[Ed Y]

I was having problems with the wad insertion and thus the crimps when loading Gun Club hulls, with my PW loader, wheback up but it n I realized that the wad guide rubs on the top of the hull when it swings out over the hull prior to inserting the wad. I stood the various hulls up next to one another and discovered that the Gun Clubs are just slightly longer than STSs, AAs, and Gold Medals. Has anyone else had this problem? If so how come that I haven't read about it on here? Everything works fine when I use the shorter hulls.

Ed Yanchok

After trying and checking all of your fine suggestions and while running some shells through to check it, I noticed that my wad ram was not centering the wads. I then realized that the wad carrier was somehow bent down, which was why it was rubbing the tops of the casings. I tried to bend it back up but it just snapped off. Fortunately I have an extra, in my parts box. Should be up and running by tomorrow.

 

[grntitan]

I load almost nothing but Remington STS/Nitro hulls. They vary length themselves. Every once in awhile i'll get one slightly longer that will crush upon crimping if it doesn't get caught at the wad insertion. Don't load Gun Clubs myself but they are Remington.

Matt

 

[Ross]

Ed: I think most of us have had that problem with just about any loader on the market, I'm not real familiar with P.W.s but they are a pretty direct take-off from Pacific 366. Do they have an adjustable wad guide if so try raising it a 1\16" or so, I have had the same experience (hull length) with all brands, at first I made a hull cutter so that they were all the same length but that got to be a PITA, so raised my wad guide a hair & lowered my crimp starter a little. This is on a 366. That solved the dragging issue but I did get crimps with a little swirl on the longer hulls, doesn't seem to bother anything else. Don't have the 366 anymore as I'm not shooting as much & I'm retired now so I have plenty of time to load a couple boxes a week, I'm using 266 now & had to raise that wad guide also. Ross Puls

 

[oleolliedawg]

Remington has been known for cutting their shells to varying lengths. I once had a batch of Blue Magics that wouldn't come close to clearing the bottom of the wad carrier on a PW!!

 

[BL350]

Dear Ed Y,
Get yourself a good 0 to 6 inch vernier caliper. Measure various case lengths from the three prime manufacturers. I have found case lengths from 2.740 down to 2.660 at different times from every case source. AA low recoil cases are the shortest I have seen recently....2.660 inches. If your hitting a 2.740 case with the wad guide...your press needs adjustment. If the knurled upper nut on the PW wad guide loosens and allows the plastic wad guide fingers to move freely (able to rotate in the guide holder)you will experience various forms of wad tipping/sealing lip damage.
Respectfully submitted,
,......Jet Boat Bill

 

[Ed Y]

I must have just gotten into a long batch of Gun Clubs. I don't believe that I can adjust the height of the wad finger holding fixture.

Ed Yanchok

 

[Ahab]

If your wad guide is hitting the top of the hulls ... you need a new spring in the wad guide ... or it is so crudded up that it is not retracting!

Take the guide apart and clean it, a little bit of graphite on it and reassemble. Push down on it and let it go, it should retract back up out of your sight, if not get a new spring for it!

 

[Ed Y]

It's not the fingers themselves that are rubbing but rather the spring finger holder.

Ed Yanchok

 

[Ahab]

Ed ... that is what I was talking about! There is a spring inside that aluminum holder that pushes it back up out of the way.

If you look under the holder, you will see 2 screws that hold a bottom plate in place. Take out the screws, and let it all come out, there is a coil spring in there.If it is broken, replace it. If it is not broken, stretch it a bit, clean everything, dust with a little graphite and reassemble.

It should stay up inside until the wad forces it down around the top of the hull and also places the wad fingers inside the mouth of the hull, allowing the wad to slide down into the hull!

 

[Ed Y]

Ahab,
I'm sorry but I probably used the wrong term when I said wad finger holder. I meant the carriage that holds the spring holder. The part with bolt in it, that runs up and down the left main shaft.

Ed Yanchok

 

[pedagogue]

Ed

I have experienced the same issues as you. I did replace the spring that holds up the wad finger guide and it did help some but not all. Just this week I was loading sts"s with no problem on my pw 2000. Then I tried to load gun clubs and had nothing but problems including the machine not indexing. If you solve the problem please let me know. Good luck. jack melitsky

 

[oleolliedawg]

The machine won't index because the steel headed Gun Clubs are not fully into the re-sizing die and bind the shell plate. This common PW problem can be eliminated by re-sizing those Gun Club's first with a MEC Super-Sizer. Only using Remington Primers can also help!!

 

[Unknown1]

Look at it systematically...

The wad carrier travels on the same crosshead that the hulls do so the space between the bottom of the carrier and the crosshead should always be the same with the loader at rest.

The thing that determines the space between the carrier and the crosshead is the flange of the nylon bushing in the bottom of the wad carrier. It rides on the crosshead. The flange on the 900 I have here is about 1/16" thick so wad carrier rides about 1/16" above the crosshead.

The thickness of the flange determines the clearance between the base of the carrier and the hold-down block bolted between the wad carrier and the edge of the die turret. The 900 I have here has 1/16" clearance in this area.

If the wad fingers are retracting completely, if the plastic plate that holds them in isn't warped, if the flange on the nylon bushing isn't worn off and if the wad carrier hasn't gotten shorter, the only difference left is hull length. The 900 I have here could pass a hull 2.80" long under the wad carrier; the longest GC hull I measured was 2.69" long. That's a difference of nearly 1/8"!

Olliedawg is right about the primers and the steel bases. I use mostly Winchester primers and pre-prime once-fired hulls in a different fixture and run them through the PW already primed the first time I use them. If a primer is sticking out a hull any more than the thickness of its own flange it may catch on the primer feed as the turret tries to index.

MK

 

[pedagogue]

Oleolliedawg thank you for the solution. jack m

 

[Ed Y]

After trying and checking all of your fine suggestions and while running some shells through to check it, I noticed that my wad ram was not centering the wads. I then realized that the wad carrier was somehow bent down, which was why it was rubbing the tops of the casings. I tried to bend it back up but it just snapped off. Fortunately I have an extra, in my parts box. Should be up and running by tomorrow.

Ed Yanchok

 

[Unknown1]

Man... it would require a LOT of force to bend that casting. What else on that loader might be bent?

MK

 

[oleolliedawg]

Jack M, that was an easy one. I like 'em a lot tougher. Been there-done that. You're welcome!!

 

[Ed Y]

The part is in and the carrier now clears the hulls by about 3/16". I too can't understand how it bent, without snapping. It's a casting.

 

[oleolliedawg]

You aren't the first owner to bust one of those. Must have been one of those hard wads you've been storing for 40 years!!

 

[Unknown1]

Ed Y, US Marine...

Do you guys by chance use electric or hydraulic assist on your presses? I can't believe anybody could exert enough force on the handle to bend that casting and not feel that there was something just a teeny bit wrong!

MK