Consistent Crimps - Tool

[pitted bore]

A new issue of Handloader magazine arrived in my mailbox today. Paging through it I saw a tiny ad for "consistent crimps", by precisionaccuracycompany.com/. From the ad it was not clear what sort of crimp consistency it was peddling; I thought maybe shotshells. So I checked the web, and found a tool that may have an application in reloading the 450B.

I cannot find that this has been mentioned in this reloading forum or anywhere on this 450B website.

I have no conflict of interest in posting this. I don't own one of the tools, I don't own stock in the company, I don't know the person behind it. The company is located in MN and the website furnishes a name, so perhaps our contingent from that state may have some insight. I know nothing beyond what I've read, which you can check yourself.

Apparently the inventor had adapted a micro-adjustable torque tool to mount on reloading presses, and provide a pretty exact adjustment of pressure for use with the Lee Factory Crimp Die, of the collet type we've been discussing on this board from the beginning.

Here's the blurb from the web site:

the Patent Pending, Consistent Crimp.....the world's only tool that measures crimping and neck sizing force! The Consistent Crimp measures force in as little as 1 foot pound increments so the reloader can achieve optimal Precision and Accuracy from any "given" load recipe.

Imagine yourself using the Consistent Crimp to discover the Optimal Crimp force for each of your load recipes and then imagine being able to return to that Optimal crimping force any time you wish!

The Consistent Crimp is a redesigned micro-click torque wrench. It has been redesigned to encompass the unique needs of the reloader. Adjustments may be made in as little as 1 Ft. Lb. increments.

The Consistent Crimp alerts the reloader both audibly and by feel when the reloader's pre-selected crimp pressure has been attained.

When a Consistent Crimp and single stage press are joined, they become greater than the sum of their parts. The control gained is extraordinary.

The Consistent Crimp has an expanded foot pound adjustment range of 5 Ft. Lbs. to 75 Ft. Lbs. This wide range will enable virtually any reloader reloading any caliber to choose the desired crimp pressure with only one tool.

The Consistent Crimp has an interchangeable tool head that allows the Consistent Crimp to be quickly attached and detached from the press. This means that a single Consistent Crimp can be used on several presses.

Whether you are roll crimping, taper crimping or using the Lee Factory Crimp die the Consistent Crimp will give you the control you have been seeking over your crimps and ultimately your group size and location.

Specifications:

Type- Redesigned Micro Click Torque wrench
Adjustment Range-5 Ft. Lbs. through 75 Ft. Lbs.
Minimum adjustment increments- 1 Ft. Lb.
Torque value Alert-both audibly and by feel
Tool Head type-interchangeable
Size-14 3/4 inches long

If any forum member tumbles for this, please post your results.

Below is one of the photos extracted from the web site. Hopefully the site owner won't object to it being put here.
--Bob
.

Press attachment designed to provide "consistent crimps"

crimp.jpg (15.53 KiB) Viewed 6202 times

[Hoot]

My only concern with the degree of resolution a tool like this would provide is that there is a serious amount of mechanical advantage transferred to the press handle which it trades off in distance traveled to move the ram up a comparatively smaller distance. So the amount of force measured by the modified torque wrench is a small percentage of the actual force being encountered by the die and case. Because of the transformation of force, the measured variation would be dampened by that transformation. I would expect a much more sensitive device would be needed at the press handle than one which at best displays 1 ft/lb of resolution and possibly a lot less in terms of accuracy. That was harder to put into words than to see in my mind's eye.

It would be nicer to see a crimping die with a force indicator built into it. It would be measuring force closer to the 1:1 point than after a 10:1 or whatever reduction has occurred in the mechanical linkage of the press, along with losses from friction which will vary from the user who lubes his pivot points and how recently he did so, versus the user who never thinks about that. I'm not even factoring in the change in force translation that results from how deep the die is screwed down into the press. We all know that screwing the die down below the camming zone causes you to have to use a lot more force to perform the same operation.
IMHO, a device like this falls directly into the oncoming path of my signature.

Just my $.02 worth.

Hoot

[Texas Sheepdawg]

The force that YOU apply to the handle may be expressed in Ft Lbs.... But the compounded force developed at the highest pressure point of the ram where the shell holder meets the die is a whole different animal. Pressure there is expressed as PSI, not torque. While there may be a correlation, and some mathematical conversion to express a particular torque exerts X amount of PSI, I remain a professional skeptic. But it's still a step in the right direction to attaining repeatable, perfect crimp pressures.

[MarkCO]

I agree with Hoot and Texas Sheepdog...except I am not even sure it is even a step in the right direction. What would make more sense is a collet crimp where the "modified" torque wrench tightened a band. That would be repeatable and eliminate the caming inconsistencies. It's almost like the designer does not understand the mechanism of the press.