Old reloading stuff serviceability

[TheNewGuy]

Have seen "opinions" regarding both outcomes but will test if not visually defective. My grandfather gave me a ton of reloading stuff today. Dies, primers, powders, bullet cases, etc. Some of the dies are corroded pretty heavy but curious as to if any have been able to bring them back to serviceable condition.
Will post pictures when time permits.
With the old primers i read one could load primer into empty case and "see if it goes bang." Is this advisable?


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[ohen cepel]

Yes, could load up some of the primers and see if they go bang still.

Dies can be an issue if the insides are no longer smooth. I'm not sure of a way to clean them up without creating other issues with them.

Presses are pretty hard to mess up so those should be OK.

 

[Uncle Duke]

Do post those pics OP. Worth a thousand words as they say. Much or all of what you have will likely be recognizable to many here.

 

[TheNewGuy]

This was just one box. There is another hardware divider full of dies and the like which seem in better condition. Will post later.


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[iH8DemLibz]

If the powders were kept in the same humid environment as the dies, I wouldn't trust them.

And what's up with all the melted plastic?

As for primers, put some in some brass cases and see if they go POP. Listen for the same level of POP. Try a few from all of the different tins. No powder and bullets in the brass. Obviously.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Those square 2400 and Bullseye cans are quite collectable.

Either NSSFor NRLMA , or both, and probably others have checklists of visual and smell factors for preliminary examination of old powders.

That one seating die looks pretty bad, but the others check carefully there condition on the inside where it matters.

 

[K31]

I'd contact RCBS and send them pictures of the dies. Ask if they can smooth the inside.

Who knows, they may just decide to send you new ones.

 

[Magnumite]

"Those square 2400 and Bullseye cans are quite collectable."

Took the words right out of my mouth. The Rem ammo box, too.

As suggested, check inside the dies, use a strong light. Wet a patch or cloth in something like Kroil, 5-56, PB Blaster and wipe down the inside of the dies. Let it sit about 10 minutes then use a dry cloth to wioe it out. If you have heavy rust on the patch the die(s) is(are) toast. Thase two dies may be rusted like that because it was touched by a sweaty hand and not wiped down. They both rusted around the adjuster nuts. The salt started the corrosion and time continued it.

 

[mike_in_md]

The idea with primers to try them in cases without bullets or powder is a good one. Regarding the powder,sniff test it, if there is no smell or smells like a pleasant alcohol odor, it should be good as long as there is no rust color to it. If the powder has a strong acid smell, ditch it as fertilizer. Regarding the dies, they do not look that bad, looks like surface rust, see if you can clean them up with a rag with kriol oil.

 

[Uncle Duke]

I love seeing this kind of stuff!

On the powder: Smells acidic? Red dust noted when pouring? These would be signs that the powder has deteriorated. I am old enough that I can certainly recall powder packaged in cans, and later in cardboard canisters that preceded today's plastic, but these specific cans certainly pre-date anything I've personally used. Can't make out the couple of price tags that appear, but they appear to read as $2 and $3 and change per pound? If this is so, I'd guess 1950's or 1960's. As mentioned, the cans are very definitely collectable. Ditto the ammo.

The primers given the packaging and the $1.49 price appear to me to be no older than the late 1970's, and are probably more like the early to mid 1980's. Those primers will be packed in a white plastic tray of 10 rows of 10 primers across, unlike today's individual compartmentalized packaging. Load a few in empty cases and snap them off. My best guess is that they may well prove to be fine. I have and to this day still use CCI primers packaged exactly this way that I purchased in the early 80's.

The dies? The inside condition of those dies is certainly what matters most. Especially so with the sizing/decap die. If the interior walls are pitted, they're shot.

First step is to disassemble those dies and clean them with a good gun solvent. The exteriors can be cleaned up if the interiors are worthwhile. Hope to find that those interior walls of the sizing die were loaded with case lube rather than rust. From there if needed, disassembly and oiled 0000 wool on a wooden dowel might give you a better idea of what you're up against.

Good luck!

 

[Jaybeez]

Some dies you can clean up just by throwing them in your tumbler. Some dies totally clog with media(fcd comes to mind). Its best to disassemble them first.

 

[TheNewGuy]

Thanks for the info. This is a wealth of information to take in and it seems I have some work ahead of me diagnosing each's condition. Will update as I go.


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[obiii]

As far as the dies go, the insides are probably ok. There is a product called Evapo-Rust, sold by Walmart for around $15.00 per gallon. Soak those dies in it for a while and it will eat the rust off. Google it and see.
OB

 

[Pinecone]

I agree, check the inside of the dies. Mainly the sizing die, where the tolerances are critical.

As for the powder, IMR came in those cans well into the 70s. I have a can of IMR 4350 from about 77-78 time frame. Hercules powder (now Alliant) came in the cardboard containers, I have a few of them around. Hodgdon come in plastic bottles in that time frame, but I think they were square, not like the current round ones. Winchester came in round cans with a cone shaped top.

 

[noahhh]

I have routinely used powder and primers older than the stuff you pictured. Primers especially are pretty hardy devices. I was given a boat load of old primers (Alcans, Remingtons, Winchesters) from the 60's that had been stored in a non-climate controlled garage all their lives, and they work just fine. Some of the cardboard sleeves are so mildewed you can't hardly read them. In fact, I have a stash of pre-war FA-70 primers (Frankford Arsenal-formula 70) that are very very consistent- as good as the day they were made. (I load them up with 1930's vintage Frankford Arsenal brass, HiVel#2 powder- which is a LOT older than the cans pictured here-, and LC Match bullets for "nostalgia range sessions" with my 1903A1.)

I will cry when my stash of WWII-surplus 4831 powder is finally used up. Bought in cardboard kegs back in the 60's by my dad, for around 50¢/pound.

 

[Muleskinner]

I just finished loading up a bunch of 5.56 and 9MM using powder and primers I bought in the early1980s...no problems...

 

[ken792]

Send the dies back to RCBS (and I think $5 for return shipping) and they'll polish them for free. I use a set of RCBS .30/06 dies from 1962. I once had a stuck case that I couldn't get out, so I sent it back. They polished it, replaced the mandrel with a modern one, provided me the modern hex lock ring, and sent it back in a free plastic box.

If the dies are pitted, RCBS will probably replace them for free. They have an exceedingly good warranty and customer service.

 

[TheNewGuy]

Not sure they will take them if im not original owner.


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[K31]

Not sure they will take them if im not original owner.


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I'm not sure if they honor their warranty for neglect, but you don't have to be the original owner.

That said, I've been pretty amazed by their response to warranty inquiries.

 

[Magnumite]

Some dies you can clean up just by throwing them in your tumbler. Some dies totally clog with media(fcd comes to mind). Its best to disassemble them first.

Nice tip.