Chief Rick Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Y'all, I have a bunch of hulls that I need to roll crimp - but I don't have the stuff required to do so. Graf & Sons shows a roll crimper for $29.99 and the trim doctor tool for $36.99. Ballistic Products shows a roll crimper for $27.99 and the trim doctor tool for $29.99. Ballistic Products also lists an ExactRoll Double-Pin Roll Crimper for $38.95. What makes this crimper so much better and is it really worth another $10? I'll probably only load 25 or so shotshells per week with the roll crimp and I will be using a small bench-top drill press to do the work. Will the lesser expensive tools from Ballistic Products be more than sufficient? Are they actually the same products, just sold by two different companies? It appears that the only difference between the trim doctor tools is that through Ballistic Products you can buy just the gauge you need, whereas through Graf's you have to buy everything together. I only reload for 12-gauge so I don't really have a need for the other adapters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Dan Dawkins Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Y'all, I have a bunch of hulls that I need to roll crimp - but I don't have the stuff required to do so. Graf & Sons shows a roll crimper for $29.99 and the trim doctor tool for $36.99. Ballistic Products shows a roll crimper for $27.99 and the trim doctor tool for $29.99. Ballistic Products also lists an ExactRoll Double-Pin Roll Crimper for $38.95. What makes this crimper so much better and is it really worth another $10? I'll probably only load 25 or so shotshells per week with the roll crimp and I will be using a small bench-top drill press to do the work. Will the lesser expensive tools from Ballistic Products be more than sufficient? The lesser will do. Are they actually the same products, just sold by two different companies? It appears that the only difference between the trim doctor tools is that through Ballistic Products you can buy just the gauge you need, whereas through Graf's you have to buy everything together. I only reload for 12-gauge so I don't really have a need for the other adapters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Hombre #23212 Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 My trim doctor is a 2 1/8 inch long, one inch SGH 40 grey PVC. Slide the 12ga hull in...cut the top off with a razor knife. Cost about a dollar for the PVC and some new blades...already had the razor knife. Lucky enough to have one of them old rollers!! Just an idea!! BH PS: the hull goes in the PVC, the brass does'nt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Sandor, SASS #74075 Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 The roll crimping tool works because there is a pin inserted through the side which provides a ridge at one spot on the tool where it contacts the top of the hull. The double pin tool is exactly as it says - it has a second pin opposite the first one, supposed to make it more efficient. The single pin tool works fine, especially in a drill press. You have to experiment with RPM to see what works best for the hulls you use, but FAST IS NOT the way to go - I use a medium to low RPM. As the tool contacts the hull, you will feel some resistance, then more, next it will feel soft as the plastic rolls, then when the crimp is complete resistance goes way up and the hull will want to rotate - that's time to back off. The crimper will get HOT after just a few hulls, then the action goes faster. Don't burn yourself. With 10 ga. hulls, I hold them by hand while crimping - I think it gives a much better feel of the crimping action, and I'm way too cheap to buy one of the fancy hull vises.Don't know why it wouldn't work for 12 ga. as well. Put a block of wood between the hull and the press table - keeps the brass from getting gouged up if a hull does turn a bit. Count Sandor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noz Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 I bought one that only works counterclockwise. Most drill presses don't turn that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tequila Jim #14501 Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 My roll crimper came from Precision Reloading, a few bucks lower thab Balistic's price. They also have a plastic roll crimper that a pard on The Darksider Den swears by. I use a set of vice grips to hold the shell as I crimp it on my bench top drill press. The vice grips I use are ment to hold pipe, rounded jaws. Regards, TJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie Dawg, SASS #50329 Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 The ballistic products drill-mounted roll crimper does a great job. You don't need a trim doctor. Check out Tom Bullock's trick for trimming shells on this Webpage: Tom Bullock --Dawg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Hochbauer, SASS #64409 Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 As for the roll crimping tool I got a couple of those old hand crank ones which I believe I found one in an antique store and the other on Ebay.Could have gotten them both there.For the trimming of the hulls I use a gadget I had also found on ebay to take apart shells that were lets say oops. I have a wooden dowel inserted in the hull to where I want to trim them, a few turns and they are trimmed and ready to load.Wads nitro cards and fiber wads from Circle Fly.I prepare a bunch of hulls in advance of when I want to load so they are already trimmed and primed and ready to load.I have found that this saves me time and I can load 25 shells pretty quick. Sgt H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 As for the roll crimping tool I got a couple of those old hand crank ones which I believe I found one in an antique store and the other on Ebay.Could have gotten them both there.For the trimming of the hulls I use a gadget I had also found on ebay to take apart shells that were lets say oops. I have a wooden dowel inserted in the hull to where I want to trim them, a few turns and they are trimmed and ready to load.Wads nitro cards and fiber wads from Circle Fly.I prepare a bunch of hulls in advance of when I want to load so they are already trimmed and primed and ready to load.I have found that this saves me time and I can load 25 shells pretty quick. Sgt H Yup that's what I use. Found several on e-bay. Kept one dated 1889 and sole the rest to pards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Shoer 27979 Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 As for the roll crimping tool I got a couple of those old hand crank ones which I believe I found one in an antique store and the other on Ebay.Could have gotten them both there.For the trimming of the hulls I use a gadget I had also found on ebay to take apart shells that were lets say oops. I have a wooden dowel inserted in the hull to where I want to trim them, a few turns and they are trimmed and ready to load.Wads nitro cards and fiber wads from Circle Fly.I prepare a bunch of hulls in advance of when I want to load so they are already trimmed and primed and ready to load.I have found that this saves me time and I can load 25 shells pretty quick. Sgt H I would like to see some pics of that gadget, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Hanger #3720LR Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 I have a four part article written by Red Sun aka Fred Boatright, explaining how to load shotgun rounds using antique hand loading equipment with lots of photos. The Brimstone Gazette His article start in March 2008 to June 2008. Also by M.C. Ryder in June 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairshake Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 PM sent from old friend, Later Fairshake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.