for this )once u have a pattern just dimple where ur holes go and u can mark many boards with a center punch and they will all come out the same ,if ur artsy u can use really nice wood and a hand rubbed finish but even scrap 3/4 plywood works well,spraying with a clear finish helps keep them looking great for along time but it isnt required
keep in mind this is just basic ,one can go to great lengths and precision or anywhere in between etc
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(happy shootin'-the best way to get empty brass!)
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| Posted: Sun Oct 18th, 2009 08:44 PM |
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2nd Post |
StretchNM
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That's how I make mine, Fryboy. I use 3/4" MDF and drill 1/2" diameter holes with a forstner and a drill press. These are good for the 30-06 family of cases, though I'll need to make a couple with 9/16" or 5/8" holes when I start reloading 44mag here pretty quick.
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| Posted: Tue Oct 27th, 2009 02:54 PM |
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3rd Post |
Rapier
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Another great tray material is a defuser for florescent lights, the ones that are formed by hundreds of plastic squares. You cut the squares 10x10 for 100 squares and place glue on one side then set the square, glue down, onto cardboard. Place a heavy book on top. After the glue dries cut around the squares with a utility knife and you have a great tray for loading pistol cartridges.
Best,
Ed
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"who can afford so to cover his country with troops for its defense as that 10,000 men descending from the clouds might not in many places do an infinite deal of mischief before a force could be brought together to repel them?" Franklin
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| Posted: Sun Nov 1st, 2009 03:06 PM |
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OldStuffer
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First, and only, trays I ever bought, or used, and still use, were MTM Case Guard's Universal Loading Trays. They are quite handy to me, and they are in a spacing I, and my big fingers, like.
This'll save me some typing:
The Universal Loading Tray (LT-150M) is the most versatile on the market with its patented design. Retooled for 2005 to fit the new rounds like the WSM, WSSM, Rem Ultra Mags and the 500 S&W Mag.. It still holds almost all rifle cartridges .17 through .458 Winchester, and handgun calibers for 9MM, .38 and .45 pistol caliber.
This improved loading tray replaces the gray LT-150 that has served thousands of reloaders for many years. Color: Red Catalog No.: LT-150M-30
Mine are the grey LT-150's.
I don't use the spray liquid rifle case lubes, an RCBS pad and Unique case lube have served me decades now, so their reaction to that is unknown.
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| Posted: Sun Nov 1st, 2009 04:01 PM |
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Timberwolf
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I prefer the MTM's but you can use the plastic trays that loaded ammo come in, like the ones from Federal and Remington.
The tray I use for my .338LM is a drilled oak 2x4 and holds 52.
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11th, 2009 03:43 PM |
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6th Post |
kscchtrainer
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Using a forstner bit & wood blocks work great. Set the depth stop on your drill press for whatever depth you need depending on the cartridge length and use the bit that's just slightly larger than the base of the cartridge. I had to do this when I first started loading 7.62X54R as nobody local had a cartridge tray with big enough holes to take them. It worked so well I haven't bothered to buy a commercial one
If you have a Harbor Freight store close by, they almost always have Titanium Nitride coated forstner bit sets in stock and not very expensive either. You might wait until they have them on sale and you can sometimes get a set that runs from 1/4" up through 1" for less than 15 bucks and it will come in a nice hinged wood box.
The main disadvantage of using forstner bits though, is that they really ought to be used in a drill press. Trying to run them in a hand drill is pretty tricky.
kscchtrainer
Attachment: HFforstnerSet.jpg (Downloaded 132 times) Last edited on Wed Nov 11th, 2009 03:56 PM by kscchtrainer
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11th, 2009 07:38 PM |
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StretchNM
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A drill press is a must, whether using forstners or not. I figure if I can;t do it accurately, I'd just buy some plastic ones like Oldstuffer has.
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| Posted: Mon Nov 30th, 2009 07:16 AM |
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nail driver
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i just laid out 2 pcs of 1 1/4 plywood 8"x12" and drilled 50 5/8 holes 3/4 way through ,did this 20 yrs ago and still use them today
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| Posted: Mon Nov 30th, 2009 10:25 AM |
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OldStuffer
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I'm prolly going to have to make a set of wood ones, once I set up to load 7.62x54R, as those rims won't fit my trays him-down. Darn those things are wide. Fortunately I have a set of foprstner bits, and a small drill press. :)
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| Posted: Mon Nov 30th, 2009 02:39 PM |
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10th Post |
TnTom
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I made my trays (capacity 60 vs 50) from maple for use during reloading and transport in the MTM boxes.
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| Posted: Mon Nov 30th, 2009 02:45 PM |
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Bigdog57
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I have two RCBS green trays, and one larger red tray (forget what company, but it is double sided). The red one fits 7.62X54R and 8X56 Hungarian on one side, and small calibers on the back side. Fifty cases per side.
I do sometimes use the plastic cartridge box trays too.
These trays make it very convenient to spray the cases with One-Shot lube.
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